Writing and making art in response to current events can be a powerful antidote to fear and uncertainty. It’s also a great way to pass extra time while practicing social distancing. If you’re in the process of creating or could use some impetus to generate and send out work, the following organizations are seeking personal responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
**Please note: we anticipate that this list will grow and change in coming weeks. Reach out to organizations directly for the most up-to-date information and be in touch if you have a relevant creative call through Submittable you’d like us to include.
Last updated: August 11, 2020
Critical Read
For its #ArtisEssential project, Critical Read is seeking 300-word personal essays about a particular work of art—be it a work of visual art, performing art, or literature—you are turning to in these uncertain times. Deadline: August 15.
Evocations Review
Evocations Review’s Summer 2020 Creative Nonfiction Contest is on the theme of quarantine. One winner will receive $200, publication, and judge feedback from guest judge Sarah McGlinchey Aronson. Deadline: August 15.
Indolent Books
For its poem-a-day “What Rough Beast—COVID-19 Edition,” Indolent Books is seeking verse written in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Editors are seeking three poems or up to three pages of writing. No deadline.
Las Laguna Gallery
In response to COVID-19, Las Laguna Gallery has launched its first online exhibition of art in all media, “a light in the darkness.” All submissions will be accepted and posted in an online gallery. Deadline: September 31.
Limit Experience Journal
For “Pandemic, Love, and Taboo,” editors at Limit Experience Journal are seeking intimate, highly transparent perspectives for digital and print essay collections. Deadline: August 24.
Litro
In this moment of lockdown and social distancing, Litro editors are seeking short fiction, flash/micro fiction, and nonfiction celebrating New York’s Central Park. Deadline: August 31.
Motherwell
For Quarantine Little Lessons, Motherwell editors are seeking experiences of pandemic self-growth in 100 words or less for an upcoming project on the website. No deadline.
National Women’s History Museum
The National Women’s History Museum has launched “Women Writing History: A Coronavirus Journaling Project.” The Museum invites women and gender non-binary individuals to be a part of living history by keeping a journal. Deadline: June 1, 2021.
Rattle
Since 2014, Rattle has been publishing weekly poems about current events. Editors have been publishing several per week lately in response to COVID-19 with a live streamed open mic every Sunday morning, where all poets are welcome to share their responses. No deadline.
Shanti Arts
Shanti Arts LLC is accepting portfolios, exhibition materials, and writing on the following theme: “The Art of Isolation: Finding a Silver Lining in the Pandemic Response.” Multiple deadlines in 2021.
Terra Preta Review
Terra Preta Review is calling for writing, art, and photography to include in an anthology of pandemic creativity. Editors are especially interested in submissions from members of marginalized communities. No deadline.
Two Shrews Press
Editors at Two Shrews Press are calling for coronavirus diary entries from women and girls around the world. Deadline: September 1.
Keep creating, keep sharing
Use Submittable’s Discover feature to find more great opportunities for submission—many organizations are extending deadlines and waving submission fees to support those in need. Find out how other Submittable organizations are responding to COVID-19 here.
Rachel Mindell is Senior Editor for Submittable's Marketing Team. She also writes and teaches poetry. You can find Rachel's creative work here: rachelmindell.com