The Practicing Writer 2.0: November 2021
Discover more from The Practicing Writer 2.0: A Newsletter from Erika Dreifus
The Practicing Writer 2.0: November 2021
Current competitions and calls for submissions. No fees to enter/submit. Payment for winning/published work. Nothing limited to residents of a single city/state/province.
Welcome, new readers, and welcome back to the regulars.
For updates and additional opportunities between newsletters, please check the “Practicing Writing” blog and follow Erika Dreifus on Twitter (@ErikaDreifus) and/or Facebook.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Editor’s Note
Success Stories
Featured Resource
Current Contests, Competitions, and Other Opportunities (NO ENTRY OR APPLICATION FEES; PAYING OPPORTUNITIES ONLY)
Submission Alerts (NO SUBMISSION/READING FEES; PAYING CALLS ONLY)
Blog Notes
Newsletter Matters
1. EDITOR’S NOTE
Greetings, practicing writers:
Apart from one particularly unpleasant situation—which I shall not detail here—October was a pretty good month for me and my writing. (Quick reminder that I post updates from my own writing practice each Wednesday on the Practicing Writing blog.) I hope that you’ve all had a good month, too.
Yes, I’m “near email length limit” once again, so let’s move right on along to this issue’s several success stories, featured resource, and latest opportunities.
Wishing you, and your writing practices, a nifty November,
ERIKA
2. SUCCESS STORIES
A few months ago, practicing writer Jenna Pashley wrote in with the following update:
You posted about the Renard Press New Beginnings Anthology project in the May newsletter...and I just signed a contract! They’re publishing the shortlisted authors, and the prizewinners have yet to be announced, but I wanted to say thank you for bringing this one to my attention. I love getting the newsletter every month and it’s a strong motivator to keep sending out work.
I asked Jenna to keep me posted and appreciated this update, which arrived a few weeks ago:
While I didn’t win, I did get published in the anthology….As I’m getting ready to enter an MFA program, I’m going to be an even more devoted reader of your newsletter. Any time I can get writing to pay for writing-related education and growth, that’s a double win in my book! Thanks for what you do for the writing community.
PLUS:
Your June newsletter contained information about the Lewis Carroll Society Ellis S. Hillman Award, which was a call for “missing” chapters for either Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass. My chapter 7.5 for Looking Glass did not win, but I have been invited to read my story on December 11 as part of an online event hosted by the society. I’m very excited about this and appreciate your efforts to keep writers informed about opportunities they might otherwise miss. Thanks so much.
—T. M. Bradshaw
AND:
Thank you for the presentation you gave via IWWG last week, “Be Your Own Publicist.” It was timely and on point as I have a book forthcoming from Kelsay as I mentioned that evening. I’ve started moving forward with some of your suggestions….I’ve been feeling rather alone (and overwhelmed) contemplating the book promotion aspect of the project and you helped alleviate that a bit. Much appreciated! Now I will go look for you on FB. Best regards.
—Mary Beth Hines
REMINDER: I love learning how the newsletter/blogs/my resources and offerings support your writing practice. Keep me posted! You just may find your own work celebrated here.
3. FEATURED RESOURCE
I’ve recently begun following Lincoln Michel’s Substack-hosted “Counter Craft,” where Michel writes about “fiction craft, publishing stuff, weird books, and other literary sundries.” And I’m appreciating it. Check it out.
4. CURRENT CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
NEW YORK ENCOUNTER POETRY CONTEST
Deadline: November 15. This year’s contest will celebrate New York Encounter’s 2022 theme: “This Urge for the Truth.” Open to all poets writing in English. “Cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, who will be invited to read their poems during the 2022 Encounter (Feb 18-20). The winning poems will be published on the New York Encounter website after the reading.” Guest judge: Mary Szybist.PALM BEACH POETRY FESTIVAL LANGSTON HUGHES FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: November 15: Available “to poets who identify as African American and wish to apply to attend the 18th Annual Virtual Palm Beach Poetry Festival.” Fellowship covers “Application Fee, Full Participant Tuition and Admission to all Festival Events. The approximate value of the fellowship is $895.”QUARTERLY WEST POETRY AND PROSE CONTESTS
Deadline: November 15. “Winners will each receive $500 and publication in a forthcoming issue of Quarterly West. Runners-up in poetry and prose will each receive $200 and all entries will be considered for publication.” Judges: Douglas Kearney (poetry) and Cristina Rivera Garza (prose)STOWE PRIZE
Deadline: November 15. This $10,000 award recognizes “a distinguished book of general adult fiction or nonfiction that illuminates a critical social justice issue in contemporary society in the United States. The book must be written by a U.S. author and have been published in the United States during the previous three calendar years. The book should apply informed inquiry, be accessible and engaging to a general audience, and promote empathy and understanding. Because Stowe’s writings challenged slavery and promoted women’s education, social issues impacted by racism and gender discrimination will be prioritized. In making this award, the Stowe Center recognizes the value of diversity to strengthen our communities and encourages submissions by authors from populations that have historically faced discrimination or marginalization.”TREEHOUSE CLIMATE POEM PRIZE CONTEST
Deadline: November 15. Honors “exceptional poems that help make real for readers the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment at present.” Prizes: $1,000/$750/$500. “In addition, all three poems will be published in the popular Poem-a-Day series….Poems may also be featured in the award-winning education series Teach This Poem.” Judges: Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali and Alexis Pauline Gumbs.WEIRD CHRISTMAS FLASH FICTION CONTEST
Deadline: November 15. Check out the detailed guidelines/FAQ (that’s where you’ll discover, for instance, that you CAN write about other winter holidays). There will be one overall winner (1st prize, $75), and then $50 for a winner in each of the three “prompt” categories provided. (As I said—read the guidelines!)BETTER THAN STARBUCKS 2021 SONNET CONTEST
Deadline: November 30. For a metrical sonnet. NB: “As always, we do accept previously published work. Please let us know where the poem was previously published.” No simultaneous submissions. Prizes: $500/$100/$50 (via Paypal only) and publication. Judges: Sally Thomas, Tom Merrill, and Vera Ignatowitsch.LOVE LETTERS TO LONDON WRITING COMPETITION
Deadline: November 30 (received by 23:59, presumably London time). “This year The London Society aims to celebrate the city in all its life, charm and mystery, with a writing competition ‘Love Letters to London’. We want you to tell us why you love this city. Write us up to 500 words around the theme of ‘recovery and resilience’.” Your entry “might be reportage, an historical essay, a ‘think piece’, a spot of futurology, a work of fiction, a poem. We are open to all forms and styles. Entries can have been published elsewhere, but must fit the brief and have been written in 2021.” Cash prizes (£400/£200/£100) for each category (categories include “under 18,” “students,” “all other UK entrants,” “international - from anyone not based in the UK” and “poetry”) plus an overall £500 prize.” Judges: Razia Iqbal, Nicholas Spice, Dr Nick Browne, André Naffis-Sahely, and Dave Hill.ANITA McANDREWS POETS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CONTEST
(Be sure to scroll way down the page to find the contest info.) Deadline: November 30. Contest theme is human rights; “familiarity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is recommended.” No simultaneous submissions. “Winning poems will be announced and read at Poets for Human Rights annual awards on or around December 10, 2021 - 73nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and will be published on the Poets Without Borders website. First prize $250, Second prize $100, Third prize $50.”J.F. POWERS PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION
Deadline: November 30. From Dappled Things. “‘One foot in this world and one in the next’: that’s how J.F. Powers described the Midwestern priests he wrote about in his fiction. Having one foot in another world can be awkward, and Powers’ characters are known not for their graceful mysticism, but for the humiliating and mordantly entertaining stumbles they make while trying to live their faith. We’re looking for carefully crafted short stories with vivid characters who encounter grace in everyday settings—we want to see who, in the age we live in, might have one foot in this world and one in the next.” Confers $500 for first place and $250 for second place (and publication); up to 8 honorable mentions will receive publication in the journal and a one-year subscription.UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS RILKE PRIZE
Deadline: November 30. $10,000 prize recognizes “a book that demonstrates exceptional artistry and vision written by a mid-career poet and published in the preceding year. The prize is named after the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), a writer whose work embodies the qualities of ambition, intellectual and imaginative scope, and technical mastery we seek to recognize.” Check eligibility specifics on the website.ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES JEWISH FICTION AWARD
Deadline: December 1. “All works of fiction with significant Jewish thematic content written in English–novels, short story and flash fiction collections–by a single author published and available for purchase in the United States during 2021 are eligible for the 2022 award. Jewish thematic content means an extended grappling with Jewish themes throughout the book, including Judaism, Jewish history and culture, Jewish identity, etc. The award will include a $1,000 cash prize as well as support to attend the AJL conference to receive the award.”THE BIRD IN YOUR HANDS PRIZE
Deadline: December 1 (11:59 p.m. MST). A contest “that centers and celebrates BIPOC voices. This is a no-fee contest accepting poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in any form under 500 words. The winner of the contest will be awarded $1000, published in Thin Air Magazine, and interviewed for Thin Air Online. The winner will also be invited to read the winning entry, all expenses paid for, at the Northern Arizona Book Festival held in April 2022. First and second runners up will also be awarded an honorarium.” Judge: Raquel Gutiérrez. (Hat tip for this one goes to WOW: Women on Writing.)TONY QUAGLIANO POETRY AWARD
Deadline: December 1. Biennial award confers $1,000 and “honors Tony Quagliano’s legacy as an experimental poet and editor. It recognizes an accomplished poet with an outstanding body of innovative, cutting-edge work pushing the boundaries of poetic craft, such as experimental approaches to form and/or language. This award also recognizes a poet who contributes meaningfully to a literary community. Preference is given to poets with connection to Hawai‘i and/or the Pacific.” The award is offered “in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities. The winner is featured on the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities website and invited to give a poetry reading and workshop with Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities within six months of receiving notification of the award.” NB: “Applicants must be a resident of a US state or territory.”W.Y. BOYD LITERARY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MILITARY FICTION
Deadline: December 1. $5,000 prize “honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. It recognizes the service of American veterans and military personnel and encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding war-related fiction.” Open to adult and young-adult novels published during the previous year.DAVID J. LANGUM, SR. PRIZE IN AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION
Deadline: December 1. “A prize and $1,000 honorarium is awarded to the winner each year for the best book in American historical fiction published in the preceding year. Both the winner and the finalist also receive handsomely framed certificates. The novels must be submitted by December 1st of their year of first American publication. Novels that are published in the month of December are eligible and must be submitted for that year’s prize, but may be submitted by December 1st in advanced reading copies or proofs.”SILLERMAN FIRST BOOK PRIZE FOR AFRICAN POETS
Deadline: December 1. Awarded annually “to an African poet who has not yet published a collection of poetry. The winner receives USD $1000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal. The African Poetry Book Fund Editorial Board, including Kwame Dawes, Chris Abani, Matthew Shenoda, John Keene, Gabeba Baderoon, Phillippaa yaa de Villiers, Aracelis Girmay, and Bernardine Evaristo, will judge.” NB: “An ‘African writer’ is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.”STADLER FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: December 1. At Bucknell University. These fellowships offer recent MFA graduates in poetry “the opportunity to receive professional training in editing and literary arts administration. The program offers two distinct tracks: a fellowship in literary editing and a fellowship in literary arts administration. Applicants can apply to one or the other. Both fellowships are designed to balance the development of professional skills with time to complete a first book of poems. Fellows serve for 20 hours each week during the academic year. The balance of the fellows’ time is reserved for writing. The 10-month fellowships provide health insurance and a stipend of at least $33,000.”J. ANTHONY LUKAS WORK-IN-PROGRESS AWARDS
Deadline: December 9. Two awards, each in the amount of $25,000, “are given annually to aid in the completion of a significant work of nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern. Recognizing that a nonfiction book based on extensive original research often overtaxes the resources available to its author, the project envisions the award as a way of closing the gap between the time and money an author has and the time and money that finishing a book requires. Applicants for the award must already have a contract with a U.S.-based publisher to write a nonfiction book.”
REMINDER: Multiple opportunities that were listed in last month’s newsletter remain open at this time.
5. SUBMISSION ALERTS
BLUE MESA REVIEW has re-opened for fee-free submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Their Submittable page indicates that they’ll close each category after 500 submissions, so you may want to get to them sooner rather than later (the listed deadline is February 28). Payment: $25. NB: “International submissions are accepted and are eligible for publication, but we are not able to process contributor payments outside the United States.”
Online submissions of fiction, poetry, and essays for the print edition of NINTH LETTER are free during November and December. Payment: “$25 per printed page, with a maximum payment of $150, as well as two complimentary copies of the issue in which the work appears.”
Hurry for this one! BARRELHOUSE “is seeking submissions for a special online issue around the theme ‘something’s missing.’ We’ll gladly read your fiction, poetry, essays, and comics that tackle the theme in creative, interesting ways.” Deadline: November 1. Payment: $50.
GEEZ, a “quarterly, non-profit, ad-free, print magazine about social justice, art, and activism for people at the fringes of faith in both Canada and the US,” is taking pitches/submissions until November 10 for an issue themed “Holy Fool.” Pays: “Depending on the length, we usually offer between $30 and $100.”
THE FABULIST MAGAZINE is open through November 12 for submissions of short (up to 3,000 words) fantastical fiction. “We are open to all forms of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, literary fabulism, mythology, folktales, genre remixes and the like.” Pays: $25.
You have until November 14 to send work in to ONE STORY, which seeks literary short fiction “between 3,000 and 8,000 words.” Pays: “$500 and 25 contributors copies for First Serial North American rights.”
For its Flash Fiction series, publishing “flash fiction by emerging and established Asian, Asian American, and Asian diasporic writers,” THE MARGINS is receiving submissions until November 15. Payment: “Authors whose flash is accepted for publication will receive a writer fee of $120.”
For an upcoming issue, LAMPLIGHT, “a quarterly magazine of dark fiction” seeks submissions from writers who have not yet had a professional sale. Deadline: November 15 (or until they hit a cap). Payment: $.06/word.
TYPEHOUSE LITERARY MAGAZINE is open in all categories until November 15. Note that “genre fiction submissions are welcome, particularly speculative fiction.” As for payment, it looks as though their rates have upped to $25.
BENNINGTON REVIEW, which aims “to stake out a distinctive space for innovative, intelligent, and moving fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, and cross-genre work,” re-opens for submissions on November 15. Pays: “$100 for prose of six typeset pages and under, $200 for prose of over six typeset pages, and $20 per poem, in addition to two copies of the issue in which the piece is published and a copy of the subsequent issue.”
CLAW & BLOSSOM, “an online seasonal journal of short literary prose and poems that touch upon the natural world,” is open for submissions for its December/Solstice issue until November 21. The theme for this issue is “Glow.” Payment: “$25 USD per acceptance within 10 days of publication. (Linked micros are considered one acceptance.) Payments are made only via PayPal at this time.” NB: “Claw & Blossom has a monthly account limit on free submissions.”
Canadian litmag PRAIRIE FIRE is open until November 24 for “Uncharted Territory”-themed submissions: “Tell us about a time you (or a fictional character) either deliberately threw away the roadmap and set out on a new, uncharted course into the unfamiliar and unexpected, or a time when an external catalyst such as loss, illness, poverty, a social movement, a work of art, or a pandemic changed the way you think, or sent you in a new direction and changed the course of your life.” Pay rates detailed online.
THE BALTIMORE REVIEW remains open for submissions until November 30 “or until caps are reached.” Payment for general submissions of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction is “$40 Amazon gift certificate or $40 through PayPal, if preferred).”
November 30 will be a fee-free submissions day for EXPOSITION REVIEW, which publishes “narratives by new, emerging, and established writers in the genres of fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scripts for stage & screen, film, experimental narratives, visual art, and comics.” They’re currently inviting work on the theme of “Flux.” Pays: $35.
ABANDON JOURNAL “is open through November 30, 2021, for Issue #3, ‘Abandon Time.’ Interpret that as you wish.” NB: “We’re open to so-called ‘genre fiction’….As long as the writing is powerful and abandons the preconceived notions of what is expected, we want to read it.” Pays: “$15 per piece or series.”
According to its latest newsletter (scroll down), ARC POETRY MAGAZINE will close for submissions on November 30, earlier than its usual (and, at last check, still-listed-elsewhere) December 31 deadline. Pays: $50/page (note that this is a Canadian magazine).
That same ARC POETRY MAGAZINE newsletter also reminded me that THE FIDDLEHEAD closes for general submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry on November 30. Pays: “$60 CAD per published page, plus two complimentary copies of the issue with your work. Contributors may purchase additional copies of an issue at a discount.”
THE ABBEY REVIEW, which publishes short stories, screenplays, and poetry, will release its first issue in January 2022 and is receiving submissions for that issue until December 1. Pays: “$30 per short story, poem, and screenplay, and the best piece of writing gets paid an additional $70.”
NOT ANOTHER LITMAG, an online magazine that “tends to focus on work that is in conversation with pop culture,” is open for submissions of flash fiction, poetry, and book reviews year-round. Pays: $15 per contribution, via PayPal. (Found this one via @Duotrope.)
In addition to its typical feature articles, WRITERS WEEKLY is now seeking articles on “Marketing Secrets”: “If you have found creative method(s) to promote your book or your writing business, we’d love to hear what you did….Please ensure we haven’t covered the same topic in the past two years. Also, don’t send ideas that are already common in the industry.” Pays: “$60 U.S. on acceptance via PayPal for first rights only ($30 U.S. for reprints),” for articles “~600 words.”
FUNDS FOR WRITERS also seeks submissions “on earning a living as a writer.” Pays: “via PayPal or Venmo – $60 for unpublished original articles; $20 for reprints.”
Reminder: Make it a habit to check the CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL website, where titles in development are posted, including a current call for “Humorous Stories” that has a deadline of November 20. “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, and comment!
Interested in matters of specifically Jewish literary and cultural interest? Please also visit the My Machberet blog (“machberet” is the Hebrew word for “notebook”).
7. NEWSLETTER MATTERS
Information contained in The Practicing Writer is collected from many sources, with the purpose of providing general references. It is researched carefully but readers should 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.”