Happy August! Let’s begin!
good news stories
Northwest Review, first published in 1957, an independent nonprofit digital magazine produced in partnership with University of Oregon’s Editing and Publishing Program and its MFA in Creative Writing Program, just published its summer 2026 issue. A magzine running for that long is indeed worth celebrating.
Five Minutes Lit ran its winning stories of the Micro Marathon contest during July. Winners included students, physician, performance artist, voice actor, and retired teacher. So, basically it reinforced that everyone can write and win a contest, and talent exists everywhere!
what are writers talking about?
Anthropic settlement in Bartz vs Anthropic case: On July 20, 2026, a U.S. federal judge granted final approval to a $1.5 billion settlement in the landmark class-action lawsuit Bartz v. Anthropic PBC. This represents the largest recovery ever secured in a U.S. copyright infringement case. Authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson sued Anthropic. They alleged the AI company used pirated copies of their books without permission to train Claude. Earliest payments are expected in August 2026. The tweet by Reuters had 1.3 M views and writers discussing it.
K. T. Carlisle tweeted that editors are not responding as swiftly as before in case of manuscript submissions, which alarmed many.
Apex Magazine had to Pull out a story
Apex Magazine removed the short story “Vigil of the Tenth Air” by Surya Ramkumar from Issue 153 on July 10, 2026. “In response, Apex Book Company, Apex Magazine, and Violet Lichen announced plans to reevaluate their submission guidelines, including “refining the language” of its AI clause and “expanding” the team’s internal review processes to more ably respond to concerns around LLM usage.”…more at Locus Mag post.
selected Submission opportunities
(ALL FEE FREE+ paying)
Prague-UNESCO City of Literature Creative Residencies Eight two-month residencies will be offered. FREE to apply. Accommodation and travel expenses are covered by Prague City of Literature; the residents will also receive a scholarship of CZK 15,000 (approx. €600 per month). Deadline: August 7.
Black Fox Literary is inviting applications for Managing Editor positions until August 5 through Submittable. This is a stipend position.
Watershed Review opens on August 1. Some opportunities are fee-based. Not paying, but VERY respectable. “For forty years, Watershed Review has been an integral part of the Literary Editing and Publishing (LEAP) certificate program at California State University, Chico”. They published this piece of mine way back in 2020.
Washington Square Review (NYU Graduate Creative Writing Program) reopens for submissions for Spring 2027, Issue 57 on August 1. I’m not sure if they pay.
Identity Theory reopens to general submissions on August 1. They say: “We do not officially pay for accepted work. However, we often send gift bags and provide other surprise benefits for our contributors.”
Send your horror writing to Pseudopod until August 11. USD $0.08 per word for original fiction. USD $100 per story for reprint fiction.
LIT MAG NEWS is always open for pitches/articles, check out Becky Tuch’s tweet. My third article with the publication is forthcoming this month.
And, of course, there are hundreds more at For Writers: 10 Easily Usable and FREE Sites to Find Submission Calls in 2026
opinion: Is the Booker Longlist “Timid”?
The Booker Prize longlist was announced in July. In an article published in The Indian Express, Aishwarya Khosla says:
Mary Beard, chair of judges, says the list helps writers “take the reader to new places”, as long as they are largely in the Anglosphere. Of the 13, 12 longlisted authors hold a British or American passport or are grafted onto the Anglo-American trunk (a Mexican-British writer, a Turkish-American one, a Scottish-American one). Only Marlon James of Jamaica is an outlier…
…There are no authors from South and East Asia, Australia, Africa, or New Zealand.
What is your opinion?
recommended reading
Ghost Parachute launched a new issue on August 1. It has tiny fiction by celebrated flash fiction writers. I recommend it to study evolving techniques and styling in the flash fiction genre.
If you like speculative fiction, do check out The Dark’s latest issue, particularly this story.
In the short story universe, I loved Lucy Zhang’s “The Thread Woman” in July.
publications!
As many of you already know, on the last day of July, my newest book was launched. Glad to write about it in a separate letter/post, which you may read here.
In my interview series for trampset, “Macro Minds, Micro Talks”, I interviewed writer and poet Abhinav in July.
In case you missed
“Crafting a Successful Author Website: My 5 Year Experience” published in July. READ
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I’m looking forward to hearing from you!