Erika Dreifus

Toward the end of each week, the My Machberet blog presents a collection of links, drawn primarily from the world of Jewish books and writing. This week, the links will lead you to an array of current/upcoming opportunities for Jewish writing.

Quick reminder that the monthly newsletter The Practicing Writer 2.0 and the weekly Markets and Jobs posts on Practicing Writing feature only fee-free calls and competitions that also pay for winning/published work. But since the pool of opportunities that explicitly seek Jewish writing isn’t large, I don’t limit the listings here on My Machberet that way, but I do try to indicate fees/payments as provided in the specific call/competition information.

• From the UK’s Holocaust Centre North: “Memorial Gestures is a remote residency programme for artistic research supporting artists, writers and translators. Over the course of 7 months researchers are invited to explore our collection and respond to materials and themes they feel have contemporary relevance. We are currently recruiting for 3 artists and 1 writer and translator each.” When you download the detailed call information, you’ll find that the writer’s award package includes a £4800 bursary;£1000 budget for publication of final work; £500 research travel; and £250 workshop fee (development & delivery), among other benefits. Apply by August 20, 9am (GMT). (Cross-posted on Practicing Writing.)
• Reminder: As mentioned in last week’s post, this year’s Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award has an entry deadline of September 13. For “unpublished manuscripts of Jewish fiction targeting ages 8-13,” the prize confers a cash award of $1000. (It does not, however, guarantee publication.)
• Bushel & Peck Books is seeking contemporary Jewish holiday stories from diverse perspectives to publish an anthology for ages 3 to 9. Short stories of 800 words or less on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu Bishvat, Purim, Passover, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Shavuot, Shabbat will be accepted between September 16, 2024 and November 18, 2024. Contributors will receive a flat fee of $200 for first time publication rights plus five copies of the anthology. Please submit stories to jewishholidayanthology(at)bushelandpeckbooks(dot)com between September 16th and November 18, 2024.” (Please note: I received this information via email, and the project does not have its own website; please direct any questions you may have to the email address just above, too.)
• Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Research Awards grants “support research or artistic projects in Jewish women’s and gender studies across a range of disciplines.” Note that “creative arts proposals” must “deal with gender; projects by and about Jewish artists that do not deal with gender, do not meet the criteria.” Awards are “open to applicants regardless of gender or religion” and “applications (in English) from outside the United States are welcome.” Awards “junior grants” up to $2,000 and “senior grants,” up to $5,000, for “established scholars and professionals.” Deadline: September 18.
• Part of the Australian Jewish Book Award program, the Wingate Award for Unpublished Manuscripts (Jewish Subject) is open for entries until September 29. “The winner will receive a monetary prize of $4,000, a mentorship with judge Lee Kofman, and will have their manuscript reviewed by Morry Schwartz, owner of Schwartz Publishing.” Writers, who must be “an Australian citizen, or ordinarily reside in Australia,” may enter excerpts from unpublished manuscripts of fiction or non-fiction (for adults, children or young adults) “completed at least to a full first draft stage”; the manuscript’s topic “must engage in some capacity with Jewish experience.” As always, check the detailed terms/criteria.
• “The Lamm Jewish Library of Australia and InternationALL Women’s Day is inviting Jewish women in Australia to submit personal essays about life post-October 7. This project aims to amplify Jewish women’s voices, heal hearts, document history and build community. The essays will be compiled and archived in the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia (LJLA) and the National Library of Israel’s October 7 Archive, which has been established to serve as a central repository for documents produced in the wake of the atrocities. A selection of the essays will also be published in an anthology.” Deadline: October 7. NB: “The project committee is seeking philanthropic funding so that if your essay is selected for publication in the anthology, you may receive a symbolic honorarium.”
• “Green Bean Books and the Jewish Literary Foundation are excited to announce the criteria for the 2025 Jewish Children’s Book Awards. The awards aim to discover and celebrate inspiring new stories for young children based on Jewish history, values and tradition. As in previous years, there will be one prize for story and one for illustration. The winner of each category will receive £1,000 and all entries will be considered for publication by Green Bean Books….The Jewish Children’s Book Awards for story and illustration are aimed at talented book authors and illustrators living in the UK and Europe. Submitted work must be original and meet the criteria” indicated. Deadline: November 29.

Please note: Updates continue for both “After October 7: Readings, Recordings, and More” and “Writers, Beware.”

May it be a Shabbat shalom.