Erika Dreifus

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.

• There’s a March 14 deadline for this one: The Museum of the African Diaspora Poets-in-Residence program “provides writers with opportunities to respond to contemporary art of the African Diaspora and extend the reach of the museum through programming and educational workshops with local high school students.” Confers a monthly stipend of $1500 (for 4 months). NB: “The residency does not include accommodations or meals, so it may be best suited for Bay Area writers; writers from other communities are welcome to apply but are responsible for arranging their own accommodations. We strongly encourage writers from the African diaspora to apply.” (Hat tip for this one to Galleyway.)
• Westerly, which publishes “short stories, micro-fiction, poetry, memoir and creative non-fiction, artwork, essays and literary criticism,” is open for submissions until March 18. Pay rates are detailed within their guidelines. Note: “We expect our contributing authors to be subscribers of the journal, and support the publication which is supporting them! For this reason, we will offer any authors selected for publication who are not subscribers the opportunity to take out a discounted year’s subscription as part-payment for their work.”
• Also from Australia: Island, which is “currently seeking new fiction and nonfiction content for online publishing only” (in this instance, from “Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents” only). Pays: $200. Deadline: March 21. (Australian nature writers may also want to scroll down the submissions page for information on the magazine’s Australian Nature Writing Project—current cycle there closes March 31.)
• “As part of Tiger Bark Press‘s ongoing commitment to printing quality poetry by a diversity of voices, the press will hold an open reading period throughout the month of March 2022, for full-length book manuscripts by poets who identify as Black, as indigenous, or as people of color. This is not a competition, and there is no guarantee that a manuscript will be selected for publication; however, our hope is to fall in love with, and publish, at least one book as a result of this reading period, and perhaps more. Selected poets will be offered a standard publishing contract, with books scheduled for publication in late 2022 or early 2023.”
• The Redbud Writing Project fiction contest, the Coppice Prize, is open for entries until March 31. “Arshia Simkin and Emily Cataneo, Redbud’s cofounders, will select ten finalists, and writers Kelly Link, John Kessel, and Joanna Pearson will select three winners as well as an honorable mention. 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.”
• Hub City Press is open for unagented query submissions for novels for the remainder of March. They seek “well-crafted works by new and established authors with an emphasis on the Southern experience and a strong sense of place. We prefer queried projects to be completed. We will expect to read completed manuscripts, and we rarely accept unfinished work. We are committed to publishing and supporting lesser-heard Southern voices, including Black and Indigenous people, queer and trans people, immigrants, people with disabilities, as well as people from ethnic, cultural, and religious groups who have been oppressed and underrepresented by the publishing industry. Hub City publishes writers living in or from the South. What’s the South? A complicated issue, to say the least, but the short answer for our purposes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. We’re interested in boundaries, borders, and in-betweens, but your manuscript needs to be primarily focused on the American South.”
• Until April 15, Hub City Press is open for submissions for its South Carolina Novel Series, which “publishes a novel by a South Carolina writer biennially. Writers selected for publication in this series are awarded $1,500 and book publication, including marketing and tour support from Hub City Press and the series partners, as well as placement in all South Carolina state libraries and readings/events with presenting sponsors. The series is open to writers of all levels who have lived in South Carolina for at least one year prior to submission of their manuscript.”
• Remember: you’ll find still more current calls and competitions featured in our March newsletter.
• From Janklow & Nesbit: “We’re hiring for our 2022 summer internship! This is a part-time, remote, paid opportunity for anyone interested in literary agenting and the publishing industry.”
• The Oxford American seeks a full-time assistant editor. “The assistant editor will be based at the magazine’s main offices in Conway, Arkansas (outside Little Rock).”
• Friends of Writers (FOW) “seeks a permanent part-time Administrative Manager. “We are a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 literary arts and education organization, whose mission is to enrich American poetry and fiction by cultivating new and vital literary voices.” Note: “The right candidate can work remotely and is also part of a small team, conferring regularly with FOW officers. The Administrative Manager will have some office and arts organization experience, and be interested in literary arts, education, and development. FOW is registered in Vermont and meets virtually or in person in New York City or at another location. Ideally the Administrative Manager will be able to attend one or two-day meetings in person, as needed. Position is part time permanent, 16 hours weekly. Starting salary $30 per hour. Good paid time off policy, ICHRA (health savings account) and contributions to a SEP IRA.”
• In Ohio, the department of English at John Carroll University “invites applications for a one-year Hopkins Post-Graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing (prose), starting in Fall 2022. The Fellowship may be renewed for up to three years. The teaching load will be four courses (2-2) during the academic year….The primary teaching duties of the successful candidate will be fiction writing, with secondary fields in non-fiction, social justice and anti-racist writing, professional writing, and digital storytelling. Interest or experience in running workshops for the incarcerated welcomed. The ideal candidate will have an established record of publication; be working to complete a book-length project; and have enthusiasm for teaching both introductory and advanced creative workshops as well as writing courses in their area of interest.”
• Centenary College of Louisiana “invites applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in English, beginning August 2022….Candidates should be prepared to teach in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction writing seminars, our first-year writing courses, and upper-level literature classes. The ideal candidate will have experience in teaching African American and/or Southern literature and working with students on editing and publishing.”
• The University of West Alabama is advertising for an Assistant Professor of English.
• In Minnesota, the Department of English at St. Olaf College “invites applications for a one-year position (.83 FTE) in creative writing at the level of Instructor or Assistant Professor, to begin August 2022. The successful candidate will teach five courses: three courses in creative writing and two courses in our first-year writing program. One of the creative writing courses will be in screenwriting; the other two creative writing courses will be creative writing workshops that match the candidate’s areas of expertise. Possibilities include workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, and/or poetry. Qualifications: M.F.A in creative writing or Ph.D. in creative writing.”
• In Boston, the English, Writing and Communication Department at Emmanuel College “is accepting applications for adjunct faculty to teach the following Fall 2022 poetry course in our Writing, Editing and Publishing program: ENGL2506 Poetry Writing. This course is an overview of the craft of poetry writing in a workshop format….Face-to-face synchronous course meets Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:40-2:55pm. Candidates should possess a minimum of a Master’s degree/MFA with experience teaching and writing poetry. Candidates should demonstrate a record or promise of successful teaching at the college level, especially in the context of a diverse student community and demonstrate knowledge of the craft of poetry and history of publishing poetry.”