Monday Markets for Writers

Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • “Grub Street is pleased to offer $200.00 scholarships to forty selected writers each year. Recipients may use their scholarship at any time in the year and toward any class they desire, though not for Muse and the Marketplace tuition or manuscript consulting. There are 4 application deadlines throughout the year– one in each term. We’ll give out 10 scholarships after each deadline.” Next deadline, for fall classes, is Friday, August 23 at noon (presumably, Boston time).
  • From McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: “For the 5th consecutive year, it’s column contest time.” Note: “Our site is primarily known for printing funny things, but columns need not be comic in nature. They don’t even need to be writing, as we have begun to feature more graphic-based material.” Open to writers in all countries. Pays: “We have prizes. Cash prizes. The top five selections will each receive a $500 lump sum and a one-year contract to write your column (twice a month or thereabouts) for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. One of those five winners will win a $250 bonus voted on by our readers. We do reserve the right to choose fewer (or more) winners than our planned number of five.” Deadline: August 30, 2013 (10 p.m. Eastern time). No entry fee.
  • Call for submissions to an anthology titled Coffee: Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic: “Each story must somehow involve coffee as a major plot element. It’s not enough if an unrelated story is set in a coffee shop. I will also consider a few tea stories as well. These stories must feature an element of the fantastic (fantasy, SF, light horror). No literary fiction please.” Pays: “$0.05 per word plus one contributor copy of trade paperback and ebook.” Deadline: August 31, 2013. (via Duotrope.com)
  • For Canadian citizens: “Hagios Press has will [sic] once again be looking for submissions in their Strike Fire New Author Series in 2013. Submissions will be welcome between May 1st and August 31st, 2013. Hagios Press is asking for samples from book-length collections of poetry, short fiction (short stories, novellas) and literary nonfiction. Submissions must be from writers who have not published a book, or who have published one book and are submitting a manuscript in a genre different than that of their first book.”
  • A five-part “Writing Away the Stigma” creative-nonfiction workshop opportunity is available for writers in southwestern Pennsylvania who have been affected by mental illness. “Twelve participants will be selected and will be asked to commit in advance to attending all five sessions and completing the reading and writing assignments on time. Workshops will cover the entire writing process from idea to final product. Participants will conceive their stories, learn the creative nonfiction craft, and write first and follow-up drafts. The final session will focus on how to get published. The true stories written in this workshop may be published in various media outlets. All stories will be rigorously fact checked.” The workshop will be taught by Lee Gutkind. There is no application fee. Apply by September 15. NB: Previous writing experience is not required; the program is open to applications from “any resident of southwestern Pennsylvania with a true story to tell about the challenges, the trauma, or the satisfactions of confronting mental health problems—their own, or those of a friend, colleague, or family member.”
  • Robert Lee Brewer is accepting pitches for the 2015 Writer’s Market. Pay is “competitive”; pitch deadline is September 20, 2013.
  • Opportunity for writers who are based in the Piedmont area of North Carolina: “The Piedmont Laureate program, co-sponsored by the Alamance Arts Council, City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County, has as its primary goal ‘to promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts in the Piedmont region.’ The program is dedicated to building a literary bridge for residents to come together and celebrate the art of writing, enriching the lives of all our citizens.” This year, the program seeks a writer of short fiction to serve as the Piedmont Laureate. Pays: “The Piedmont Laureate will receive an honorarium of $6,500 (distributed in two payments). Additionally, the Laureate will be recognized at various area events and receive media coverage related to the Laureate program.” Be sure to read the detailed program eligibility and other guidelines. Application deadline: September 27, 2013 (4 p.m.). No application fee.
  • From WritersWeekly.com: “We’re Out of Success Stories! Have a Freelance Success Story to share? We pay $40 on acceptance, non-exclusive electronic rights only. Success stories run around 300 words but we’re very flexible. Our guidelines are here: http://writersweekly.com/misc/guidelines.php.”
  • “The English Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has an opening for the position of Associate Director of MFA Program and director of the Juniper Summer Writing Institute.”
  • “The Department of English at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York invites applications for a tenure track position in the teaching of the craft of fiction, both in the Master of Fine Arts in Fiction program and in the undergraduate B.F.A.”
  • “The University of Chicago Department of English and Program in Creative Writing invite applications for a non-tenured track appointment as Assistant Professor of Practice in Fiction Writing. This appointment is expected to start in academic year 2014-2015. We look for an early-career colleague with a record of significant fiction publication, at least one book or equivalent….The position is contingent upon final budgetary approval and is renewable based upon satisfactory review, with an opportunity for subsequent promotion.” (See also a Lecturer position that is being advertised by the University of Chicago.)
  • The University of Michigan is advertising for The Nicholas Delbanco Visiting Professorship in Fiction: “Visiting appointment in fiction. Anticipated three year appointment, with potential of renewal for two additional years. Candidates should be emerging writers (one book published or under contract; candidates may also have a second book under contract) who have achieved distinction in their writing and excellence in their teaching or show the promise of such distinction and excellence.” (Note also The Nicholas Delbanco Visiting Professorship in Poetry.)
  • The University of Minnesota MFA Program has announced two tenure-track job openings: an “approved hire” for Assistant Professor of Creative Writing (Creative Nonfiction) and a “possible hire” for Assistant Professor of Creative Writing (Fiction).
  • The University of California, Riverside, is taking applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor position (Creative Nonfiction) for its low-residency MFA program.
  • “Zócalo Public Square, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Ideas Exchange that blends live events and humanities journalism, seeks a creative, experienced, ambitious, and dynamic Associate Editor, preferably with a deep knowledge of—and affection for— Los Angeles, California.”