The Practicing Writer 2.0: June 2022
55+ carefully curated calls and competitions for poets, fictionists, & writers of cnf. No fees. Paying opportunities only. Nothing that's limited to residents of a single city/state/province.
Welcome, new readers, and welcome back to the regulars!
For updates and additional opportunities between newsletters, please check the “Practicing Writing” blog and follow Erika Dreifus on Twitter (@ErikaDreifus) and/or Facebook.
If you are accessing this newsletter via email, you may find a “Message Clipped” warning as you continue reading. That’s due to the length of this info-packed missive. Please be sure to click as appropriate to view the complete text.
Please share this newsletter with your networks! If you’d like to share individual listings with others, PLEASE CREDIT THE PRACTICING WRITER (ideally with a link—a working one, I somehow find it necessary to add) 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; 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
Welcome, practicing writers:
I wish that May had been a better month.
I wish that we lived in a better, less-wounded world.
I wish that I had healing words to offer here. I don’t.
But we are writers. And we work with words.
And if and when you have words to share that relate to recent events, perhaps some of the information in this newsletter will help you share and amplify them.
With hopes for better times,
ERIKA
2. SUCCESS STORIES
From Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell:
#Writers, you should totally check out @erikadreifus’s The Practicing Writer. I’ve sold at least 3 pieces to markets that probably wouldn’t have been on my radar if not for her newsletter. [ED note: Click through for links!]
From Anca Szilágyi:
Thanks to your posting The Fiddlehead’s calls for submissions in your newsletter, last year I sent them my essay “Boiled Boot,” about my grandmother’s childhood starvation during the Shoah and integenerational trauma, and it is now in their spring issue. Since it’s in print only, I put a bit about the essay on my blog too. I so appreciate all that you do for the literary community!
From Allison Floyd:
I just had a (paid!) blog post accepted for “The Growlery,” Run Amok Books’ new blog about writers and writing. I became aware of this opportunity via the May edition of The Practicing Writer. It probably wouldn’t have ended up on my radar without your fantastic newsletter. Thank you!
Please share news from your writing practice that may be connected with this newsletter or our other resources. I love to celebrate such successes in this space!
3. FEATURED RESOURCE
In preparation for a couple of recent presentations, I’ve updated a list titled “Where to Read (And Publish) Writing on Jewish Themes”: bit.ly/JewishWriting
As noted in introductory text, this resource is not limited to no-fee/paying publications, so bear that fact in mind.
4. CURRENT CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
RUTH LILLY AND DOROTHY SARGENT ROSENBERG FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline June 2 (11:59pm Chicago time). Awards $25,800 each “to five young poets through a national competition sponsored by the Poetry Foundation. Established in 1989 by the Indianapolis philanthropist Ruth Lilly and increased in 2013 with a gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund, the fellowships are intended to encourage the further study and writing of poetry.” Note that applicants “must reside in the U.S. or be U.S. citizens” and “must be at least 21 years of age and no older than 31 years of age as of April 30, 2022.”LETRAS BORICUAS FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: June 13 (4pm Eastern). Sponsored by The Mellon Foundation and The Flamboyan Foundation’s Arts Fund, this program provides 40 writers (20 selected in 2021 and 20 to be selected in 2022) with $25,000 each. “Recipients will also participate in a gathering of all forty Fellows to be hosted in Puerto Rico, tentatively scheduled for April 2023. While fellowship award funds are unrestricted, the hope is to help writers in Puerto Rico and across the diaspora, pursue their writing, amplify their work to a broader audience, and create work that celebrates Puerto Rican life and culture. It is also the aim that each Fellowship cohort will include writers of different genres [poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and children’s literature] and writers who live in Puerto Rico, as well Puerto Ricans who may live in the United States. Applications will be accepted in Spanish and/or English.”ANONYMOUS WAS A WOMAN ENVIRONMENTAL ART GRANTS
Deadline: June 14 (5pm Eastern). “This program provides up to $20,000 for projects led by women-identifying artists in the United States and U.S. Territories,” supporting “environmental art projects that inspire thought, action, and ethical engagement. Projects should not only point at problems, but aim to engage an environmental issue at some scale.” Note that “selected projects must benefit the public in some way, and are required to have a public engagement component by June 30, 2023.”BARD FICTION PRIZE
Deadline: June 15 (received). For “a promising emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application. In addition to a $30,000 cash award, the winner receives an appointment as writer in residence at Bard College for one semester, without the expectation that he or she teach traditional courses. The recipient gives at least one public lecture and meets informally with students.” Application must include “three copies of the published book they feel best represents their work.”JANE BRINKLEY SUMMER FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: June 15. “The Poetry Society of New York is seeking a generous, creative, thoughtful, open-minded, and hardworking young artist for our 2022 Jane Brinkley Fellowship. This fellowship is named after and was founded in memory of our former intern who we tragically lost at the beginning of this year….With this fellowship, we want to grant the opportunity for a college student like Jane to move to New York City for the summer and help produce the New York City Poetry Festival from September 10th-11th….This fellowship will last from July 1st to September 15th. The awardee will receive $5000 for these three months, as well as support from the Poetry Society of New York re: finding housing and acclimating to the New York area.”CHRISTOPHER HEWITT AWARD
Deadline: June 15. Honoring A&U Magazine’s first literary editor, “the award showcases outstanding responses to the AIDS pandemic and the realities of individuals living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in the genres of fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction.” Awards $75 (per category) and publication. Judges: Philip F. Clark (poetry), Raymond Luczak (fiction), Jay Vithalani (creative nonfiction), Bruce Ward (drama).#HIPPOCAMP22 CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIPS
Deadline: June 15. “Hippocampus Magazine is pleased to announce that it’s offering an increased number of scholarships to HippoCamp: A Conference for Creative Nonfiction Writers this year, including three donor-supported (two of which are new this year). HippoCamp 2022 is an in-person conference, scheduled for Aug. 12-14 in Lancaster, PA. All conference scholarships cover full registration and entrance into a pre-conference workshop; the Friends and WOC scholarships also include a $200 travel stipend.” Funding opportunities include scholarships open to all writers; scholarships open to all and to unpublished writers of color; a scholarship open to all neurodiverse writers; and a scholarship open to all writers of flash creative nonfiction.NORTON WRITER’S PRIZE
Deadline: June 15. “Recognizes outstanding original nonfiction by undergraduates. The contest is open to students age 17 and above who are enrolled in an accredited 2- or 4-year college or university during the 2021–2022 academic year. Three cash prizes of $1,000 apiece will be awarded in 2022 for coursework submitted during the academic year,” one in each category (first-year student in a 2- or 4-year college or university; student in a 2-year college/university; student in a 4-year college/university). Instructor nomination required.EUGENE C. PULLIAM FELLOWSHIP FOR EDITORIAL WRITING
Deadline: June 20. “Awards $75,000 to an outstanding editorial writer or columnist to help broaden his or her journalistic horizons and knowledge of the world. The annual award can be used to cover the cost of study, research and/or travel in any field. The fellowship results in editorials and other writings, including books.”MOLLY KEANE CREATIVE WRITING AWARD
Deadline: June 22 (noon, Irish time). Competition “for people resident on the island of Ireland” for an unpublished short story. Prize: “€250 cash plus a course of the winners choice in the Molly Keane Writers Retreat, Ardmore in 2023 to the value of €250.” NB: “It is highly advisable that entries are not currently submitted elsewhere for consideration.”
DAVE GREBER FREELANCE WRITER AWARDS
Deadline: June 24. Two awards for social justice writing: “The book award is set at $5,000 and the magazine award is set at $2,000. Since the awards can be given before publication and book and magazine publishing timelines can differ, so do the requirements for each award.” Limited to writers who are “a continuing resident of Canada and at the date of application lived in Canada for the last twelve months” and “working a minimum of seventy per cent of their work time as a self-employed freelance writer.”GREAT LAKES COLLEGE ASSOCIATION NEW WRITERS AWARD
Deadline: June 25. “For the 53rd year this group of thirteen independent Midwestern colleges will confer recognition on a volume of writing in each of three literary genres: poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. Publishers submit works on behalf of their authors; a defining criterion for this award is that a work must be an author’s first–published volume in the genre.” The winning writers “receive invitations to visit several GLCA member colleges, where they will read from their works and engage with students and faculty members in a variety of contexts.” Authors “receive an honorarium of $500 from each of the colleges they visit. In addition, writers are reimbursed for all travel, lodging, and food costs they might incur in visits to GLCA member colleges.” Limited to writers resident in the U.S. and Canada; publishers may submit only one entry per category. This year’s competition will consider works “that bear a publication imprint of 2021 or 2022.”BLUE MOUNTAIN ARTS POETRY CONTEST
Deadline: June 30. Biannual contest awards cash prizes ($350/$200/$100). “In addition, the winning poems will be displayed on our website.” Tips: “Poems can be rhyming or non-rhyming, although we find that non-rhyming poetry reads better. We suggest that you write about real emotions and feelings and that you have some special person or occasion in mind as you write.”ZACHARY DOSS FRIENDS IN LETTERS MEMORIAL FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: June 30. Posted by Ryan Bollenbach/Heavy Feather Review: “In thinking about my relationship with my late friend and fellow writer Zach Doss, I often feel nostalgic about my lunches with him (and our subsequent conversations on the walk home); we would talk about writing, publishing, submissions (when we worked together at Black Warrior Review), campy TV series we were watching at the time, gossip about our MFA, or life in general. It was a significant aspect of our friendship. Though we rarely critiqued each other’s work in class, these meals and conversations were important to our relationship as friends and writers. It is with this kind of friendship in mind that I (along with the generous donation of an anonymous donor) am offering a small sum of $50 to four pairs of friend-artists who submit portfolios of work (with a short introduction) intended to be used for the winners to get a meal together, see a movie, get a few drinks together at a conference, etc. The key is being together. In this way, the offering is low stakes—with no expectation of production—yet I also hope to encourage writers to look beyond ideas of individual work and success that most competitions encourage and toward a deliberate investment in their relationship with their creative partner.”DRUE HEINZ LITERATURE PRIZE
Deadline: June 30. “Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed pages); or a combination of one or more novellas and short stories. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 pages.” Open to those writing in English “who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in magazines or journals of national distribution. Digital-only publication and self-publication do not count toward this requirement.” Confers $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and promotional support.BROOKLYN CARIBBEAN LITERARY FESTIVAL (BCLF) SHORT FICTION STORY CONTEST
Deadline: July 1. The 2022 contest “will award US$1750 in cash for each of the two prizes [the BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize and the BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean] for the best piece of unpublished short fiction.” Judges: Katia D. Ulysse and Ifeona Fulani for the Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize and Ayesha Gibson-Gill and Tanya Savage-Batson for the Award for Writers in the Caribbean.RICHARD MARGOLIS AWARD
Deadline: “Applications are accepted year-round but must be received by July 1 for consideration for the current-year award.” For “a promising new journalist or essayist whose nonfiction work combines warmth, humor and wisdom and sheds light on issues of social justice. The award honors the life of Richard J. Margolis (1929-1991), a renowned journalist, essayist and poet who gave eloquent voice to the rural poor, migrant farmworkers, Native Americans, aging adults and others whose voices are seldom heard. He also wrote several books for children.” Award combines a one-month residency at Blue Mountain Center and a $10,000 prize.MARLBOROUGH LIT FEST LOVE BOOKS COMPETITION
Deadline: July 1. “We want you to tell us why you love your favourite book, poem or play. Your response can be in the form of a piece of text of up to 750 words, or through a video of no more than four minutes. Entrants should explain what they love about their chosen read, highlighting key areas of interest, and why they think others should try it. We are looking for creative, passionate, and engaging responses which celebrate your love of reading.” Prizes (£300 for a winner and £100 for a runner-up) will be awarded in each of three age-group categories: “13-16 years, 17-19 years, 20+ years.” Open to entrants outside the UK, “but you need a UK bank account to receive your prize money if you win.” (Hat tip: Sian Meades-Williams’s Freelance Writing Jobs newsletter.)KINGSLEY AND KATE TUFTS POETRY AWARDS
Deadline: July 1. Based at Claremont Graduate University and given for poetry volumes published in the preceding year, these prizes confer $100,000 (Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award) and $10,000 (Kate Tufts Discovery Award). The current cycle will recognize works published between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022; the Kingsley Tufts award is for a mid-career poet while the Kate Tufts Discovery Award is for “a first book”; the Kingsley Tufts award also requires the winner to spend, within six months of the award presentation, “one week in residence at Claremont Graduate University for lectures, workshops, and poetry readings in Claremont and Greater Los Angeles.” NB: Self-published books are eligible. Note also: “Work must be original poetry written originally in English by a poet who is a citizen or legal resident alien of the United States.”POETRY COALITION FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: July 3. “The Poetry Coalition, a network of 25+ poetry organizations coordinated by the Academy of American Poets, is pleased to announce the 2022–2023 Poetry Coalition Fellowships, which are paid fellowship positions for five individuals who will each assist a different Poetry Coalition organization for twenty hours per week over the course of a forty-week period. The fellows will also receive professional development opportunities. The five organizations hosting Poetry Coalition Fellows this year are Letras Latinas, Mass Poetry, Urban Word, Woodland Pattern, and Youth Speaks….The positions will begin on September 5, 2022 and end on June 30, 2023. Interested individuals that are 21 or older are encouraged to apply, including those who are enrolled in or have recently graduated from an MFA program in creative writing.”
REMINDER: Some opportunities listed in last month’s newsletter remain open.
5. SUBMISSION ALERTS
From quarterly zine STANCHION: “Three separate submission windows for Issue 8 will open in early June.” No theme. Pays: “$10, one complimentary copy of that issue of Stanchion, and a discount code to order extra copies.” Windows: June 1-3 for poetry; June 5-7 for “non-poetry": June 9-11 for visual art.
Opening June 1 (and remaining open for the rest of the month): BATH MAGG, “a magazine of new poetry,” for its summer issue. No simultaneous submissions. Payment: £20.
“CUTLEAF will be opening to fiction submissions on June 1. We’re limiting the call to 100 submissions for this reading period, so if you have a piece yo’'d like to submit, get it ready!” From the guidelines: “Cutleaf is interested in fiction of all shapes and sizes, although we are generally interested in work less than 6,000 words. Longer work must be exceptionally compelling, and we may publish longer works in installments. Short excerpts from longer works are more likely to be accepted when they stand alone as a discrete work. We will read one long piece or up to three short pieces at a time per author. We are also interested in flash fiction with a limit of 1,000 words. Cutleaf will pay from $100 to $400 for published fiction.”
THE MCNEESE REVIEWwill open June 1 (and will remain so until August 31) “for submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for our 2023 print issue.” Payment: “All print contributors receive one contributor copy. We are pleased to also offer a $50 honorarium to print contributors within the U.S. Contributors outside of the U.S. will receive two additional author copies in lieu of the honorarium.”UPDATE: THEY APPEAR TO CHARGE A FEE.Vermont-based international journal MUD SEASON REVIEW will be open during the month of June, though “we may close the reading period early by genre if volume demands.” They’re seeking “deeply human work that will teach us something about life, but also about the craft of writing or visual art, and work that is original in its approach and that in some way moves us.” Payment: “$50 for work that appears in our issues. For artists whose images are paired with writing, and for poets whose work appears in The Take: Mud Season Review, we offer payment of $15.” (Hat tip here goes to the markets newsletter from WOW! Women on Writing.)
TACO BELL QUARTERLY has announced: “TBQ6 will be open June 1st to September 5th for a winter issue. Will pay $100.”
Also opening June 1, Ontario-based THE /TEMZ/ REVIEW. They pay $20 (presumably CAD) for poetry and prose.
I’ve been alerted that in honor of Juneteenth, THE MAINE REVIEW will run a fee-free submissions window from June 13 to June 19. (Another no-fee window, honoring Pride Month, will run from June 27 to July 3.) They publish “contemporary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including works in translation and hybrid forms.” Pay rates: “Fiction and Nonfiction writers receive a $25 honorarium per published flash (1,000 words or fewer) and a $50 honorarium for work 1,001 words or more. Poets receive a $25 honorarium per published poem.”
Until June 15, BELL PRESS welcomes submissions for several projects, including two anthologies (one on “Rituals” and the other on “Framework of the Human Body”), paying royalties and “an advance of $15 Canadian prior to publication.” They’re also receiving submissions for a 2023 Poetry Day Planner, for which payment is “a flat amount of $15 Canadian.”
CHANNEL, an Ireland-based litmag “born out of the climate crisis, publishing poetry and prose with an environmentalist perspective,” will close for submissions of fiction and poetry on June 15. (According to their guidelines, “essay submissions, which will be considered for online publication as well as for our next print issue, are open year-round.”) Payment: “€50 per poem and €50 per page of prose up to a total maximum fee of €150. Contributors will also receive a copy of whichever issue their work appears within.”
Another one closing June 15: GRAIN, “an internationally acclaimed literary journal that publishes engaging, surprising, eclectic, and challenging writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists.” Send poetry, fiction, or literary nonfiction (query for other genres). Pays: “All contributors, regardless of genre, are paid $50 per page to a maximum of $250, plus two copies of the issue in which their work appears” (the payment is presumably in Canadian dollars). NB: They do have a Submittable cap.
Also closing June 15: KALEIDOSCOPED, “a new literary magazine formed by MFA students at UC San Diego,” which is currently seeking submissions on the theme of “Ghosts and Gossip.” Pays: $20. (Hat tip: @Duotrope.)
FOYER, a UK-based “independent magazine celebrating and exploring untold stories from people of mixed, third culture and second-generation cultural heritage,” welcomes pitches and submissions for its first issue, on the theme of “Connect,” until June 17. Pays: £75.
THE PURITAN seeks submissions “all year round, from anywhere in the world,” but work received by June 25 will be considered for the summer issue. NB: “Please note that we can only issue payments using PayPal or a cheque in the mail. We also pay in CAD.” Pay rates range from $25-$200. “Please note that we can only issue payments using PayPal, Canadian bank e-transfer, or a cheque in the mail. We also pay in CAD. We can pay using Western Union [except to Nigeria] if no other option is available.”
Until June 27, CREATIVE NONFICTION/IN FACT BOOKS seeks “essays by and about nurses for an expanded anniversary edition of I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse. “We’re looking especially for pandemic-era stories, which examine the complex and essential role nurses of all kinds have played in providing care and guidance for patients and families, as well as the ways in which the pandemic has affected both individuals and the healthcare system.” Payment is unspecified, but “this is a paying market. All submissions will be considered for the book and might also be considered for other CNF projects.”
Attention, Canadians! CLOUD LAKE LITERARY seeks submissions. “We currently publish fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and children’s literature (ages up to and including YA).” Receives submissions year-round, but work received by June 30 will be considered for the fall issue. Payment: $50 CAD per page to a maximum of $150 CAD.
The Rainbow Issue of FAIRY TALE REVIEW “will be dedicated to queer fairy tales written by queer writers” and will remain open for submissions until June 30. “While The Rainbow Issue will be dedicated to queer fairy-tale poetry and prose written by writers who self-identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, we are especially interested in submissions by writers working at the intersection of queerness, including women and nonbinary writers, BIPOC, writers with disabilities, and writers from other marginalized and underrepresented groups in mainstream publishing.” Pays: “Contributors will receive two (2) issues of The Rainbow Issue and a $50 honorarium upon publication.”
FREEZE FRAME FICTION also remains open for submissions until June 30. Submissions should be “1000 words or less, any genre, no content restrictions. We want your science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, drama, literary works, satire, bizarre fiction, or anything else you can come up with or mix together. The more original, the better. The weirder, the better.” Pays: “$10 per accepted piece.”
June 30 is the deadline for pamphlet submissions at NEON BOOKS: “Neon Books publishes a selection of paper broadsides and pamphlets, which are sent out for free with print orders….We’re looking for short works, such as individual poems, small sets of very short poems, or short pieces of fiction. Hybrid works, comics and illustrated pieces are also very welcome….We really enjoy pieces that can be presented in an interesting or unusual way. If you can think of an interesting way of presenting your work, please do include a note describing this in your cover letter. There’s no need to format your work ready for printing.” Will consider reprints. Payment: “a one-off fee of £25 on acceptance.”
June 30 is also the deadline for submissions for NEW GOTHIC REVIEW, which seeks “previously unpublished short stories that reimagine Gothic fiction for the 21st century.” Pays: “a flat $65 for stories (paid within 30 days of acceptance).”
THREADCOUNT, too, remains open until June 30. This publication “accepts original and previously unpublished works of prose, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid text, but we prefer writing that resists such classifications. Primarily we focus on hybrid works between prose poetry and flash fiction.” Pays: $25. (Thanks to FlashFictionFlash for introducing me to this one.)
THE WILLOWHERB REVIEW, which “aims to provide a digital platform to celebrate and bolster nature writing by emerging and established writers of colour,” is open for submissions until June 30 (“23.59[BST]”). “We’re looking for previously unpublished prose—non-fiction especially, but we will consider fiction and poetry—on nature, place, and environment.” Pays: “£250 for prose, £100 for poetry.”
Closing to poetry submissions July 1: Canada-based MINOLA REVIEW, which welcomes work “from all those who identify as women and non-binary writers.” Pays: $25 per published poem presumably in Canadian dollars). Note also that they’re open to book review pitches and, beginning with their September issue, will pay $20 per published 250-500 word review. (Thanks to WOW! Women on Writing’s Markets Newsletter for the reminder about this one.)
SUBSTANTIALLY UNLIMITED, which “welcomes submissions from anyone who considers themselves disabled, or substantially limited, socially, emotionally, cognitively, or mentally,” remains open for submissions on the theme of “stigma” until July 1. Pays: “$15 per published piece via Venmo or Paypal.” (Hat tip: @Duotrope.)
Australia-based podcast PILLOW TALKING “is always looking for first person, narrative/creative nonfiction stories of real-life bedroom conversations. In fact, this podcast wouldn’t exist without people choosing to share their intimate conversations. Whether they are thought-provoking, funny, heart-breaking or silly this takes trust, vulnerability and some guts, and I consider receiving each story a huge privilege and responsibility. You can submit from wherever in the world you happen to be.” Upcoming themes include “Blue” (with a June 4 deadline); “Suddenly Strangers” (June 18); and “Sanctuary” (July 2). Payment: “$25AUD, paid via PayPal or Stripe, within 1 week of the episode going to air.”
From new journal BROKEN GLASS: “Do you write poetry? Tell stories? Conduct interesting interviews? If so, send us your work. We are starting a new digital magazine and want to hear from you! We focus on moments that embody change that help readers experience perspective-altering inspiration, with an emphasis on show over tell. Art, video, fiction, non-fiction, interviews, investigative reporting, fashion, design, book reviews and more - if it fits our focus, we’d love to see your work. Submissions are free, and we offer honoraria of $50-200 for each piece selected to be published.” No deadline explicitly stated, but “submissions will be reviewed starting July 1.”
It may seem that lots of journals close for subs during the northern hemisphere’s summer, and, yes—many do! But some remain open year-round. CRAFT is one. Pays: “$100 for original flash and $200 for original short fiction and creative nonfiction.” They also publish “essays on writing craft, critical literary analyses, book annotations/reviews, and interviews….All work in this section is concerned with fiction or creative nonfiction. Please do not send critical work about poetry, film, or any other genres….We pay $50 for craft and critical essays, and we pay $50 for most standard interviews and $100 for hybrid interviews (a critical essay paired with a Q&A).”
Similarly, FRACTURED LIT “is open year-round and is available to all writers. We currently feature two separate submission categories, based on the length of the work submitted: Micro Fiction, for work under 400 words; and Flash Fiction, for work 401-1,000 words.” Pays: “$50 for original micro fiction and $75 for original flash fiction.”
Reminder from THE MASTERS REVIEW: “Our New Voices category is open year round to any new or emerging author who has not published a work of fiction or narrative nonfiction of novel length with a wide distribution. Authors with short story collections are free to submit, as are writers with books published by indie presses.” Pays: “We pay New Voices authors $200 for short fiction and narrative non-fiction, and $100 for flash-length narratives (up to 1,000 words).”
Likewise, at FRONTIER POETRY “submissions for our New Voices poetry category are open year round to any new and emerging poet who has not published more than one full-length collection of poetry. New Voices are published online only and will feature a number of poems from new authors each month.” Payment: “$50 per poem, up to $150.”
THE SUN welcomes submissions of personal essays, fiction, and poetry. “Personal stories that touch on political and cultural issues are welcome.” Pay rates: $300-$2,000 for essays and fiction; $100-$250 for poetry.
Another one that’s open year-round: THE WEST REVIEW, “a literary journal founded on the West Coast that seeks to promote and publish quality literature from our local, national, and international communities, which pays $10/poem and prose piece (via Paypal). NB: “We are primarily a poetry journal & only very rarely publish fiction. Prior to submitting, please read the prose included in prior issues to see if your work would be a good match.”
ORCA, which “publishes short stories and flash fiction, and a limited amount of nonfiction,” offers space for 100 free submissions each month. “If the fee-free submission forms do not appear, it means the 100 free submissions have been used for that month, and the free portals will reopen at the start of the next month.” They publish three issues each year: “two literary issues and one literary-speculative.” Payment: “$50 for published short stories and $25 for flash fiction.” (Thanks to Nancy Ludmerer for alerting me to the fee-free submissions policy.)
From CREATIVE NONFICTION: “We’re looking for writing about writing—smart and insightful ideas related to the art, craft, history, or philosophy of creative nonfiction.” Check the guidelines for details on what they’re looking for (and what they’re not looking for), and note that they seem especially interested right now in pitches addressing “voice in creative nonfiction” and flash nonfiction. “This is a paying market,” but pay rates aren’t specified; no deadline is specified, either.
Reminder: SHORT STORY, 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. Pays: “base pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check.”
And another 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 venues 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, 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”).
7. NEWSLETTER MATTERS
Information contained in The Practicing Writer is researched carefully but readers should always verify information. 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 on Facebook and/or Twitter, where she tweets “on matters bookish and/or Jewish.”