Making new year resolutions gets tedious. The trouble is that you’re a creative – your life is full of resolutions because it has to be. To market yourself better, or write more pages, or try that new software or attend that really cool event etc etc. The list goes on. There’s not a month that goes by where you don’t have some goal scribbled on your notepad, excel sheet or my new personal fave – the cork-board (I know right).
So before we do anything let’s take a step back and say well done.
You have made it through another year of probably either working various jobs to make ends meet, or even if you are in the creative sectors – probably working multiple roles to even afford your weekly groceries. Whether you’ve been doing this for a while or if you’ve literally just put down the new years vodka and decided that this is the start of your journey – well done.
It’s tough to cut through the obstacles out there, and faith in your own voice should be celebrated, even if it can’t be rewarded yet. While we can’t don red jumpsuits/ hats and come to your house to offer our congrats in person like a pretentious, art-house Santa and elves – we can at the very least say, as a total strangers, well done. You are doing it.
But to help usher in the new year, and as our very first post of 2025, we’ve gathered some opportunities to kick off the year with. For fiction, script-writing and photography, we’ve put together 8 of some of the most exciting submission and prize opportunities we’ve come across so far.
We’ve got some more very exciting news to come in the new year, but for now take a look over the below if you need help getting inspired this January.
Here’s to a successful 2025 from all of us at St. Ghosty!
— Fiction —
- Andromeda
A literary magazine specialising in sci-fi, fantasy and speculative work, Andromeda have rolling submissions from the 26th – 25th of each month. Submissions can cost between $0.50 and $6.50 but the team are flexible and open to contact from writers who are concerned about the cost. They’re asking for 2000 words, and for the story to be pasted in the body of an email alongside a short bio/couple of sentences about who you are. Please also include what category your story is.. Make sure to include your name and contact details but don’t include any attachments to the email.
More guidelines here – https://andromedamagazine.com/submit/
2. Eye White Literary Agency:
A UK based literary agency representing authors worldwide, currently open to submissions for new clients. If you’re at the stage of a finished manuscript then this could be for you. They accept all fiction, non-fiction and children’s submissions, excluding children’s picture books and ghostwritten non-fiction books. They also have a very impressive response turnaround of around 1 week.
More information here: https://evewhite.co.uk/submissions/
3. The London Magazine:
A well known literary magazine offering a free submission window between 1st – 31st January 2025 for fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Bear in mind though that the free submission window will end when they reach the submissions portal’s quantum after which they charge a small fee of £3.50 for submissions outside of those windows. So get in earlier rather than later if this one is of interest.
Non-fiction pieces should be between 800 and 2,000 words. These can be essays, reviews, interview or pitches of pieces you want to write. For reviews, they tend to publish pieces that assess contemporary or current literature or art.
For short fiction, they are looking for 400 words and one entry per submission. They are open to both experimental and traditional forms, although don’t normally publish genre fiction such as science fiction or fantasy writing, or erotica.
Poems should be no longer than 40 lines. Please submit no more than 5 poems in any one submission.
More details – https://thelondonmagazine.org/submission-guidelines/
— Theatre —
4. Finborough Theatre:
This London based theater are particularly brilliant for having an all year round open widow for unsolicited theatre scripts. They have some criteria in particular they’re looking for but if you have a finished script to share then this could be perfect for you. Scripts from international writers are accepted, but can only accept plays written in English, Scots or Scots Gaelic.
• New writing by writers of all ages.
• Plays that are politically and socially engaged.
• Works for music theatre.
• Plays about the Kensington and Chelsea area, local history and personalities.
• Adaptations of obscure books written after 1800.
• Plays that are artistically ambitious and thematically expansive.
• Plays with large casts.
How to submit: https://finboroughtheatre.co.uk/literary/
5. The Bruntwood Prize 2025:
One of the biggest playwriting prizes available, The Bruntwood Prize has been a staple for early career writers looking to submit a full script for development and significant cash prize. This year they are offering three categories each with a prize sum:
- The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting – £20,000 (UK residents only)
- The Judges Award – £10,000 (UK residents only)
- The Bruntwood Prize International Award – £10,000
The international prize is open to anyone outside of the UK, who can apply for the ward via the below partner theatres:
- Australia Plays Transform – Sydney, Australia
- Melbourne Theatre Company – Melbourne, Australia
- Playwrights Horizons – New York, United States of America
- Stratford Festival – Ontario, Canada
- Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company – Washington DC, United States of America
Remember these big prizes can feel daunting, but if you’ve got something you’ve been working on for a while – writing, editing getting feedback – then there’s no reason at all why you can’t be recognised by this award – https://www.writeaplay.co.uk/how-do-i-enter/#section-prize-guidelines
6. Short Attention Span Theatre:
A fantastic UK company set up in 2015 that supports early career writers and creatives in theatre. They offer writer submissions for 10-15 minute theatre scripts (suitable for small groups of actors) in order to have it rehearsed, work-shopped and performed.
See here for the criteria and advice when submitting: https://www.shortattentionspantheatre.co.uk/Submit.php
— Photography —
7. Zone Magazine:
An independent book publisher and photography-based visual arts platform. While Zone specialises in photography, they’re interested in seeing submissions from artists worldwide with any visual creativity to share. See their criteria and a bit more about what they love most here:
https://www.thezonezine.com/submissions/
8. F.Stop Magazine:
Founded in 2003, F.Stop is a bi-monthly, online photography magazine featuring contemporary fine art & documentary photography from established and emerging photographers from around the world. Every issue has a theme or an idea which unites the photographs to create a dynamic dialogue.
They’re looking for submissions of up to twelve photographs, with a deadline of 15th January for publication in early February.
Details here: https://www.fstopmagazine.com/submissions.html
That’s all for now, but expect much more in coming in the next few weeks!
As always, get in touch with us if you have creative work or opportunities to share. If we can help, then we always will.
stghostycreative.co.uk 
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