Regular Reading Period: June 1 – November 15

Ploughshares welcomes unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction during our regular reading period, open from June 1 to November 15 at 12:00pm EST. To submit to the journal, including the Fall Longform Issue, please review our guidelines.

Emerging Writers’ Contest: February 1 – March 31

In the spirit of the journal’s founding mission, the Ploughshares Emerging Writers’ Contest recognizes work by an emerging writer in each of three genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We consider authors “emerging” if they haven’t published or self-published a book.

One winner in each genre per year will receive $2,000 and publication in the literary journal.  The 2026 contest—judged by Crystal Hana Kim in fiction, T (Taneum) Bambrick in poetry, and Melissa Febos in nonfiction—is open from February 1-March 31 at 12:00pm EST.