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. This week, I’m highlighting current opportunities in the Jewish-writing space. As a reminder: Because this specialized pool of opportunities is so much smaller than the general environment for calls and competitions, my usual criteria (no fees to submit and payment for published/winning work, as for The Practicing Writer 2.0, the latest issue of which is now available) don’t necessarily apply.

• Received via email from Susan Comninos: a note that she’s editing poetry this month for Judith Magazine; that “the gates for submissions are open”; and that submission guidelines can be found here. No fees to submit; no pay.
• From the Academy of Jewish Religion: “We invite submissions for Perhaps There is Hope, co-edited by Ora Horn Prouser and Rabbi Menachem Creditor, to be published by The Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR). This collection will explore the profound themes of the biblical Book of Eikhah (Lamentations) and the holiday of Tisha B’Av, seeking voices that wrestle with loss, resilience, and the promise of hope.” They welcome “prayers, poetry, and essays that offer personal, communal, and scholarly reflections.” Deadline: July 14. No fees to submit; no pay indicated.
• For an upcoming issue themed “Heirlooms & Clutter,” Yad Mirzah welcomes submissions until August 1. Reminder: “Yad Mizrah will accept quality poetry, fiction, and non-fiction of any kind, with preference to works rooted in Sephardic and Mizrahi literary heritage, history, and culture. In addition, we also accept op-ed, book reviews, and visual art.” No fees to submit; no pay.
• Open for entries: The National Jewish Book Awards, which “are intend­ed to rec­og­nize authors and encour­age the read­ing of out­stand­ing Eng­lish-lan­guage books of Jew­ish interest.” Submissions close September 14 (and fees apply).
• And I’ll conclude with something that isn’t a clear-cut opportunity, but rather a resource for the enterprising among you: As always, I appreciate the list of annual Rockower Award winners from the American Jewish Press Association—and the latest such list is now available. First, it’s nice to see familiar names among the honorees (mazal tov, everyone!). But also, if you look through the categories you can find the names (and, via links, websites) for plenty of Jewish outlets that may well be open to your work, too. (The work recognized appears to be a mix of staff- and freelance-written material.)

Looking for more resources for Jewish writing? Check here. And Shabbat shalom.