Currently open haiku contests 10/1/25

Below is a list of contests for haiku and related forms. All are currently open as of this posting; each contest's deadline is listed before the contest link.

Symbols used:

$ = Monetary prize
$ = Entry fee
º = Limited submission eligibility; see publisher's guidelines
* = Contest host/sponsor claims all rights to submitted poems

And onto the contests:

- 10/13/25: Best Haiku Anthology Competition $ $

- 10/15/25: Penumbra Poetry and Haiku Contest $ $

- 10/30/25: Haunted Haiku Contest

- 10/31/25: Basho-an International English Haiku Competition

- 10/31/25: San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka $ $

- 1/31/26: San Francisco International Competition for Rengay $ $

- 1/31/26: Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition $ $

- 2/28/26: World Children's Haiku Contest - Regional Contest º *

- 5/1/26: San Francisco International Competition for Haibun $ $

Haiku publication opportunity

Publication opportunity for haiku poets, announced by seashores 9/16/23:

A great publication project:

Poets who have not yet published an individual collection of haiku/senryu will be interested in a book scheduled to be published in 2024. Editors, David Jacobs and Andrew Shimield are seeking to showcase 4-6 haiku writers of outstanding merit in this publication and submissions of between 30-40 haiku are invited and sent to David Jacobs at davidjacobs2011@gmail.com to whom any enquiries should also be sent.

The closing date for submissions is 31 December 2023 and the editors stress that only submissions from those who have not yet published an individual collection will be considered.  Successful authors will not be required to contribute any costs towards the publication and will receive between 5-10 complimentary copies.  It is hoped to hold a book launch event on publication.

Paying horrorku markets

The journals listed below are currently open to horrorku (horror haiku) submissions. All are paying markets.

• Dreams & Nightmares - $15/poem (recently increased from $12)
• Illumen - $1/haiku. Will be a tough sell; the editor rarely accepts haiku-length poems, but has published horrorku in the past.
• Scifaikuest - $1/haiku
• Star*Line - $4/poem

Two other horror haiku markets, Otoroshi and Space & Time, are both closed to submissions at the moment. They pay $1 and $5 per poem, respectively.

Image courtesy of Stefan Keller from Pixabay.

Paying speculative haiku markets, 4/23/23

The paying markets listed below are all open to speculative haiku and/or related forms (tanka, haibun, etc.) and are free to submit to. (Not an exhaustive list!)

• Abyss & Apex - next reading period 5/1 - 5/31 (submit haiku in titled clusters of 3 or more)
• Analog Science Fiction and Fact
• Asimov's Science Fiction
• Drabbun (drabble-length haibun only)
• Dreams & Nightmares
• Illumen (usually doesn't accept single haiku; open to sequences/strings)
• Leading Edge (previous poetry editor preferred 5-7-5 haiku)
• Mirror Dance - currently closed; plans to reopen 6/1
• Otoroshi - current reading period closes 4/30
• Scifaikuest
• Silver Blade Magazine - current reading period closes 4/30 (group of 3 or more themed/linked haiku)
• Space & Time - next reading period 7/15 - 7/31
• Star*Line
• Utopia Science Fiction

White Enso: change to writer payment

White Enso has updated its contributor payment policy. In the past, each accepted writer would receive a "small honorarium." Going forward, payment will only be made for a handful of published pieces.

From the 9/15/22 White Enso newsletter:

There is one big change to White Enso. One work from each of the categories listed below will receive the White Enso award. That selection will receive an honorarium. The other selections highlighted in the journal will not be offered an honorarium.

Categories: 
Fiction
Non-fiction
Poetry
Japanese-style poetry (haiku, haibun, rengay, waka, etc.)
Visual Art 

Haiku market news, 5/23/22

UPDATE: The listings below are from May 2022. For current haiku market news, updated regularly, see this blog page: Haiku market news and deadlines.

Market news:

- Wales Haiku Journal: temporarily only accepting haiku

Current submission deadlines:

- 5/25: Failed Haiku

- 5/27: Take 5ive
- 5/31: kontinuum

- 5/31: Prune Juice

- 5/31: Presence

- 5/31: Noon: Journal of the Short Poem

- 5/31: tsuri-dōrō

- 5/31: contemporary haibun online

- 5/31: Rip-Roaring anthology

- 5/31: Kyoto Haiku Project

- 5/31: Dreamers Haiku Contest

- 5/31: Kiyoshi & Kiyoko Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest

- 5/31: Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest

- 5/31: Haiku Society of America Rengay Award in Honor of Garry Gay

- 5/31: New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition

- 5/31: Scarlet Dragonfly Journal
- 6/1: bottle rockets

- 6/1: Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational

- 6/1: Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards

- 6/7: Santoka international Haiku Contest
- 6/15: right hand pointing

- 6/15: White Enso

- 6/15: Sequestrum (haiku)

- 6/30: Yavanika Press (e-chapbooks)
- 6:30: Wales Haiku Journal

- 7/1: Kokako

- 7/15: bottle rockets press bird anthology

- 7/31: Basho's Haiku Journeys Haiku Contest
- 8/15: The Mamba
- 10/31: San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka
- 11/15: Under the Basho

Upcoming reading periods:

- #FemkuMag: June 1 to June 17
- Acorn: July 1 to Aug 31
- Akitsu Quarterly: July

- Bones: August
- cattails: July
- DailyHaiku: August
- Drifting Sands: June
- Echidna Tracks: October
- Fireflies' Light: August

- first frost: July

- Frameless Sky: Sept 15 to Oct 31
- Frogpond: July
- Kingfisher: August

- MacQueen's Quinterly: next reading period TBD
- Sonic Boom: Oct 1 to Oct 21

- Tandem: July
- Tanka Origins: June 15 to July 15

- The Bamboo Hut: Sept 1 to Sept 15

- The Cicada's Cry: Sept 1 to Sept 15

- the QuillS: Sept 1 to Oct 31
- Time Haiku: Aug 1 to Oct 31
- tinywords: August
- Trash Panda: Oct 1 to Oct 15
- Whiptail: July 1 to July 10 (themed: personal transitions)

Temporarily closed to submissions:

- American Tanka: on indefinite hiatus
- Pure Haiku: will reopen in June
- Skylark: taking a long hiatus
- World Haiku Review: currently closed

Haiku market updates

Some haiku market news:

• Helen is no longer a paying market, as of the new year. 
• Acorn and tinywords both close to submissions at the end of February.

Some haiku contests with upcoming deadlines:

• Wild Plum Haiku Contest (2/28/18)
• IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award (3/1/18)
• The Annual Hortensia Anderson Memorial Haiku/Senryu Contest (4/15/18)
• Hooked on Haiku Contest (4/17/18)

Upcoming haiku deadlines

Haiku contest season seems to be in full swing right now.  If you've got some money burning a hole in your pocket from a recent sale, here are some contests with reading fees that are currently open:

- Bloodroot Haiku Contest: .$8 per poem.  (No fee for NCPS members.)  Deadline: January 19th.

- Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition:  $10 for up to three haiku or $20 for up to 10 haiku.  Deadline: January 31st.

- Hooked on Haiku Contest:  $10 for up to five haiku.  Deadline: April 17th.

For those who can't afford reading fees at the moment, don't despair.  All of the following contests are free to enter:

- Association Santoka International Haiku Contest: Deadline: January 21st.
- Golden Triangle's Golden Haiku Contest: Deadline: February 2nd.
- Wild Plum Haiku Contest: Deadline: February 28th.
- IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award: Deadline: March 1st.
- The Annual Hortensia Anderson Memorial  Haiku/Senryu Contest: Deadline: April 15th.

The following journals stop reading submissions for their next issue on February 15th:

- cattails
- Prune Juice
- the Aurorean

Acorn closes shortly thereafter, on February 28th.

Magazines that pay to publish haiku

For most of us, writing haiku is not lucrative.  Haiku journals typically don't pay even a token amount, and you're lucky to find ones that offer contributor copies.  (Writers of speculative haiku have much better pickings, but that's a topic for another day.)

Fortunately, there are some markets that will pay to publish haiku -- even several that pay well.  The competition might be stiffer because of the possible payout, but if your poems are up to it, it's possible for you to bring in some money while getting your haiku published.

Mayfly

Mayfly and Brooks Books are long-time staples of the haiku publishing world.  The journal is very neatly produced, with haiku printed one to a page.  Mayfly accepts submissions of up to five haiku per biannual issue.  Simultaneous submissions are not accepted, and payment for accepted poems is $10 per haiku.  For mailed submissions, the $10 is monetary; for emailed submissions, it's $10 of Brooks Books credit.

Rattle

Rattle has published haiku by Billy Collins, George Swede, and Deborah P. Kolodji, among others.  Submit up to four unpublished poems at a time.  Simultaneous submissions are accepted.  Print publication in Rattle pays $100 per poem; online publication pays $50.

ellipsis... literature & art

ellipsis... is a student-published journal put out annually at Westminster College.  They read poetry submissions from August 1st to November 1st, and have published haiku in the past.  Simultaneous submissions are accepted.  Payment is $10 per poem.

Helen

Ever fantasized about having your poem printed on a poker chip?  Helen published haiku (and micro poetry) online (payment is $2 per poem) but they also publish poems on poker chips.  If your haiku is chosen to appear on a poker chip, you'll get $25.  Previously published poems will be considered, but they are discouraged.

Haiku magazines open now

Some haiku magazines have reading periods, while others are always open to submissions.  Below are some haiku journals and websites that are currently accepting submissions.  (Markets in bold are paying markets.)

- bottle rockets: always open
- Chrysanthemum: always open (next deadline: August 31st)
- Frogpond: open until April 15th
- Mayfly: always open
- Minnow: always open
- Modern Haiku: always open (next deadline: March 15th)
- paper wasp: always open
- Roadrunner: open until April 1st
- Shamrock: always open
- The Heron's Nest: always open (next deadline: March 15th)

The new issue of The Heron's Nest is now online.  It contains many good poems, including some great ones by Brian Robertson, paul m., and Burnell Lippy.

bottle rockets, The Syracuse Poster Project

bottle rockets is a short-form poetry journal that's been around for a while.  They used to be a paying market, then became non-paying, and are now a paying market again, offering "a token payment" for short poems (including haiku and tanka) submitted from within the United States and accompanied by an SASE.  Submit 5-10 unpublished poems at a time by snail mail.

Poets in or around the Syracuse area may be interested in the Syracuse Poster Project, an effort to bring more poetry to the city through the use of 11" x 17" posters.  They are seeking 5-7-5 haiku submissions, and there does not appear to be any payment.  If you want to support the project, you can either submit poems, donate money, or buy a poster.  Most of them appear to sell for $20.00 plus shipping.  There are also two booklets of haiku, selling for $3.00 and $5.95.

While we're talking about haiku, there was a good one posted on DailyHaiku from September 29th by Margaret Chula.  And Megan Arkenburg has a humorous senryu ("seventh inning") and an unexpectedly profound haiku ("bookstore awning") posted on the bottom of her "Previously Published" page, both of which deserve a read.  (Both of those poems were from Riverbed Haiku.)

Upcoming haiku deadlines & FanStory deadlines

Below are some upcoming deadlines for haiku magazines, thanks to Old Pond Comics.  (All of these are nonpaying markets, except for Modern Haiku which pays $1 per haiku.)

- The Heron's Nest: Sept. 15th, for the December issue
- Notes from the Gean: Nov. 1st, for the December issue (Unfortunately, Notes from the Gean has ceased publication. Thanks Julie for the update!)
- Frogpond: Nov. 15th, for the winter issue
- Modern Haiku: Nov. 15th, for the next issue

If you're a member of FanStory, there are some contests ending soon that may be of interest:

- Horror Story Writing Contest: ends 9/19/12, $100 cash prize
- Vampire Story Contest: ends 10/1/12, $100 cash prize
- Tales of the Undead Contest: ends 10/1/12, 70-90 member dollars prize
- Tanka Poetry Contest: ends 1/1/13, $100 cash prize

Three haiku markets

DailyHaiku is now reading for their Spring/Summer 2012 cycle. Submit 10 unpublished haiku by email, no later then February 28th. Contributors will receive a copy of the annual DailyHaiku anthology, a nicely-printed book that includes haiku from all of the cycles for that year.

Adventum, a print and online magazine that publishes a lot of creative nonfiction, is now open to submissions.  They don't publish poetry -- except for haiku.  You can submit up to 10 haiku (simultaneous submissions are okay) but there is no payment for accepted pieces.  The submission deadline is May 15th.

Roadrunner is now accepting submissions for issue 12.1.  Submit 5-25 poems (unpublished, not being submitted elsewhere) before April 1st.  Roadrunner is also a non-paying market, but it is a great magazine to be a part of.

Also, if anyone is part of a reading group or book club, you can request free copies of the April 2012 issue of Poetry Magazine for everyone in your group (details here).  You just have to request them by March 23rd.

microcosms, other open markets

It's a new year, and with a new year comes new opportunities. Acorn and Kaleidotrope are both open for submissions, and flashquake (which pays $5-25 for flash fiction and poetry) is reading subs through the end of January.

Black Ink Horror is also now open to submissions, and they've changed some of their guidelines, so read them carefully. They now pay $20 per story.

Stephen M. Wilson has started a new speculative poetry zine on Twitter called microcosms. Submissions are now open (through February 28th) for poems 140 words or less (including the poet's name). Payment is $1 per poem on acceptance. Reprints will also be considered, but there is no payment for them. Submit up to 10 poems at a time.

28 Blackbirds, an Ezra Pound anthology contest

J. Bruce Fuller's haiku series, "28 Blackbirds at the End of the World," appeared in Scifaikuest last year and was subsequently nominated for a Rhysling Award. Now, Bandersnatch Books has decided to make it into a chapbook -- and rightly so -- which should be available sometime in November. Any fans of haiku or speculative poetry should check it out.

Bandersnatch Books is also currently seeking submissions for a new anthology, themed around variations on Ezra Pound's famous haiku-like poem, "In the Station of the Metro." They are looking for "something 100% original that touches the spirit of the original poem, albeit in a haunted/ghostly context." This sounds like a pretty cool anthology to be a part of. Payment is 25 cents per line plus a contributor's copy, and submissions will remain open until the anthology is filled (which might not take very long).

For those looking for places to submit haiku, here are links to submission guidelines for some online haiku journals (all non-paying):

- Chrysanthemum
- The Heron's Nest
- Notes from the Gean
- Simply Haiku
- Roadrunner Haiku Journal
- Shamrock Haiku Journal
- Sketchbook
- Riverbed Haiku

some featured markets

There are many haiku and horror markets out there, so I thought every now and then I'd spotlight a few of the paying ones. Here are two horror markets and one haiku market:

- Three Crow Press: Looking for dark fantasy and horror fiction 500-3000 words long. Pays 1 cent/word for fiction. Only accepts unpublished email submissions. Replies within three weeks.

- Necrography: Buys horror fiction and poetry. Pays $10-30 for fiction (500-6000 words) and $1-10 for poetry (3-1000 lines, up to 5 poems per submission). Pays on acceptance. Contributors also receive a copy of the issue their work appears in. (Necrography is currently closed to subs, but will hopefully reopen soon.)

- Wisteria: A small-format journal publishing haiku, senryu, and tanka. Pays $1 to contributors who submitted by mail. No simultaneous submissions or reprints. Usually responds within two weeks.

The new issue of Barbaric Yawp is out now, and editor John Berbrich was kind enough to review my chapbook, Bits and Pieces. This issue contains poetry by some well-known names, including Gary Every and Michael Kriesel. There is an excellent haiku-like poem, "Ruins," by William Michaelian. I've never heard of him before, but he obviously has a knack for writing short poetry.

call for haiku submissions

This is copied from an email by Jim Kacian:

Dimitar Anakiev is editing an international anthology of haiku dedicated to the topic of WAR. The editor invites all poets to submit their haiku written on the topic (particular interest: Vietnam, 9/11, Iraq . . . ). The poems may be previously published, no limitation in number of poems and style.

We are not interested in senryu. Japanese haiku is not free of human content but in fact links human with nature—in other words, it expresses the human in terms of nature. So "war" is human and nature is anything you want. Take for example famous haiku by Basho:

summer grass -
all that remains of
       warrior's dreams

This poem has a natural topic (summer grass, a kigo) but its theme is human: "warrior dream" ( our theme: war!). We seek such haiku for the anthology and not senryu, which is another kind of poetry. Often Western poets confuse TOPIC with THEME. THEME in haiku is always human, and our choice is to do an anthology on human themes: WAR, DISCRIMINATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLENCE. (Like Basho above). So, please, do not send senryu. Thank you,

best wishes, Dimitar Anakiev

The poems should be sent by e-mail ASAP ( deadline: May 15) to haikukamesan@gmail.com

There is no mention of payment or contributor copies, but it sounds like a good anthology to be a part of.

The Haiku Calendar, some books sales, some haiku markets

This year's Haiku Calendar Competition closes on April 30th, so drop your poems in the mail soon. There is a prize pool of $600 that will be split between the winners, and previously published poems can be submitted. The entry fees are $5/poem, $10 for three haiku, or $20 for up to ten.

If you're in search of good reading, you're in luck. The debut issue of Necrography is now available, and it looks to be a good one. It contains nine short stories, including one by veteran writer Ken Goldman, and poetry by the likes of Alexis Child and Aurelio Rico Lopez III. The magazine is currently open to submissions.

Apex Book Company is having a wicked sale that runs through Friday. A number of books are half-priced, including the awesome anthology Aegri Somnia.

Not to be left out, Small Beer Press is also running a book sale. Check out their list of $1 books (hardcover and paperback). I don't know too much about any of them, but at a buck a book, do you really have to?

For those poets who can't afford the postage to enter the Haiku Calendar Competition, here are some magazines that not only publish haiku, but will in fact pay for it:

- Astropoetica: pays $5/poem for poetry about science or astronomy.
- EveryDayPoets: pays $1/poem.
- Farming Magazine: pays $5/poem plus a contributor's copy for poetry related to rural living or the farming life.
- Mayfly: pays $10/haiku.
- The Sigurd Journal: pays 50 cents/line.

DailyHaiku & haiku markets

For those who like a little haiku in the morning, check out DailyHaiku for a new haiku every day. This week, the featured poet is... me.

And speaking of haiku, here are some non-specialized haiku magazines that publish haiku and other short poems:

- bear creek haiku: Accepts poetry up to 11 lines via snail mail. Pays 1 copy.
- Cold Mountain Review: Reads August through May. Submit up to five unpublished poems at a time (no more than once a year). Simultaneous submissions okay. Pays in copies.
- Illya's Honey: No simultaneous submissions or reprints. Submit via snail mail. Pays 1 copy.
- Inch: Submit up to five unpublished poems at a time, either through the mail or their website. Accepts poems nine lines or less. No simultaneous submissions. Pays in copies.
- Lilliput Review: No reprints or simultaneous submissions. Publishes poems 10 lines or less. Pays 2 copies.

Some haiku magazines

It can be hard to find places to submit haiku. Here are a few of the lesser-publicized magazines and websites that publish haiku:

- Tiger's Eye
- Riverbed
- Famous Reporter

And here are some popular poetry magazines that will also accept haiku:

- New York Quarterly
- Barbaric Yawp
- MO: Writings from the River (reads 8/1 to 11/1)
- Chronogram
- Lilliput Review
- Inch