Monday Markets for Writers

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).

  • Open for submissions: “Milkweed Editions is a nonprofit literary press, publishing between fifteen and twenty books each year. Founded in 1980, we have published nearly three hundred titles and are committed to attracting and retaining outstanding writers whose work is of enduring value. Our mission is to identify, nurture and publish transformative literature, and build an engaged community around it.” Considers fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and middle grade/YA. (h/t Lené A. Gary)
  • I’m not normally an enthusiastic sharer of contests that employ public voting, but I’m making an exception to tell you about the Second Annual Work Stew Essay Contest, organized by one of my college classmates (public voting leads to the selection of finalists, but a judge chooses the winner). Here’s the prompt: “Bring us into your world. What is something about your work (past or present) that outsiders typically don’t understand? It can be something required by the job, something that happens on the job, something you feel about the job—but whatever it is, do not exceed 800 words.” Prizes: 1st place, $1,000; 2nd place, $400; 3rd place, $100. As always, be sure to read the fine print! There’s no entry fee, and the deadline is July 22, 2013.
  • From Interfictions: A Journal of Interstitial Arts: “Interstitial writing breaks rules, transgresses boundaries, and cross-pollinates the fields of literature. Working between, across, through, and around the borders of literary forms, it falls between the cracks of other movements, terms, and definitions. We are looking for work that blurs the lines between literary genres (contemporary realism, mystery, historical, fantasy, speculative fiction, westerns), as well as pieces that bridge fiction and nonfiction, prose and poetry.” Submission window closes July 31, 2013. Pays: $.05/word for fiction, $20/poem, $.03/word for nonfiction. NB: “We’re also interested in interviews with boundary-crossing artists. Please query if you know someone you’d like to interview, and let us know why you think this person’s work would interest us. We seek interviews of 2000-3000 words, and pay a flat rate of $50/interview.” (h/t @Duotrope)
  • From the American Psychoanalytic Association: “The Award for Excellence in Journalism recognizes professional reporting of outstanding merit that contributes in an exceptional way to the public understanding of psychoanalytic and psychological principles and phenomena. The $1,000 award is broadly conceived. Nominated work need not be specifically about psychoanalysis or psychotherapy per se. And, nominated work may critique or question psychoanalysis as long as it advances understanding of human relationships and/or the life of the mind.” Eligibility: The submitted work “must have been written in English, intended for the layperson, and must have been first published between July 1 and June 30 for decision the following October. The deadline for submissions is September 16, 2013.”
  • “The Department of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks a fiction writer at the rank of assistant professor (tenure-track). We welcome applications from writers with excellent records of publication, teaching, and service. Candidates with administrative and fund-raising experience, and qualifications in a secondary genre (poetry, creative non-fiction, screen writing), are preferred.”
  • Monday Markets for Writers

    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).

  • The Christopher Doheny Award will recognize excellence in fiction or nonfiction on the topic of serious illness. The winner of the award must demonstrate high literary standards while exploring the impact of illness on the patient, family and friends, and others. With support from Audible, Inc., the award includes a $10,000 prize and publication and promotion of the book in print and audio editions. The award will be presented annually for either a manuscript that is still in process or a completed one.” Deadline: July 31, 2013. No entry fee indicated.
  • Writers from New York State: “Arts Services Initiative of Western New York, Inc. (ASI), on behalf of the New York State Council on the Arts in partnership with the Province of Quebec Council of Arts and Letters, is seeking proposals from qualified individuals from New York State to become artists in residence in the Province of Quebec in Fall or Winter, 2013.” Those chosen will each receive a stipend of $9,000. There is no application fee. Applications are due by noon (EST) on July 22, 2013.
  • By this time next week, subscribers will have received the July issue of The Practicing Writer. If you don’t yet subscribe to our free newsletter–which, like this blog, features ONLY no-fee competitions and ONLY paying opportunities for fictionists, poets, and writers of creative nonfiction–what are you waiting for?
  • “The Department of English at the College of the Holy Cross [Mass.] invites applications for a visiting part-time faculty position to teach one creative writing course in prose narrative (with an emphasis on both fiction and nonfiction) in fall 2013.”
  • The Loft Literary Center (Minneapolis) is looking for a Program Manager.
  • Grub Street (Boston) is also looking for a Program Manager.
  • From the Vermont Studio Center: “The VSC Writing Program Coordinator is responsible for the smooth operation of the day-to-day components of the writing program, offered as a part of the Studio Center’s artist residency program. This is a one-year, live-in, 30-hour per week staff artist position. Compensation includes room, board, studio, access to Visiting Writers, and a stipend of $150 per week. The Writing Coordinator reports to the Writing Program Director. Position available immediately.” (h/t Lene A. Gary)
  • Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: My First Poetry Chapbook Manuscript!

    A few print magazines where my poems have found homes.
    There came a moment this past weekend–late Saturday afternoon, to be more precise–when I saved a file on my computer and realized: I have a poetry chapbook manuscript here.

    It was a pretty nifty moment for me. After attempting to write a few poems as a teenager, I’d pretty much abandoned my poetry practice and become a prose-focused gal. But about five years ago, I decided to give poetry another go. I enrolled in a number of online classes (taught by Matthew Lippman and Sage Cohen), and began incorporating more poetry into my reading practice, too.

    Over these past few years, I’ve been encouraged by some positive feedback from poetry editors, and some deeply meaningful poetry publications. It’s been slow-going, however, and I wasn’t sure that I’d ever have a full chapbook (let alone a full collection) completed.

    I was motivated to evaluate where my poetry stood by the impending deadline for a chapbook contest. I know that my chances of winning are minuscule. Beyond the possible merit (or lack thereof) of my manuscript, there’s the fact that I’ve already shared the contest guidelines with all of The Practicing Writer‘s readers (and have linked to them again in this post!), thereby doing my part to increase the competition (self-sabotage, anyone?). But this is a rare fee-free chapbook contest, and simply preparing the submission has been a useful learning experience for me. (Next weekend’s project: actually submitting the thing! A bit more proofreading–along with agonizing over sequencing–has to happen first.)

    Sure, it’s likely that I’ll need to enter many more competitions before this manuscript becomes a published chapbook. But you know what they say about journeys–each one begins with a single step.

    Any of you have experience with preparing poetry chapbooks? Any tips to share?