Submit

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. The literary journal is published four times a year: blended poetry and prose issues in the Winter and Spring, a prose issue in the Summer, and a special longform poetry and prose issue in the Fall. Our Spring and Summer issues are guest-edited by different writers of prominence. To submit to the journal, including the Fall Longform Issue, please see our guidelines here.

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. One winner in each genre per year will receive $2,000, a conversation with a literary agent, and publication in Ploughshares. We consider authors “emerging” if they haven’t published or self-published a book in any genre. The 2026 contest—judged by Crystal Hana Kim in fiction, T Bambrick in poetry, and Melissa Febos in nonfiction—is now open.