MANDIRA PATTNAIK

By now, many of us have settled into the rhythms of summer—or winter, depending on where we are in the world. Where I live, clouds have gathered and it might rain. Our planet keeps at it. In tandem, the literary calendar rarely slows down (In fact, “Publishing is moving too fast”–but more on that later). June brought announcements, debates around AI and authorship, and an abundance of excellent work appearing in journals across the globe. Let’s begin!

good news stories in June

The Community of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP) unveiled the winners of its twelfth annual Firecracker Awards on June 25. These accolades celebrate the crème de la crème of fiction, CNF, and poetry, as well as debuting and all-around excellent magazines. Each book winner walks away with a cool $2,000—$1,000 each for the press and the author. This year’s fiction winner is the wonderfully intriguing Blood Work and Other Stories by Donald A. Carreira Ching, published by Bamboo Ridge Press; the creative nonfiction winner is Governing Bodies: A Memoir, A Confluence, A Watershed by Sangamithra Iyer, published by Milkweed Editions; and for poetry, The Choreic Period: Poems by Latif Askia Ba, also from Milkweed Editions. Best debut magazine went to Elastic, while Oxford American claimed the crown for general excellence.

A rare first edition copy of Wuthering Heights, complete with spelling mistakes, is up for auction for the first time in over a hundred years, according to the Associated Press (June 17). Only about 250 copies of this edition exist, with this one in a private library for most of that time. The book, along with a copy of Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey, is expected to sell for between 400,000 and 600,000 pounds (approximately $540,000 and $800,000) at Christie’s in London later this month. “The vast majority of surviving copies were rebound for collectors or libraries, making original cloth examples extremely scarce,” said Mark Wiltshire, Christie’s books and manuscripts specialist.

One of the coolest bits of news for up-and-coming writers is this: even with many literary magazines being on their way out, new ones just keep popping up. On June 15, Authors Publish pulled together a list of 30 magazines that started in the last year, and a lot of them are open for submissions!

what are writers talking about?

Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt said he has “no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn’t masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn’t. So, as long as an AI-written book says it’s an AI-written book, then we will stock them.”

In the follow-up statement sent to Publishers Weekly following a backlash, Daunt wrote that as far as he is aware, B&N does not sell AI books and that “we take active measures to exclude all AI generated books from our online catalogue and never knowingly order any for stocking in our stores; we demand that publishers label any books that are AI generated.”

Both these statements came to light in May, but writers were discussing this well into June.

heck! Books Are Being Published Prematurely in Australia!

According to an article published by the Guardian, the publishing industry is facing significant challenges as a result of expedited deadlines, financial pressures, and the burden placed on staff. Consequently, titles are being released to the market prematurely, resulting in their swift disappearance from public attention.

In an industry under strain, product tends to be prioritised over process. I’ve been working as a critic and editor in Australia for more than 20 years and the story I hear from people who work in the industry is that they are being asked to do more with less, and to do it more quickly.

selected Submission opportunities

(ALL FEE FREE+ paying)

Ox-Bow Michigan Hold Space Retreat for Artists of Color: Participants receive lodging, two chef-prepared meals per day, and 24-hour access to studios. Each retreat is self-directed, allowing participants to engage the campus in ways that best align with their interests and goals. Ox-Bow’s studios include facilities for metals, ceramics, printmaking, fiber, painting, and writing—each supported by on-site studio managers who can provide technical guidance and support.

A Public Space closes on July 2. They pay and are fee-free.

Send your writing about places anchored in a real, visitable place in Chicago to Scrawl Place. Pay USD40.

BLACK FOX LITERARY REVIEW opens July 1. They feature “quality fiction of all styles and genres, poetry, nonfiction, art, and photography.”

Sea Side Gothic will hold an open submissions window July 13 – July 19.

Brink Literary will open July 1 – 31 for hybrid and cross-genre submissions of any length and style engaging the theme of Invitation.

Terrazzo Mag is open for FREE submissions of fiction (7000 words) and they PAY $25. You may read “Try Hard” published in this magazine thar made the Wigleaf Top 50 2026.

Et Sequitur opens once the previous issue is published (expected to be the first day of every-other month). They will temporarily close when a story has been chosen for the next issue. Payment: $25. They published this story of mine.

And, of course, there are hundreds more at For Writers: 10 Easily Usable and FREE Sites to Find Submission Calls in 2026

Writers Beware!

Sponsored by SFWA, Writer Beware is watchdog database for exposing literary scams, contract traps, and predatory anthology schemes. Writer Beware brought to light frauds involving impersonation and digital extortion. Read more on their site.

opinion: Why Do Lit Magazines Fail to Pay at the Rates Offered by speculative Magazines?

Stanchion Magazine is Closing Later This Year

Sad to learn that Stanchion Magazine (Stanchion Zine) will close down later this year. It was announced on June 27 on X. I’m the third book-author at Stanchion Books (my chapbook “Where We Set Our Easel” was published in May 2023–and currently available at half-price) and Jeff was great to work with so this is doubly sad although completely understandable. I believe the books division will continue to operate. The latest book “The Shitbird” was announced on June 23 and is open to preorders.

recommended reading

The Wigleaf Top 50 2026 was announced on June 29. To me, sitting outside the trad publishing hotspots, this one annual announcement seems a literal party for flash fiction writers across the globe. This year, Sudha Balagopal was the Series Editor, and Andrew Porter, the Selecting Editor. I’ve been on the top fifty twice (2023 and 2025). This year, my Centaur Lit piece made the longlist. If you’re a flash fiction writer or an enthusiastic reader, you should not absolutely miss these noteworthy short-short fiction.

thank you for the love, readers!

It is great to hear from readers:

Grateful for encouraging my work:

a great month of publications!

I seldom submit to contests, almost never if the fees are prohibitive for me. So, it was a pleasant surprise WINNING a contest! Editors of the Frankfurt-based The Fairtales had this to say about “Hunger in Haflong is Half-done“:

We Have a winner!

I’m looking forward to winner announcements of Five Minute Lit Micromemoir Marathon contest. Thank you to everyone who submitted their beautiful words.

Pro Tip

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things to read, write, submit to, and keep up with, consider this permission to be selective. Reading deeply often matters more than reading widely. Polishing that one story sometimes feels more uplifting than starting ten.

This blog is a monthly newsletter published on the first week that is truly a newsletter–updates from the literary world, open windows, a few personal updates, some tips, opinions and conversations, and a round-up of recent work I truly recommend. If you enjoyed this, please share with your friends. Consider subscribing, commenting and/or liking this post. Thanks!