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.

• At the University of Georgia Press, Crux: The Georgia Series in Literary Nonfiction is open for proposals for the rest of the month. “Named for intersections, and for the heart of the matter, this series will publish literary nonfiction by diverse writers working in a variety of modes, including personal and lyric essay, memoir, cultural meditation, and literary journalism. Books are intended for general readers, including writers, teachers of writing, and students, and will be both intelligent and accessible. Engagement with the world, dedication to craft, precision, and playfulness with form and language are valued. As the series develops, it will include non-American writers and experiences.”
• Per Twitter, HerStry‘s general submissions “are open! We accept personal essays on any topic from women-identifying writers, as long as your story is true and about you. New stories are published year round, and we pay $10 per accepted piece.” (And per their Submittable page, they’re briefly open for fee-free submissions: “Please be advised that we have a limited number of free submissions and once they are gone they are gone.”)
• Until March 31 (or, per Twitter, until the magazine “reaches capacity,”) Black and Indigenous writers may send poetry and fiction fee-free to Witness. No theme. “Selected writers receive $50 and publication.”
• Riddlebird is open for submissions of literary fiction, personal essays, and literary genre fiction until April 1. They’re “specifically looking for humorous work, lighthearted pieces, or works that explore the humor woven through struggles.” Pays: “Authors are compensated $100 and a contributor’s hard copy.”
• April 10 is the deadline for Hugo Fellowship applications: “The Hugo Fellowship program provides education, space, and resources for up to six emerging writers in the Seattle area per year to support the development of new work. Applicants are selected for the program based on the excellence of their writing and ability to complete the proposed project. Projects may include (but are not limited to) completing the first draft of a novel, developing and workshopping a solo play, or creating a manuscript of poetry.” Fellowship benefits include a “$1,200 annual class scholarship stipend.”
• For writers residing in Oregon: Oregon Humanities has issued a call for submissions for its summer 2023 issue, which will be themed “Shelter.” For this issue, they’re “looking for stories about home, sanctuary, and refuge of all kinds….We welcome all forms of nonfiction writing, including essays, journalism, and excerpts from forthcoming or recently published books.” Compensation: “All contributors are paid between $500 and $1000, depending on the length and complexity of the piece.” The deadline for proposals/drafts is April 24.
• By this time next week, the April issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0 will have gone out to subscribers, and, as usual, it will be filled with fee-free opportunities that pay for winning/published work. In the meantime, be sure you haven’t missed anything in the March issue, or in the latest weekly supplements.
• Sought at Johns Hopkins University: “non-tenure-track adjunct faculty to teach courses within the MA in Writing program. Our classes are offered online–asynchronously in Canvas or in real-time via Zoom. We are looking for fiction and nonfiction writers who have published extensively. The ideal candidate will have published at least one book and will have online teaching experience. Of particular interest are candidates who have experience engaging students from diverse backgrounds.”