Markets and Jobs for Writers

Background of a keyboard, mug of coffee, and wallet on a tabletop; text label indicating "Markets and Jobs for Writers: No fees to submit work/apply. Paying gigs only."

Each week in this space, Practicing Writing shares no-fee, paying markets for writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction: competitions, contests, and calls for submissions. These weekly posts complement monthly issues of The Practicing Writer newsletter, where you’ll always find more listings, none of them limiting eligibility to residents of a single municipality, state, or province. (But this blog does share those more localized opportunities, including jobs.)

As always, if you’d like to share a specific opportunity listed here, please credit the blog for the find. Thanks for respecting the time and effort that I put into researching, curating, and posting this information! I do notice, and I appreciate the courtesy.

  • For an anthology with a working title of “The Year of the Virus,” Owl Hollow Press seeks short fiction (up to 7,500 words). Deadline: July 10. Payment: “Authors selected for the anthology will be paid $50 & receive one print copy of the finished book.” (Thanks to Cathy’s Comps and Calls for the tip about this one.)
  • The Substack Fellowship for Independent Writers, “which features a $100,000 grant for the top recipient and advances of $25,000 each for four other fellows,” is open for applications until July 14, 5pm PDT. “The purpose of the fellowship is to help writers go independent and succeed with the subscription publishing model. We were so encouraged by the success of the first Substack fellowship late last year that we decided to increase our investment in the program. As well as increased financial support, the fellowship includes access to resources and a two-week schedule of coaching and advice.” 
  • Delaware writers: The deadline for you to apply for an Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship is August 3. “Awards are $3,000 for Emerging; $6,000 for Established.”
  • Open to women poets in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the Rebecca Swift Foundation Women Poets Prize will close to entries on August 14. “The Prize is awarded once every two years to three women poets. Each winner is carefully matched with a poetry mentor and offered pastoral coaching, facilitating a holistic body of support that nurtures craft and personal wellbeing in equal measure. The Prize also offers a programme of support and creative professional development opportunities with the Foundation’s partners: Faber and Faber, The Literary Consultancy, RADA, City Lit, Verve Festival, Bath Spa University, and The Poetry School. In addition to these opportunities which constitute the Women Poets’ Prize professional grant, each successful poet receives a cash bursary of £1,000.”
  • From CRAFT: “While our submissions for short and flash fiction are always free and always open, this summer we are offering a fast response option for free to Black writers. We will respond to your piece within three weeks of submission. If we decline your work, we’ll offer a few lines of actionable feedback. We pay $200 for accepted short stories and $100 for flash fiction. To serve our aim of exploring the art of fiction, each published story includes an editor’s introduction as well as a craft essay (author’s note) by the writer. This essay will be requested upon acceptance.”
  • If you haven’t caught it yet, the July edition of The Practicing Writer contains 25+ current fee-free (and paying) calls & competitions.
  • Posted by @JoshuaRoarkPoet: “Hey poets—we (@FrontierPoetry & @PalettePoetry) are looking to pay $50/hour for high quality, professional feedback on submitters’ poems. More info here: https://palettepoetry.submittable.com/submit/169774/feedback-editor-application.”
  • The Daphne Review is hosting an online mentorship program for talented high school student writers and established writers/teachers acting as their mentors. We’re currently taking applications for both types (students and qualified mentors) and hope you’ll continue spreading the word about this program to any interested parties.” The program will run August 3-28, online (total weekly time: 2 hours). Mentor payment: $50 per hour for Skype or $200; $25 per hour for email or $100; total: $300 via Paypal. Application deadline: July 31. (ED note: Please direct any questions to the address indicated within the Facebook post—not to me!)
  • Poets & Writers is advertising for an Assistant Web Editor. “Responsibilities include maintaining a variety of databases, producing select web content, participating in the development of new online resources, and conducting related research. This is a full-time position in our New York City office. (Note: Will initially require working remotely; we anticipate returning to our offices later this year.) Benefits include health insurance, paid time off, and more.” (Poets & Writers also seeks an Advertising Assistant.)
  • Book publisher Muonic Press seeks a (remote) “assistant w/writing skills for variety of tasks.” Pays: “This position is on a freelance/contract basis, and should take around 10-15 hours per week to start at $25/hour.”
  • “The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, based in Hudson and Brooklyn, New York, is seeking a part-time Social Media Manager. The estimated time commitment for this remote position is 10-15 hours/wk. Our preference is a candidate who lives in New York, is familiar with performing arts and non-profit arts organizations, and has familiarity with Hudson Valley and NYC communities.” Salary: “$11,440 – $15,600. Hourly rate is $20, 10-15 hours per week.”
  • In Utah, Brigham Young University is hiring in Creative Writing-Fiction.
on a tabletop: a keyboard, a mug of coffee, and a wallet with cash, plus a text label announcing Markets and Jobs for Writers