Contest Submissions

Letters are stories written with specific readers in mind. For this collaborative contest, Inscape Literary Magazine and Whirligig Magazine, BYU’s new children’s literature magazine, invite writers of all ages to tell a story in the form of a letter!

Contributors may write to anyone: a childhood friend, someone far away, someone imagined, or someone they have lost. Letters may also be addressed to a past or future self. However it is framed, each submission should tell a story, using the closeness of the letter form to explore relationship, change, and feeling.

Submissions will be divided into two categories, based on which magazine you are submitting to (considering the intended audience). Not sure which category to submit to? Here are some questions to help you figure it out:

Whirligig (for children)

• Does your letter value whimsy, light, curiosity, wildness, and play?
• Is your letter appropriate for children ages 7–11?
• Could you see your letter in an issue of Whirligig? Not sure? Check out our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whirligigmagazine/

Inscape (for adults)

• Does your letter channel the bizarre, believing or beautiful?
• Does your letter tackle adult themes with respect and maturity?
• Could you see your letter in an issue of Inscape Journal? Not sure? Check out our most recent issue: https://inscape.byu.edu/fall-2025/

Whirligig Magazine and Inscape Literary Magazine will judge the submissions in their respective categories. One winner will be selected from each group. Each winner will receive:

• $50
• Publication on Inscape’s website

This contest invites writers to imagine a reader and speak directly—to say something that matters. By partnering across magazines and age groups, Inscape and Whirligig hope to celebrate storytelling as an act of connection and to make space for voices discovering, in a letter, what they most want to say.

The Dos

• Submission fee: $5 for each submission, and only one piece per submission.
• Submission length: Less than 600 words.
• Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry, in the form of a Letter
• Format: Please submit works as a DOC, DOCX, or PDF file. Include the title of your piece in the “Submission Title” field on Submittable.
• Language: Literary submissions must be written in English and may not exceed specified word limits.
• Who can submit: Anyone!

The Don’ts

• Don’t include your name in any of the attachments.
• Don’t submit previously published work. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know if your piece has been accepted somewhere else.
• Current Inscape and Whirligig staff members may not enter or be considered for publication.
• We do not accept pieces that invoke the name of deity as an expletive. We also ask that you refrain from submitting anything depicting gratuitous sexual, violent, or otherwise morally objectionable content.
• The use of artificial intelligence to create submissions for Inscape Journal or Inscape contests is prohibited.

Any submission that does not follow these guidelines will not be considered. Visit our contests page and get a feel for what we publish.

Submissions should demonstrate care for craft and a thoughtful engagement with the chosen theme, whether through direct response, imaginative expansion, or subtle interpretation. Poems are due each Thursday at 12:00 p.m. Winners will be selected each week based on quality of craft and fidelity to the theme. The selected poem is chosen on Friday and featured on the Inscape website the following Monday.