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.

• By this time next week, the July issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0 will have gone out to its 8500+ subscribers. So, if you’re not yet among that group, please join us (there’s no charge to subscribe). And if you haven’t yet consulted the June issue for the opportunities listed there, you’ll find quite a few that are still open for submissions.
• From The Suburban Review: “Do you have short poetry or microfiction that you’re ready for the neighbours to see? Submissions are now open for Hills Hoist Volume 3: a special TSR publication edited by our Jumpstart a Journal workshop participants in collaboration with our editorial staff. As part of this project, your work will help train the next generation of editors across the continent, and will be presented in a digital zine when the workshop is complete. For this special opportunity, we are accepting poetry up to 20 lines, and microfiction up to 400 words. All works selected for Hills Hoist will be paid $25AUD as a non-standard rate for this project only. And, unlike usual issues of TSR, Hills Hoist is unthemed—so we want to read your work, no matter what ideas you’re exploring. Submissions are open until 11:59 p.m. (AEDT) Friday 30 June 2023.” (I’ve bolded the date because there’s an error, which I’ve since confirmed via email, in the original newsletter that I’ve linked to: The deadline is NOT 30 July. I’ve also confirmed that they’re open to submissions from writers outside Australia.) UPDATE: CAP HAS BEEN REACHED!
• Also until June 30, Out-Spoken Press, a London-based independent publisher of poetry and critical writing…with the aim of providing a platform for compelling writing from voices that were (and remain) under-represented in mainstream publishing,” is open for submissions of full poetry collections and pamphlets for its 2024–25 publishing schedule. (Note that per their Submittable page, they’re “also open to submissions for pitches for critical writing, and creative non-fiction, including lyric essays and hybrid forms — we’ve no restrictions on subject matter, but we’re into work that is strange, meaty and experimental.”) Pays: “royalties at a competitive percentage of net income from book sales.” Per this Twitter exchange, they are open to submissions from writers outside the UK (but their deadline, quite naturally, is based on their time zone!).
• Until June 30, The Capilano Review “is pleased to invite submissions of new and previously unpublished work for consideration in its forthcoming 2023–2024 publication year. We welcome submissions of boundary-pushing, innovative writing across a variety of genres and forms, including but not limited to: poetry, experimental fiction, personal/poetic essay, creative nonfiction, and hybrid forms. Writers are also welcome to pitch ideas for long-form critical essays (1500-2500 words) on contemporary art or artists, ideas for our online see to see section—reviews of recent or forthcoming literary/art books (500 words)—and ideas for feature interviews with Canadian authors and artists that may be of interest to our readership.” Pays: “Accepted submissions of poetry and prose will be compensated at a rate of $50 CAD per page upon publication. Flat rate fees for commissioned interviews and critical texts range from $200–$500 CAD depending on length and scope and will be discussed upon acceptance of a pitch.” Note: Per a guidelines segment on historical inequity, “writers are encouraged to self-identify in the body of their email to be prioritized in our editorial process.” (Hat tip: @HadassahHannah.)
• Until July 1, carte blanche is accepting submissions for its next issue, which will be open-themed. “We invite creators to submit previously unpublished pieces in the following genres: fiction, translation, photography, and comics.” Pays: “a modest honorarium per submission.” NB: “Please note that while Canadian and international creators are welcome to submit their work to us for consideration, as a result of our affiliation with the Quebec Writers’ Federation and Canada Council grant requirements, we may emphasize a focus on Quebec-based creators in a given issue.”
• “The Maine Arts Fellowships recognize artistic excellence in the careers of Maine artists. Fellowships are not grants but are merit-based awards based on the level of artistic creativity and vision as show in the artist’s support materials.” Deadline to apply for these $5,000 awards: July 6.
• The Western Folklife Center, in Elko, Nevada, “seeks a manager for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. This is an excellent opportunity for a creative person with events experience to add their signature to a nationally recognized event….This position pays $40k – $50k a year and includes a benefits package. It is based in Elko, although there are opportunities to work remotely for limited periods during certain times of the year.” Apply by June 30.
• The Walrus, which “provokes new thinking and sparks conversation on matters vital to Canadians,” is now “applications for the TD Fellowship on Disability and Inclusion. This role is exclusively open to media professionals with a disability. The senior fellowship position reports to the marketing manager, and allows The Walrus to further incorporate inclusion as a pillar of media outreach, events, and marketing. This is a fully paid nine-month opportunity for one senior fellow to work with the marketing, events, digital, and editorial teams to help plan, develop, and produce a range of marketing and content for The Walrus….The position pays $800 per week for a thirty-five-hour workweek.” Note: “The Walrus office is located in downtown Toronto, but our staff are based across Canada. Though this position will be remote or hybrid for the foreseeable future, applicants must be eligible to work in Canada to qualify.” Deadline: July 9.
• Deep Vellum is advertising a position for a paid, part-time position of Marketing Coordinator. “This person will provide vital support for the Marketing Department, both through administrative maintenance and agency over creative endeavors, including social media….This job is part-time, $15-20/hour, starting at 20-25 hours per week with potential for growth….This position is remote. Candidates are optimally based in Texas, New York, or North Carolina.” Deadline: July 15, 2023.
• Toronto Public Library (TPL) invites applications from Canadian writers for the Fall 2023 Writer in Residence (WIR) position, focused on writing Graphic Novels for an adult audience, based at the Toronto Reference Library (TRL). The residency is designed to encourage exchanges between the author and the community and requires 14 hours per week online or in-person for: workshops, presentations, evaluation of submitted manuscripts, one-on-one and/or group meetings with writers from the general public, participation in online forums, and other activities as agreed. The remaining time is available for the WIR to work on his or her own project.” Compensation: “$8,000.” Deadline: July 23.
• “The Department of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is seeking a tenure-track faculty member in Creative Writing at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin August 2024. We seek applicants who work within and across two or more genres, including poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, hybrid genres, playwriting, and screenwriting.”