The Practicing Writer 2.0: September 2021
Discover more from The Practicing Writer 2.0: A Newsletter from Erika Dreifus
The Practicing Writer 2.0: September 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 opportunity listings 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:
For too many people, and in too many ways, these are deeply difficult times. I hope that this newsletter offers a comforting routine to anyone who needs it.
Quick note: Trish Hopkinson will be moderating a (free) “Poetry Palooza” panel on Tuesday, September 14 (7pm ET) for the International Women’s Writing Guild (IWWG). Yours truly will be one of the panelists. Please join us.
Sending best wishes for a good month with your writing practices. And may it be a good, sweet new Jewish year (more on that shortly) for all who observe—and a time of peace, health, and healing for everyone.
Warmly,
ERIKA
2. SUCCESS STORIES
Thank you so much for letting me know about the Genesis Jewish Book Week Emerging Writers programme. I applied thinking I had no chance (I've never published any fiction), but to my surprise, I was selected as one of 10 emerging writers (5 non-fiction, 5 fiction/poetry) to work with 10 well-known writers, who are running seminars and acting as mentors for us. My mentor is Tracy Chevalier!!!--how cool is that? I've been working on my novel, Ness, for a number of years, but I felt like I was just writing for myself. With this program, I can get feedback from my peers and from Tracy, and more importantly, I feel like I’ve gained confidence in my ability as a fiction writer. So thank you, Erika, for this amazing resource you provide. I am very grateful to you.
—Karen E.H. Skinazi
I’ve been getting your newsletter for years and came across [The RCWMS Essay] contest you publicized earlier this summer. I wrote this essay a long time ago but it seemed to align with what they wanted…and I won!
I recall reading that you like to hear about your subscribers’ successes, but most of all, I’d like to thank you for what you do.
—Karen Y. Sandler [Editor’s note: Karen shared with me her prize notification—her essay will be published in December.]
Just so you'd know that your newsletter service is not in vain: my essay just got accepted by The Shmita Prizes, a contest I entered from your invaluable newsletter, The Practicing Writer 2.0. While the winner will be announced later, I remain grateful for my piece having made the cut and to you for your pro bono resources and submission opportunities. Keep them coming.
Thanks lots and keep up the labor of love.
—Mike Ekunno
REMINDER: I love learning how the newsletter/blogs/my resources support your writing practice. Keep me posted! You just may find your own work celebrated here.
3. FEATURED RESOURCE
We all want to be inclusive in our literary-program planning. To that end, I suggest bookmarking this Chabad.org page about the calendar of Jewish holidays and festivals. Note especially dates when “no work is permitted”; please try to avoid scheduling events at those times. (If that’s not possible, consider constructive program complements—as Danielle Solzman’s recent tweet suggests, this will be to your own benefit!)
The Jewish people are diverse. You may know self-identified Jews for whom traveling or Zooming or writing on a major religious holiday poses no conflict. (NB: Hanukkah is NOT a major holiday.)
But when you schedule events for Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur or several other holidays, you will exclude many other Jews from participation.
I know that it’s not feasible to meet everyone’s needs all the time; to the extent that you are simply mindful of this issue, your effort will be appreciated.
Here, again, is the page I recommend.
4. CURRENT CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
YOUNG LIONS FICTION AWARD
Deadline: September 10. This $10,000 prize administered by the New York Public Library is awarded “to a writer age 35 or younger for a novel or a collection of short stories.” For U.S. citizens with “a novel or a collection of short stories published between January 2021 and December 2021.” Publisher must submit books.THE FORGE FLASH PROSE COMPETITIONS
Submissions: September 1-14 (“or when we receive 300 entries per category”). Prizes: “First-place winners will be awarded $500.00 (writers who reside outside the United States must be able to receive payment via Paypal) and publication.”2021 HEKTOEN GRAND PRIX ESSAY COMPETITION
Deadline: September 15 (Noon CST). “In honor of Hektoen Institute Board Member Mrs. Hella Mannheimer (1924-2020). Two prizes will be awarded: $5,000 for the winner and $2,500 for the runner-up….Topics might include art, history, literature, education, etc. as they relate to medicine. In order to ensure the receipt of a wide variety of articles, we have decided to exclude those dealing with COVID 19 from this contest….We welcome submissions from health professionals, students, and scholars of the humanities and social sciences. We also encourage patients to contribute pieces that reflect their experiences or perspectives on healing and health.” (Thanks to WinningWriters.com for the update on this one.)THE FIRST LINE 2022 FIRST (AND LAST) LINE CONTEST
Deadline: September 15 (6pm ET). “We just realized we haven’t let you guys come up with the first or last lines in a couple of years, so now is your chance” to send “three original, unpublished first lines and one original, unpublished last line for consideration.” Prizes: “$100 and five copies of the issue inspired by your first or last line. And just because we can, we’re giving away 22 one-year PDF subscriptions. Everyone who sends us an entry will have a chance to win a free one-year PDF subscription to The First Line.”TOI DERRICOTTE & CORNELIUS EADY CHAPBOOK PRIZE
Deadline: September 15. “Dedicated to the discovery of exceptional chapbook-length manuscripts by Black poets” and presented by Cave Canem “in collaboration with the O, Miami Poetry Festival, Jai-Alai Books, and The Betsy – South Beach.” Confers $1000, publication by Jai-Alai Books, 10 copies of the chapbook, a residency at The Writer’s Room at The Betsy Hotel in Miami, and a featured virtual reading at the O, Miami Poetry Festival. NB: “This is not a first-book award.” Final judge: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram.FONDATION JAN MICHALSKI RESIDENCIES
Deadline: September 21. In Switzerland. “Two week-, one-, two-, three- or six-month stays are available….Residents’ travel costs to and from their home address will be covered by the Foundation. Residents are granted a monthly allowance of CHF 1200.”CULLMAN CENTER FELLOWSHIPS
Deadline: September 24. From the New York Public Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, for “outstanding scholars and writers….Foreign nationals conversant in English are welcome to apply. Candidates for the Fellowship will need to work primarily at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building rather than at other divisions of the Library.” Confers stipend of up to $75,000, “the use of an office with a computer, and full access to the Library’s physical and electronic resources.” Fellowship term runs from September through May.BEECHMORE BOOKS WRITING COMPETITION
Deadline: September 25. Current competition is on the theme of “Perspective”; submissions may be fiction, non-fiction or poetry.” Confers a first prize of “£200 + One Years Supply of Beechmore Journals (12 Books)” and a second prize of “£100 + Six Months Supply of Beechmore Journals (6 Books).”2021 SEJONG INTERNATIONAL SIJO COMPETITION
Deadline: September 30 (“11:59pm CDT USA”). “The sijo is a traditional three-line Korean poetic form organized technically and thematically by line and syllable count. Using the sijo form, write one poem in English on a topic of your choice.” Cash prizes: “Winner: $500 USD; Runner-up: $250 USD; Honorable Mentions: $100 USD.” (For more info, check Nancy Jorgensen’s article, which is where I learned about this opportunity.)CÉSAR EGIDO SERRANO FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL SHORT TALES CONTEST
Deadline: September 30 (“24h Spanish peninsular time”). From a foundation “created to propose that the word be the tool of coexistence between cultures and religions and against all violence,” for unpublished stories that run up to 100 words, “in any of the following languages: Spanish, English, Arabic or Hebrew.” Confers “an overall first prize of 20,000 dollars…for the best story in any of the languages authorized in the contest. Three prizes of $2,000 each will be awarded for the best stories in each of the other remaining languages admitted in the contest, that are not winners of the main prize.”OPEN DOOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT GRANTS FOR BIPOC WOMEN WRITERS
Deadline: September 30. “Poets & Writers is pleased to offer Open Door Career Advancement Grants for BIPOC women writers, made possible by Reese’s Book Club’s The Readership. A limited number of grants of $500 or $1,000 will be awarded….Grantees may use funds to cover application fees for MFA programs, writing contests, conferences, workshops, and residencies. Related expenses, such as travel and childcare, will also be eligible.” Open to writers who identify “both as a woman and as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC); further, applicants must be unagented and not yet have published a book.”JENNIFER JAHRLING FORESE WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
Deadline: September 30. Semester-long residency at Colby College, beginning in February of 2022, “which provides a poet at any stage of his/her career an opportunity to work on a writing project, while also being involved in the Colby literary community….In addition to a generous honorarium, housing in downtown Waterville will be provided, along with a stipend for expenses.” NB: Despite the reference to “any stage of his/her career,” the listed qualifications include: “MFA, creative PhD, or equivalent; two book-length works (includes chapbooks); some demonstrated experience of teaching at the undergraduate level.”CAMARGO CORE PROGRAM RESIDENCIES
Deadline: October 1 (5:59 p.m. in New York/23:59 in Paris). “Winners are awarded residencies in a stunning, contemplative environment [Cassis, France]…. Fellowships span 6 to 11 weeks.” NB: “A stipend of EUR 250 per week is provided, as is funding for basic transportation to and from Cassis.”PERITO PRIZE
Deadline: October 1 (23:59, London time). International award for “outstanding new short fiction of between 1000 and up to 2000 words” that “is centred around the theme of accessibility, inclusion, diversity & inclusive environments.” Confers £500 and publication to first-prize winner.FURIOUS GAZELLE HALLOWEEN WRITING CONTEST
Deadline: October 1. For “Halloween-themed poetry, fiction, short plays, and creative non-fiction.” Prize: “The first-place winner will receive $50. Runners up will receive publication and a $5 honorarium.”AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY FELLOWSHIPS FOR CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTISTS AND WRITERS
Deadline: October 5. “For historical research by creative and performing artists, writers, film makers, journalists, and other persons whose goals are to produce imaginative, non-formulaic works dealing with pre-twentieth-century American history.” Note: “For fellows who reside on campus in the Society’s scholars’ housing, located next to the main library building, the stipend will have the room fee deducted from the $1850 stipend. (Room fees range from $700 to $500 per month.) The stipend will be $1,850 for fellows residing off campus. Fellows will not be paid a travel allowance.”
REMINDER: Multiple opportunities listed in last month’s newsletter remain open.
5. SUBMISSION ALERTS
NEWFOUND, a nonprofit publisher based in Austin, Texas, whose mission includes investigating “how place shapes identity, imagination, and understanding,” re-opened journal submissions in mid-August. Considers general submissions in fiction, flash, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual arts (plus book reviews). Pays: $25. NB: They’re also seeking submissions on the theme of “Communities of Care” until December 31.
From SHENANDOAH: “We will be open for FICTION submissions starting on September 1 through September 15, 2021. Editorial Fellow May-lee Chai will be reading and choosing short stories for our fall 2022 issue.” From Chai’s call for submissions: “The theme is Border Crossing Narratives. Send us your stories of migrations, large and small, of crossings across multiple kinds of borders, physical, psychological, social, spiritual, temporal or theoretical. Send us stories that question who gets to create borders, whether on maps or on the body. How are borders enforced? What power dynamics shift when we cross them? I’d love to use this fellowship to publish works that center the experiences of people and communities historically marginalized in traditional publishing. I’m happy to consider stories from flash to about 6000 words. Hybrid forms are welcome.” Payment: “$100 per 1000 words of prose up to $500.”
Open during September (or at least until they may need to “shut free subs early due to a really-rad-but-also-overwhelming response"): SPLIT LIP. Pays: “$50 per author for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, and $25 for interviews/reviews for our web issues. Payment for print is $5 per page, minimum of $20, plus 2 contributor copies.” Two notes: 1) fee-free subs will be open to Black writers for the remainder of the year and 2) for interviews/reviews (which also pay), follow the instructions to query off-Submittable.
During the month of September, the UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PRESS is open for poetry-book manuscript submissions from Canadian citizens and landed immigrants. (Creative nonfiction is accepted year-round.)
From KENYON REVIEW: “Our next submission period will open on September 1 and close on September 30, 2021.” Payment (amounts unspecified) “upon publication.”
NASHVILLE REVIEW is open for submissions of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translation throughout September. Payment: “$25 per poem and $100 for prose and art pieces.” NB: “We cap the number of submissions to be considered at 750 per section.”
Re-opening for submissions on September 1 (and closing at the end of October): BRICK, “an international literary journal published twice a year out of Toronto. With a focus on literary non-fiction—and a willingness to stray when our hearts are taken—the magazine prizes the personal voice and celebrates life, art, and the written word with the most invigorating and challenging essays, interviews, translations, memoirs, belles lettres, and unusual musings we can get our hands on.” Pays: “$55–660, depending on the length of accepted work, plus two copies of the issue the work appears in and a one-year subscription to the magazine.”
UPSTREET also re-opens, for fiction and creative nonfiction, on September 1. Pays: “between $50 and $250 for short stories or essays,” plus one copy and a discount on additional copies purchased.
Yet another journal re-opens for submissions on September 1 (UPDATE: CLOSES AT MONTH’S END): THE CINCINNATI REVIEW. Pays: $25/page for prose; $30/page of poetry.
MIDNIGHT & INDIGO, “a literary platform dedicated to short fiction and narrative essays by Black women writers,” is open for submissions until September 5. Pay rates detailed within the guidelines.
From September 6-19, Wales-based PARTHIAN will be open for “novels and creative non-fiction (memoirs, biography, critical essays).” (Via Twitter, I was able to ascertain that the press pays “an advance and UK industry-fair royalties”; I was also told that “it’s best to send a quick email first if you want to submit from outside the UK.”)
Re-opening for submissions on [UPDATED: OCTOBER 4]: 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.”
Until September 13, PROTOCOLS, “a journal with an ambitious mission: to curate and publish provocative art and writing from across the global Jewish diaspora, with specific attention to leftist and progressive politics,” remains open for “writerly, artistic, and archival submissions for Issue #10: TEMPLE.” Details/payment info on the website.
Re-opening for submissions on September 15: THE JOURNAL OF COMPRESSED CREATIVE ARTS, which accepts “fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way. Work is published weekly, without labels, and the labels here only exist to help us determine its best readers.” Pays: $50. (Note also the journal’s “Topical Thursdays” feature, which is already open for submissions.)
Also slated to re-open on September 15: general submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction at THE FIDDLEHEAD. Payment: “$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.”
On the other hand, September 15 is the closing date for fiction submissions at Toronto-based BROKEN PENCIL. “Payment varies, depending on the status of our finances. Right now, we pay between $50 and $100 per piece.”
RECKONING, with a tagline of “creative writing for environmental justice,” remains open until September 22. Payment: “eight cents a word for prose, thirty dollars a page for poetry, art negotiable, minimum twenty-five dollars per piece.”
THE PURITAN, which is based in Canada and welcomes writers “from anywhere in the world,” accepts submissions year-round; submissions received by September 25 will be considered for the fall 2021 issue. Pay rates detailed on the website.
Submissions for the first cycle of the ISLAND ONLINE AUSTRALIAN NATURE WRITING PROJECT are open until September 30. “Through a series of seminars, mentorships and publishing opportunities, Island seeks to encourage the development of new creative literary responses to bolster an underrepresented literary genre in Australia: Nature Writing.” Pays: “$400 will be paid for each successful piece on publication.” Limited to Australian citizens and residents.
“AWP presents the best contemporary writing in its flagship magazine the WRITER’S CHRONICLE, as well as on our website through Online-Only Exclusives, short blog pieces on the Writer’s Notebook, and articles giving job advice in our Career Advice section. The Editors read submissions for the Writer’s Chronicle from February 1 through September 30 of each year.” Payment: “$18 per 100 words for accepted manuscripts,” on publication.
Closing October 1: short story submissions for THE LAST LINE; all stories must conclude with this year’s chosen line. Pays: $20-$40 for fiction (USD), plus one copy (check the note for international submitters).
Also closing October 1: GORDON SQUARE REVIEW. Pays: “$25 per prose piece and $10 per poem.”
55 FATHOMS PUBLISHING, “the book publishing partner to Orca, A Literary Journal,” is “open for queries for both fiction and nonfiction works.” Pays: “a $500 advance….Once the advance is earned out, authors will be paid 25% on additional net sales.” NB: This publisher accepts queries via both Duosuma (where they’ve established a quota for submissions) and Submittable (where the closing date currently appears to be mid-December).
Reminder: Make it a habit to check the CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL website, where titles in development are posted. (September will bring deadlines for volumes focused on “Angels,” “Crazy Family,” “Grieving, Loss and Healing,” “Humorous Stories,” and “Kindness.”) “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 verify information when necessary and appropriate. The Practicing Writer and its editor disclaim any liability for the use of information contained within. Thank you for subscribing/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.”