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.

  • Maggie, “a Toronto-based publication sharing feminist arts and lit,” remains open for submissions for a “Mending”-themed issue until March 31. Payment includes a $50 honorarium and a print copy. (HT @Duotrope)
  • The Redbud Writing Project, an adult education creative writing school based in Raleigh, North Carolina, is running its first annual fiction contest, the Coppice Prize, through March 31. “Arshia Simkin and Emily Cataneo, Redbud’s cofounders, will select ten finalists, and writers Jill McCorkle, Clare Beams, and Rachel Pfennig Hales will select three winners. The first-place winner receives $500, the second-place winner $200, and the third-place winner $100. All three winners will be published in a booklet and will receive a free copy of the booklet as well.”
  • “The Orwell Society is organising its seventh annual short story competition for current students (both BA and MA) at British universities. Dystopian narratives of 3,000 words” should be submitted by April 1. A prize of £500 “will be announced on 1st May 2021 and comes with a trophy which is a bust of Orwell (to be returned at the end of the award year). Arrangements for the presentation of the Prize will be confirmed when the winner is announced. The judges will be looking for the narrative which best follows in the tradition set by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four and which Orwell is most likely to have admired. The winning entry will be published in the Society’s Journal.”
  • ICYMI: I shared multiple fee-free and paying opportunities in last week’s “Jewish Literary Links” post on the My Machberet blog (aka “Erika’s ‘Other’ Blog”). These include the 2021 Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Poetry Contest, a new award for Jewish kidlit, and new (to me) info about writing for the Tel Aviv Review of Books.
  • Coming soon (as in: midweek): The April 2021 issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0, which will be packed (as usual) with current competitions and calls for submission, curated to include only opportunities that are both fee-free and paying and are not limited to the residents of any single city/state/province. And there’s still time to make use of the March issue.
  • From Graywolf Press: “Our application period for the Summer 2021 internship is now open through April 5, 2021. Internships are being conducted remotely, but applicants must reside in California, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, or North Carolina for the duration of the internship. This internship is intended to provide intensive educational experience in the workings of a literary nonprofit publishing house, but will be conducted mainly within the Editorial department. Some time will be spent on projects from the Marketing and Publicity or Development departments of Graywolf as well….Interns will receive minimum wage ($15 per hour), paid twice monthly as regular wages. They will also receive a free copy of each Graywolf book published during the session. The internship schedule is a flexible ten hours per week for a period of twelve weeks; total compensation is based on time worked and would equate to $1,800 for this period.”
  • “The Poynter Institute is seeking a part-time editor for up to 20 hours a week. The position would begin immediately.” This appears to be a remote position. Apply by April 9. (Thanks to Sonia Weiser’s Opportunities of the Week newsletter for the lead on this one.)
  • The Hurston/Wright Foundation, “a mecca for Black writers and fans of Black literature,” is hiring a Program Manager. This position is temporarily remote; “work must be performed in or near Washington, DC.”
  • The New York Public Library is hiring a Publicist “to work with earned media outlets to proactively, creatively, and aggressively promote a suite of Library offerings (with an expectation to deliver hundreds of placements). While the Publicist’s list of projects may vary, the most significant responsibility will be The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, an NYPL research library and one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences. The publicist will promote the collections, exhibitions, programs, priorities, and staff of the Schomburg, and spend 1-2 days a week at the institution in Harlem.”
  • “The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, one of the nation’s leaders in residency programs for emerging artists and writers, seeks a full-time program manager for its Summer Program of workshops and residencies in creative writing and visual arts.”
  • “Vermont College of Fine Arts welcomes applications for the Director of the MFA in Writing Program. The Program Director is a managerial, administrative position reporting to the Academic Dean.”
  • In Florida, “the Department of English at Rollins College invites applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing for a three-year appointment beginning in Fall 2021. Writing areas in at least two genres (fiction, non-fiction, poetry). Interest and experience in professional writing also welcomed. Teaching load is 4-4 on a semester system, with an expectation of courses in first-year composition, general education, and creative writing at all levels. A successful candidate will have an MFA or PhD in Creative Writing, publications, and excellent teaching record including composition courses and workshops.”
  • “Scripps College, a women’s liberal arts college with a strong interdisciplinary tradition, invites applications for a distinguished visiting writer for the Mary Routt Endowed Chair of Writing during the spring semester of 2022. The successful candidate will serve as the Mary Routt Chair of Writing throughout the spring semester (mid-January to mid-May). The Chair will design and teach one writing workshop course and give two public readings or talks. We are looking for candidates with a significant record of publication in creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry; we prefer candidates who can show evidence of outstanding teaching ability.”
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. Jean F says:

    Erika, Your much appreciated policy of listing only markets without submission fees that pay writers something seems to be in conflict with listing markets using Duotrope for submissions. They give a one week free trial period and then charge $5/month or $50/year. They provide other related services as well, but I’m not sure of their benefit to me. I’ll stick to markets using Submittable or plain old email submission.
    PS – I had a microfiction and a full-length story accepted last week. No payment for either (the second was a competition with only one cash prize), but they are sending printed copies. Two acceptances in a week when I’ve only had two fiction pieces ever accepted before is almost more than my mind can absorb.

    1. Erika Dreifus says:

      My understanding is that the Duotrope submissions system (Duosuma) does not require a paid Duotrope subscription for submitters to make use of it: “Before you can submit you need to be logged in to a Duotrope account. If you do not already have a Duotrope account, you need to sign up for one. A paid Duotrope subscription is not required to submit.)” https://duotrope.com/duosuma/docs/how-to-submit.aspx#submitting Can you please point me to verbiage that indicates otherwise? And congratulations on the acceptances!

  2. Jean F says:

    Erika, You are right! I misread/misinterpreted their instructions. It might be worth signing up with them to be able to submit there for free.

Comments are closed.