The Practicing Writer 2.0: February 2024
Welcome to our TWENTIETH-ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
Welcome, new readers, and welcome back to the regulars.
For updates and additional opportunities between newsletters, please check the “Practicing Writing” blog and follow me on Twitter (yes, I’m still calling it that, and for reasons I don’t entirely understand, I’m still there), Facebook, and/or Substack.
If you are accessing this newsletter via email, you may find a “Message Clipped” notice as you continue reading. That’s due to the length of this info-packed missive. Please be sure to click as appropriate to access the full text.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Editor’s Note
Success Stories
Featured Resource
Contests, Competitions, and Other Opportunities (NO FEES TO ENTER/APPLY; PAYING OPPORTUNITIES ONLY; NOTHING THAT’S LIMITED TO WRITERS IN A SINGLE CITY/STATE/PROVINCE)
Submission Alerts (NO SUBMISSION/READING FEES; PAYING CALLS ONLY; NOTHING THAT’S LIMITED TO WRITERS IN A SINGLE CITY/STATE/PROVINCE)
Blog Notes
Newsletter Matters
1. EDITOR’S NOTE
Greetings, practicing writers,
Yes, the screenshot just below is correct: The first issue of this newsletter was distributed—in plain-text format, via Yahoo! Groups—to a tiny group of subscribers 20 years ago.
As I’ve mused in this space on previous anniversaries, a lot has changed since then. And I’m not just talking about the obvious technological, formatting, and content changes in the newsletter. Or about the now 10,000-plus subscribers who have signed up to receive these missives. (Yes, we crossed that milestone number mid-January! Thank you all for that vote of confidence and validation!)1
There have also been plenty of changes in my writing practice, my life, and my native country, and in the world we all share. I’ve been exceedingly conscious of these changes as I’ve prepared this 20th-anniversary newsletter issue.
So, as I’ve indicated before, I’m not certain what the future holds for this newsletter as I map out my own future, and that of my writing practice. But I want to take this moment to celebrate these 20 years—and all of you, the subscriber collective. We’ve come a long way together.
Since I know that many subscribers will soon be on the way to the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), I’ll conclude with my wishes for safe and satisfying travels. (I will not be attending. I’m sticking close to home after a brief, intense trip to Israel last week: a solidarity mission facilitated by my congregation. Our schedule was very, very packed. But I did manage a brief visit to the new National Library of Israel building in Jerusalem, where I took these photos.)
Until next time, then, I extend my very best wishes for everyone’s writing practices— and for the world in which we write,
ERIKA
P.S. Reminder: I am grateful when you share this newsletter, in its entirety, with your networks. But if you choose to share only certain listings, please respect my work of research and curation and credit your source—ideally, with a link back to this newsletter. Thank you so much.
2. SUCCESS STORIES
From Susan R. Morritt:
I found 34 Orchard through your emailed newsletter, and my story “No Winter Maintenance” was published in the issue released in November. I greatly appreciate your help to writers like myself by gathering all this information of submitting opportunities. Again, thank you!
From Elizabeth Edelglass:
Heartfelt testimonial: Thanks to your November newsletter, my poem “Pantoum for Holding Ourselves Together” was published in the January issue of Variant Literature. This poem is dear to my heart—and also a stretch for me in terms of poetic form. Only with your help did it find a good home.
From Natalie Reid:
Thanks for posting the LIGHT (Leaders Igniting Generational Healing and Transformation) contest for submissions on transformation and healing around cancer. My submission (“Report From the Trenches, 2000: Letter to My Friends”) won 3rd place, with a cash prize and upcoming publication in issue 3 of LIGHT. I wouldn’t have known about the contest if not for your monthly emails!
Reminder: Please share news from your writing practice that may be connected with this newsletter, or my blogs/other resources. I love to celebrate and amplify in this space!
3. FEATURED RESOURCE(S)
I recently had the opportunity to attend a session that was billed as an “Online Abuse Self-Defense Training.” Convened by the Jewish Book Council for the benefit of those who attended the JBC’s latest writers’ conference, the session featured expert facilitators from PEN America.
Here are a couple of takeaway resources that I’d like to share with you—ideally, to help you prevent abusive circumstances from developing in the first place. But if you do find yourself in a difficult situation along these lines, at least you’ll have a sense of where you might find some guidance.
Digital Safety Snacks (bite-sized videos).
What To Do If You're The Target Of Online Harassment (concise protocol for navigating abuse).
PEN America’s Field Manual for dealing with online abuse.
4. CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
AMERICAN BUFFALO BOOKS FICTION PRIZE
Submissions: “open on February 1 for 28 days or 100 submissions.” Buffalo Books, “a non-profit literary press affiliated with the Kansas State University English Department,” publishes “novels that explore the Midwest, the Plains, and the so-called flyover portions of the West.” The prize for the winning novel includes “an honorarium of $500 and publication under a generous royalty contract.”GRAYWOLF PRESS NONFICTION PRIZE
Submissions: “We will be open for submissions to the 2024 Graywolf Nonfiction Prize in February 2024.” The press will award a $20,000 advance and publication “to the most promising and innovative literary nonfiction project by a writer not yet established in the genre. The winning author will also receive a $2,000 stipend intended to support the completion of their project.” Note eligibility criteria, including a requirement that writers must “live in the United States, regardless of citizenship status.”SOARING GARDENS ARTIST RETREATS
Applications: February 1-March 10. “Actively working visual artists, writers, instrumentalists, and composers with at least two years experience since graduation may apply. Residencies are typically for three weeks. There is no application fee and no fee to attend. We encourage group applications (a combination of artistic disciplines is fine), although each application is reviewed separately, and the judges reserve the right to select or reject individual members of a group. When you apply as part of a group, you may pursue individual projects, collaborative projects, and/or both….A limited number of $500 need-based grants are available.”DIANA WOODS MEMORIAL AWARD IN CREATIVE NONFICTION
Submissions: February 1-28. From Lunch Ticket. “Twice each year an author of a work of creative nonfiction will be selected for the Diana Woods Memorial Award award by a special guest judge. One author will be chosen for the Summer/Fall issue of Lunch Ticket and one in the Winter/Spring issue. The winning submissions will be published in Lunch Ticket and the recipient will receive $250.”JESSIE KESSON FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: February 15. For UK writers. Scotland-based Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre “invites established writers to apply for the 2024 Jessie Kesson Fellowship. This award was established in 2009 by Moniack Mhor to honour Jessie Kesson’s inspirational life and work. The Jessie Kesson Fellow receives time and space to develop their work, as well as opportunities to expand their practice. This includes delivering creative writing workshops based on or inspired by Jessie Kesson’s life and work, with local youth groups, libraries, or community groups.” Beyond residing at Moniack Mhor (August 26-September 14), the Fellow receives a stipend; travel costs within the UK are covered.VETERANS WRITING AWARD
Deadline: February 15. From Syracuse University Press, in cooperation with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), this biennial award aims “to recognize the contributions of veterans to the literary arts, shine a light on the multivalent veteran experience, and provide a platform for unrecognized military writers.” Seeks full-length manuscripts and alternates between fiction and nonfiction; currently open for “a full-length novel, novella, or collection of short stories in manuscript form.” Eligibility: “The award is open to U.S. veterans and active duty personnel in any branch of the U.S. military and their immediate family members. This includes spouses, domestic partners, siblings, parents, and children.” Also: “Entrants must not have published a full-length manuscript or collection of stories previously.” Note: “Although work submitted for the contest need not be about direct military experience, we seek original voices and fresh perspectives that will expand and challenge readers’ understanding of the lives of veterans and their families. Posthumous submissions are eligible.” Prize confers “$1,000 cash prize and a publication contract with Syracuse University Press.”HADASSAH-BRANDEIS INSTITUTE SCHOLARS-IN-RESIDENCE
Deadline: February 16. This program offers “outstanding scholars, writers and artists the opportunity to be in residence at HBI at different points during the year” and “is open to scholars working on any aspect of Jewish women’s and gender studies in order to devote time to their research. These residencies take place during the academic year (August - May) and generally range from two months to a full semester. Applications for a full academic year will be considered.” Residencies may be in-person or hybrid. “Applicants living outside the U.S. and those whose work has an international dimension are especially encouraged to apply.” Residencies confer a stipend of $5,000/month. “In addition, participants will receive (shared) office space at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University and access to all available Brandeis University resources as state and university health policies permit. There is also the possibility to have the support of an undergraduate Research Assistant.”ANDRÉS MONTOYA POETRY PRIZE
Deadline: February 16. Awarded every other year, this prize “supports the publication of a first full-length book of poems by a Latinx poet residing in the United States….The winning poet will receive $1000 from the Huizache Literary Initiative and a contract from University of Nevada Press as part of its New Oeste Series. Upon publication of the winning book, the Huizache Literary Initiative will extend an invitation to both the winner and the judge to give a joint reading at UC Davis. In addition, Letras Latinas will extend an invitation to the winner to present their work at the University of Notre Dame.” (Thanks to Funds for Writers for the update on this one.)WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY POETRY CENTER POETRY AWARDS (FOR UNDERGRADUATE POETS)
Deadline: February 16. Opportunities for “undergraduate poets enrolled in a United States college or university” include the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award (for “unpublished, original poems composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme and received forms”); the Sonnet Award; the Villanelle Award; the Myong Cha Son Haiku Award; and the Rhina P. Espaillat Award (for “original poems written in Spanish and translations of English poems to Spanish”). Cash prizes as detailed on the site.DART CENTER OCHBERG FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: February 21. “A unique seminar program for senior and mid-career journalists [ED note: including freelancers] who wish to deepen their knowledge of emotional trauma and psychological injury, and improve reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy….Fellows attend an intensive weeklong program of seminars held at Columbia University in New York City [July 30 - August 5, 2024]. Program activities include briefings by prominent interdisciplinary experts in the trauma and mental health fields; conversations with journalist colleagues on issues of ethics, craft and practice, and a variety of other opportunities for intellectual engagement and peer learning.” Fellowship package includes “roundtrip travel, 7 nights of lodging, meals and expenses directly related to participation such as ground transportation.” NB: “Approximately half of the Fellows will be based in North America, with the balance drawn from Latin America, Europe, the Asia Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East.”MATTHEW POWER LITERARY REPORTING AWARD
Deadline: February 22. This $12,500 grant supports “the work of a promising early-career nonfiction writer on a story that uncovers truths about the human condition.” Memorializes Matthew Power, “a wide-roving and award-winning journalist who sought to live and share the experience of the individuals and places on which he was reporting. Power, a longtime friend of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, died in March 2014, while on assignment in Uganda. The award proceeds from the recognition that many important stories need to be reported from afar, and that publications do not always have the resources to send a writer where the story is.” Note: “The award will not fund proposals to report on armed conflicts where journalists are already imperiled, nor projects that are mainly investigatory. The winner will normally receive visiting scholar privileges at NYU, including library access.”OX-BOW SUMMER ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Deadline: February 25. Michigan-based Ox-Bow’s fully-funded Summer Artist-in-Residence Program “offers 12 artists the time, space, and community to encourage growth and experimentation in their practice for three weeks on campus. The Summer Residencies are held while our core classes and community programs are in session….Our Summer Residencies are open to artists at any level. Currently enrolled students, MFA candidates, arts faculty, emerging, or established artists are encouraged to apply. There are generally three residents on campus at a time.” Check the website for list of residency dates and additional information.HEMINGWAY-PFEIFFER MUSEUM AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
Deadline: February 28. Located in Piggott, Arkansas. “The residency will be for June 1-30, 2024, and includes lodging at a beautiful loft apartment on the downtown square in Piggott over the City Market coffee shop. The writer-in-residence will also have the opportunity to work in the studio where Ernest Hemingway worked on A Farewell to Arms during an extended stay with his wife’s family in 1928. The residency includes a $1000 stipend to help cover food and transportation. The writer-in-residence will be expected to serve as mentor for a week-long retreat for writers at the educational center. This retreat will be open to 8-10 writers from the region. The recipient may be asked to hold one or two readings of his/her own work in the region. The remainder of the month will be free to the writer-in-residence to work on his/her own work.”TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: February 28. Open to “national and local artists and/or arts workers of any medium and/or discipline with a minimum of five-years of arts field experience. Applicant must be at least 25 years old and a U.S. citizen, permanent legal resident, or O-1 Visa holder. During three-year award term, awardees commit to living and working in Tulsa, Oklahoma.” Among fellowship benefits: a $150,000 stipend paid over three-years; a $36,000 housing stipend over three-years; and fully subsidized studio space in Tulsa’s Arts and/or Greenwood Districts with access to shared facilities.”BCALA E-BOOK LITERARY AWARD
Deadline: February 29. Each year, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) “honors the best self-published eBooks by an African-American author in the United States in the genres of Fiction and Poetry. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.” Confers $2,500 cash awards and other recognition.#LILLIPUTat40 ANTHOLOGY COMPETITION
Deadline: February 29. The Ireland-based Lilliput Press “is turning 40 in 2024. To celebrate, a special anthology of short stories and essays is in the making – and your writing could be the highlight of the book. We’ve commissioned new work from some of the writers we’ve published before and are now looking for a contribution from one undiscovered voice.” They’re welcoming short fiction and essays “under the loose theme ‘Christmas Parties’. The winner will be published alongside a line-up of some of the best Irish writers at work today…and be paid €500.” (Thanks to Lawrence Schimel for bringing this one to my attention.)LITTLE TOKYO SHORT STORY CONTEST
Deadline: February 29. “The Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) seeks fictional short stories for its 11th annual Imagine Little Tokyo short story contest in the categories of English language, Japanese language and youth (18 and younger)….The purpose of the contest is to raise awareness of Little Tokyo through a creative story that takes place in Little Tokyo. The story has to be fictional and set in a current, past or future Little Tokyo in the City of Los Angeles, California.” Prizes: “Each category winner will be awarded $500 in cash with their short story being published in The Rafu Shimpo, Discover Nikkei and Little Tokyo Historical Society website. A hybrid (in-person and virtual) award ceremony and dramatic readings of the winning stories are also being planned for 2024 at the Japanese American National Museum.”SIJO WRITING COMPETITION
Deadline: February 29. From the website: “The sijo is a traditional three-line Korean poetic form organized technically and thematically by line and syllable count. Using the sijo form, write one poem in English on a topic of your choice.” Note an additional essay category for younger writers, with a young adult division for writers aged 19-30. Cash prizes and possible publication. “Open to all residents of the US and Canada regardless of ethnic background.”ALPINE FELLOWSHIP PRIZES
Deadline: March 1. “Every year writing, visual arts, and theatre prizes are awarded to the best works concerning the year’s theme.” This year’s theme: “Language.” NB: This program administers discrete “writing” (“fiction, non-fiction, and non-academic essays”) and “poetry” prize categories. For each, “the winner and runners-up will receive cash prizes [£3,000/£1,000/£1,000] and will be invited to attend our annual symposium. We will offer up to £500 travel expenses to help with travel to the event and meals and accommodation during the symposium dates are also covered.” Open to writers of all nationalities.THE BRIDGE AWARDS RESIDENCIES
Deadline: March 1. From Scotland-based Cove Park: “We are delighted to announce a new group residency taking place in May 2024. In collaboration with The Bridge Awards, and building upon the first Bridge Awards Residency for an individual artist in 2023, Cove Park is pleased to offer a further 5 fully funded residencies in 2024 for artists based in Scotland whose careers have been impacted by a breast cancer diagnosis and who have undergone successful treatment and are up to five years in remission.” The one-week residencies “will run in parallel from Monday 20 May to Sunday 27 May.”DEEP WILD 2024 GRADUATE STUDENT PROSE CONTEST
Deadline: March 1. “The editors of Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry invite students currently enrolled in graduate studies to submit work for our 2024 Graduate Student Prose Contest…..We seek work, either fiction or nonfiction, that conjures the experiences, observations, and insights of backcountry journeys. By ‘backcountry,’ we mean away from paved roads on journeys undertaken by foot, skis, snowshoes, kayak, canoe, horse, or any other non-motorized means of conveyance. We are open to a wide spectrum of carefully-crafted work,from the personal to the political. By ‘personal,’ we mean work that not only relates the experience of backcountry journeys but also in some way reflects upon the journeys. By ‘political,’ we mean work that, while maintaining a backcountry perspective, addresses and confronts the social, economic, and environmental issues of our times.” Prizes: “Up to three pieces will be chosen for publication in the June 2024 volume of Deep Wild Journal, and the authors will receive cash awards and five copies of the journal.”IRON HORSE LITERARY REVIEW CHAPBOOK COMPETITION
Fee-free submissions day: March 1 (“Once we hit 25 submissions in the free gate, we will close it….If you can afford to enter, please do not take one of the 25 available free slots.”). For a “winning collection of prose” (as detailed/defined in the guidelines), this competition will confer a $1,500 honorarium and publication (and 15 copies).ON THE PREMISES SHORT STORY CONTEST
Deadline: March 1. “For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which some kind of vehicle plays an important role.” Winners receive cash prizes and publication as delineated on the site’s homepage.NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS CREATIVE WRITING FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: March 13. For Fiscal Year 2025, which is covered by current guidelines, fellowships in poetry ($25,000 grants) are available.
REMINDER: Some competitions listed in last month’s newsletter remain open into January; make sure you haven’t missed them!
5. SUBMISSION ALERTS
Quick reminder: As I mentioned a couple of issues back, I’m no longer including payment specifics in this space. But I do promise to share only fee-free litmag opportunities that (as far as I can tell) pay a double-digit minimum and specify their rates within the guidelines. This shift requires a little more research on your part, but it brings a little bit of relief for me. (I’ll extend more flexibility for book publishers since, particularly where royalties are concerned, there’s no way to predict the exact earnings a writer can count on.)
BALTIMORE REVIEW is scheduled to open February 1 (remaining open through May).
According to its Submittable page, DAPPLED THINGS, “the hub of the new renaissance in Catholic art and literature,” is slated to open February 1 for fiction and poetry submissions (and will remain open until May 31, “subject to adjustment”). Note that “nonfiction, book reviews, and guest blog posts continue to be read and accepted on a rolling basis.”
Another one scheduled to re-open February 1: online flash-fiction magazine FLASH FROG.
Also scheduled to open on February 1 (and remaining open until April 1): GORDON SQUARE REVIEW, “for general submissions [poetry, fiction, nonfiction] from writers of all geographic locations.”
HARBOR REVIEW, “an online space for poetry and art,” is similarly slated to open for submissions on February 1 (and will remain open until April 30).
A reminder from NASHVILLE REVIEW: “We consider submissions in Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Translation two times a year—August and February—and typically respond within 4-5 months. We welcome submissions in Art and Comics year-round. Currently, we are not accepting unsolicited reviews or interviews.” NB: “We cap the number of submissions to be considered at 750 per section to ensure a reasonable response time. If we reach our submission cap before the end of the month-long reading period, submissions will close early.”
Ireland-based SOUTHWORD will open for fiction submissions February 1 (and will remain open until March 31). Recall that they opened for poetry submissions last month; that submissions window will close February 29.
Also scheduled to be open for poetry (and art) during the month of February: VARIANT LIT.
At YELLOW ARROW JOURNAL, which publishes “creative nonfiction, poetry, and cover art by writers and artists who identify as women,” submissions will be open during February for an upcoming issue on the theme of “Elevate.” Guest editor: Jennifer N. Shannon. (Hat tip: WOW! Women on Writing Markets Newsletter.)
MUKOLI, “the magazine for peace,” publishes “art and literature that engages with peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding in its many forms,” has posted the following deadline information: “The submission window for our Summer ’24 & Winter ’24 issues is open up to 1 March ’24. Submissions received after 5 February ’24 will be considered only for the Winter ’24 issue.” (Thanks to Jeanne Lyet Gassman for introducing me to this one.)
Until February 11, FALLING STAR seeks short stories (and a few poems) on the theme “New Home.” NB: “WE DO NOT PUBLISH FIRST PERSON NARRATIVES. We will auto-reject anything told in an ‘I-Me-My’ vein. Wanna tell the story of how your family moved west from their long-time homestead on the east coast? Cool. Think at the very least like Phillip [sic] Roth and have a thinly disguised version of yourself as the protagonist.”
Until February 15, CARTE BLANCHE welcomes submissions for its upcoming open-themed issue. “We invite creators to submit previously unpublished pieces in the following genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations (French to English), photography, and comics.” NB: “Please note that while Canadian and international creators are welcome to submit their work to us for consideration, as a result of our affiliation with the Quebec Writers’ Federation and Canada Council grant requirements, we may emphasize a focus on Quebec-based creators in a given issue.”
February 15 is also the deadline for PRAIRIE FIRE’s call for submissions for a special “50 Over 50” issue: “Prairie Fire is giving centre stage to women writers fifty and over! This special issue is a celebration that honours and recognizes the enormous contribution of living Canadian women writers, who have helped shape CanLit and continue to do so. If you are a woman, aged fifty and over, have at least one published piece of writing (literary journals, non-literary journals, writing group publications, anthologies, books, etc… we’re really not picky on this point.) and live in Canada (or lived a substantial amount of your life in Canada) then we want to see your unpublished work, as we compile this mosaic of new writing to be released in fall of 2024.”
THE SPECTACLE, too, remains open for submissions until February 15. (Note that although they pay for work accepted through their fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art categories, material accepted for “The Revue” is not eligible for payment.)
At THE HEDUAN REVIEW, the forthcoming issue “will be themed ‘narratives of healing, reflection, and rebirth.’ In essence, we are looking for pieces that explore how we experience change in the face of triumph over challenges and what it means to introspect. Whether through personal essays, poetry, short fiction, or analysis of another work, we look forward to delving into your pieces on the human condition.” Deadline: February 25. (Hat tip: WOW! Women on Writing Markets Newsletter.)
FANTASTIC BOOKS “is delighted to announce a second anthology [Jewish Futures 2] of original science fiction—and now, fantasy—stories that will speculate on the past, present, and future of the Jewish people. What will Jews be up to many years from now? How do Jews deal with magic, sorcery, and demons? These stories, like those in the first Jewish Futures book, will present the possibilities….While stories can be optimistic, pessimistic, utopian, dystopian, or anywhere in between, being Jewish and Judaism itself ought to be portrayed in a positive light. We encourage stories set outside the United States and Israel, and stories that include non-Ashkenazi American Jews, as we want this to be more than just ‘What will American Jews look like in the future?’” Editor: Michael A. Burstein. Deadline: February 27.
Closing February 29: ALIEN’s current submissions window for fiction and poetry (nonfiction and visual art are received year-round). NB: Despite their name, they are not a science-fiction magazine: “We’re not looking for any specific genre. We just think aliens are cool.”
New-magazine alert: GULLY is open to submissions year-round, but note that “the deadline to submit to Issue #1 is March 1, 2024. We are an annual magazine, and any submissions received after this date will be considered for Issue #2, which will launch in 2025. We publish fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and visual art. Our founding editors are based in New York City, Singapore and Berlin, and we are excited to publish work by writers and artists from around the world.” (Hat tip:
.)March 1 is also the deadline at TEACH. WRITE. (“a writing teachers’ literary journal”). The work submitted need not be about teaching/learning. Submissions are open to all, although “writing that is either written by composition teachers and writing students OR about teaching and learning” is preferred.
MIDDLE WEST PRESS is currently open for two categories of book-length poetry-manuscript submissions: “Intersections with Military Experience” and “Connections with American Middle West.” Deadline for each category is March 4 “or a maximum of 25 submissions, whichever comes first.”
Recently discovered CONCORD RIDGE, “a biannual poetry broadsheet based in the Hudson Valley.” They’re open for submissions year-round. (Hat tip: Jeanne Lyet Gassman.)
Reminder: Free submissions are open for the first seven days of every month at ONLY POEMS.
Reminder: RIDDLEBIRD, which features “literary fiction and personal essays,” has “decided to try a rolling submission system. We will be open year round, but capped at 50 a month.”
Reminder: Make it a habit to check the CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL website, where titles in development are posted. Note: “If this is your first time, please visit our Story Guidelines page.”
Reminder: ROUGH CUT PRESS seeks “experimental work of all genres by writers and allies of the LGBTQIA community. To get a sense of what we publish please read some of our former issues. We don’t know what we like until we see it. Each month we announce a different theme, but don’t worry if the work you submit doesn’t quite fit: we often build issues around work that takes us by surprise.”
Reminder: There’s a rolling deadline (the 25th of each month) for OFF TOPIC PUBLISHING’s Poetry Box, which supplies subscribers with a poem “printed postcard-style” along with tea and chocolate. Poems should be no longer than 15 lines (“including blank lines”).
Also:
, which aims to “revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful,” selects one story for publication each month and considers reprints.
REMEMBER: Multiple venues listed in last month’s newsletter remain open for submissions, too. And please keep reading the “Blog Notes” below for an important reminder about additional opportunity listings!
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 fee-free/paying opportunities that don’t make it into the monthly newsletter)
(Friday) Finds for Writers
#SundaySentence
Occasional Notes from a Practicing Writer
Please visit, comment, and subscribe.
Interested in matters of specifically Jewish literary and cultural interest? Please also visit the My Machberet blog (“machberet” is the Hebrew word for “notebook”). And be sure to consult our collection of Jewish Writing Resources.
7. NEWSLETTER MATTERS
Information contained in The Practicing Writer is researched carefully but readers should always verify information. Any necessary corrections, when discovered, are added post-publication within each archived issue. The Practicing Writer and its editor disclaim any liability for the use of information contained within. Thank you for following/reading.
We value our subscribers, and we protect their privacy. We keep our subscriber list confidential.
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 right here on Substack, on Facebook, and/or on Twitter, where she tweets (mostly) “on matters bookish and/or Jewish.”
Based on patterns that I mentioned in last month’s issue, I doubted that we’d cross the 10,000-subscriber mark. And indeed, dozens of people left us after that issue, too. But even more people joined us—at least in part, judging by some messages I received, because other writers encouraged them to do so. Thank you, all.