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.

• The November issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0 went out to subscribers last week. If you haven’t caught it yet, you can find it—and its dozens of fee-free and paying opportunities—online.
• Mark your calendar in keeping with this announcement from Electric Literature: “The Commuter Prose, Poetry, and Graphic Narrative Submissions — OPEN November 13 to November 19, or until the submission cap of 375 in prose and poetry is met.” Pays: $100. (Hat tip: Galleyway.)
• Gateway Literary Press has re-opened for full-length short story collection submissions. “Please be aware we are on a sizable backlog for publication, and any manuscripts selected during this year’s call are likely to be published in Spring 2026.” Note also: “Our press is primarily interested in surrealist, fabulist, and magic realist stories.  This does not typically include hard science fiction, high fantasy, or post-apocalypse and dystopian fiction, but collections of primarily surrealist stories with one or two of those sorts of stories are okay.  Though we are highly interested in work centered on LGBTQ+ characters or written by members of that community, we are happy to read work by and about people from all walks of life.  Due to budgetary constraints, we can only consider work from writers living in the US.” Compensation (as indicated by press founder/editor Joe Baumann on Facebook): “small advance plus royalties for contracted books.” They’re open until November 30, unless they hit a quota before that date.
• The deadline to enter the competition for the Jewish Children’s Book Awards for story and illustration, which “aim to celebrate the work of talented Jewish children’s book authors and illustrators living in Europe and the UK,” has been extended to November 30.
• “Big Wing Review is currently accepting literary submissions through Dec 1, 2023, for our inaugural print + digital publication (scheduled for release Jan/Feb 2024). We accept poetry, prose, spoken word, and visual art works. We will offer $25 per published piece of work for this first volume. For this round of submissions…we will be accepting work that explores nature and our relationship with it.”
• London-based Wasafiri “is seeking to recruit a dynamic Editor and Publishing Director with exceptional leadership skills and a passion for international writing to provide day-to-day management of the organisation and magazine, as well as strategic planning for its future. Supported by a dynamic in-house team and Board of Trustees, you will develop a strong vision as Wasafiri celebrates its 40^th anniversary, and oversee and deliver on its publishing and events programme. You will work with existing funding partners and seek out new funding opportunities to safeguard the future of the organisation. This role would suit an experienced arts leader with energy, verve and a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion in literature. A senior executive position, the Editor and Publishing Director reports to the Chair of Wasafiri’s Board of Trustees. The salary is £38k-£40k (pro-rata) depending on experience and will involve a commitment of 4 days per week, at least 2 of which will normally be spent in the Wasafiri office in Mile End. It will also involve some evening and weekend work and occasional travel.”
• In San Francisco, “Goodreads is looking for a Program Manager to own our organic social media strategy, managing a calendar of compelling social content, and increasing growth based on analysis of results, as well as supporting editorial content marketing. In this role, you’ll help readers discover more books they love and foster community with millions of readers across social media and editorial content.”
• The University of Virginia’s Department of English/Program in Creative Writing “invites applications for the Sydney Blair Memorial Professorship in Creative Writing (fiction), at the level of associate or full professor.”
• In Georgia, “Kennesaw State University is now accepting applications for a full-time, nine-month, tenure-track Assistant Professor of English (Fiction Writing) faculty position in the Department of English that begins August 2024.”
• “The University of Pittsburgh English Department invites applications for the position of Teaching Professor in Journalism and New Media Writing. This position is renewable for a term of 5 years for the duration of one’s career and will begin on Sept. 1, 2024.”
• “The Department of English at the University of South Florida seeks to appoint TWO 9-month, full-time and tenure-track Assistant Professors in Creative Writing.”