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 Peter Bailey-Wells: “The @sundaylongread (and I) are looking for pitches for 2022 and would love to hear from you if you have some creative narrative nonfiction you’d like to write!” Pays: “Our pay floor is $2000 for a reported (>2000 word story). We can cover expenses too, if you tell us what you need. More details in the pitch guide.”
  • Rough Cut Press “publishes fiction, nonfiction, visual art, and poetry. We release a monthly issue with works by emerging and established voices from within the LGBTQIA community. We seek personal, lyrical, critical, and experimental work in under 650 words. We accept submissions year-round, we don’t charge a submission fee, and we offer each writer an honorarium.” Current month’s theme: “dust.” Deadline: April 27. (Hat tip here to WinningWriters.com.)
  • “Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the Toronto Book Awards honour books of literary merit that are inspired by the city. The annual awards offer $15,000 in prize money with shortlisted authors receiving $1,000 each and the winner taking home $10,000.” Deadline:  April 29 (for books published between March 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022).
  • From the South Carolina Writers Association: “In honor of our organizations past presidents, SCWA will offer three scholarships to the 2022 conference, which will include conference registration & $200 toward travel & board.” Deadline: April 30. (Note: The scholarship page does not correctly link to the 2022 conference—go here for that information.)
  • We’re now a bit more than halfway through the month, which means that you still have plenty of time to make use of the fee-free and paying opportunities and calls included in our latest newsletter—in fact, THE MAJORITY of these listings remain open for your work!
  • Canadian literary journal The Capilano Review (TCR) is hiring a Literary Editor. “This is a Vancouver-based position, with flexibility to work some hours from home.” (Hat tip: Lit Mag News Roundup.)
  • In Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania is advertising a position for an Assistant to the Faculty Director, Kelly Writers House.
  • In San Francisco, City Lights Booksellers and Publishers seeks a Publicity and Marketing Associate.
  • In Portland (Oregon), Tin House is hiring a Publicity Assistant.
  • In South Carolina, Hub City Press seeks a Marketing Assistant.
  • The North Carolina Writers’ Network is advertising for a Communications Director. “This position will work from a home office, which must be in the state of North Carolina. The Network will provide a cell phone for work use and a monthly stipend to help pay for a high-speed Internet connection.” (Hat tip: Luke Hankins.)
  • In New York, The New York Times is hiring an Obituaries Reporter. (Hat tip: MEOjobs.)
  • Library Journal has posted an announcement for an Editor “who is interested in reference, nonfiction, perhaps some smaller sections of fiction, and who is experienced with social media.” Note: “This position can be fully remote, or for those in the NYC metropolitan area, hybrid, on-site, or fully remote. Currently, we are employing legal residents of the following states CT, FL, NJ, NY, PA, TX, VA and operating on Eastern Standard Time. We are requesting that all new employees be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, or to have a religious or medical accommodation.”
  • Junior Library Guild is looking for an Editorial Assistant “to read and evaluate children’s books for our K-12 categories.” Note: The editorial office is in Manhattan (NYC), “but we have been working remotely since March 2020. We are open to remote candidates who are available to work during East Coast business hours, preferably located in any of the following states: IL, LA, MA, NC, NY, OH, OR, PA, or TX. Additionally, we are requesting that all new employees be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, or to have a religious or medical accommodation.”
  • School Library Journal (SLJ), “seeks a full-time Editor for the reviews team, with a focus on graphic novels and manga.” Note: “This position can be fully remote, hybrid, or on-site. Currently, we are employing legal residents of the following states CT, FL, NJ, NY, PA, TX, VA and operating on Eastern Standard Time. We request that all new employees be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or have a religious or medical accommodation.”
  • In Massachusetts, the English Department at Tufts University “invites applications for two part-time lecturer positions in Creative Writing, Poetry.  Each lecturer would teach four poetry writing workshop courses per academic year.” 
on a tabletop: a keyboard, a mug of coffee, and a wallet with cash, plus a text label announcing Markets and Jobs for Writers