“The application deadline for a residency in 2012 at Soaring Gardens Artists’ Retreat has been extended to March 30, 2012. Soaring Gardens, a residency program for professional visual artists, writers and composers, provides studio space in a peaceful rural setting in northeastern Pennsylvania from May through September. Each year ten to fifteen residents enjoy the solitude of this twenty-three acre retreat in Laceyville, Pennsylvania, established in memory of Ora Lerman, (1938-1998), an acclaimed artist, who made this her summer home for 30 years.” No application fees indicated.
“One Teen Story is looking for great short stories written for the young adult audience ages 14 and up. We’re open to all genres of literary fiction between 2,000 and 4,500 words. Because of our format, we can only accept stories that are strong enough to stand alone.” Pays: $500 and 25 copies. NB: Younger writers may want to check out the One Teen Story Fiction Contest, for writers ages 14-19. The deadline to enter is May 31, 2012; there’s no entry fee; and the prize includes $500 and publication for winners in each category (ages 14-15, 16-17, 18-19).
“Cascade Writers workshop is looking for someone to do social media posts to promote our events. You would need to spend 2-3 hours per week updating Twitter, blog posts and so on. Your expertise in how to expand our promo opportunities would be most welcome!” Pays: “We would pay by Paypal at the end of each month. Pay is based on hours worked at approximately $8 per hour to a max of $100 per month.
“The Writer’s Center, metropolitan Washington, D.C.’s community gathering place for writers and readers, [is] accepting submissions for the competitive Emerging Writer Fellowships for Fall 2012. We welcome submissions from writers of all genres, backgrounds, and experiences in the following genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Emerging Writer Fellows will be featured at The Writer’s Center as part of a special celebration and reading. Selected Fellows may be invited to lead a one-day Saturday workshop at The Writer’s Center, with compensation commensurate with standard Writer’s Center provisions. Fellows receive an honorarium to help offset their travel costs.” Deadline: March 29, 2012. There is no application fee.
From the University of Edinburgh: “Applications are invited for a part-time (28 hours per week) Lectureship in Creative Writing specialising in fiction, in the department of English Literature.”
From the University of Missouri: “Visiting Assistant Professor position in Creative Nonfiction. Nine-month, non tenure track position, beginning August 2012. Advanced degree required, PhD. preferred. To teach workshops in creative nonfiction at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Ability to teach literature courses a definite plus. Publication record and experience should be appropriate to the position. 3/2 course load, salary $40,000 with benefits.” (via CRWROPPS-B)
Birds & Blooms magazine is running a “Backyard Blunder Contest”: “Do you have a funny birding or gardening story to share from your backyard? We want to hear it! Send us your best “backyard blunder,” and the winning story will receive $500.” Deadline is coming up on March 15, 2012. No entry fee. (via @femministas)
Great news from Slice: “We are pleased to announce that for the first time we will be offering a small monetary award for all contributors. Over the course of five years, Slice Literary has evolved from a struggling magazine to a celebrated publication. We have always been committed to bridging the gap between emerging writers and the professional publishing world. In fact, many agents and editors have connected with writers after reading their work in our semi-annual magazine. From the outset, we have also worked toward the goal of paying writers. We feel that an award, even if it is small, demonstrates an appreciation for the art of writing. We are thrilled to announce that all contributors of Slice will be paid ($100 for stories and essays and $50 for poems) beginning with issue 12, which will launch spring 2013. The issue 12 reading period will run from July 1 – August 31. The theme for that issue is ‘Obsession.'”
From the Online News Association (ONA): “Students, are you looking for a great opportunity to cover digital media and learn from top leaders in the industry? Apply to be a part of the all-expenses-paid ONA12 Student Newsroom at the Online News Association’s annual conference, Sept. 20-22, in San Francisco.” Open to college students and graduate students. No application fee indicated. (via @NiemanLab)
Assistant Professor of Creative Writing sought: “The Humanities Division of Lesley College [Mass.] is seeking a full-time, 9-month faculty member to teach courses in creative writing (poetry or fiction), literature and Humanities Internship Seminars.”
“The Department of English at Franklin & Marshall College (Penn.) invites applications for a one-year position at the Visiting Assistant Professor level, beginning Fall 2012. We are looking for a creative writer specializing in nonfiction. A commitment to undergraduate teaching, significant publications, including preferably at least one book, and a terminal degree in creative writing required. The 3/2 teaching load will include creative writing and literature offerings but no composition.
From Whitman College (Wash.): “Visiting position in Creative Writing (Poetry) at the rank of Assistant Professor; effective August 2012. MFA or PhD in Creative Writing and substantial poetry publications required. The successful candidate will offer Introduction to Creative Writing (a multi-genre course), Intermediate Creative Writing-Poetry, and Advanced Creative Writing-Poetry, and may also be asked to teach a section of first year composition or a 100-level Introductory to Poetry. Ability to teach an upper-division literature course on Victorian Poetry desirable.”
Poetryfoundation.org (Chicago) is looking for a part-time Assistant Features Editor: “The goal of poetryfoundation.org is twofold: To use the Internet to reach and engage a broad audience for poetry, and to support the Foundation’s other initiatives and programs. The Assistant Features Editor helps achieve these goals by providing the editorial expertise necessary to publish smart, lively and relevant journalism about poetry, and the publishing expertise necessary to ensure a smooth web publishing process. The Assistant Features Editor must be a talented editor with an extensive background in journalism and literature, including English language poetry and poetry in translation. Successful candidates will also be knowledgeable about popular and web culture.”
PEN American Center (New York) seeks an Associate Editor for the PEN website.
The Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest offers 15 cash prizes totaling $3,600. Top prize is $1,500. Submit one humor poem by April 1 deadline. No entry fee.
“The Yiddish Book Center will award a prize of $2,500 for an outstanding new translation of Yiddish prose literature, fiction or non-fiction, that has been completed or published within the last two years. Both submissions and nominations will be accepted for consideration.Translation Prize submissions are due by May 18, 2012. The Yiddish Book Center will announce the recipients in Fall 2012.” No entry fee indicated.
“Talking and reading about other people’s childhoods, sadness, happiness and aspirations can help us to cope with our own ups and downs, but shared experience is seldom there to support us when our life is nearing its end or when people close to us are dying. This is why the Dying Matters Coalition is running a new creative writing competition about dying, death and bereavement. Anyone touched by dying, whether directly or as a relative, friend, colleague or carer, can enter. The judges will be looking for original writing in which the author’s feelings and thoughts about the end of life have been crafted into a succinct piece of work that attracts the reader’s attention and retains their interest.” Submissions “should be a maximum of 2,500 words of prose or 40 lines of poetry” and up to three entries may be submitted. Prizes: “1st: £200; 2nd: £100; 3rd: £50; plus highly commended certificates. All entries will also be considered for publication online or in print form.” No entry fee. Submit by March 31, 2012.
In case you haven’t seen it already, the March issue of The Practicing Writer is now available, with a plethora of paying calls and no-fee contests.
“NetGalley, a service for people who read and recommend books, is looking to add a new Reader Concierge to their existing Concierge Team. A perfect candidate will be smart, friendly, bookish, and savvy with social-media, and will be excited to handle reader support, social media outreach, and facilitate intelligent community growth….We’re looking for someone passionate about books who is a devoted digital reader, and has a solid understanding of current reading devices (and is always willing to learn!). A basic knowledge of the publishing industry and book publicity/marketing is preferred. The NetGalley team is virtual, but most of our employees are based in the NYC metro area, and extra consideration will be given to candidates in this area. We’re looking for someone available to start immediately. This is a full-time position, but we’ll consider part-time candidates (25+ hours/week) who are available every day.”
College of Wooster (Ohio) is hiring a Visiting Assistant Professor of English. “Three-year position in journalism and creative non-fiction. Teaching will include introductory and advanced news writing and editing, digital media, and creative non-fiction writing courses. Teaching will also include the department’s introductory course in textual and cultural interpretation, as well as participation in the College’s independent study program and interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar. Ability to offer courses in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies desirable. The teaching load is five courses per year in addition to directing senior theses.”
Edge Hill University (U.K.) seeks a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing. “This is an opportunity for a fiction-writer with substantial experience in Higher Education. You will provide expert teaching in a variety of modes, including writing workshops, tutorials and online interaction, and facilitate student work in a range of different media.”
Swarthmore College (Penn.) is looking for a Writer/Editor, Dallas County Community College District seeks a Web Writer/Editor, and University of Chicago (Medical Center Development) invites applications for a position as Senior Writer.
Last week brought some buzz–including a New York Times article–about an author whose unsellable manuscript scored a deal as soon as a pseudonymous byline entered the picture.
The Poets & Writers contests blog presents a Q&A with Jennifer Perrine, who has won multiple contests and competitions.
You know how I’m always reminding you that I’m a #writerwithadayjob? Well, with my appearance on writerwithadayjob.com, it’s official! (Thanks to Aine Greaney for the affirmation, and for introducing me to your excellent blog.)
For the next five days I expect to be seeing a lot on Twitter from the folks heading to Chicago for the annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference. With the help of the #AWP12 hashtag, that is.
And speaking of AWP–allow me to leave you with this creation, “Annual Conference: 8,000 Writers Expected,” written and read by Rebecca McClanahan.
Quick deadline for this one: Two paying summer internships are available at the Nieman Journalism Lab in Cambridge, Mass. From the announcement: “We’re interested in journalism innovation and the future of the news. Our summer interns will be right in the thick of that work, reporting and writing stories on traditional news organizations, online-native startups, nonprofit outlets, technology companies, social media platforms, and all the other players influencing how we learn about our world.” Applications are due March 2.
The Australian journal Meanjin has reopened to poetry submissions only. Right now they’re taking hard-copy submissions only, but the guidelines page notes that the journal is “in the process of moving to a new digital submissions service.” Pays a “minimum” fee of $50 (Australian) for poetry.
“Instituted in the fall of 2005, the Edith Wharton Essay Prize is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on Edith Wharton by a beginning scholar. Graduate students, independent scholars, and faculty members who have not held a tenure-track or full-time appointment for more than four years are eligible to submit their work. The winning essay will be published in The Edith Wharton Review, a peer-reviewed journal indexed in the MLA Bibliography , and the writer will receive an award of $250.” There is no entry fee. Deadline: April 30, 2012.
From WritersWeekly.com: “DigitalGrandparent.com looking for guest bloggers. Read the blog, if you have a great idea for a post that suits our style, please send to maryan at ontext dot com. $40 stipend per 600-800 words.”
“Writing About Your Mother and/or Father” is the title of an upcoming event that will be run by the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). Scheduled for March 6 at 6 p.m. (Eastern), this event will be available via live webcast free of charge.
From Newcastle University (U.K.): “The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics wishes to appoint a part-time (0.4 FTE) lecturer with expertise and publications in Creative Writing (Prose). We are seeking applicants who will contribute to teaching across both undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes, as well as supervise PhDs. We particularly welcome applications from candidates who can contribute to and see opportunities to develop the resources of the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts, a university research centre based in the School.”
It’s nearly the end of the month. You know what that means! I’m putting the finishing touches on the March issue of The Practicing Writer. It will be emailed to subscribers midweek. As always, free of charge; as always, featuring only fee-free competitions & paying gigs for poets, fictionists, and writers of creative nonfiction.
Northwestern University (Ill.) is looking for a Senior Writer, Abrams Media (New York) seeks an Editor for its “soon-to-be-launched chef-focused site,” and Living Beyond Breast Cancer (Haverford, Pa.) invites applications for a position as Writer and Website Coordinator.