Regular Reading Period: June 1 – January 15

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

Emerging Writer’s Contest: March 1 – May 15

In the spirit of the journal’s founding mission, the Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s 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 2025 contest—judged by R. O. Kwon in fiction, Joshua Bennett in poetry, and Elisa Gabbert in nonfiction—is closed. The winners will be announced this fall.