The Practicing Writer 2.0: March 2025
Changes ahead! Plus: the ever-steady array of fee-free, paying/funded opportunities and regular monthly features.
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, intermittently, 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 Story
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,
Remember last month, when I mentioned the potential for some changes in this newsletter’s future? Well, let me update you.
First, a reminder: For the entire lifespan of this newsletter (which pre-dates Substack itself, stretching back to early 2004), I’ve offered it as a sort of literary-community service.
But—in part encouraged by friends and colleagues who keep telling me that I’m undervaluing myself/my efforts (many of them go even further and assure me that there are many among you who want to pay for this service that I’ve been providing for so long!), and in part because the work of researching and curating resources according to the criteria I outlined last month has become increasingly challenging and time-consuming—I have finally enabled paid subscriptions.
What does this mean for you, dear readers?
Here’s what is not changing: Each new monthly issue of this newsletter will continue to be made available, free, to all subscribers.
I am committed to keeping each new monthly issue free for all subscribers.
However, beginning with next month’s (April) issue, the archives will be for paying subscribers only. So when I mention, as I do below, that you can find some still-open opportunities in the previous month’s newsletter, you’ll need to be a paying subscriber to click through and access them.
This is all still something of a work-in-progress. I’m anticipating additional paid-subscriber-only content, but to be utterly and completely transparent with you, I have not yet determined what that might be. I do welcome your input as I consider this, and to that end, I encourage you to complete this poll. (If you choose the “Something else” option, please do respond to this email with your suggestion.)
Again, because I cannot overemphasize this point: I am committed to keeping each new issue free for ALL subscribers. So it’s perfectly fine to ignore all of the foregoing, continue perusing the rest of this edition, and expect the April issue to arrive on schedule at the end of March.
But if those friends and colleagues are correct, and there really is some subset of this readership that would like to support this work with a paid subscription—well, now you can. And if you’re on the fence: As a sign of my appreciation, I’ve enabled a 15 percent “early-adopter” discount on upgrades; this discount applies as well to brand-new subscriptions.
With my thanks, and continued 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 STORY
From Gabrielle Kaplan-Meyer:
Erika, I so appreciate your newsletter! I read about a call for essays for “Manna Songs” from Emerge Literary Journal [on My Machberet] and am happy to say that my essay was accepted.
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: AN ARTICLE FROM MY ARCHIVE
Scrolling around a couple of weeks ago, I encountered something that revived a memory of a published piece of mine titled “13 Questions to Ask Before Submitting to a Literary Journal.”
First published in 2016, in a venue that at the time I was delighted to amplify, I think that the piece still offers pretty decent advice. But since I’m no longer quite so delighted to amplify the original site of publication (yes, it’s one that appears on my “Writers, Beware” document), I’m sending you straight to my own site instead.
“13 Questions to Ask Before Submitting to a Literary Journal” (bit.ly/13QuestionsLitMags)
4. CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
AMERICAN BUFFALO BOOKS FICTION PRIZE
Deadline: March 2 (or when a cap of 100 submissions is reached). From Buffalo Books, “a non-profit literary press affiliated with the Kansas State University English Department.” For novel manuscripts “that are set in or explore the Midwest and/or the Great Plains.” Prize: “an honorarium of $500 and publication under a generous royalty contract.”GLADSTONE’S LIBRARY RESIDENCIES
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Deadline: March 7. U.K.-based program “provides space and resources for up to four writers whose work engages with liberal values” as defined within the guidelines. “Up to four places are awarded to writers working in the English language. We like to support writers as best we can and we know that many cannot simply abscond from regular life for a month. Residencies can therefore be taken in two two-week blocks, and residencies of a single fortnight will also be considered. We are also flexible with dates.” They are currently taking applications for 2026. Residency awards include “accommodation in an ensuite room”; meals, travel expenses as detailed on the site, and “an honorarium of £100.00 per week.” (Hat tip:WOMEN IN THE MOUNTAINS RESIDENCY
Deadline: March 13. This program of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation “offers ten days of uninterrupted creative work in an inspiring and restorative mountain setting for eleven women writers from Bulgaria and other European countries. Selected by an international jury, participants will have the opportunity to develop an existing project or explore a new idea, connect with a community of peers, and dedicate themselves fully to their writing and creative process. The call is open to authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama in Bulgarian and other languages. A total of eleven applicants will be selected, including two priority spots for women writers living in war zones and refugee writers, as well as one spot for a Lithuanian writer, provided by the Lithuanian Writers’ Union.”CENTER FOR HISTORY AND CULTURE OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND THE UPPER GULF COAST FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: March 15: “Our fellowship program supports projects that contribute to the broader understanding of our region. The Center encourages applications from any scholarly discipline or creative field. We are especially interested in work that consider our core geographic region or situates it within broader national, hemispheric, or global contexts. The Center funds projects in art, environment, history, journalism, literature, performance, social sciences, and other forms of scholarly inquiry or creative endeavor. If circumstances permit, the Center may request Fellows to present their results with the Lamar University and Southeast Texas communities.” Awards grants of up to $5,000.CHARLES REDD CENTER FOR AMERICAN WESTERN STUDIES INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND CREATIVE WORK AWARD
Deadline: March 15. “Invites applications from individuals who are not connected to a college or university, and who are interested in researching or writing on some aspect of the intermountain regions of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Both new and ongoing projects are eligible. Award funds are to be used for research support and not as a salary. The amount of the award will be determined by the research needs as indicated in the application, up to a maximum of $1,500.”DAG PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
Deadline: March 15. $20,000 prize “awarded annually to an emerging prose writer whose work expands the possibilities for American writing. The goal of the DAG Prize is to contribute meaningfully to the evolution of American prose literature. To that end, we aim to support writing that offers significant innovation—for example, at the level of form, content, or genre. What more can prose literature be? What more can it do? The recipient will be a writer who has already published one book demonstrating commitment to such investigations but whose work has not yet received prominent literary recognition. The DAG Prize is meant to support a second project already substantially underway. Prize funds can be used for research, writing, editing, workshops, residencies, or other activities that facilitate the creation of a significant project in prose literature.”EDWARD F. ALBEE FOUNDATION RESIDENCIES
Deadline: March 16. Calendar-month residencies in Montauk, on Long Island in New York, “serve writers and visual artists from all walks of life, by providing time and space in which to work without disturbance.”PJ LIBRARY PICTURE BOOK SUMMER CAMP
Deadline: March 16. “PJ Library invites authors and author-illustrators interested in developing Jewish-themed picture books to apply for the 4th annual Picture Book Summer Camp for five days of inspiration, mentorship, fun, and creativity! This opportunity is for emerging creatives whose work has not yet been published, or who have no more than one published picture book. The program is open only to those who have not participated in a Picture Book Summer Camp before.” NB: “Acceptance into the program covers tuition, lodging, and meals. Stipends to cover domestic and international costs for travel to the retreat center will be available from PJ Library (details will be provided upon program acceptance).” Program is slated to take place in late August.BBC NATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD WITH CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
Deadline: March 17 (9am GMT). Award for a single short story, with a top prize of £15,000 and four awards of £600 each for shortlisted stories. The stories are recorded, produced, and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 and published in an anthology. Be sure to consult the detailed terms and conditions, which include, among other notes: “The Award is open to British nationals and UK residents, including residents of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, aged 18 years or over…who have a prior record of publication in creative writing in the United Kingdom….”KAPNICK FELLOWSHIP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Deadline: March 17. This “post-MFA/PhD Research Associate position” is open “to writers in any genre and carries with it a salary of $40,000 plus eligibility for a full UVA benefits package, and a 1-2 teaching load of undergraduate creative writing workshops (one course in the Fall, two courses in the Spring). Two of the three courses will be a multi-genre introduction to creative writing for undergraduate students. The third course will be of the fellow’s design.” Qualifications include: “MFA or PhD in Creative Writing completed between January 2020 and August 1, 2025 is required; some prior teaching experience; a record of publication, but no full-length book published or under contract is strongly preferred.”POPP AWARD (POETRY OF THE PLAINS AND PRAIRIES)
Deadline: March 17. “North Dakota State University Press seeks poetry submissions of any style for our annual Poetry of the Plains and Prairies letterpress chapbook publication. While authors may call any place home, their submissions must deftly capture the feeling of, as well as the reality of, living on the plains and prairies.” No simultaneous submissions. Award confers “$200 upon signing our standard publication contract, national distribution, and $200 for service as the next year’s POPP Award finalist judge.” Note also: “The author(s) must agree to give a public reading (in person or via Zoom) at a time and place in North Dakota, convenient to NDSU Press and the author, the day of, or soon after, publication.”VICTOR HOWES PRIZE IN POETRY
Deadline: March 20. “Established by the New England Poetry club to honor the memory of poet Victor Howes, a former English professor and NEPC Board member who was an advocate for poets and poetry,” this prize confers $500 and an invitation to read at the Student Awards Reading at the Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site. Open to “undergraduate students who are enrolled in a 2-year- or 4-year-program at a New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) college or university and have a demonstrated interest in writing poetry.”NANCY LUDMERER FELLOWSHIP FOR FLASH FICTION AND NONFICTION
Fee-free application day (for the first 20 applicants): March 20. Awards a five-night residency at the Porches Writing Retreat in Virginia for a writer of flash fiction or flash nonfiction.THE MASTHEADS RESIDENCIES
Deadline: March 20. “Five writers across disciplines (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, translation, playwriting, comics, and more) are awarded residencies,” which will take place July 12 - August 2 at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. “Residents receive a $750 stipend as well as reimbursement for travel to and from Pittsfield. They will reside in the Eugene House—a historic, newly-renovated farmhouse directly across the street from Arrowhead.”McCOY GRANT FOR BOOKSELLER WRITERS
Deadline: March 21. Offered by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) in partnership with New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, “for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers,” these grants—two of $1,500 each—“will be awarded to be used toward craft development (writing classes, retreats, conferences, travel), work-related materials (notebooks, laptops, software, research, etc.), childcare, bills, or any other financial obstacle.” More specifically, “to be eligible, the applicant must be an unpublished southern woman or nonbinary bookseller living in one of the states in SIBA territory: Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Mississippi, and must have a novel, memoir, essay collection or poetry collection in progress.” (Hat tip: Funds for Writers.)MOLLIE SAVAGE MEMORIAL WRITING CONTEST
Deadline: March 23 (contest opens 5pm Eastern time, March 22). A 48-hour short-story writing contest organized by Toasted Cheese. “The spring edition of the Savage Writing Contest is a MYSTERY contest.” Prizes: “Winning stories are published in the June issue of Toasted Cheese. If 50 or fewer eligible entries are received, first place receives a $35 Amazon gift card & second a $10 Amazon gift card. If 51 or more eligible entries are received, first place receives a $50 Amazon gift card, second a $15 Amazon gift card & third a $10 Amazon gift card.”SPREADING LOVE THROUGH THE MEDIA GRANTS
Deadline: March 24. From the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley. “The GGSC is pleased to announce a request for proposals (RFP) to support nonfiction content and reported stories related to love. We are interested in projects that extend well beyond romantic love; we define love as a deep, unselfish commitment to another person’s well-being—even to put their interests before your own. The GGSC will distribute grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 to two dozen journalists and media producers who approach the topic of love from a variety of angles and across a range of media, including articles, videos, radio stories, podcasts, social media content, and more.”ON THE PREMISES SHORT STORY CONTEST
Deadline: March 28. The current contest is titled “Something Else”: “For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which someone or something important to the story is not where it/they always have been, or where it/they would be expected to be located, or is in the process of changing location from where it/they have always been. The distance it/they have moved or is traveling is not important, but the move itself must be important to the story. Whether this change in location is an improvement or a problem is up to you.” Cash awards: $250/$200/$150 (plus $75 honorable mention), as detailed on this page.STUDIO FAIRE RESIDENCY FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: March 30. Located in southwest France, this program “will provide accommodation and practical support to two separate creative practitioners for a 2-week period in 2026.” Eligibility: “We are seeking applications from those who could not manage to self-fund a residency due to financial constraints, but who would benefit from a short period of time and space to focus solely on their creative practice. Applications are welcomed from visual artists, makers, writers, musicians, and all other creative disciplines, at all stages of their careers.”ELEANOR TAYLOR BLAND CRIME FICTION WRITERS OF COLOR AWARD
Deadline: March 31. A $2,000 grant “for an emerging writer of color” that is intended “to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities.”FOLEY POETRY CONTEST
Deadline: March 31. From America (“the Jesuit Review”): “Each entrant is asked to submit one poem of 45 lines or fewer.” “Poems may address any topic.” Awards $1,000 and publication. “Three runners-up will also be published in subsequent issues.” No simultaneous submissions.TOM GRASS SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE LITERARY PRIZE
Deadline: March 31. Supported by Steppes Travel, this is a writing prize “dedicated to celebrating the spirit of our friend Tom Grass, a multi-talented writer, avid reader, and fearless traveller. The prize is for a short piece of stand-alone prose in either Fiction or Non-Fiction (1,500 - 3,000 words). It can be adapted from a longer work but must be satisfying to read by itself. The prize invites writers from all walks of life, whether writing a short story, essay, memoir, piece of reportage, historical investigation, or other hybrid form, as long as the writer reflects the sensibility of the prize. The prize is not aimed at the action-adventure genre nor limited to the idea of physical adventure. We invite writers to grapple with the spirit of adventure in any way they interpret. Pieces will be read and judged on their literary merit and their engagement with the general reader.” Open “to all writers from all over the world who are over the age of 25 and writing in the English language.” Confers £1,000 to the winner and two runner-up prizes of £500 each.GWENN A. NUSBAUM/WALT WHITMAN BIRTHPLACE ASSOCIATION (WWBA) SCHOLARSHIP
Deadline: March 31. This $1800 scholarship “is offered in the spirit of Walt Whitman’s massive contribution to the field of poetic writing and encouragement of “Poets to Come.” “Applications are sought from those poets at the early stages of their careers, ages 25-35 years.” The award is intended “to be used for supportive activities to further the writing career: for example, writing courses and workshops; writing conferences; writing retreats, or other approved activities.” One honorable mention of $150 will also be awarded. NB: Applicants must be U.S. citizens.ANN PETRY AWARD
Deadline: March 31. “For a work of previously unpublished prose, either a novel or a collection of short stories or novellas…by a Black writer.” Award includes $3,000 and book publication by Red Hen Press.ILSE SCHWEPCKE PRIZE
Deadline: March 31. Administered by the U.K.-based Society of Authors this “annual award for women’s travel writing in English” confers £5,000. Among the guidelines: “Entries must have been published between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025” and “Submissions must be made by an established commercial publisher.”SILVERS GRANTS FOR WORKS IN PROGRESS
Deadline: March 31. “Anglophone writers of any nationality may apply for up to $10,000 to support long-form essays in the fields of literary criticism, arts writing, political analysis, and/or social reportage. Grants may not be used to fund translation. Applicants must have an editorial agreement with a publication or publishing house for the work under consideration.”ALPINE FELLOWSHIP POETRY PRIZE
Deadline: April 1. “Awarded for the best poetic response on the theme of Fear.” Entrants of all nationalities are eligible. Cash prizes: £3,000/£1,000/£1,000.ALPINE FELLOWSHIP WRITING PRIZE
Deadline: April 1. “Awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme of Fear.” Entrants of all nationalities are eligible. Cash prizes: £3,000/£1,000/£1,000. “All genres of writing are permitted, including fiction, non-fiction, and non-academic essays.”MAYA ANGELOU BOOK AWARD
Deadline: April 1. Founded in 2020 “to honor the legacy of Missouri-born author Maya Angelou,” this award “recognizes exceptional works of poetry or fiction (in alternating years) by authors whose work demonstrates a commitment to social justice.” This year’s award will be given for a book of poetry. Prize includes $10,000, a reading tour of partner colleges, universities and libraries, and other recognized. Note that entries must come from publishers; works with publication dates in 2024 or scheduled through November 2025 are eligible; entrants must reside in the U.S.; other eligibility criteria apply.NATAN NOTABLE BOOK AWARD
Deadline: April 1. Twice-yearly award for “a published or about-to-be published non-fiction title that will catalyze conversations aligned with the themes of Natan’s grantmaking: reinventing Jewish life and community for the twenty-first century, shifting notions of individual and collective Jewish identity, the history and future of Israel, and the evolving relationship between Israel and world Jewry. Natan Notable Book winners receive a Natan Notable Book seal and $5,000 for the author, marketing/distribution coaching and promotion from Jewish Book Council and Natan, and customized support designed to bring the book and/or the author to new audiences.” Currently, titles submitted “must have a publication date between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025.”PEN AMERICA U.S. WRITERS AID INITIATIVE
Deadline: April 1 (applications will open March 1). Grant program aims “to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, translators, and journalists in addressing short-term financial emergencies. To be eligible, applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported.” NB: “If you are a Los Angeles resident impacted by the recent wildfire catastrophe, please check out our 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires Emergency Grant Program.”MARGUERITE AND LAMAR SMITH FELLOWSHIP FOR WRITERS
Deadline: April 1. From September 1-December 1, “the writing fellow will reside in a spacious private apartment inside Carson McCullers’s childhood home, the Smith-McCullers House. The fellow is provided with a stipend of $5,000 to cover costs of transportation, food and other incidentals.”COVE PARK AWARDED RESIDENCIES
Deadline: April 11. These residencies in Scotland “offer supported time for research, creative development, and the production of new work. The appointed residents will receive a fee, funding for travel and, when required, for materials, access support, and the visa application process. The fully funded Awarded Residencies will take place between late June 2025 and December 2026 and can be for as short a time as two weeks or up to three months in duration.” NB: “For 2025 and 2026 these residencies are open to individuals, collectives, and collaborative groups based in Scotland and the UK and in Central and South America. Artists from the Central and South American diaspora based in Europe and North America are also welcome to apply.”BRIDPORT PRIZE BURSARIES FOR UNDER-REPRESENTED WRITERS
Deadline: April 15. “Our bursary scheme gives under represented writers a free entry to the Bridport Prize competition in any category.” NB: “Applications are reviewed in batches on a first-come-first-served basis and may take up to six weeks to process.” Also: “Our short story, poetry and flash fiction genres are open to international applicants, whilst the novel award is open to writers living in Britain and Ireland, British and Irish writers living overseas and writers living in British Overseas Territories.”
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
THE MARROW, which welcomes “poetry submissions written in—or translated into—English, from Australian and international poets, whether established, emerging or somewhere in between,” will be open for submissions during March.
“Are you estranged from family? Do you have a story to tell about it? Jenny Bartoy, editor of the anthology NO CONTACT, forthcoming from Catapult (April 2026), is seeking personal essays and flash nonfiction” as explained in the online call. Deadline: March 9.
Also closing March 9: NORTHERN GRAVY, which welcomes fiction, poetry, and “kid lit” (defined here “writing for middle grade and young adult audiences”). NB: “In order to submit to Northern Gravy, you must be a UK or Ireland writer.”
March 10 is the deadline for “Lore”-themed submissions at EAVESDROP MAGAZINE. “Eavesdrop is a nonprofit multimedia community founded on Canada’s West Coast that supports queer, disabled, BIPOC, and other marginalized artists to showcase their work. Eavesdrop Magazine takes patrons through a multimedia exploration of self, art, and belonging. We publish poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, plays, comics, visual art, and spoken word.” NB: “Open to Canadian writers (anyone living in Canada for work, school, asylum, etc, as well as artists living on traditional, unceded territories, is welcome to submit).” (Hat tip: @Duotrope.)
Also until March 10: For an upcoming “Showcase,” MSLEXIA, a U.K.-based “magazine for women who write,” welcomes short stories and poems on the theme of “Snakes.”
THREAD LIT MAG is “an experiment in micro-publishing by
run entirely on social media.” Now operating on both Threads and Instagram (check pinned posts for the current call on each platform), they’re open until March 12 for submissions on the theme of “Stasis.”For an issue focused on “Cities,” KITCHEN WORK, “a journal about what and how we eat and drink,” seeks “writing about markets, cafes, urban picnics, tiny kitchens, and big dinner tables in your favorite city.” Deadline: March 15.
Also open until March 15: SWIM MEET LIT MAG, currently planning an issue with the theme of “Slip,” as detailed in their guidelines. “While our themes aren’t strict, our editor is particularly interested in submissions from swimmers (current or former), or about swimming – whatever that means to you. If your work has nothing to do with swimming, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to see it! Send us something you’d be proud to see published.” NB: Payment for Australian writers only. (Hat tip: @Duotrope.)
Scheduled to re-open March 15: THE JOURNAL OF COMPRESSED CREATIVE ARTS, “a non-profit publisher of compressed creative arts, such as micro fiction, flash fiction, prose poetry, & visual arts, and whatever other forms compression might take.
Open for submissions until March 23: SHORT FICTION, which publishes “one story per month as our Featured piece. We will also periodically seek to publish one story in a new section - ‘Introducing’ - which will be a showcase for excellent new writers; that is, writers for whom this is their first published piece.” NB: “We accept submissions from the UK, Europe, the Commonwealth and every other country except for the USA.”
Canadian writers: THE FIDDLEHEAD is open for submissions (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction) until March 31.
At last check, NINTH LETTER was still open for web-edition submissions on the theme of “Reversal”: “In this winter of transition send us stories, essays and poems that portray the speaker’s u-turn, characters making their about face or the self coming full circle. We welcome reversals big and small, tragic or fortunate, long coming or sudden. We’ll be on the lookout for reversals of structure and form, theses refuted or contradictions embodied. In the best submissions, readers should feel the pull of two directions – in space, or time, or spirit.” Although the window’s published deadline is April 1, they’re capping submissions “at 325 subs per genre.”
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 April 1-4 (for the May 2025 issue), they seek work along the following lines: “The saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention, and this month, in honor of Mother’s Day, we want your stories focused on Mama Bears backed into a corner. What will they do to protect their cubs? How do they invent a justification for crossing the uncrossable line? And was it all worth it?”
As noted on Bluesky, TRAILS magazine is taking pitches for Issue 11, which will be threaded around the concept of “Connection”: “To other people, to places, to trails, to gear...whatever. Connections between other inanimate objects? We're pretty much a blank slate for this issue so pitch away. I’d love to start booking some of the longer features. Deadlines here will be around May.” Consult the contributor guidelines, which include details about sections for essays, book reviews, and much more. (Hat tip: Freelance Opportunities.)
is “always on the lookout for sharp, focused humor pieces from new writers.” (Hat tip:
.)MANDE, “a journal of bipolar talent,” is “always open to submissions from bipolar creatives on any topic.” From the editor: “While I appreciate the long shadows bipolar throws, I’m particularly interested at the moment in its high points, in any joy or positive elements you find in bipolar. We also publish work by people familiar with bipolar, as long as it’s directly related to manic depression.” (Hat tip: @Duotrope.)
The ROOTED IN RIGHTS blog “has launched a new call for submissions, inviting disabled writers to share their survival and perseverance strategies in a 500-word blog piece. This new call focuses on gathering specific resources that can help disabled individuals and communities adapt and survive these turbulent times. We’re interested in sharing resources ranging from organizing tips, strategies on getting basic needs met, highlighting a direct service organization, to things that bring you joy, books, comedy or media recommendations, accessibility work arounds, tips for finding community, strategies for rest, and strategies for resistance. Rooted in Rights welcomes pitches that emphasize the disability community’s creativity, resistance and ingenuity, with a focus on specific resource sharing and mutual support.” No deadline indicated. (Hat tip:
.)For a recurring “How to Break In” column, ’s Jobs for Writers newsletter features (and offers payment to) those who have “manage[d] to snag a writing or writing-adjacent job….Please tell us everything for a chance to be featured….Get the details here.”
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
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.
I value this newsletter’s subscribers, and I do not share the subscriber list (but as I’ve recently learned, your own Substack settings may disclose that you subscribe to this and/or other publications).
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.