2026 General and Special Contest Submission Guidelines

Hey all!

Before we begin detailing the exact details for our 2026 submission guidelines, here are some updates to those who submitted in 2025:

• We have decided that those who submitted to our 2025 Contests Pool and did not win may submit these submissions to our 2026 General Pool for consideration
• We will be holing three special contests this year. These will not be competitive contests but rather submissions that fit within a certain theme. Two are returning from previous years and one is new for 2026. These are:
  • “AHM’s 9th Anniversary” (Posts from May 22nd – May 30th): Posts that celebrate anniversaries using one of the traditional American anniversary gifts (paper, cotton, leather, fruit/flowers, wood, iron, wool/copper, bronze, and pottery) in celebration of our 9th anniversary
  • “13 Days of Halloween” (Posts from October 18th – October 31st): Posts that are about the scarier and spookier things related to the season
  • “12 Days of the Holidays” (Posts from December 19th – December 31st): Posts that are about the jollier and more festive things related to the season
• All other dates (January 1 – May 21; June 1st – October 17th; and November 1st – December 18th) will be part of our General Pool

We will be open for 2026 submissions from December 1st – December 15th, 2025 and from January 5th – December 1st, 2026 or until we reach capacity for the year.

Here are the submission details for 2026:

• Submissions must be submitted via email: academyoftheheartandmind@gmail.com. 
• Submissions must state what they are in the subject line with the following format:
  • [Name of Author / Name of Piece / Genre / General Submission] 
  • [Name of Author / Name of Piece / Genre / Contest Submission: Name of Contest] 
• Submissions must have the name you wish to be published under in the subject of the email 
• Submissions must be marked for either a contest entry or for general submission.
  • General submissions are considered on a rolling basis. We will read and accept as the year goes on. Once we’ve reached our general December 15th, 2025 post, we will close the General Pool for the year
  • Contest entries must be marked with the contest they are being submitted to with the name in the subject of the email. You may submit to any or all contests but you may only submit a work once
    • If you win one of our contests, you will be ineligible to enter into another contest during the 2025 Calendar Year. This is to make sure that we’re allowing for many people to participate in our contests
    • Contest entries may be submitted at any time prior to that month’s deadline. However, please be advised that the entries will not be reviewed until after the deadline.
      • Contest entries will not be considered for general submissions. Vice versa, general entries will not be considered for contest submissions. 
    • If you submitting a contest entry elsewhere, please let us know
      • If your entry is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately so that we can remove you from the contest. I
        • If this does happen, you may submit another piece to another contest of your choosing. 
• Submissions must be attached as either a docx file. Pasting the text in the body of the email or other file formats will not be considered. We will email you to resubmit 
• A 3rd person bio must be attached. This can be in the body of your email. Submissions without a 3rd person bio will not be considered. We will email you to resubmit. 
• We will not consider content that may be inappropriate for all ages. 
• Based on the volume of submission and type of submission, we will try to send a confirmation email within 48 hours and a decision within 2-6 weeks or after the contest results are decided. Contest results will be disclosed to the participants before the winners are announced on the website. 
• Other Submission Details
• Academy of the Heart and Mind wants to feature your work! Are you a writer or artist looking to get publicity and get your work seen and reviewed? Send us submissions! We are accepting:
• Short Fiction (under 15 double-spaced typed pages or 4,000 words)
• Short Non-fiction (under 15 double-spaced typed pages or 4,000 words)
• Poetry (up to 10 distinct poems per daily post)
• Art
• Please send all work as a GOOGLE or WORD DOCUMENT! 
• Please send one document containing the entirety of your submission. 
• Please limit your email to one submission type. You may send more than one email.
• Please make sure your work has been edited so it says what you meant it to say.
• Send submissions to academyoftheheartandmind@gmail.com. Be sure to send the email through a working email account so that we can email you back. 
• Please only send appropriate content! Works should be accessible to readers of all ages in terms of content and themes. If it’s not safe for work, we will not publish it or consider your work in the future
• What Should Be Included in My Email Submission?
• A Word or Google Document containing your submission 
• A 3rd Person Biography (around 3-5 sentences) that includes the full name under which the piece would be attributed (such as your pen name).
  • Can be included on the same document file or sent as a separate attachment 
• The genre of your piece either in your email body or in the subject line of the email. 
• Contributor’s Publishing Rights
• Contributors retain publishing rights to their piece if accepted for publication. They may submit the piece to other publications with the note that it has been accepted by the Academy of the Heart and Mind.
• Contributors may also submit previously published pieces to be considered for publication by the Academy of the Heart and Mind. Please make note of this in your submission email.