The Practicing Writer 2.0: August 2021
Current competitions and calls for submissions. No fees to enter/submit. Payment for winning/published work. Nothing limited to residents of a single city/state/province.
Welcome, new readers, and welcome back to the regulars.
For updates and additional opportunity listings between newsletters, please check the “Practicing Writing” blog and follow Erika Dreifus on Twitter (@ErikaDreifus) and/or Facebook.
Please share this newsletter with your networks! If you’d like to share a particular competition or submission alert with others, PLEASE CREDIT THE PRACTICING WRITER for the find (preferably with a link back to this newsletter). Thanks for respecting your editor’s volunteer efforts.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Editor’s Note
Success Stories
Featured Resource
Current Contests, Competitions, and Other Opportunities (NO ENTRY OR APPLICATION FEES; PAYING OPPORTUNITIES ONLY)
Submission Alerts (NO SUBMISSION/READING FEES; PAYING CALLS ONLY)
Blog Notes
Newsletter Matters
1. EDITOR’S NOTE
This issue is BURSTING (Substack almost didn’t let me send it). So no lengthy note from me this time. Just the usual good wishes for all of you/your writing practices!
Warmly,
ERIKA
2. SUCCESS STORIES
Two delightful finds on Twitter:
From @LeonaCross15
“Thanks to @HeldMagazine for publishing my story ‘Lighting-Up: A Family Tradition.’ Will be reading an excerpt at the launch. Thank you @erikadreifus for listing this opportunity in The Practicing Writer April 2021. #creativenonfiction #storytelling #writingcommunity #trinitweets”
and from @SarahSassoon
“Thanks for the tip in The Practicing Writer for the Generations themed HELD Magazine issue. My ‘Garlic’ poem found a happy home.”
Plus:
Thank you for sharing the Jewish Book Council (JBC)’s call for submissions on your My Machberet blog. I am thrilled that they chose my poem “There Is a Prayer” for publication (with a nice payment) on PB Daily, the digital arm of their literary journal Paper Brigade. Through my 18 years as a Judaic librarian—working with the JBC to organize numerous author events in my community—it has been a dream to one day be a JBC author. Thank you for helping me fulfill that dream!
Thank you for everything you do for all of us who write!
—Elizabeth Edelglass
REMINDER: I love learning how the newsletter/blogs/my resources support your writing practice. Keep me posted! You just may find your own work celebrated here.
3. FEATURED RESOURCE
Freshly updated: my list of publications that welcome flash nonfiction/micro-essays.
Caveat: Since this is a “niche” list, the usual rules don’t quite apply, meaning that you will find included here both nonpaying and fee-charging venues. But I’ve done my best to signal what you should expect before you choose to click through.
4. CURRENT CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OF INTEREST
LEVAR BURTON READS WRITING CONTEST
Entries: August 1-31. “The LeVar Burton Reads podcast is collaborating with FIYAH Literary Magazine and Tor.com for our first-ever writing contest! Do you write speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror)? Do you love the podcast? Have you dreamed of getting your work in front of THE LeVar Burton ever since the days of Reading Rainbow? Well, here’s your shot. We are looking for one special story to be featured in Season 10 of the podcast.” Theme is “Origins and Encounters”; “we welcome works of the Indigenous fantastic, the other-worldly, and alternative histories. Works must include speculative or fantastical elements.” Cash prizes ($500/$250/$100), plus publication on Tor.com; only the top winner’s story will be read by Burton on the podcast. NB: Open to “legal residents of the United States, DC, and Puerto Rico,” 17 or older.IOWA SHORT FICTION AND JOHN SIMMONS SHORT FICTION AWARD
Entries: August 1-September 30 (postmarked). For “a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages.” Must send via postal mail. Winning manuscripts are published by the University of Iowa Press “under the Press’s standard contract.” Writers “are still eligible if they are living abroad or are non-US citizens writing in English.”BRIEFLY WRITE POETRY PRIZE
Deadline: August 8 (5pm BST). “Celebrates and rewards bold, succinct writing. We want well-crafted poems up to 10 lines.” Prize: £25 for winner; £5 for each of five runners-up. (Via @Duotrope.)CANDLESTICK PRESS CHRISTMAS POEM COMPETITION
Deadline: August 13 (midnight, presumably UK time). Seeks new poems for “our forthcoming festive title Together for Christmas.” No simultaneous submissions. Prizes: “The winners will be selected for inclusion in our pamphlet. As well as publication, you will receive 20 copies of Together for Christmas and a cash prize of £75.”ERNEST J. GAINES AWARD FOR LITERARY EXCELLENCE
Deadline: August 15 (received). Award confers $15,000, “honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence [U.S. citizens only] at a national level.” Eligible authors must have a novel or collection of short stories published/slated to be published in 2021 (galleys are acceptable).HELEN ANNE BELL POETRY BEQUEST AWARD
Deadline: August 20 (11:59pm, AEST). Offers $40,000 “for a collection of poems by an Australian woman poet” plus publication by Vagabond Press. “The work should broadly deal with Australian culture in some way.” Judges: Kate Lilley, Pam Brown and Melinda Bufton.ANNE BROWN ESSAY PRIZE
Deadline: August 27. New £1,500 award “for the best literary essay, published [no earlier than 1 July 2020] or unpublished, by a writer in or from Scotland.” Created “in memory of Anne Brown (1942-2021), former Wigtown Book Festival chair of trustees and a widely respected BBC radio producer.”DEBRA E. BERNHARDT LABOR JOURNALISM PRIZE
Deadline: August 30. Award of $1,000 “given for an article that furthers the understanding of the history of working people.” Articles (published August 31, 2020-August 30, 2021) “must be focused on historical events OR focused on current issues (work, housing, organizing, health, education) and include historical context.” Note that “publications and subject matter should target the United States and Canada.”TONI BEAUCHAMP PRIZE IN CRITICAL ART WRITING
Deadline: August 31. Considers “submissions of work that have been written (or published) within the last year. A variety of creative approaches and formats to writing on the visual arts are encouraged, and can include thematic essays, exhibition reviews, and scholarly essays.” Confers one first-place prize of $3,000 and two runners-up awards of $1,000 each. Publication for winner; possible publication for runners-up. Final judge: Jenna Wortham.JACK GRAPES POETRY PRIZE
Deadline: August 31. Annual contest from Cultural Weekly (now Cultural Daily) will recognize three winners with $500 each, plus publication. Nine finalists will receive $100 and publication. No simultaneous submissions.HYSTERIA WRITING COMPETITION
Deadline: August 31. “The theme for this year’s competition is Hope and Unity.” Entries may be fiction (up to 600 words), flash fiction (up to 100 words), or poetry. Prizes: “Thanks to a generous anonymous donation the winners of each category will now get £50 each. Nine additional entries will be included in the Hysteria 8 anthology to be published in November 2021.”WALLACE STEGNER GRANT FOR THE ARTS (scroll down the page)
Deadline: August 31. For published writers who are Canadian citizens, this award includes a $500 grant and one month’s residency at the Wallace Stegner House in Saskatchewan.ACADEMY FOR TEACHERS “STORIES OUT OF SCHOOL” FLASH FICTION CONTEST
Deadline: September 1. Annual contest aims “to inspire great stories about teachers and the rich and crazy world of schools.” Entrants need not be teachers; “the story’s protagonist, or its narrator, must be a K-12 teacher.” Prize confers $1,000 plus publication in A Public Space. Final judge: Julia Alvarez.LEE SMITH NOVEL PRIZE
Deadline: September 1. “Submissions should be full-length, literary fiction novel manuscripts of at least 25,000 words.” Prize: $1,000 and publication by Blair. Final judge: Deesha Philyaw. (About Blair: “Blair is a nonprofit press combining the lists of Carolina Wren Press and John F. Blair, Publisher. We strive to publish quality writing, focusing on authors and subjects historically neglected by mainstream publishers, including women, people of color, authors with disabilities, and LGBT authors. True to our roots in North Carolina, we look to the many voices of the South—and beyond—as sources of work and inspiration.”)HADASSAH-BRANDEIS INSTITUTE RESEARCH AWARDS
Deadline: September 5. Grants (up to $2,000 for “graduate students enrolled in recognized PhD programs and new scholars” and up to $5,000 for “established scholars and professionals”) are awarded to “support research or artistic projects in Jewish women’s and gender studies across a range of disciplines.” NB: “Open to applicants regardless of gender or religion” and to international applications (in English).RICHARD BEESTON BURSARIES 2021
Deadline: September 6 (9:00am, UK time). A £6,000 award “for an aspiring British or UK-based foreign correspondent to spend six weeks abroad, researching and reporting on a foreign news story, in association with The Times newspaper. A further award of £6,000 is available to a young journalist based in Israel, Lebanon or the Palestinian territories to undertake a six week fellowship on The Times foreign desk in London. Applicants should have at least two years journalistic experience, be under the age of thirty on the application closing date and have a professional command of English.”RADCLIFFE FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: September 9. “Harvard Radcliffe Institute fellows are in residence for a period of nine months from September 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023 and receive a stipend of $78,000 plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses….Fellows may be eligible to receive additional funds for moving expenses, childcare, and housing to aid them in making a smooth transition. Healthcare options are made available as needed….If fellows would like to hire Harvard undergraduate students as Research Partners, we will cover their hourly wages.”THE HODDER FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: September 14 (5pm ET). For “artists and writers of exceptional promise to pursue independent projects at Princeton University during the academic year.” NB: “Given the strength of the applicant pool, most successful Fellows have published a first book or have similar achievements in their own fields.” Award confers “$86,000 for one 10-month academic year. Fellows are additionally funded $5,000 (per academic year) for research expenses.”PRINCETON ARTS FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: September 14 (5pm ET). For “artists whose achievements have been recognized as demonstrating extraordinary promise in any area of artistic practice and teaching.” The two-year fellowship confers “$86,000 a year. Fellows are additionally funded $5,000 (per academic year) for research expenses and $2,000 (per academic year) for classroom expenses.” NB: “Non-US citizens are welcome to apply. Holders of a Ph.D. degree from Princeton University are not eligible. This fellowship cannot be used to fund work leading to a Ph.D. or any other advanced degree.”
REMINDER: Some opportunities listed in last month’s newsletter remain open.
5. SUBMISSION ALERTS
ROXANE GAY BOOKS is open for both agented and unagented submissions of novels, short fiction, memoirs, essay collections, and nonfiction; “only non-fiction will be considered on proposal.” Prioritizes underrepresented writers.
THE SOUTHAMPTON REVIEW’s next submissions period will run from August 1 to September 1. “We’re interested in voice-driven writing that takes risks with structure and content.” Welcomes flash fiction. Pays (for print edition only): “$100+” for prose and $75 per poem, plus a copy. Also pays for illustrations and art portfolios. NB: “For reasons related to the university with which we’re affiliated, we are prohibited from paying current students or employees of any SUNY or CUNY institution, or anyone who’s been a student or employee of a SUNY or CUNY institution within the past three years from the date their work is accepted for publication.”
“Established in 1967, the PITT POETRY SERIES annually publishes books by poets who have previously published full-length collections of poetry…. Manuscripts for the Poetry Series should be sent during the annual submission period of August and September….The qualification of prior full-length publication is defined as a book of 48 or more pages, exclusive of front matter, in a recognized publisher’s print edition of at least 500 copies.”
From GUERNICA: “In the first week of August we’re *only* reading work from those who have been published fewer than 5 times. This submission period runs from August 1st-6th.” Guernica pays “honoraria of $50 for poetry, $100 for original essays, and $150 for original fiction and for reportage.” (Thanks to Opportunities of the Week for leading me to this one.)
Submissions at FAT COYOTE, which features “neurodivergent voices,” will re-open on August 1. Pays: for poetry, $1.00/word ($30 minimum/$70 maximum); for prose, $0.03 per word ($30 minimum/$120 maximum). Also publishes and pays for art, photography, and comics.
THE SUNLIGHT PRESS, “a literary journal for new and established voices,” also re-opens for submissions on August 1. Pays an unspecified amount for original work, via PayPal.
Also starting up again on August 1: WEST BRANCH, which welcomes “submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.” Payment: “$50 per submission of poetry, $10/page of printed prose with a maximum payment of $100, and $.05/word of online prose with a maximum payment of $100,” plus copies and a subscription. Note: “Book reviews are typically arranged by assignment, and we publish only poetry reviews. If you are interested in writing reviews, please query with a sample. Our pay rate for reviewing is highly competitive.”
At PLUMWOOD MOUNTAIN, “an Australian and international journal of ecopoetry and ecopoetics,” they’re receiving submissions on the theme of “Embodied Belonging: Toward an Ecopoetic Lyric” until August 11. Pays: “We are currently able to pay poetry contributors $50 (GST inclusive) per poem.”
UK-based THE RIALTO is open for poetry submissions until August 14. Pays: “£20 per poem on publication.”
Closing August 15: a call from A PUBLIC SPACE Editorial Fellow Miguel Coronado for poems addressing what it means “to write ‘between’ or ‘across’ countries,” from first-generation immigrants, “including both people born in another country who relocated, and residents of a country whose parents were born elsewhere….International submissions are welcome. Multilingual submissions are welcome, provided that English is the primary language used.” Pays “an honorarium.”
Until August 15, FLASH FROG is open for “Flash Frogtober submissions. This means we want your GHOSTSTORIES!” Pays: $25, via Paypal. (Found this one via Authors Publish; note that Flash Frog will re-open for regular [flash fiction] submissions on August 16.)
Australia-based WESTERLY, which publishes short stories, micro-fiction, poetry, memoir and creative-nonfiction, artwork, essays and literary criticism, is open for creative submissions until August 20. Pay rates are detailed on the website; note that they “will ask any authors selected for publication who are not subscribers to accept a year’s subscription as part-payment for their work.”
Canada-based CARTE BLANCHE is open for submissions until August 21. “Our theme for Issue 42 is an open theme and we invite writers and artists living with visible or invisible disabilities to submit their work for this issue.” They seek fiction, poetry, comics, translations, and photography. “The Creative Nonfiction section will be closed for submissions for this issue.” Pays: “a modest honorarium.”
For its next equinox issue, CLAW & BLOSSOM will focus on the theme of “Strange” and remains open for submissions until August 22. Recall that this is “an online seasonal journal of short literary prose and poems that touch upon the natural world”; issues “generally shape themselves around the seasons of the Northern Hemisphere”; and submissions “MUST contain elements of the natural world.” Payment: “$25 USD per acceptance upon publication via PayPal only.”
For an anthology of short stories/poetry on the theme “Ancient Greece: Her/Their Story,” BRIGIDS GATE PRESS seeks retellings of stories and myths from Ancient Greece. Pays: $.05/word for short stories, $25/poem. Deadline: August 31.
Another August 31 deadline: BRINK, which publishes “hybrid, cross-genre work of both emerging and established creatives who often reside outside traditional artistic disciplines,” seeks submissions on the theme of “Currency.” Pays: $25/poem; $50 for “work” less than 1500 words; $100 for work “more than 1501 words. Also seeks and pays for art.
Until September 1, Mitzi Szereto seeks submissions for THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: UNSOLVED CRIMES & MYSTERIES. Two important submission-related notes here: 1) you must pitch Szereto before sending the full piece, and 2), “submissions may close earlier” than the stated deadline. Pays: USD $130 plus 2 print copies.
NEON DOOR, which self-describes as “the first truly immersive literary exhibit,” is open for submissions through September 1. (I received these details via email: “We are currently accepting submissions for our inaugural exhibit Emotional Nudity, which debuts in Fall-Winter 2021….We pay for accepted submissions [starting with $25 for an image, $50 for a poem, and $75 for prose].”)
Another September 1 deadline: CUNNING LINGUISTS: LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND LECHERY “seeks clever, diverse stories exploring the role of words as well as the senses in erotic experiences. Stories should be body positive and sex positive, with all characters affirmatively consenting.” Payment: $30 for flash fiction, $100 for short stories 2500-6000 words.
Back to GUERNICA: Until September 1, they’re receiving submissions for a special issue on the theme of “Dirt.” As mentioned above, pay rates are “$50 for poetry, $100 for original essays, and $150 for original fiction and for reportage.”
Launching in November: SCRAWL PLACE “is part visitor’s guide, part travelogue, part literary journal.” Seeks short works (under 900 words) “about or connected to or associated with a specific, physical place that someone could visit.” Pays: $35, within 30 days of acceptance. (Via @Duotrope.)
New opportunity for book manuscripts: “Three times per year, TIN HOUSE offers a two-day submission period….Eligible writers must not currently have an agent, and must not have previously published a book (chapbooks okay)….We accept works of fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry, both originally in English and in translation (please only submit translation projects which the translator has already been granted formal permission to translate), and ask that you do not send us a project unless you have a completed draft. In particular, we are looking to engage with work by writers from historically underrepresented communities, including—but not limited to—those who are Black, Indigenous, POC, disabled, neurodivergent, trans and LGBTQIA+, debuting after 40, and without an MFA.” From September 4-5, they’ll receive nonfiction (including memoirs and graphic nonfiction); debut novels (including graphic novels) will be welcome January 1-3, 2022; and short story, essay, or poetry collections May 7-8, 2022.
Reminder: Make it a habit to check the CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL website, where titles in development are posted. “If this is your first time, please visit our Story Guidelines page.” Pays: $200 plus 10 free copies.
REMEMBER: Some outlets listed in last month’s newsletter remain open for submissions.
6. BLOG NOTES
The newsletter is published just once each month, but there’s always something new on the Practicing Writing blog:
(Monday) Markets and Jobs for Writers (including opportunities that don’t make it into the monthly newsletter)
Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer
(Friday) Finds for Writers
Sunday Sentence
Please visit, and comment!
Interested in matters of specifically Jewish literary and cultural interest? Please also visit the My Machberet blog (“machberet” is the Hebrew word for “notebook”).
7. NEWSLETTER MATTERS
Information contained in The Practicing Writer is collected from many sources, with the purpose of providing general references. It is researched carefully but readers should verify information when necessary and appropriate. The Practicing Writer and its editor disclaim any liability for the use of information contained within. Thank you for subscribing/reading.
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About the editor: Erika Dreifus is a writer, teacher, and literary consultant whose books include Birthright: Poems and Quiet Americans: Stories. A Fellow in the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute and an adjunct associate professor at Baruch College/CUNY, she lives in New York. Please visit ErikaDreifus.com to learn more about her work and follow her on Facebook and/or Twitter, where she tweets “on matters bookish and/or Jewish.”