Monday Markets for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • “Flavorwire is thrilled to announce its first-ever short fiction contest. In honor of May’s National Short Story Month, we’re offering a prize of $500 for one outstanding short story.” Deadline is soon: May 17. No entry fee indicated. (h/t @taniahershman)
  • New contest from Cha: An Asian Literary Journal seeks unpublished poems on the theme of “Void.” Cash prizes (payable via Paypal) and publication in the journal. Deadline: September 15, 2013. No entry fee.
  • From Salt Publishing: “Salt is actively seeking novel submissions directly from authors. Please carefully read the guidelines [linked below]. We only wish to receive fiction submissions that meet these criteria….All works must be in English. All works must be aimed at a British market. You do not require an agent to submit to Salt. We prefer works of less than 80,000 words. Please note we are not currently accepting submissions of short stories, poetry or memoirs.”
  • “Bloomsbury Spark is a one-of-a-kind, global, digital imprint from Bloomsbury Publishing dedicated to publishing a wide array of exciting fiction eBooks to teen, YA and new adult readers. Launching in Autumn 2013 our outstanding list will feature multiple genres: romance, contemporary, dystopian, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and more. If you’re an author, Bloomsbury Spark is the premiere place to publish your work.
    Why? Because we are a hands-on, full-service publishing house We will publish you globally but market you locally. We are not just interested in publishing your book; we want to help craft your career. If you have a manuscript between 25 and 60k words long, then send it to us.” (via @Duotrope)
  • Poets & Writers, Inc. (New York) is looking for a Web Editor.
  • Teaching positions in poetry and fiction writing are available at The Putney School Summer Programs in Vermont. (Thanks to my friend Lené Gary for sharing this information.)

    • Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • Carol Tice warns against three types of “unethical writing assignments.”
  • It never hurts to brush up on publishing terms that freelancers should know.
  • Are you celebrating Short Story Month? Fiction Writers Review sure is, in part by spotlighting the #StorySunday Twitter hashtag.
  • This week brought a new addition to our list of low-res MFA programs: a new program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. (h/t @NationalBook)
  • Amit Majmudar wonders, “Am I an ‘Immigrant Writer’?” – on a somewhat related note, I’ve addressed issues “On Jewish Writing” yet again.

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: The Muse and the Marketplace Conference Recap

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    boston_wiki_ahoncSo, as I’ve mentioned, I spent last weekend in Boston at Grub Street’s outstanding annual conference, The Muse & the Marketplace. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record here, but I’m honestly not sure how the team manages to improve this conference each year. Quite simply, they continue to outdo themselves.

    I love this conference for lots of reasons: I love seeing so many familiar, friendly faces (and meeting so many new folks, especially those who tell me how much they appreciate this blog and the newsletter); I love being back in Boston; I love the conference’s super-smooth organization (both on site and behind the scenes–it is a delight to be a presenter at this conference); and of course, I love the programming.

    On that last point, please consider the following: (more…)

    The Grubbie Guide to Writing Contests, Conferences, and Residencies: A Recap

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    grubI have so much to do today (the penultimate day of my vacation). But I’m so pumped from Grub Street’s “The Muse and the Marketplace” conference that I have to spend some time sharing the experience with you.

    I don’t know how they do it, but Grub somehow makes this conference even better every year. I’ll try to write a more comprehensive (or at least, sweeping) recap for you in time for Wednesday’s “Work-in-Progress” post here on Practicing Writing. For now, I’ll just summarize the panel that I moderated yesterday: “The Grubbie Guide to Writing Contests, Conferences, and Residencies,” which featured my super-accomplished co-panelists Sheri Joseph and Douglas Trevor.

    I can do this only because the amazing Porter Anderson (@Porter_Anderson) was live-tweeting from the conference, and our panel was lucky enough to draw him in. I’ll share with you Porter’s tweets, and supply a few annotations. (Look especially for the cited handout, which I’ll embed within this post.)

    Our general approach in this session was this: We began with self-introductions, in which we talked described ways in which contests, conferences, and residencies had helped shape our own writing lives. Then we moved into some “Do’s & Don’ts,” in which we shared advice on selecting opportunities, application tips, and suggestions for making the most of opportunities won (especially residencies). And then we turned to Q&A.

    Hope that you enjoy!
    (more…)