Erika Dreifus

The weekly batch of no-fee, paying competitions, contests, and calls for submissions—plus jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction). These posts are intended to complement/supplement monthly issues of The Practicing Writer newsletter, where you’ll always find more listings.

• From Rattle: “We would like to publish several prose essays each year as part of our Poets in Prose series. The essays can be written on any topic loosely relating to poetry, but must be expansive and engaging. We’re especially interested in poetry book reviews, but only where the books serve as springboards to broader discussion on topics of interest to poets. There are no restrictions on length, but the pieces should be long enough to provide a depthful and engaging reading experience. As with poems, our editorial stance is completely neutral: we’re looking for compelling writing regardless of the nature of the opinions expressed. We’re also happy to consider any responses to essays that have already appeared in the series.” Pays: “Payment for any work selected is $100.”
• In Toronto, the Emerging Writers Reading Series invites “writers who self-identify as Indigenous, including status, non-status, Métis, and Inuit writers, to apply to read at our March 2019 event, taking place on March 11, 2019. We welcome submissions from LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit people and emerging writers of all ages. We accept creative projects around language: prose, poetry, playwriting, spoken word, and anything else you think fits that description.” Eligibility: “Emerging Indigenous writers residing in Canada who have not published more than one book. You do not need to have published in order to be considered and no previous experience is required.” Pays: “Each reader will be paid $100 for their contribution.” (NB: “Writers must make their own arrangements to travel to Downtown Toronto to participate in the reading as EW does not have a budget to pay for travel expenses.”)
• Open for applications until January 31: Fellowship in Creative Writing at the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics at the University of Pittsburgh. “Two-year fellowship in a ‘creative think tank’ for African American and African diasporic poetry and poetics, housed in a lively English/creative writing program, beginning fall 2019. $48,000 salary per year and health benefits provided. The fellow will teach one community workshop each year; lead seminar discussions in the course Studio in African American Poetry and Poetics; participate in Co-Lab, the interactive public forum in which visiting writers and artists present their work in progress; give one public reading with a Q&A; and have the possibility of teaching a course in the university. The fellow’s primary attention will be focused on their own poetry and creative work. Poets who have completed an MFA or PhD with creative writing experience are eligible to apply, provided they do not yet have more than one full-length book of poetry or other creative writing published or under contract by the application deadline.”
• New resource list of fee-free residencies (charging neither application fees nor participation fees; some of the programs listed also provide stipends).
• In New York, “Writers House is seeking an agent’s assistant. The ideal candidate has at least one year of experience in the book publishing industry, a voracious appetite for reading, a keen editorial eye, and excellent organizational skills.”
• In Chicago, the American Library Association “is seeking an Editor/Publisher for Booklist Publications, a unit of ALA Publishing.”
• St. Cloud State University [Minnesota] is advertising a “tenure-track, probationary position to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Creative Writing – Poetry.”