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).

  • Big news from Barrelhouse: “It’s been a dream of ours since we started Barrelhouse in 2005, so we’re proud to announce that beginning with issue 12, Barrelhouse will pay contributors $50 each, along with contributor copies….We hope this marks the beginning of a new chapter for Barrelhouse and we hope you’ll join us. When the time is right, send us your best stuff (we’re open right now for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and a special comedy issue). Come get your fifty big ones!”
  • Wesleyan Writers Conference Scholarships & Fellowships have a deadline of March 22, 2013 (received). There is no application fee; “if you are certain you will attend the Conference, however, do send the $75 deposit and registration form immediately, before completing the rest of your application. The deposit guarantees you a place at the Conference if you should not win an award.”
  • “Lake Forest College [Ill.] seeks a writer of fiction to fill a three-year visiting (non-tenure track) position in the English Department teaching courses in creative writing and developing courses in the design, production, and publication of books and journals.”
  • (more…)

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Updated Eponymous Guide to Literary Contests and Competitions

    By now, many of you know that I’m into the tenth year of publishing a free monthly newsletter for writers. Titled “The Practicing Writer,” the newsletter has evolved over time to include ONLY no-fee competitions and paying calls for submissions, plus other news and resources for writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. (Read the current issue.)

    Over the years, I’ve offered new newsletter subscribers an exclusive benefit: a guide to “eponymous literary contests and competitions.” I’ve previously titled this guide “From (A)lgren to (Y)eats.” But in the latest update–which I concluded a few days ago–I decided that, in keeping with my newsletter policies, I should limit the contests and competitions listed in the guide to opportunities that don’t charge fees. Sadly, I can’t find any Yeats-related contest that is also fee-free. So this edition of the guide brings a title change: “From (A)lgren to (W)illiams.”

    The guide goes out automatically to new subscribers, but the file is available to current subscribers as well. (NB: If you’re a newsletter subscriber but you have trouble accessing the file, please read this for advice. I hope that will help!)

    UPDATE, 8:00 AM: I can’t help but wonder if this post, which went live shortly after midnight, is what attracted the attention of the nefarious hacker who evidently hacked into my Yahoo! account a few hours ago. In any case, I apologize profusely for any nasty messages any of you have received from “me.” Hopefully, the situation has been remedied. Thank you for your understanding.

    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).

  • The February issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers late last week. Plenty of no-fee contests and paying calls included there.
  • “The Cheryl Strayed/VIDA Memoir Scholarship will provide for one recipient the full registration fee for the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat, March 15-17th 2013. The scholarship, provided by an anonymous donor, will be awarded to a female writer of demonstrated financial need and literary promise.” Deadline is February 14, 2013. No application fee.
  • Those of you in the NYC area: Gigi Rosenberg will be leading a free session on “Grantwriting for Artists: Perfecting Your Proposal,” on the afternoon of Thursday, February 14.
  • Canada-based Arc Poetry Magazine “is look­ing for sub­mis­sions of poetryor prose about poetrythat takes the North as its pole star. We are look­ing for writ­ing from the North and/or about the North in its many guises. We don’t take the North as a given and encour­age sub­mis­sions that engage with and chal­lenge ideas and his­tor­ies of the North. We encour­age sub­mis­sions of diverse North­ern voices, poetry styles, and lan­guages (sub­mis­sions in Eng­lish, French, Inuit lan­guages, Dené, and Cree are wel­come; how­ever, sub­mis­sions in lan­guages other than Eng­lish should be accom­pan­ied by author-approved translations).” Check the site for more guidelines and pay rates.
  • Westminster College [Utah] invites applications for an assistant professor in Fiction Writing, the New York Public Library is looking for a Production Assistant to join its Live from the NYPL series, and The University of Baltimore’s School of Communications Design seeks a published fiction or literary non-fiction writer for a half-time contractual position.
  • 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).

  • “Spirit First is pleased to announce its fourth annual meditation poetry contest. Poetry submissions may be of any length and any style but must have a theme of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, or silence. Poems may reflect any discipline, any faith, or none. Poems must be previously unpublished.” Deadline: January 31, 2013 (received). Cash prizes: $175/$125/$75. No entry fee. (via WinningWriters.com)
  • Here’s a contest that will award $100 worth of Amazon vouchers: the Clickinks Poetry Competition. “With the start of the New Year we all become focussed on making resolutions and turning over a new leaf. This is why we would like you to write a poem on ‘new beginnings’. The competition is open to applicants of all ages, whether you are a budding or experienced writer, we want your poems! It can be written in any style, as long as it’s no more than 45 lines and must be your own work.” Deadline is February 11, 2013. No entry fee.
  • I’m happy to report that Pamelyn Casto’s newsletter devoted to flash literature is back! This free resource is “devoted to markets, contests, and publishing news for short-short literature 1,500 words or fewer (including short-short fiction, prose poetry, haibun, flash memoirs, flash creative nonfiction, flash plays).” (Be forewarned that not every market included in this newsletter pays, and you may find some fee-charging contests, too. Nonetheless, I subscribe, and you can, too.
  • NYC writers! Applications are open for the 2013 Center for Fiction Emerging Writers Fellowship, which provides an array of benefits (including a $4,000 grant and writing space). Ten writers will be chosen for 2013 fellowships. No application fee. Apply by February 15, 2013.
  • Monmouth University (N.J.) is looking for an Assistant Professor, Creative Nonfiction; the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is advertising for an Assistant/Associate Professor and Writer-in-Residence; Southwest Minnesota State University seeks an Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing); Naropa University (Colo.) invites applications for an Assistant Professor of Writing and Poetics; and Full Sail University (Fla.) is in search of an Associate Course Director for Creative Writing.
  • Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities 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. (Even during the holidays, when the listings can be a little thin!)

  • The 6th Annual James Nicholson Political Poetry Prize, administered by the Town of Pelham Public Library, is open to residents of Westchester County, N.Y., 18 years of age or older. There will be a $500 prize for the winner. (Make sure that your library account is in good standing, since “awards will not be given to anyone with outstanding fines or fees.”) There are also categories open to middle-school and high-school students. All winners “must be available” for a reading and reception currently scheduled for Thursday, April 11, 2013, and the winning poems will be published in the Pelham Weekly. Deadline: February 18, 2013.
  • The state of Colorado’s Creative Industries Division offers Jumpstart Awards to “provide fresh energy to artists and creative entrepreneurs to help stimulate their creative business or organization, whether nonprofit or commercial. Our goal is to help grantees increase their revenue, gain new audiences, and improve management practices.” You must be a Colorado resident to apply. No fee indicated. “The maximum request is $1,000 and funds are paid on a reimbursement basis upon receipt of final report and expense receipts.” Next deadline is January 15, 2013.
  • “The Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW) requests proposals for an E-Writer in Residence. The E-Writer in Residence, who may be located anywhere in Canada, will provide manuscript critiques and workshops, delivered primarily by communications technology, to writers located in Northwestern Ontario cities, towns and isolated communities (including First Nations communities). NOWW will give priority to applicants who are poets (defined as having at least one professionally published book of poetry for which the poet has a publishing contract and receives royalties). NOWW welcomes applications from First Nations and Métis writers.” No application fee. Deadline: January 13, 2013.
  • And you’ll find LOTS of no-fee contests and paying calls in the new (January 2013) issue of The Practicing Writer. Consider it my New Year’s present to all of you. Happy New Year!