Erika Dreifus

For many years—since long before Substack arrived on the scene—I’ve been curating weekly “Monday Markets and Jobs” posts on the Practicing Writing blog, where everyone can still find them (albeit slightly later in the day than in the past). But I’ve begun sharing this information early every Monday morning via Substack, too, as a benefit for paid subscribers.

Please note: These posts are supplements to the free monthly newsletter, allowing me to amplify opportunities that I may not have caught in time for each month’s edition. Plus, unlike the monthly newsletter, which filters out listings that may be limited to writers in single city/state/province, these weekly posts do carry such localized opportunities (jobs included).

But in all cases, calls and competitions must not charge submission/application fees, and they must offer payment for winning/published work (or, in the case of residencies, they must not charge application or participation fees).

This week’s gleanings below.

• “In recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day The Maine Review is offering a free submission period from October 10-16, or until we reach our allowed free submission maximum.” NB: “All writers are invited to make use of this free submission window.” Pays: “Fiction and Nonfiction writers receive a $25 honorarium per published flash (1,000 words or fewer) and a $50 honorarium for work 1,001 words or more. Poets receive a $25 honorarium per published poem.
• General submissions at The Fiddlehead will close October 15. Pays: “$65 CAD per published page, plus two complimentary copies of the issue with your work. Contributors may purchase additional copies of an issue at a discount.”
• Mukoli, which engages “with peacebuilding and healing through literature and art,” has announced that publication in their fifth issue “will be contest-based. We invite artists and writers from across the world to send us their fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and multimedia art entries that engage with our goal of changemaking – both personal and collective – in an increasingly fractured and violent world. We are especially keen to amplify pluralistic perspectives and global aesthetics.” They welcome submissions in the categories of “Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Multimedia Art,” and will confer a $100 prize and publication to the winner in each category (four runners-up will receive publication only). NB: “Submitters from outside the United States of America must have a valid bank account that can accept international wire transfers. This is a Kennesaw State University payment requirement. First prize winners must be willing to complete all documentation required by the university for payment and tax purposes.” Deadline: October 31. (Hat tip: @Duotrope.)
• There is “one free bursary space” available for [SPINE]’s first week-long residential workshop at Crag Pit Studios. “From the 03-07 November 2025, we’ll bring a cohort of 9 writers together in the English countryside to focus on GOTHIC & HORROR WRITING. But we’re not approaching this through a strictly genre lens. If you’re the next Stephen King, get in touch. But we’re also looking for writers who are pushing the boundaries of what horror is or can be. Uncanny literary fiction, dark fantasy, dystopia, and genre-defying tales that play on our fears are just as welcome as body horror and haunted house stories.” Deadline: November 17.
• For those “who live in Queens [New York] or who have a full-time studio lease in Queens (PO boxes are not accepted)”: The Queens Arts Fund’s New Work Grant “supports emerging individual artists and artist collectives of all artistic disciplines in their creation of new work. “New Work” is defined as work that has not been produced or presented to an audience before. Applicants may submit grant requests ranging from $2,500 to $5,000.” Deadline: November 18.
• “Tiny Grant is an art grant program started by Lily and Lucy in 2025. It gives cash grants to artists based in New York City….They launched Tiny Grant with a six-month pilot grant program, running from January to June 2025, to support 6 artists across various creative fields, including visual, performing, and literary arts. The program is designed for artists pursuing full-time creative careers who are in significant need of support. Grantees receive the full grant amount at the start of the program, along with two check-ins throughout the duration, and the experience concludes with a celebratory gathering. Lily and Lucy hope this program will offer meaningful encouragement and resources to artists navigating the challenges of building a career in the arts.” Deadline: November 28.
• At The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, they’re advertising for an Education Coordinator, to be paid at the rate of $28.96/hr “(annual equivalent based on 32 hour week = $48,195).” Deadline: “This position is open until filled; applications will be reviewed as they come in, but first preference will be given to applications received by October 17. Interviews will likely begin in late October.”
• “The Department of English/Program for Writers at the University of Illinois-Chicago seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Creative Writing (prose fiction).” Deadline: November 1.
• From the George Washington University: “For appointment beginning in the fall of 2026, we seek a writer of poetry to teach two semesters at the George Washington University as the Jenny McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington. This academic-year position is funded by an endowment from the Jenny McKean Moore Fund for Writers. The late Jenny McKean Moore, who had been a playwriting student at the George Washington University, left in trust a fund to encourage creative writing, and the trustees of the Fund helped design the program. The position is intended to serve as a fellowship for the visiting writers, since it involves only a moderate teaching load. The program’s location at a university in the center of Washington should offer additional attractions for the writer. The fellow should reside in the Washington area while the university is in session, late August through early May. Each semester, the successful candidate will teach a small community workshop in poetry for members of the metropolitan Washington area. No tuition is charged for these workshops, which are not open to university students. The successful candidate will also teach two classes, one each semester, for students at the George Washington University.” The “advertised salary” is $80,000. Deadline: “Only complete applications will be considered. Review of applications will begin on November 17, 2025 and will continue until the position is filled.”
• “Manhattanville University [Purchase, NY] is seeking adjunct professors to teach our Creative Nonfiction Workshop (January 20 – May 8). This will be an in-person class. Please note that if the Spring semester is successful, there will be the possibility of future employment.” Compensation: “$3,375 – $3,675 per semester.” Deadline: “Applications will be reviewed as they are received….We encourage you to apply early, as the position may be filled prior to the closing date.”
• And as we approach this month’s midpoint, plenty of opportunities in the October newsletter remain open for consideration.