The Practicing Writer 2.0: February 2025
Beginning our *22nd* year serving writers of fiction, poetry, & cnf. Featuring 50+ fee-free, paying/funded opportunities, success stories, and more.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, and/or Substack. (I’ve been decreasing my activity on Twitter/X; I’m also on Instagram.)
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/FUNDED 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 21 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 12,000-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!)
Looking ahead, I can assure you that there are several newsletter features now in place that I do not currently anticipate changing:
Each new issue will remain free to all subscribers.
Opportunities listed within will continue to meet the time-tested criteria of being both fee-free (no reading/submission fees) and paying or otherwise funded. (Residency opportunities included here, for example, will not charge for applications or for participation, although not all of them may confer additional stipends.)
With the exception of cases in which the promise of a (standard) royalty agreement is indicated, each opportunity listed must specify pay rates. Within the “Submission Alerts” section, I will list only those journals/presses whose guidelines guarantee a minimum of double-digit payment in U.S. dollars or the equivalent.
I will not knowingly amplify any opportunity offered by an outlet or organization that engages in the sort of bias and/or professional malpractice that I have delineated in “Writers, Beware” (https://bit.ly/47vTyHl).
But I am contemplating some changes. Please stay tuned!
With best wishes for you and your writing practices,
ERIKA
P.S. I am also 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 Jill Golick:
Hi Erika: Thanks for so many things, including that wonderful letter to [The New York Times Book Review]1 and also for highlighting Judith Magazine. I got published [there]! I hope this is a sign of a better year ahead.
From Burt Rashbaum:
I was excited to see your [information on] publications with Jewish themes. The Jewish Fiction Journal published “Becoming Julius,” a chapter from my recently completed novel From Where We Came, in their December issue. It was a thrill for me. Thank you for your continued work!
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: EMERGENCY GRANTS AND RESOURCES FOR WRITERS
Over on my website, I’ve been updating a page on emergency grants and other resources for writers in a small effort to (try to) help those who are navigating the devastating wildfire situation in Southern California. Direct link to that page: bit.ly/EmergencyResourcesWriters.
4. CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
HUGO BURGE FOUNDATION EMERGING WRITER RESIDENCY
Deadline: February 7. This U.K.-based residency, running between May 7 and June 4, is “for any writer of both fiction and nonfiction who considers themselves to be at an early-stage in their career. The successful applicant will receive private studio space, on-site accommodation in one of our Hobbit Pods, and a weekly stipend of £350.”TOM LA FARGE AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE WRITING, TEACHING AND PUBLISHING
Deadline: February 15. “This annual award in the amount of $10,000 is designed to encourage and foster literary activity that combines serious play, imagination, erudition and innovative practice. Tom La Farge was a stylist who passionately rejected exclusivist dualities: adult/child, human/animal, male/female. His work fuses wit, fabulism, learning, compassion and radical play in a way that eludes the dominant literary conventions of both mainstream and avant-garde. Because this award aims to foster literary work in his spirit, applicants will be expected to familiarize themselves with his legacy. Proposals will be considered by a committee selected by Wendy Walker from among Tom’s students, fellow writers and friends.”VETERANS WRITING AWARD
Deadline: February 15. From Syracuse University Press, in cooperation with the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), this 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.” Confers “$1,000 cash prize and a publication contract with Syracuse University Press.”ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Deadline: February 16. Each summer, this program in Michigan “provides three to four artists a two to three week immersion in Isle Royale’s wilderness environment. This immersion provides time for the artist to connect to the many moods that only a north woods wilderness can provide.”OX-BOW SUMMER ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Deadline: February 16. 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.WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY POETRY CENTER POETRY AWARDS (FOR UNDERGRADUATE POETS)
Deadline: February 17. 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 with the English translation and translations of English poems to Spanish”). Cash prizes as detailed on the site.MATTHEW POWER LITERARY REPORTING AWARD
Deadline: February 19. 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.”SHOALS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Deadline: February 19. From the Shoals Marine Laboratory (Appledore Island, New Hampshire). This program “offers artists the opportunity to pursue their work immersed in Appledore’s beautiful landscapes, free of everyday distractions. The 5-6 selected artists reside on the island, one at a time, for 2-3 concurrent weeks between May and August. Artists blend personal creative time with art programming designed for students enrolled in SML courses.” Residency includes housing, meals, and more as detailed on the website. NB: “Two-week residencies are preferred and typically run from a Monday to a Monday.” And be forewarned that although writers may apply, “visual arts are prioritized.”BERTON HOUSE WRITERS’ RESIDENCY
Deadline: February 24. “Writers’ Trust of Canada is accepting applications from writers to live and write at Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon in 2025 and 2026….Four selected authors will be offered two-month residencies in the childhood home of noted Canadian author Pierre Berton….Residents will receive a $4,000 stipend and travel costs will be covered by Writers’ Trust.” Eligibility criteria include being “a Canadian citizen or permanent resident” and having published “at least one book with a professional publishing house.”PEGASUS AWARD FOR POETRY CRITICISM
Deadline: February 24 (for portal registration for first-time nominators); March 3 for nominations. “The Poetry Foundation annually awards one Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism. This $10,000 prize seeks to honor an outstanding book-length work of criticism published in the US in the prior calendar year. Eligible works for this prize include biographies, essay collections, and critical editions that consider the subject of poetry or poets.” NB: “Authors and editors are encouraged to nominate their own work.”BCALA SELF-PUBLISHING LITERARY AWARDS
Deadline: February 28. “Through this contest, the BCALA honors the best self-published ebooks by an African American author in the U.S. in both fiction and poetry genres. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora….each genre prize winner shall receive: $2,500.00, formal recognition at the NCAAL conference, and a BCALA Literary Award Seal to use in their marketing.” NB: “As long as your book meets the other contest criteria, it can be submitted, regardless of when it was published.”THE BRIDGE AWARDS RESIDENCIES
Deadline: February 28. From Scotland-based Cove Park: Four fully-funded residencies “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 four Bridge Awards Residencies will run in parallel for ten days from Monday 19 May – Thursday 29 May 2025. They are open to people based in Scotland, at any stage of their creative career, and working in any art form or creative discipline. The aim is to provide the artist, writer, creative practitioner, or researcher with time and space to reconnect with their practice, and to do this within the peaceful, supportive, and inspiring context of Cove Park.”HEMINGWAY-PFEIFFER MUSEUM AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
Deadline: February 28. Located in Piggott, Arkansas, this residency “will be for June 2025, 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. Candidates with an MA or MFA in a relevant field are preferred.”IMAGINE LITTLE TOKYO SHORT STORY CONTEST
Deadline: February 28. For “fictional short stories based in Little Tokyo” (Los Angeles). “If your submitted short story wins first place for the Youth, English Language or Japanese Language categories, you will receive a monetary prize of $500 after providing an e-mail of acceptance and biographical information for publication purposes. For this prize, the Little Tokyo Historical Society will receive the non-exclusive right to use for our promotional purposes, including the publication in The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, the Discover Nikkei website, and the Little Tokyo Historical Society website. All other rights will remain with you. Contest winners will be invited and encouraged to attend an awards ceremony in Little Tokyo to be held in summer 2025.”MAINE WRITERS STUDIO WRITER’S RETREAT
Deadline: February 28. This “free, one-week writing retreat,” which will be scheduled for June 14-21, 2025, in Brunswick, Maine, “will be awarded to a qualified writer who can benefit from a quiet space to advance their current project. This year, the retreat will be awarded to a writer of fiction or creative non-fiction (sorry, no poetry as last year’s winner was a poet), who has yet to publish their first book-length manuscript. We prioritize candidates who do not hold full-time faculty positions at college or university level.” NB: “Please note that transportation and meals are not included.”PLAYA FLAMINGO WRITING RESIDENCY IN COSTA RICA
Deadline: February 28. From Atmosphere Press. Award includes a five-day residency between May and August. “There are no fees, but you are responsible for travel expenses. We’ll cover your lodging at this lovely place for up to five nights, but you have to get there and take care of yourself while in-country.”SIJO WRITING COMPETITION
Deadline: February 28. 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 (younger) adult division for writers aged 19-30, for which entrants submit essays responding to a prompt. Cash prizes and possible publication as detailed on the site. “Open to all residents of the US and Canada regardless of ethnic background.”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.”DEEP WILD 2025 GRADUATE STUDENT CONTEST
Deadline: March 1. “The editors of Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry invite students currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate studies” to participate in this contest, on the theme “Waking to the Wild.” “We seek work in any genre that conveys the awe, the gratitude, the passion to protect, and/or any other feelings and thoughts that arise when you awaken to the wild world.” Prizes: $200/$100/$50, plus publication.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….We offer this opportunity in the hopes of targeting writers who cannot afford to enter otherwise. If you can afford to enter, please do not take one of the 25 available free slots.”) For a “winning collection of poetry,” this competition will confer a $1,000 honorarium and publication (and 15 copies).SUREL’S PLACE RESIDENCIES
Deadline: March 1 (for residencies taking place July-November 2025). These month-long residencies in Idaho are open to “professional visual, literary, and performance artists: painters, writers, musicians, architects, filmmakers, and choreographers… any artist who needs a place to focus.” Residency awards include free rent, utilities, and wi-fi as well as a “modest living stipend of $100 per week” and a $300 travel stipend.WATERMAN FUND ESSAY CONTEST FOR EMERGING WRITERS
Deadline: March 1. “Since 2008, Appalachia, the mountaineering and conservation journal published by the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Waterman Fund have joined to sponsor an annual essay contest for emerging writers. Writers who have not published a major work of fiction or narrative nonfiction on topics of wilderness, wildness, or the ethics and ecology of environmental issues are eligible. The Waterman Fund provides generous prize money of $3,000 for the first-place essay selection and $1,000 for a runner-up.” Essays must respond to the prompt provided.WOODBERRY POETRY ROOM CREATIVE FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: March 1. Based at Harvard University, this program “invites poets, writers, translators, visual artists, composers, and scholars to propose creative projects that would benefit from an immersive encounter with the Woodberry Poetry Room and its collections.” Confers “$5,000, access to the Woodberry Poetry Room (and several other Harvard special collections), and research support from the Poetry Room curatorial staff. Thanks to the generosity of the T. S. Eliot Foundation, the fellowship recipient will also receive a one-week residency to work on their project at the T.S. Eliot House in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Eliot House residency may be scheduled between May-October of the fellowship year, but does not have to coincide with the fellow’s research visit to Harvard.” NB: “It is hoped that the $5,000 stipend (which is the comprehensive honorarium for individual and collaborative recipients) will help to offset travel and lodging costs.”HURSTON/WRIGHT COLLEGE AWARD
Deadline: March 3. “The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation is proud to host the annual Hurston/Wright Awards for College Writers, which is the only award of its kind that recognizes Black college writers. The award is the foundation’s first program. It was initiated to support emerging Black artists in fiction and poetry enrolled full-time in an undergraduate or graduate school program anywhere in the United States….There is a $1000 prize for the winner in each category. Also, award winners will be invited to attend a summer workshop of their choice for free, as well as attend the Legacy Award ceremony that is hosted in October in Washington, DC.”RUTH LILLY AND DOROTHY SARGENT ROSENBERG POETRY FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: March 3. “The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the US, the $27,000 prize is intended to support exceptional US poets between 21 and 31 years of age….If you are turning 21 or are 31 at any time in 2025 you are eligible to apply. Applicants must be US citizens or currently reside in the US.”SURFACING OVERLOOKED STORIES FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: March 3. From the Boston Public Library, this is an “eight-to-ten-week fellowship intended to highlight often overlooked voices and narratives in our collections. The theme for the 2025-2026 Surfacing Overlooked Stories fellowship will be looking into Black life and culture from Boston’s founding in 1630 through Boston’s incorporation as a city in 1822.” Confers a $9,500 stipend. “Masters and doctoral students, post-doctoral, academic, and independent scholars, and artists as well as curators and other library, archive, and museum professionals are welcome to apply.”TELLING BOSTON STORIES FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: March 3. From the Boston Public Library, this is “a four-week fellowship intended to support research projects whose focus is on the people and communities of Boston that are often left out of the historical narrative. This fellowship can support a wide variety of projects, both academic and artistic. Successful topics for this fellowship could include projects looking at Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood and its history of community activism, the rise of Boston’s Little Syria neighborhood, the campaign from Villa Victoria residents to save their community from urban renewal displacement, or other projects that applicants may be interested in researching further. Fellows will receive a $4,500 stipend….Artists, independent scholars, graduate, and doctoral students are all encouraged to apply, as well as academics, community activists, and library, archives, and museum professionals.”EUDORA WELTY FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: March 7. From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) in partnership with the Eudora Welty Foundation, “this annual fellowship awards a $5,000 stipend to one graduate student to conduct research using the Eudora Welty Collection at MDAH for two weeks during the summer.”NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS CREATIVE WRITING FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: March 12. “The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Creative Writing Fellowships program offers $50,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry to published creative writers that enable recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement….The program operates on a two-year cycle with fellowships in prose and poetry available in alternating years. For FY 2026, which is covered by these guidelines, fellowships in prose are available….Individual U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. who meet specific publication requirements are eligible to apply. To determine eligibility, review the complete list of requirements in the Grant Program Details document.”ROCKY MOUNTAIN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND BECK ARCHIVES SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: March 14. Open “to scholars at all stages of their careers, including graduate students, independent researchers, filmmakers, artists, and curators. Applicants must demonstrate how specific collections in the Beck Archives are relevant to their projects. Preference will be given to candidates from outside Colorado. Candidates must agree to be in residence in Denver for a minimum of five business days between May and August 2025.” Fellowship confers “a grant of up to $2,500 to cover travel, lodging, and living expenses while conducting research in the Beck Archives. During their residency in Denver, the grant recipient will give a presentation about their research that will be organized by the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society.”SOARING GARDENS ARTIST RETREATS
Applications: February 1-March 15. Located in Laceyville, Pennsylvania. “Actively working visual artists, writers, instrumentalists, and composers with at least two years experience since graduation may apply. Residencies are typically for three weeks.” Group applications are welcome. NB: “A limited number of $500 need-based grants are available.”
REMINDER: Some opportunities listed in last month’s newsletter remain open into the new month. And don’t skip over the “Blog Notes” below for an important tip about additional opportunity listings!
5. SUBMISSION ALERTS
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 March 31): GORDON SQUARE REVIEW.
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). Note that when I last checked, the theme for this issue had not yet been announced.
Ireland-based SOUTHWORD will open for fiction submissions February 1 (and will remain open for the month).
The current submission period at FOREST AVENUE PRESS “runs through Sunday, February 9. Our committee of readers is seeking at least two literary novels by US residents for our 2026-27 catalog….We love fabulism and magical thinking. We love metaphors and grand statements and jaunty characters. Our committee usually seeks some sort of joyous quality, whether that’s humor, whimsy, or interesting language. If your style is playful or gentle, your work may be a good fit for us.”
February 9 is also the deadline to pitch MILDEW, “an annual print magazine about secondhand fashion and creative reuse, featuring art and writing that inspires us to think about old clothes in new ways.” (Hat tip: The Writer’s Job Newsletter.)
For POET LORE’s Winter/Spring 2025 issue, “Guest Editor Kenzie Allen will curate a folio centered on ‘The More-Than-Human World.’” Details/description within the guidelines. Deadline: February 11.
For its March issue, SMOKELONG, which “publishes flash narratives up to 1000 words,” remains open for submissions until February 15.
Until February 28, UK-based monthly comedy magazine HUMOUR ME seeks “your funny short stories with the theme ‘fresh starts.’ This can be any genre, as long as you have a humour/comedy element and adheres to the theme.” (Hat tip: WOW! Women on Writing Markets Newsletter.)
For an upcoming issue of its quarterly literary journal, International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM) seeks submissions addressing “The Evolving Gaze: Society’s Voice for Masculinity” until March 1. NB: “Of course, we will continue to look, to listen and to learn about issues of concern for creators from Algeria to Zimbabwe, and everywhere in between! Up to 50% of each issue will be reserved for pieces that expand our understanding of human rights and social justice concerns not covered by the quarterly theme.” (Hat tip:
.)From TEACH.WRITE.’s Katie Winkler: “Because writing has always been my most productive way to handle traumatic events, and I have witnessed how it has helped my students through the years of my teaching career, for the 2025 Spring/Summer edition, I would like to highlight writing by those, especially teachers and students, who have been impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton or have been through any natural disaster other than the pandemic. I’m looking for stories of strength and goodwill in the midst of these tragedies, stories about how people come together for the good of all. I don’t expect writers to avoid descriptions of the devastation, but I would like to offer people hope. I am open to a variety of genres and subject matter. The submission does NOT have to be about teaching or learning to be accepted in Teach. Write. I also welcome student writing.” Deadline: March 1.
TORONTO JOURNAL publishes short stories “from anywhere in the world. We will also consider non-fiction pieces about local history (Toronto, GTA, and surrounding).” Deadline: March 1.
At STONE’S THROW, “the monthly online companion to Rock and a Hard Place Magazine,” they’re open for submissions early each month. “We’re looking for all the same dark fiction, crime, and noir as our usual submissions, but with a target length between 1,000 and 2,000 words, and aligned with the monthly submissions prompt….We’ll read through each story, choose the one story that shines brightest, and publish it online the following month. After a year, we’ll collect all twelve stories into a Stone’s Throw Annual Anthology, to be published alongside our other print issues.” For submissions March 1-4 (for the April 2025 issue), they seek work along the following lines: “It’s Hector Acosta’s birthday month, and to get him off our backs, send us noir stories featuring either pro-wrestling, or pop-punk.”
A new project from NEW ENGLAND REVIEW: “We are now accepting submissions for our new series: ‘Staging Style: A Quarterly Online Craft Series.’ Staging Style will present innovative writers, translators, and critics articulating the influences and impulses that have sharpened their thinking and writing minds. We are seeking brief essays, 900 to 2,000 words, that trouble the conventional prescriptiveness of ‘craft’ and instead illuminate the infinite possibilities beneath questions of style, time, sound, form, voice, character, image, setting, risk, genre, etc.” No deadline indicated.
Somehow, I had not realized that OKAY DONKEY, which publishes poetry and flash fiction only and “likes to read the odd, the off-kilter, and the just plain weird,” had begun paying for published work. (Thanks,
, for cluing me in!) They seek poetry and flash fiction only. NB: “We’re open for free submissions on the 1st of every month but December and stay open until we hit our submissions cap. If we hit the submission cap, regular submissions will close and reopen on the 1st of the next month.”THE SICK TIMES, “a journalist-founded website chronicling the Long COVID crisis,” has updated its guidelines with details about pitches they’re “particularly interested” in receiving “as of early 2025.”
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: THE FORGE, which “publishes one prose piece per week selected by a rotating cast of editors,” opens for free submissions on the first of each month (except for September and December). “If there is no free link, we’ve hit our quota.”
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: , 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.
Reminder: VAST CHASM, which publishes “bold work that explores the expansive human experience, including flash and short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and other nonconforming work,” considers submissions “year-round, on a rolling basis, for our quarterly online issues.”
REMEMBER: Some venues listed in last month’s newsletter remain open for submissions, too. And please keep reading the “Blog Notes” below for an important tip 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 (most recently featuring, as hinted in last month’s newsletter, my own “I Did It!” list for 2024)
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 and/or on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.
Referencing “An Open Letter to the Editor of The New York Times Book Review,” published December 2 by
.