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.

  • The TU Dublin Short Story Competition is run by the Library, Technological University Dublin [TU Dublin] – Tallaght Campus, in conjunction with South Dublin County Council, in association with the Red Line Book Festival….There is no restriction on theme or style, however the planned 2020 anthology will be called Creation, Cosmos, &Caboodle‘ and we are looking for strong stories that (even loosely) reflect this title.” Prizes: €500/€250/€150. “Winning and shortlisted entries may be published in an anthology, or other format. Non-prize winning published entries will receive no remuneration.”  Judge: Rob Doyle. NB: Hurry up if you’re interested in this one, because the he deadline is 12.00 GMT (Irish Time) on August 19th. (h/t FundsforWriters)
  • Pacifica Review‘s Community Chest Contest will offer one winner in each category $350 and publication in the next edition. Submissions welcome in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. “It’s not much, but it may just pay for that grocery bill, the electricity, the kind of liquor you pour in a glass. Whatever you need it for, it’s yours. Those of you who need help, you know who you are. We don’t. But we’re trusting you to tell us by submitting your work to this particular contest.” Ends August 29.
  • The Mountaineering Scotland Mountain Writing Competition is open to all [resident in the United Kingdom], and entries can be fact or fiction, with categories for prose and poetry, just so long as the subject matter has a connection with any aspect of mountaineering, rock climbing, walking or ski mountaineering/ski-touring.” Prizes, in each category: 1st prize £200; 2nd prize £100; 3rd prize £50. “Mountaineering Scotland reserves the right to publish the prize-winning entries.”
  • For the remainder of August, you can enter the Owl Canyon Press Short Story Hackathon fee-free (an entry fee will apply in September). “Writers are invited to create and submit a short story consisting of 20 paragraphs. The contest provides the 1st and 20th paragraphs, and the short story writer crafts the rest. First prize is $1000, 2nd prize is $750, and 3rd prize is $500 with the winning short stories published in a short story anthology, as well as an invitation to give a public reading at Inkberry Books in Niwot, CO. The twenty-four (24) Finalists will also have their short stories included in this anthology.” (h/t Winning Writers)
  • Call for pitches/submissions for an upcoming anthology on New Jersey. “This single-subject anthology will be eclectic and full of surprises, including personal essays, food writing, historical information, interviews, hand-drawn maps, artwork, and narrative nonfiction. The book will serve as an evergreen tribute to the state and an exploration of how the same place can shape people in different ways.” Payment: $50-$300. Deadline: September 4. (h/t @WeisChoice)
  • We’re now more than halfway through the month, but plenty of the opportunities listed in our August newsletter remain open for your consideration.
  • “The Oxford American offers a comprehensive editorial internship program [the Jeff Baskin Editorial Internship program]. We have full-time and part-time positions available and offer a stipend of $2,500 per term.” Note: “For the near future, internships will be remote.” Apply by August 21 for internships beginning in September. (h/t @WeisChoice)
  • The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects is hiring a Managing Editor. This is a part-time job based in Jackson, Mississippi (“remote possible”).
  • The Yale Review is hiring a Deputy Editor/Digital Director.
  • “Ooligan Press, the only student-run teaching press in North America that makes four trade press books annually and distributes through Ingram Publisher Services, seeks a full-time Publisher and Senior Instructor-1. Candidate must have Master’s degree in book publishing, English, or creative writing and must have experience teaching book publishing. Instructor/Publisher will begin winter term, Jan. 4, 2021 at Portland State University. Generous benefits; salary range: $63,444 – $67,536.”
  • The University of Michigan has announced a Helen Herzog Zell Visiting Professorship in Fiction.
  • In London, England, “the Philharmonia seeks a socially engaged artist or collective to collaborate with the Orchestra. The Artist in Residence will create new artistic experiences across our 2020-2021 programme of activity. They will take an inclusive and critical approach to our work and provide perspectives not already seen within our season.” Payment: £12,000. Apply by September 1, 5pm (presumably local time).
on a tabletop: a keyboard, a mug of coffee, and a wallet with cash, plus a text label announcing Markets and Jobs for Writers

3 thoughts on “Markets and Jobs for Writers

  1. Charlotte Eliopoulos says:

    Thank you for the time and effort you invest in putting together this great resource.

    1. Erika Dreifus says:

      Thanks so much for the acknowledgment, Charlotte.

  2. Sandra Soli says:

    Stay safe, Erika.

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