The Itch Lit Gold Star Program Gold Star

The Itch Prize: HAUNTED

Closes October 31, 2026

Some things don’t leave when they’re supposed to.

For this round of The Itch Prize, we’re looking for work that is HAUNTED.

Interpret that however you want.

Ghosts count. Obviously.

But so do old houses, old lovers, old versions of yourself. Memory. Regret. Desire. Family mythology. A sentence somebody said twenty years ago that somehow still lives in your head rent-free.

We are interested in the things that linger.

Send us fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, hybrid work, flash, micros, prose poems, strange little things we don’t quite know how to classify—if it fits the theme, we want to see it.

We are not looking only for horror.

We are looking for work that understands haunting.

One piece will receive The Itch Prize: Haunted and $50.

The winner will be published in The Itch Lit and featured across our platforms.

Additional work may also be selected for publication.

Standard Prize Entry — $5

All entries are judged by the same editorial standards. Choosing a higher-priced tier does not increase a submission’s likelihood of winning or publication. Additional fees cover expedited processing and editorial feedback only.

We welcome:

• Fiction
• Creative nonfiction
• Poetry
• Flash and micro work
• Hybrid and experimental writing

Submit up to 1,000 Words.

Previously unpublished work only.

Simultaneous submissions are absolutely fine. Just let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Please submit only one entry to this prize period.

Deadline: October 31, 2026.

We don’t care whether your ghost rattles chains.

We care whether it follows us home.

Submit

The Itch Prize: HAUNTED

Closes October 31, 2026

Some things don’t leave when they’re supposed to.

For this round of The Itch Prize, we’re looking for work that is HAUNTED.

Interpret that however you want.

Ghosts count. Obviously.

But so do old houses, old lovers, old versions of yourself. Memory. Regret. Desire. Family mythology. A sentence somebody said twenty years ago that somehow still lives in your head rent-free.

We are interested in the things that linger.

Send us fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, hybrid work, flash, micros, prose poems, strange little things we don’t quite know how to classify—if it fits the theme, we want to see it.

We are not looking only for horror.

We are looking for work that understands haunting.

One piece will receive The Itch Prize: Haunted and $50.

The winner will be published in The Itch Lit and featured across our platforms.

Additional work may also be selected for publication.

Standard Prize Entry — $5
Full consideration for The Itch Prize and publication in The Itch Lit.

All entries are judged by the same editorial standards. Choosing a higher-priced tier does not increase a submission’s likelihood of winning or publication. Additional fees cover expedited processing and editorial feedback only.

We welcome:

• Fiction
• Creative nonfiction
• Poetry
• Flash and micro work
• Hybrid and experimental writing

Submit up to 1,000 Words.

Previously unpublished work only.

Simultaneous submissions are absolutely fine. Just let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Please submit only one entry to this prize period.

Deadline: October 31, 2026.

We don’t care whether your ghost rattles chains.

We care whether it follows us home.

Submit

The Itch Prize: HAUNTED

Closes October 31, 2026

Some things don’t leave when they’re supposed to.

For this round of The Itch Prize, we’re looking for work that is HAUNTED.

Interpret that however you want.

Ghosts count. Obviously.

But so do old houses, old lovers, old versions of yourself. Memory. Regret. Desire. Family mythology. A sentence somebody said twenty years ago that somehow still lives in your head rent-free.

We are interested in the things that linger.

Send us fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, hybrid work, flash, micros, prose poems, strange little things we don’t quite know how to classify—if it fits the theme, we want to see it.

We are not looking only for horror.

We are looking for work that understands haunting.

One piece will receive The Itch Prize: Haunted and $50.

The winner will be published in The Itch Lit and featured across our platforms.

Additional work may also be selected for publication.

Standard Prize Entry — $5
Full consideration for The Itch Prize and publication in The Itch Lit.

All entries are judged by the same editorial standards. Choosing a higher-priced tier does not increase a submission’s likelihood of winning or publication. Additional fees cover expedited processing and editorial feedback only.

We welcome:

• Fiction
• Creative nonfiction
• Poetry
• Flash and micro work
• Hybrid and experimental writing

Submit up to 3 Poems.

Previously unpublished work only.

Simultaneous submissions are absolutely fine. Just let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Please submit only one entry to this prize period.

Deadline: October 31, 2026.

We don’t care whether your ghost rattles chains.

We care whether it follows us home.

Submit

Some stories entertain.

Some stories explain.

The stories we love most do neither.

They linger.

They follow us into grocery stores and waiting rooms. They wake us at three in the morning. They demand another draft. Another reading. Another look.

The Itch exists for writing that refuses to leave.

We publish work that burrows beneath the skin—flash fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid forms that surprise, unsettle, delight, or haunt.

If we're still thinking about it tomorrow, we want it.

Submit

Free to submit

400 words or fewer.

We’re looking for tiny pieces that still feel whole.

Send us fiction or creative nonfiction with voice, tension, movement, surprise, emotional weight—or some other reason we keep thinking about it after the last line.

We like compression that creates pressure. We like implication.Strange little turns. Precise details. Work that trusts the reader.

A small piece does not have to be a small idea.

• Fiction and creative nonfiction welcome
• Submit one piece
• 400 words maximum
• Previously unpublished work only
• Simultaneous submissions are welcome
• Please withdraw promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere
• One submission at a time, please
• No AI-generated creative work

There is no submission fee for this call.

If accepted, your work will be published in The Itch Lit.

Give us 400 words or fewer.

Make them itch.

Submit

Some stories entertain.

Some stories explain.

The stories we love most do neither.

They linger.

They follow us into grocery stores and waiting rooms. They wake us at three in the morning. They demand another draft. Another reading. Another look.

The Itch exists for writing that refuses to leave.

We publish work that burrows beneath the skin—flash fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid forms that surprise, unsettle, delight, or haunt.

If we're still thinking about it tomorrow, we want it.

Submit

Some stories entertain.

Some stories explain.

The stories we love most do neither.

They linger.

They follow us into grocery stores and waiting rooms. They wake us at three in the morning. They demand another draft. Another reading. Another look.

The Itch exists for writing that refuses to leave.

We publish work that burrows beneath the skin—flash fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid forms that surprise, unsettle, delight, or haunt.

If we're still thinking about it tomorrow, we want it.

Submit