The Breakout Prize brings visibility to and supports outstanding early-career writers who have not yet published a full-length book. Previous winners have gone on to sign with literary agents, publish at esteemed presses, win prizes, receive fellowships, and develop rich and rewarding literary careers. Previous judges include Victoria Chang, Hilary Leichter, Mauel Munoz, Shane McCrae, and Safiya Sinclair.

This year's judges are Cynthia Cruz in poetry and Alexandra Kleeman in prose.

One prose writer and one poet will receive: 

• A $1000 cash prize
• Publication in the next issue of Epiphany

CONTEST WILL CLOSE ON APRIL 15TH OR WHEN WE RECEIVE 300 SUBMISSIONS IN EACH GENRE CATEGORY.

Eligibility: To apply you must not be signed with an agent or have or be in contract for a full-length book with a traditional publisher. Chapbooks and self-published books are permissible. Please note that Epiphany publishes literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and are not accepting submissions of scholarly articles, YA, or genre fiction. Submission must be previously unpublished and written primarily in English.

Submission: Applications are to be submitted by individual writers. Interested applicants must submit a creative manuscript and an optional “Statement of Interest.” Poetry manuscripts may include up to five poems of up to 10 pages, with each poem beginning on a new page, and in a 12-point font, unless deviation from this form is necessary for the integrity of the project. We are not currently accepting works in translation. Those facing financial hardship may request a fee waver via the contact form on our website. All submissions are considered for print and online publication.

We do not accept any work that has been created with the assistance of AI or LLM tools.

Judging: Honorees will be selected on the basis of the work’s creative merit by the editorial team of Epiphany, and from the finalists two winners will be chosen by our judges, Cynthia Cruz in poetry and Alexandra Kleeman in prose.

About our judges:

Cynthia Cruz earned a BA in English Literature at Mills College, an MFA in poetry at Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA in Art Writing at the School of Visual Arts, an MA in German Language and Literature at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and a PhD from the European Graduate School where she wrote her dissertation on Hegel and madness. She is the recipient of fellowships from Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony, as well as a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her recent collection of poems, Hotel Oblivion, was a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Award and the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Notre Dame.

Alexandra Kleeman is the author of the novel Something New Under the Sun, which was named one of The New York Times' Notable Books of 2021, the short story collection Intimations, and the novel You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine, which was awarded the 2016 Bard Fiction Prize and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. In 2020, she was awarded the Rome Prize and the Berlin Prize, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction in 2022. Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Zoetrope, Conjunctions, and Guernica, among others, and other writing has appeared in Harper's, VOGUE, Tin House, n+1, and The Guardian. She is an Associate Professor at Cornell University and a Contributing Writer at The New York Times Magazine.

 Deadline: Entries must be received by April 15th, 2026.

 Epiphany is a semiannual literary journal and independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) that supports practicing writers at every stage of their careers. During our open reading periods we consider every submission seriously. We also publish online essays, fiction, and poetry on a rolling basis. For 20+ years we have published work that transcends convention and demonstrates literary mastery. Our name derives from the Joycean idea that an epiphany is the moment when “the soul of the commonest object… seems to us radiant.” Like the semicolon in our logo, an epiphany is a pause in time followed by a shift in thinking.   

All applicants will receive 40% off the first year of a digital subscription to Epiphany. The code to access this subscription will be found in the receipt email for each submission.

The Breakout Prize brings visibility to and supports outstanding early-career writers who have not yet published a full-length book. Previous winners have gone on to sign with literary agents, publish at esteemed presses, win prizes, receive fellowships, and develop rich and rewarding literary careers. Previous judges include Victoria Chang, Hilary Leichter, Mauel Munoz, Shane McCrae, and Safiya Sinclair.

This year's judges are Cynthia Cruz in poetry and Alexandra Kleeman in prose.

One prose writer and one poet will receive: 

• A $1000 cash prize
• Publication in the next issue of Epiphany

CONTEST WILL CLOSE ON APRIL 15TH OR WHEN WE RECEIVE 300 SUBMISSIONS IN EACH GENRE CATEGORY.

Eligibility: To apply you must not be signed with an agent or have or be in contract for a full-length book with a traditional publisher. Chapbooks and self-published books are permissible. Please note that Epiphany publishes literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and are not accepting submissions of scholarly articles, YA, or genre fiction. Submission must be previously unpublished and written primarily in English.

Submission: Applications are to be submitted by individual writers. Interested applicants must submit a creative manuscript and an optional “Statement of Interest.” Prose manuscripts may consist of one short story, a novel excerpt, or a work of creative nonfiction not to exceed 3000 words. We are not currently accepting works in translation. Those facing financial hardship may request a fee waver via the contact form on our website. All submissions are considered for print and online publication.

We do not accept any work that has been created with the assistance of AI or LLM tools.

Judging: Honorees will be selected on the basis of the work’s creative merit by the editorial team of Epiphany, and from the finalists two winners will be chosen by our judges, Cynthia Cruz in poetry and Alexandra Kleeman in prose.

About our judges:

Cynthia Cruz earned a BA in English Literature at Mills College, an MFA in poetry at Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA in Art Writing at the School of Visual Arts, an MA in German Language and Literature at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and a PhD from the European Graduate School where she wrote her dissertation on Hegel and madness. She is the recipient of fellowships from Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony, as well as a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her recent collection of poems, Hotel Oblivion, was a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Award and the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Notre Dame.

Alexandra Kleeman is the author of the novel Something New Under the Sun, which was named one of The New York Times' Notable Books of 2021, the short story collection Intimations, and the novel You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine, which was awarded the 2016 Bard Fiction Prize and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. In 2020, she was awarded the Rome Prize and the Berlin Prize, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction in 2022. Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Zoetrope, Conjunctions, and Guernica, among others, and other writing has appeared in Harper's, VOGUE, Tin House, n+1, and The Guardian. She is an Associate Professor at Cornell University and a Contributing Writer at The New York Times Magazine.

 Deadline: Entries must be received by April 15th, 2026.

 Epiphany is a semiannual literary journal and independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) that supports practicing writers at every stage of their careers. During our open reading periods we consider every submission seriously. We also publish online essays, fiction, and poetry on a rolling basis. For 20+ years we have published work that transcends convention and demonstrates literary mastery. Our name derives from the Joycean idea that an epiphany is the moment when “the soul of the commonest object… seems to us radiant.” Like the semicolon in our logo, an epiphany is a pause in time followed by a shift in thinking.   

All applicants will receive 40% off the first year of a digital subscription to Epiphany. The code to access this subscription will be found in the receipt email for each submission.

General art submissions are open year round.

Please submit your artwork or photography to be considered for an Epiphany interior art or issue cover for the print magazine. Submit up to five images at a time. Artwork need not be unpublished, though if it is, please mention in what publications, galleries, websites, or books it has appeared in, excluding social media and your personal website.

All images will be printed in full color and may be reproduced on the magazine's website, social media, or promotional materials. The cover may include our magazine’s logo and other text or images in overprint. All intellectual property rights to the artwork remain with the artist.

If your artwork is selected for publication, you will need to provide a high-resolution scan of the piece(s) (300 dpi), at the inch dimensions of our issue, for print-quality reproduction.

In the cover letter, feel free to provide any information about your artwork that we should know. Low-res images are acceptable for submissions, as long as high-res images can be provided when necessary. Please do not send blurry or pixelated images. Compensation offered for licensing this art is on a sliding slide starting at $50 for interior art and $100 for cover art, and a copy of the journal. Any work that uses AI in its creation must be identified as such.

Everyone who submits will receive 40% off the first year of a digital subscription to Epiphany. The code to access this subscription will be found in the receipt email for each submission.

We typically respond to submissions within five to six months, and aim for much faster. Please be patient: we give thoughtful and thorough consideration to each submission. If it doesn't fit for the current issue, we may keep it for consideration for the next issue. We look forward to receiving your work!