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.

• Open for submissions until October 28, the Stowe Prize “recognizes a distinguished book of general adult fiction or nonfiction that illuminates a critical social justice issue in contemporary society in the United States.” A $10,000 award will be conferred for a book written by a U.S. author, published in the United States in the last three years. “Because Stowe’s writings challenged slavery and promoted women’s education, social issues impacted by racism and gender discrimination will be prioritized.”
• Until October 31, Short Story, Long is open for submissions of “short stories, 2k-8k words long (with the 3,000-5,500 range being our real sweet spot).” Editor Aaron Burch adds: “I would love to accept and publish one or two, maybe three holiday/New Year stories. If you’ve got one, send my way!” Pays: $100.
• “Registration is now open for the Iceland Writers Retreat. In addition to general registration, which is currently open to all, we have scholarships slots available for those with financial need. The Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni Award offers talented writers in need of financial support an opportunity to attend the Iceland Writers Retreat in Reykjavík, Iceland in April, 2024. Scholarship applications are due Oct 31, 2023 by 11:59 pm GMT.” (Thanks to Katie Hale for reminding me about this one.)
• “The Friends of the TCU [Texas Christian University] Library and TCU Press are co-sponsors of the 2024 TCU Texas Book Award. An award of $5,000 is given to the author of the best book about Texas. Fiction, nonfiction, art, photography and other books will be considered. Excluded works: juvenile, young adult, drama or film scripts, and self-published works. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, November 1, 2023.” NB: “Books must have been published between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023 to be eligible for the 2024 award.” “The $5,000 and trophy presentation will be made at a dinner hosted by the Friends of the TCU Library at Texas Christian University on Monday, April 1, 2024. The author of the winning title is expected to attend and deliver remarks.” (Thanks to WinningWriters.com for the reminder about this one.)
• From the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland: “If you’re a writer or an aspiring writer looking for where to go next, The Writer’s Center Compass Fellowship is a great place to start! Our renewed fellowship program will introduce a new writer each year to our writing family, to help guide them along the next steps on their path, with $1000 in credits toward any TWC workshops within a two-year period, a $300 cash stipend, and opportunities to be published in The Writer’s Center Magazine and featured in TWC events.” Note that applicants “must be local in the DMV area and be able to travel to Bethesda.” Deadline: November 1.
• From Contingent: “Next year, editor Marc Reyes is going on sabbatical from January 1 to May 31 and Contingent is seeking a guest editor for that period of time. The guest editor will be responsible for working on, and completing, 1-2 pieces a month (about 10-15 hours of work a month), evaluating pitches, attending editors meetings, and other duties as they arise. They will work closely with Editor-in-Chief, Erin Bartram, and Managing Editor, Bill Black. The guest editor will be paid a stipend, totaling $1500 for five months of work. Contingent is looking for someone with editing experience, especially for a publication aimed at the public. While we are open to pitches from anyone, our preferred candidate has completed postgraduate work in history (or a history-adjacent field) and is working outside the tenure-track professoriate. We seek a guest editor who has been reading, sharing, and even assigning our articles and who believes in the three tenets of our publication: history is for everyone, every way of doing history is worthwhile, and historians should be paid for their work.” Apply by November 1.
• “The English Department at the University of Illinois-Chicago is searching for a Professor of Creative Writing, specializing in fiction, to begin Fall Semester 2024. Duties will include directing the Program for Writers, as well as teaching courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The ideal candidate is an accomplished writer with a clear vision for administrating an MA and Doctoral Program. PhD (or foreign equivalent) required. Associate professors in the process of applying for promotion at their current institution will also be considered, provided they could be hired at UIC as full professor at the time of appointment.”
• “The Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington is seeking a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor of Creative Writing/Nonfiction on a continuing 9-month appointment starting August 2024.”
• “The English Department at the State University of New York at New Paltz invites applications for a tenure-track position in Creative Writing with a specialization and teaching expertise in creative nonfiction. Candidates will be expected to develop and teach courses in creative nonfiction, which might include graphic memoir and diasporic or immigrant narratives. The appointment will be at the level of assistant professor with an anticipated start date of August 2024.”
• “The English Department at Baruch College, a senior college of the City University of New York located in the vibrant Flatiron neighborhood of mid-town Manhattan, invites applications for a tenure track position in Creative Writing-Poetry at the assistant professor rank.”
• In Kansas, the Department of English at Wichita State University “is now accepting applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in poetry writing to begin fall 2024.”
• “The Department of English, Theatre, and World Languages at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of English position with specialization in poetry to begin August 2024.”
• Applications are open at New Mexico Highlands University for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of English position; teaching responsibilities include “undergraduate and graduate creative writing (poetry), literary publishing, technical writing, freshman composition, and other courses as assigned by the department.”
• “Goddard College is seeking affiliated (adjunct) faculty members to work with graduate students in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing program offered in both online and onsite modalities. We are seeking: Creative writers with a strong publishing history; a demonstrated record of excellence teaching at the collegiate level; and an MFA in Creative Writing degree. Experience writing poetry, fiction, new media, and the graphic novel are a plus.” Note: “Candidates applying for the onsite modality will be expected to participate in an eight-day residency twice a year in Vermont, (in January and July) where they will teach courses, give lectures, and lead workshops across genres. They will also mentor students one-on-one over the course of the semester and supervise thesis projects.”