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.

• ICYMI: The January 2023 newsletter went out to subscribers late last week. It’s packed with a record-setting 80+ fee-free and paying opportunities, emphasizing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Do take a look!
• Discovered this announcement too late to include it in the newsletter. From McSweeney’s: “We are pleased to announce the inaugural Stephen Dixon Award for Short Fiction, in honor of the extraordinary work and life of long-time McSweeney’s author Stephen Dixon. The Stephen Dixon Award for Short Fiction recognizes an emerging fiction writer who is experimenting with form and expanding the boundaries of storytelling. The submissions will be reviewed by a panel of editors, fiction writers, and McSweeney’s editors. The winning piece will receive $1,750, as well as publication in a forthcoming issue of McSweeney’s Quarterly and online at mcsweeneys.net. The runner-up will receive $750 and publication online at mcsweeneys.net. Submissions will open January 9 at 10 a.m. PST. This year’s panel consists of C Pam Zhang, Jessica Alexander, Vi Khi Nao, and Joseph Grantham.” There is no entry fee indicated. Important notes include that “the author must not have published a book or have a book forthcoming at the time of submitting” and that “submissions will be open until we reach 200 stories (this may take minutes, days, or weeks).” (Thanks to Galleyway for the tip about this one.)
• A reminder in yesterday’s newsletter from Orca: “We have 100 free submissions per month.” In addition to literary and literary-speculative fiction, “Orca is open for Literary Nonfiction, too, from 2000 to 8000 words.” Pays: $25-$50, depending on the length of the work, via Paypal or Zelle.
• The Minnesota-based Anderson Center’s Emerging Artist Residency Program “offers month-long residency-fellowships at Tower View to a cohort of early-career artists from Minnesota or one of the five boroughs of New York City for concentrated, uninterrupted creative time to advance their personal artistic goals and projects….Thanks to generous support from the Jerome Foundation, selected emerging artists receive a $625/week artist stipend, documentation support, art-making resources, lodging & studio space, a travel honorarium, groceries, and chef-prepared communal dinners.” Apply by January 16 (noon, Central time).
• “Kirkus Media is looking for experienced book reviewers of English and Spanish-language titles to review for Kirkus Indie, the book review magazine’s section dedicated to self-published authors. Reviews are about 350 words due 10 days after the book is assigned. Kirkus currently reviews nearly all genres for books of all lengths, in digital, hardcover and paperback format.” The salary posted for this freelance position is “up to $15,000.”
• “Kirkus Reviews is seeking a talented, experienced Editor to work within Kirkus Indie, the self-publishing section of Kirkus Reviews. The Editor will be responsible for assigning reviews, assisting the team, editing book reviews and the magazine, writing columns and features about Indie titles, maintaining a social media presence, etc. The Editor will also provide guidance and feedback to editorial assistants and interns….Compensation range $55k – $70k. This is a full-time position based in New York, NY, or remote.”
• “The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee English Department seeks a creative writer with an expertise in fiction who can contribute to a busy creative writing program that offers BA, MA, and PhD degrees.” (Advertised as an assistant/associate professor position.)
• In Indiana, “Valparaiso University invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of English….Applicants should have a specialization in fiction writing and a secondary expertise in poetry writing. Experience in other genres, including creative nonfiction, digital/interactive storytelling, or emerging forms and genres, is welcome.”