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.

  • From Tajia Isen: “Call for pitches: I’m looking to commission some new columns for @CatapultStory! I’m seeking narrative nonfiction that uses personal stories to explore a clear, specific subject or theme—please read through the thread & examples before pitching.” Payment, as indicated in an exchange within the thread, begins at $200.
  • From Jason Diamond: “Hello. For DIRT we’re looking for a couple of pieces on streaming shows or movies. A good example is this piece exploring the scarves on Lupin.” Pays: “500 a post. We say 500-1000 word range. Taking pitches through July.” (h/t Opportunities of the Week)
  • As reported in Galleyway: “The BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean American Writers’ Prize and BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean invite submissions that speak to issues of land, justice, ancestral knowledge, belonging, ownership and oral histories; stories of pain, joy, grief, hope, return to memory; stories that critique and challenge the creative imagination to re-envision the world in the diaspora and the Caribbean. Deadline: July 9.” Note: Cash prizes are only part of the extensive award packages here. Entries must be short fiction.
  • Publishers Weekly, the international news platform of the book publishing industry, is looking for experienced freelance book reviewers. Also needed are reviewers for BookLife Reviews and the BookLife Prize, which are dedicated to self-published books.” Check the announcement for available genre/subject areas. Pays: “a modest honorarium per review.”  
  • The Granum Foundation Fellowship Prize will be awarded annually to help U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, memoirs, and translations—or to help launch these works. Funding can be used to provide a writer with the tools, time, and freedom to help ensure their success. For example, resources may be used to cover fees for a writing residency, mentorship, editing services, or a book tour. They also may be used for necessities such as rent or writing equipment.” The prize confers $5,000. “Up to three finalists may be awarded $500.” Note: “At this time, only U.S. residents 18+ are eligible for funding.” Deadline: “Applications will close on August 3, 2021, 11:59 pm Pacific Time.”
  • “The Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston, in conjunction with the School of Art and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, announces a two-year, post-graduate fellowship program in Creative Writing and the Arts beginning the 2021-2022 academic year. The opportunity is open to any practice in Creative Writing (e.g., Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction). Candidates will work alongside faculty in the Creative Writing Program and with their peer fellows in the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.” (I may have missed it, but I did not see a deadline listed for this opportunity; I have to imagine that if they’re talking about the 2021-2022 year, the deadline must be soon.)
  • And if you haven’t yet seen them, you’ll want to take a look at the opportunities listed in the brand-new issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0.
  • “My Jewish Learning is seeking an Editorial and Community Assistant. This job is right for you if you are passionate about Jewish digital engagement, you have excellent editing and writing skills, you have a keen interest in Jewish texts and holidays, and you have the ability to stay on top of a variety of tasks.” (Per its post on MediaBistro, this appears to be a remote position.) 
  • In London, The White Review is advertising for a (part-time) managing editor who “will work closely with the board and editors to grow and establish The White Review as a leading British arts and literature quarterly magazine.” (h/t Freelance Writing Jobs)
  • In Cambridge, Massachusetts, “Porter Square Books is looking for booksellers to join our team! We are also opening a second location, Porter Square Books: Boston Edition, in GrubStreet’s beautiful new building in the Seaport. Opening is set for this autumn. We are currently hiring for this location as well. Ideal candidates will be able to train in Cambridge this summer before moving to the Boston location in the early fall.”
  • Also in Cambridge, Massachusetts, “the Humanities Division of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences of Lesley University is seeking an adjunct faculty member to teach an intermediate course in Creative Writing during the Fall 2021 semester. Course Title: 21/FA CCRWT 2000 H01Y Art and Craft of Creative Non-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