Superlative accepts open submissions, runs monthly feature competitions, and annual competitions.
Upon acceptance, Superlative publishes contributors' work in the international online journal, or print journal, shares bio and social media handles, and pays contributor prizes. We also nominate contributors for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote contributors.
We take great pride in literary loyalty, and try to give our authors the best possible experience, promoting them as widely and fully as we are able. Our online journal is available to read for free.
- Journal submissions are OPEN. Contributor prize money £50.
- Monthly feature competitions are OPEN. Winner prize money £100.
- 2026 competition submissions OPEN. 1st prize £500.
Submitted work should be:
- Fiction or poetry of any genre or theme.
- The right length for the chosen submission category.
- Previously unpublished.
- Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
- Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.
Additional information:
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- We respond to every submission, and aim to do so within 1-3 months, or within 2 weeks of the closing deadline for monthly feature competitions.
- We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
- We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
- The editors' decision is final. However, we offer feedback wherever possible, and always upon request, at no extra cost.
- Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
- If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!
Click here to go directly to Superlative's website
- Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore, Holly Joyce, Shannon Parsons and Varvara Lois, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
- We publish short stories and poetry.
- Follow Superlative on Instagram
- Follow Superlative on Facebook
- Subscribe to Superlative on Substack
Superlative's annual competition schedule is:
- Earlybird Submissions: 01 September - 31 December
- Submissions Accepted: 01 January - 31 August
- Judging: September
- Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
- Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
- Winners Contacted & Announced: December
- The theme for Superlative's 2026 writing competitions is GROWTH.
Upon acceptance, Superlative will publish the contributor's short story in our international online journal, share bio and social media handles, and pay a £50 contributor prize. We also nominate contributors for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote contributors after publication. Submitted work should be:
- Fiction of any genre or theme.
- Up to 5,000 words.
- Previously unpublished.
- Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
- Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.
Additional information:
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- We respond to every submission and, for open journal submissions, aim to do so within 1-3 months.
- We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
- We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
- The editors' decision is final. However, we offer feedback wherever possible, and always upon request, at no extra cost.
- Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
- If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!
Click here to go directly to Superlative's website
- Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore, Holly Joyce, Shannon Parsons and Varvara Lois, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
- We publish short stories and poetry.
- Follow Superlative on Instagram
- Follow Superlative on Facebook
- Subscribe to Superlative on Substack
Superlative accepts open submissions, and runs monthly feature competitions and annual competitions.
Superlative's annual competition schedule is:
- Earlybird Submissions: 01 September - 31 December
- Submissions Accepted: 01 January - 31 August
- Judging: September
- Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
- Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
- Winners Contacted & Announced: December
- The theme for Superlative's 2026 annual writing competition is GROWTH.
Upon acceptance, Superlative will publish the contributor's poem in our international online journal, share bio and social media handles, and pay a £50 contributor prize. We also nominate contributors for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote contributors after publication. Submitted work should be:
- Poetry of any genre or theme.
- Previously unpublished.
- Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
- Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.
Additional information:
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- We respond to every submission and, for open journal submissions, aim to do so within 1-3 months.
- We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
- We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
- The editors' decision is final. However, we offer feedback wherever possible, and always upon request, at no extra cost.
- Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
- If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!
Click here to go directly to Superlative's website
- Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore, Holly Joyce, Shannon Parsons and Varvara Lois, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
- We publish short stories and poetry.
- Follow Superlative on Instagram
- Follow Superlative on Facebook
- Subscribe to Superlative on Substack
Superlative accepts open submissions, and runs monthly feature competitions and annual competitions.
Superlative's annual competition schedule is:
- Earlybird Submissions: 01 September - 31 December
- Submissions Accepted: 01 January - 31 August
- Judging: September
- Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
- Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
- Winners Contacted & Announced: December
- The theme for Superlative's 2026 annual writing competition is GROWTH.
Upon acceptance, Superlative will publish the winner's short story as our featured story for October, share bio and social media handles, and pay a £100 winner prize. We also nominate winners for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote winners after publication. Submitted work should be:
- Fiction of any genre or theme.
- Up to 5,000 words.
- Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
- Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.
Additional information:
- Winning pieces may be included in Superlative's annual journal publication, alongside annual competition winners, and winners may be invited to Superlative's December launch event and given the opportunity to read their work.
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- We respond to every submission and, for monthly feature submissions, you will hear from us within 2 weeks of the closing deadline.
- We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
- We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
- The editors' decision is final. However, we offer feedback wherever possible, and always upon request, at no extra cost.
- Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
- If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!
Click here to go directly to Superlative's website
- Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore, Holly Joyce, Shannon Parsons and Varvara Lois, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
- We publish short stories and poetry.
- Follow Superlative on Instagram
- Follow Superlative on Facebook
- Subscribe to Superlative on Substack
Superlative accepts open submissions, and runs monthly feature competitions and annual competitions.
Superlative's annual competition schedule is:
- Earlybird Submissions: 01 September - 31 December
- Submissions Accepted: 01 January - 31 August
- Judging: September
- Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
- Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
- Winners Contacted & Announced: December
- The theme for Superlative's 2026 annual writing competition is GROWTH.
Upon acceptance, Superlative will publish the winner's poem as our featured poem for October, share bio and social media handles, and pay a £100 winner prize. We also nominate winners for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote winners after publication. Submitted work should be:
- Poetry of any genre or theme.
- Previously unpublished.
- Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
- Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.
Additional information:
- Winning pieces will be included in Superlative's annual journal publication, alongside annual competition winners, and winners will be invited to Superlative's December launch event and given the opportunity to read their work.
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- We respond to every submission and, for monthly feature submissions, you will hear from us within 2 weeks of the closing deadline.
- We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
- We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
- The editors' decision is final. However, we offer feedback wherever possible, and always upon request, at no extra cost.
- Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
- If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!
Click here to go directly to Superlative's website
- Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore, Holly Joyce, Shannon Parsons and Varvara Lois, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
- We publish short stories and poetry.
- Follow Superlative on Instagram
- Follow Superlative on Facebook
- Subscribe to Superlative on Substack
Superlative accepts open submissions, and runs monthly feature competitions and annual competitions.
Superlative's annual competition schedule is:
- Earlybird Submissions: 01 September - 31 December
- Submissions Accepted: 01 January - 31 August
- Judging: September
- Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
- Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
- Winners Contacted & Announced: December
- The theme for Superlative's 2026 annual writing competition is GROWTH.
Upon acceptance, Superlative will publish the winner's short story as our annual short story competition winner in our annual print journal (alongside a runner-up and shortlisted stories), share bio and social media handles, and pay a £500 winner prize. We also nominate winners for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote winners after publication. Submitted work should be:
- Fiction of any genre linked to the theme of GROWTH.
- Up to 5,000 words.
- Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
- Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.
Additional information:
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- We respond to every submission and, for annual competition submissions, you will hear from us according to the annual competition schedule (below).
- We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
- We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
- The editors' decision is final. However, we offer feedback wherever possible, and always upon request, at no extra cost.
- Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
- If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!
Click here to go directly to Superlative's website
- Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore, Holly Joyce, Shannon Parsons and Varvara Lois, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
- We publish short stories and poetry.
- Follow Superlative on Instagram
- Follow Superlative on Facebook
- Subscribe to Superlative on Substack
Superlative accepts open submissions, runs monthly feature competitions, and annual competitions.
Superlative's annual competition schedule is:
- Earlybird Submissions: 01 September - 31 December
- Submissions Accepted: 01 January - 31 August
- Judging: September
- Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
- Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
- Winners Contacted & Announced: December
- The theme for Superlative's 2026 annual writing competition is GROWTH.
Upon acceptance, Superlative will publish the winner's poem as our annual poetry competition winner in our annual print journal (alongside a runner-up and shortlisted poems), share bio and social media handles, and pay a £500 winner prize. We also nominate winners for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote winners after publication. Submitted work should be:
- Poetry of any genre linked to the theme of GROWTH.
- Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
- Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.
Additional information:
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- We respond to every submission and, for annual competition submissions, you will hear from us according to the annual competition schedule (below).
- We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
- We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
- The editors' decision is final. However, we offer feedback wherever possible, and always upon request, at no extra cost.
- Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
- If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!
Click here to go directly to Superlative's website
- Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore, Holly Joyce, Shannon Parsons and Varvara Lois, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
- We publish short stories and poetry.
- Follow Superlative on Instagram
- Follow Superlative on Facebook
- Subscribe to Superlative on Substack
Superlative accepts open submissions, runs monthly feature competitions, and annual competitions.
Superlative's annual competition schedule is:
- Earlybird Submissions: 01 September - 31 December
- Submissions Accepted: 01 January - 31 August
- Judging: September
- Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
- Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
- Winners Contacted & Announced: December
- The theme for Superlative's 2026 annual writing competition is GROWTH.