Monday Markets for Writers: No Fees. Paying Gigs.

dollar-sign-mdMonday 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).

  • Received via email this week: “Ideate publishing is seeking short-story fiction submissions for an anthology. ‘Where’s My Tiara?’ is designed to paint an authentic and diverse portrait of lessons learned on the way to womanhood. Theme: Female protagonist featured in a coming-of-age story. The short story can be set in any time period and should speak to the unique experience of being female. The short story should be uplifting and encouraging. Submission Requirements: The short story should be no more than 3,000 words. The submission must be 12pt type and double-spaced. Submitters must be female and 18 years of age or older. Please email submissions to anthologyproject2015(at)gmail(dot)com no later than July 1, 2015. The submission MUST include your name, phone number, and email. Please include the meaning or definition of any regional or country-specific dialect and/or slang that is used in the short story to ensure the dialect or slang will be edited in its proper context.” Pays: $100.
  • “mental_floss magazine is seeking an Editorial Fellow. This is an incredible opportunity to learn the ins and outs of print magazine publishing by joining the team that produces the National Magazine Award–nominated print sibling of mentalfloss.com. We’re a small, hard-working, fun-having team and you’ll be an integral part of it all from your first day. Primary responsibilities include brainstorming, pitching, and writing stories; conducting copious amounts of research; and helping with a variety of print production and administrative tasks—some of them extremely glamorous, some of them a little less so. The position pays $12 an hour, and is based in our midtown Manhattan office. We require a commitment of three days a week for a minimum of 12 weeks.”
  • The May issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers last week, and you’ll find lots of no-fee competitions and paying calls from magazines and publishers within.
  • And speaking of resources: I’ve just discovered “Cathy’s Comps and Calls.” Check out the May listings. No fees for these opportunities, but not all of them pay–and many are limited to UK writers. (Still, I’m impressed and grateful! I know what’s involved in compiling a list like this one!)
  • “The Department of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga invites applications for the position of tenure-track assistant professor of English, beginning August 2015, with primary specializations in Creative Nonfiction and Fiction.”
  • “The Cedarville University [Ohio] Department of English, Literature and Modern Languages invites applications for a full-time tenure track position teaching first-year composition, general education literature, and upper-level creative writing courses in fiction writing.”
  • The University of Memphis seeks a Visiting Assistant Professor in Poetry Writing.
  • The National Italian American Foundation (Washington) is looking for a Social Media Manager/Assistant Editor.
  • “Mother Earth News — a leading authority on self-reliance and sustainability — is looking for a bright, energetic editor to join its team.” Job location: Topeka, Kansas.
  • 2 thoughts on “Monday Markets for Writers: No Fees. Paying Gigs.

    1. Cathy Bryant says:

      Thanks for the mention of Comps and Calls! It’s funny – I asked people who I knew used it whether they would prefer all-paying listings, and only two said yes. Several creative writing teachers use it to help their students buld up a portfolio of publications, and to get used to the process, even if they don’t get paid. I rarely submit to anything non-paying (other than charity anthologies) myself, but I do understand where they’re coming from.
      I love your Monday Markets and Practicing Writing newsletter! What a marvellous resource for those of us who make a living from writing.

      1. Erika Dreifus says:

        Dear Cathy–thanks so much for your comment. I’m so grateful to have discovered Comps & Calls. My feeling on the nonpaying markets is that they’re perfectly fine (when they don’t charge fees themselves; I consider them for some of my own work)–but in my world, those opportunities are so easy to find and so widely publicized that there’s little value added to my sharing them as well. I like to believe that my lists do serve a “niche” of sorts, as you seem to appreciate. Thank you!

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