Site icon Trish Hopkinson

NO FEE submission call + editor interview – Oyster River Pages, DEADLINE: May 15, 2026

Trish Hopkinson

Oyster River Pages (ORP) is a literary arts nonprofit committed to publishing work that reflects a wide range of voices and lived experiences. Since 2017, they’ve built a reputation for thoughtful editorial vision, fee-free submissions, and programs like Emerging Voices, which offers feedback and mentorship for newer writers.

In this interview, Poetry Editor Eneida Alcalde (she/her/ella) talks about ORP’s global readership, what their editors look for across genres, and the kind of poetry that stands out in the queue. ORP is currently open for submissions in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, visual arts, and Emerging Voices in fiction and poetry. The deadline is May 15, 2026. Full interview and submission details below.

HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about Oyster River Pages.

ALCALDE: Oyster River Pages (ORP) is a literary arts nonprofit that publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual arts by contributors from across our world. Established in 2017, ORP seeks to publish underrepresented voices that need to and must be heard—whose lyrics and narratives, metaphors and imagery reclaim and champion the ineffable beauty and indestructible compassion of our humanity. We also publish reviews, profiles, and interviews to remain in continual conversation—and community—with the greater literary arts ecosystem.

ORP prides itself on being a welcoming space, offering fee-free submissions and empowering newer writers through our Emerging Voices initiative in fiction and poetry. Writers who submit to Emerging Voices receive constructive feedback from our editors; those who exhibit a strong potential may also be selected to work closely with our editorial team to polish their pieces for possible publication.

In addition, throughout the year, we offer classes, workshops, and other learning opportunities (both free and paid, with some scholarships) through our learning hub, Schools. We also have an internship program for individuals interested in giving back to—and learning from—the world of indie online publishing.

HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience?

ALCALDE: ORP’s target audience reflects the diversity of our editors and staff, who live in places like the United States, Singapore, Egypt and Scotland, with roots in Pennsylvania, New York, Turkey, India, Chile, and elsewhere. Which is to say, our readers are found (and from) across the world and share a common interest in contemporary writing and art that is socially engaged and diverse, representing a range of lived experiences and perspectives.

 HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for in submissions?

ALCALDE:  You can learn about what each editorial team—fiction, creative nonfiction, visual arts, poetry, and Emerging Voices—loves to publish at this link: https://www.oysterriverpages.com/what-we-love

As ORP’s Poetry Editor, I am especially inspired by poets whose verses exist in defiance of indifference, cruelty, and oppression to reveal the nuanced, resilient, compassionate, and connective power of humanity. We are committed to publishing poems with a confident command of voice, language, and structure; poems with vision that demonstrate an awareness of their music, verve, and power—poetry that would live regardless of publication.

HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in?

ALCALDE: Above all else, I yearn for poems with a beating heart—poetry that feels urgent and alive, that engages me viscerally yet refuses to simplify difficult relationships and experiences.

I’m also hungry for a wider range of perspectives in the submission queue, including work from poets with lived experiences distinct from my own and from what we have published so far.

HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?

ALCALDE: I adore so many! The first that come to mind are Epiphany, Adroit, TAB, Huizache, The Common, and ANMLY. As an immigrant whose first language is not English, I also have a soft spot for Tint Journal, which is dedicated to publishing writers who write creatively in English as their second or non-native language.

 HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with Oyster River Pages?

ALCALDE: I joined ORP back in 2018 as a fiction intern while working on my Master’s in Creative Writing & Literature. Today, I am ORP’s Poetry Editor. In the eight years between, I helped launch Emerging Voices in fiction and poetry, managed interns, survived Covid, became a mother while losing my own parents to the inevitable cycle of life, and helped oversee ORP’s transition to nonprofit status.

My creative journey over the past decade has been deeply enmeshed with ORP’s… it feels like a symbiotic relationship, one that has afforded me the unique privilege of reading from both the fiction and poetry queues, engaging with some of the brightest creative minds in our internship program and editorial teams, and learning so much about art and life from the many creatives who have entrusted us with their work. For this, I am humbled and grateful.

HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions?

ALCALDE: https://www.oysterriverpages.com/submit

 HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?

 ALCALDE: The best way to reach us is to send a message via the contact form on our website: https://www.oysterriverpages.com/contact   

 HOPKINSON: Is there anything exciting coming up you’d like to mention?

 ALCALDE: Yes! I am overseeing ORP’s Schools, a hub for classes, workshops, panels, and other educational programming. We have a Meet the Editors Panel and Q&A on April 8th from 9-10pm EDT where ORP editors will discuss our submission guidelines, preferences, and answer questions. It’s a great way to learn about the inner workings of an online literary magazine and gain valuable insights into the submission process. You can learn more about the panel and sign up via the contact form at the link: https://www.oysterriverpages.com/orp-schools  

If you’re unable to join the panel, feel free to fill out our contact form (linked on the page) and we will notify you once we have more classes lined up for the 2026-2027 season.

We are also open to partnering with creative practitioners, educators, and others with relevant experience who are interested in offering a class through Schools. If that sounds like you, feel free to send us an email and we’ll be in touch: schools@oysterriverpages.com.

Click here to read submission guidelines.

If you like this post, please share with your writerly friends and/or  follow me on Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram. You can see all the FREE resources my site offers poets/writers on my Start Here page. 

Exit mobile version