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.

• Today (December 30) is the deadline at Aôthen Magazine, which “seeks pieces related to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome” and pays a $10 honorarium.
• This poetry contest, from the Bethesda Urban Partnership and The Writer’s Center, is open to “residents of Washington, D.C. and the select counties of Maryland (Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard and Frederick) and Virginia (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax).” Cash prizes and publication as detailed on the site. Deadline: January 14.
• From Minnesota’s Anderson Center at Tower View: “The Early Career Artist Residency Program is an opportunity for early-career artists living within the state of Minnesota or one of the five boroughs of New York City in need of focused time and dedicated space in an inspiring residency work environment that empowers them take risks, embrace challenges, and utilize unconventional approaches to problem-solving. Thanks to support from the Jerome Foundation, a month-long cohort of five artists will each receive a $625/week stipend, a travel honorarium, documentation support, and more. Application deadline is 12 p.m. Noon (Central Standard Time)” on January 14.
• The Power of Narrative “offers free conference attendance to 10 journalists or journalism students through the David Carr Scholarship, which aims to provide a professional conference experience for journalists who belong to historically underrepresented groups in journalism. The scholarship honors the late David Carr, the extraordinary New York Times journalist who taught at Boston University and dedicated himself to mentorship. Journalists of color, LGBT journalists, and journalists with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply, as are others who bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to their work.” Deadline: January 31. NB: “Please note the the conference takes place entirely in person on the Boston University campus, so Carr Scholars should live close to Boston or be able to secure transportation and housing for the weekend.” (Hat tip: Freelance Opportunities.)
• Coming SOON (as in: tomorrow): the January issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0. As usual, it will be packed with no-fee-to-submit/apply, paying/funded opportunities for fictionists, poets, and writers of creative nonfiction (nothing limited to residents of a single city/state/province). Closing out its 21st year of publication, the newsletter is STILL free to all, so if you’re not yet a subscriber, well, you can do something about that! And be sure that you haven’t missed anything that may still be open for submissions as listed in the December issue or in the most recent weekly supplements here on Practicing Writing.
• At the Asia Society in New York, “China Books Review, a digital magazine publishing commentary on all things China and bookish, seeks an Associate Editor to assist with editorial duties, including editing columns and features, with a special focus on commissioning reviews of Chinese books and essays by Chinese writers (overseeing translation from Chinese to English if necessary). This is currently a grant-dependent job, estimated for a period of one year with employment beyond that dependent on renewal of the grant.”
• In New York, “the English Department at Barnard College seeks a part-time instructor to teach ENGL BC3118 – Advanced Poetry Writing during SP25.”
• “The English faculty at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi invites applications for a 9-month position at the rank of Professional Assistant Professor in English beginning in August 2025. We welcome applications from candidates with a broad range of specializations; candidates with interests in speculative fiction or young adult literature are especially encouraged to apply.” NB: “For full consideration, applications must be received by January 20, 2025.”
• “The Department of English at the University of Iowa invites applications for a creative writer to teach in the publishing track of our undergraduate English and Creative Writing Major. This is a half-time position with the possibility of promotion within the instructional track. Teaching will be at the undergraduate level, with a normal load of two courses per semester. Potential opportunity for teaching at the graduate level.  This track does not include the possibility of tenure, but otherwise parallels the tenure track with various ranks (Assistant Professor of Instruction, Associate Professor of Instruction, Professor of Instruction).” Review of applications begins February 1.
• “The Department of English at the University of Iowa invites applications for a creative writer specializing in fiction to teach in our undergraduate English and Creative Writing Major. This is a half-time position with the possibility of promotion within the instructional track. Teaching will be at the undergraduate level, with a normal load of two courses per semester. This track does not include the possibility of tenure, but otherwise parallels the tenure track with various ranks (Assistant Professor of Instruction, Associate Professor of Instruction, Professor of Instruction).” Review of applications begins February 1.