The Unleash Visual Art Award offers artists support in the amount of $500 along with an interview feature in Unleash Lit and Unleash Creatives (www.unleashcreatives.com) 

This contest is designed to support artists using various media, including photography, drawing, painting or mixed media. 

Christopher J. Shanahan, Artistic Director of Unleash will select the winner and highlight the art in an upcoming Unleash Lit publication.

​Guidelines: 

​Entries will be judged anonymously. Please keep your name off all attachments. Judging criteria is listed below.

• Submissions will be accepted until December 31, 2024.
• There are no refunds if you withdraw a submission.
• Multiple submissions may be submitted as separate applications.
• Please leave all identifying information off of the manuscript.
• Maximum of five (5) images per entry
• All images must be at least 300 dpi
• AI-supported works must be identified as such.
• Previously published or exhibited images welcome. 

Judging criteria

Multimedia Art Contest Rubric

• Creativity and Originality 
• Technical Skill 
• Concept and Theme 
• Overall Impact 

Scoring

• Christopher will provide feedback on the top 5 selections. The shortlist will be announced on February 1, 2025.

We abide by the CLMP Code of Ethics and pledge 

• to conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
• to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—define conflict of interest for all parties involved, and to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. 

Unleash Lit  champions authentic storytellers across diverse communities.

Please submit only one piece of prose or up to five (5) poems or photographs at a time. All poems may be submitted in a single document. Fiction and creative nonfiction may be up to 2,000 words. Multiple prose submissions will be accepted but must be submitted separately. 

Photos and art are accepted as jpeg and png., and up to five (5) images are allowed in a single submission.

Note: We recently moved to Substack, where we can better connect with readers. As such, we are also actively looking for personal essays about creative living: its power and perils.
​Include a third-person bio of up to 200 words.

Please no AI-generated work for Unleash Lit. In the meantime, if you'd like to submit AI-generated writing and feel strongly about it, please consider writing an essay about why and submitting that. If you'd like to submit AI-assisted art, consider our art contest, but mention the digital partnership (as specified in the guidelines).

Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere. Reprints are accepted if the author maintains rights to the work. 

Unleash Lit acquires the non-exclusive right to include your work online and in our archives. Upon publication, rights revert to the author. We are unable to pay for submissions, but we will actively support our writers and nominate select manuscripts for awards.

Please share your work widely and support other authors at www.unleashlit.com by reading and sharing their words. 

$1,000 advance and an optional/standard contract from Unleash Press for one winning manuscript. 

Finalists will be considered for publication. Novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction manuscripts are accepted. Full-length, completed manuscripts only. Reprints are welcome so long as the author maintains full rights.

• Submissions are $35.

 Guidelines (please read before submitting):

• Submissions will be accepted until December 1, 2024. 
• We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if you wish to withdraw it from consideration.
• Multiple submissions are accepted. Please submit each manuscript separately.
• There are no refunds if you withdraw a submission.
• Please include a cover letter with a summary. Your name and contact information may appear in the cover letter area. 
• Please leave all identifying information off the manuscript as the first round of reading is blind.
• The minimum length of a manuscript is 30,000 words for prose or 70 pages for poetry.
• Genres accepted include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and experimental/hybrid. 
• If guidelines are not followed, the manuscript will be automatically rejected (e.g., including identifying information on the manuscript).
• *Note: The publishing contract is optional and contingent on the author maintaining full rights to the work. Reprints are accepted for consideration.

Formatting:

• Please include page numbers.
• Please double-space and use a 12pt font.
• Your name should not be anywhere on the manuscript. (See above.) 
• Submit as a .doc, .docx, .rtf, or PDF file format.

While you wait for us to read, check out our new lit journal home at www.unleashlit.com!

*Note: This year, we will be reading and reviewing manuscripts on a rolling basis, so if we choose not to move forward, you may hear from us before the end of the contest.  We have a limited number of fee waivers available. If you cannot afford tp pay the submission, please email us at info@unleashcreatives.com
 

We abide by the CLMP Code of Ethics and pledge 

• to conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
• to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—define conflict of interest for all parties involved; and
• to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. Namely, submissions are read without identifying information (see guidelines). All manuscripts are evaluated by at least two raters/readers.