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.

• Coming soon: the August issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0. In the meantime, make sure you haven’t missed any of the opportunities listed in the July issue that remain open.
• Cake Zine‘s “Tough Cookie” call for pitches remains open until tomorrow (July 25) at 9am Eastern. Rates appear to range between $125 and $300. (Hat tip: @Duotrope.)
• Until July 31, In The Mood Magazine, “a pop culture journal about the things we like to watch,” is open for submissions for “Issue 8: MOODS! We’re doing things a little differently this time, so please read the call carefully….” Pays: $25 CAD upon publication.
• Also with a July 31 deadline: submissions for Artisans of the Soul: An Anthology of Teacher Appreciation. “Everyone talks about how courageous it is to be a teacher and how they touch lives, and yet we can never seem to adequately capture the heart of a teacher through short conversations in passing. For that reason, Energy Threads would like to present the heart of teachers around the world through this collection of talented voices. We are looking for pieces that specifically highlight the strength, courage, and commitment of teachers to their students. Pieces must be from the perspective of the teacher so that you can fully highlight the heart and soul of the teacher or mentor you are writing about. Genres are limited to general fiction, realism, magical realism, creative nonfiction, fantasy, and literary.” Note: “A small select amount of poetry, drabbles, and flash pieces will be considered if it meets the theme and is strong enough to stand with the rest of the selected pieces.” Compensation: “Accepted authors will be compensated $25 for their short stories, $10 for flash fiction, and $5 for poems or drabbles.” (Ran across this one via Jeanne Lyet Gassman.)
• “Foreword Reviews—a trade book review journal celebrating twenty-five years of covering independent books exclusively—is continuing to hire freelance reviewers on a rolling basis. If you love reading and opining on books, we’d love to add you to our team. Reviewers receive at least $60 per review (with pay increases past 350 pages; reviews range between 300 and 600 words, depending on your voice) and have a month to complete their assignments. You are never obligated to accept an assignment that doesn’t interest you or fit with your schedule.” No deadline indicated.
• August 1 is the deadline to apply for Individual Artist Fellowships that “are awarded for artistic quality to Delaware creative artists working in the visual, performing, media, folk, and literary arts.” Fellowships for “emerging” artists are $5,000; for “established” artists, the sum is $8,000.
• At Northwest Review, they’re seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Salary: $57,000. No deadline indicated in the LinkedIn announcement.
• In Pittsburgh, “the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English at Carnegie Mellon University invites applications for an Adjunct Instructor with a specialization in Creative Writing (Non-Fiction) to begin Fall 2023.” Apply by August 10.
• In Oregon, “the English Department at Portland State University invites applications for Instructor or Senior Instructor I of Poetry to begin September 16, 2023. We seek an active instructor who can contribute to the department by teaching introductory, intermediate, and advanced poetry writing at the undergraduate level, graduate poetry workshops, and classes in their areas of expertise. We are particularly interested in candidates whose work explores questions of poetic form, writing and identity, and memory.”