Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

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

  • It’s time for the annual Helen Schaible Shakespearean/Petrarchan Sonnet Contest. “Open to all. Submit only one entry of either a Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnet. The entry must be original and unpublished. First Prize $50.00. Second Prize $35.00. Third prize $15.00. Three Honorable Mentions Unranked. Three Special Recognitions Unranked. There is no fee.”
  • H.A.L Publishing announces The Big in China Short Fiction Competition. “Open only to residents of North America, the theme for this contest is China. This does not mean the contestants have to write about China the nation nor take place in China, though those stories will be gladly read as anything else. The theme is open to interpretation and can center around China, the history of China, life in China, life after China, life without China, fortune cookies (which actually are not Chinese, but whatever, we don’t care, we are open to anything), grandma’s china plates, Chinese take-out, Shanghai, being shanghaied, stuff for sale at Target, trade deficits, foreign affairs, NAFTA, firecrackers or gunpowder, silk dresses, opium dens or railroads in the American Wild West, the struggle of Chinese immigrants to the West, Richard Nixon, Chinatown, or any other conceivable application of the theme ”China.” We might not be ready to read Deadhead stories about China Cat Sunflower, but if that’s what you’ve got, send it in. We are always ready to be surprised.” No entry fee. First-place winner receives $50 (via Paypal) and other prizes, detailed at the site.” Deadline: September 15, 2012. No simultaneous submissions. (via Duotrope.com)
  • From Contrary magazine: “If you’d like your work to appear in our next issue, the deadline for Autumn is Sept. 1. Contrary accepts submissions only through this form.” Pays: “For original commentary, fiction, and poetry, Contrary Magazine pays $20 per author per issue, regardless of the number of works or nature of the submission.”
  • Legal Outreach is looking for part-time Writing Faculty to teach Saturday classes in Long Island City, N.Y.
  • Mother Earth News (Topeka, Kansas) seeks an Editor, The Washington Times (D.C.) is looking for an experienced Editorial Writer, and Carcanet Press (Manchester, U.K.) is advertising for a Managing Editor.
  • Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

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

  • First up: Robert Lee Brewer is seeking and will pay for contributions to the 2014 editions of Writer’s Market, with a pitch deadline of August 8; Poet’s Market, with a pitch deadline of August 8; and Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, with a deadline of August 15.
  • From Poets & Writers, Inc.: “Each year, P&W invites fiction writers and poets from a selected state to apply for the [Maureen Egen Writers Exchange] award. This year, eligible writers are residents of Alaska who have never published a book, or have published only one full-length book, of fiction or poetry….The winner in each category will each receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with top literary professionals, including editors, agents, publishers, and prominent writers. While in New York, winners will also give a public reading hosted by Poets & Writers. In addition, each winner is invited to spend a month at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Banner, Wyoming.” There’s no application fee. Deadline is December 1, 2012.
  • The Costa Short Story Award is “a brand new Award for a single short story that will run in association with the Costa Book Awards but be judged independently of the main five-category system. The new Award is for a single, previously unpublished short story of up to 4,000 words by an author aged 18 years or over and written in English. The author’s primary residence must have been the UK or Ireland for the past three years…. Entrants need not have been previously published but publishers and agents may submit entries on behalf of authors….A panel of five judges will select a shortlist of six entries which will be revealed in November. The public will then be invited to vote online for their favourite story from the six finalists. The winner will be announced at the Costa Book Awards ceremony on 29th January 2013 and will receive £3,500; two runners-up will each receive £750.” Deadline: September 7, 2012. No entry fee indicated. (via Writing-world.com)
  • Coming soon: The August Practicing Writer. Don’t miss it!
  • From Carol Tice, who with Linda Formichelli runs the Freelance Writers Den: “We’re having a contest that…ends July 31st. Grand prize — Linda and I are each going to give out one free year’s stay in Freelance Writer’s Den, along with a whole mentoring package designed to kick your career into high gear. We know that times are tough out there still for many writers, and want to offer an opportunity for those who haven’t been able to afford the Den to get in there.” No entry fee.
  • For those in the Houston area: “Writers in the Schools (WITS) is looking for 10-12 writers who can teach the joy of creative writing to young people. Employment is part-time, typically 2-6 hours of teaching one day a week from September – May. A yearlong commitment is required; however, writers who are selected to be on the WITS roster are not guaranteed immediate teaching opportunities. The pay is $55 per teaching hour. In addition to teaching, the job duties include preparing lessons, responding to student work, and compiling anthologies of student writing at the end of the school year.”
  • “The English Department at Smith College [Mass.] seeks a fiction writer with a distinguished record of publication and commitment to teaching to serve as the Elizabeth Drew Professor of English for a 2-3 year term, to begin in the fall of 2013. Previous recipients include Anita Desai, Elinor Lipman, Sue Miller, and Kurt Vonnegut. This half-time position offers an annual salary of $52,000 and a housing allowance; college-owned housing may be available. One writing workshop (course limited to 12 students) to be offered each semester.”
  • ODC Dance (San Francisco) is looking for a Writer-in-Residence, Yaddo seeks a Development Manager to work in its New York City office, and Richard Hugo House (Seattle) is advertising for a Marketing Coordinator.
  • Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

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

  • Let’s begin with the Six-Word Story Prize! “Fleeting Magazine is looking for the best six-word story in the world. In return, we’re offering a stay at The Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan, where Hemingway bet the Round Table, “I can write a story in six-words.” You can send up to five six-word stories (no entry fee). Deadline: September 30, 2012. NB: “The winner’s room must be booked in arrangement with Fleeting Magazine within a year of the closing date. Alternatively, it may be exchanged for cash: £100 ($160 /€130). By entering the competition, you give permission for your name and six-word story to be used by Fleeting Magazine and other publications.”
  • Anthology call: “Margaret River Press invites short fiction, poetry, photo essays and creative nonfiction submissions that illuminate the theme of ‘fire’. The anthology seeks works that illustrate experiences of and relationships to fire: its destructive, creative and redemptive powers, its social impact, its cultural and ecological role, its terror, symbolism and its beauty.” Deadline: August 31, 2012. Pays: “Payment is a flat fee of AUD$200 for fiction and creative non-fiction works, $150 for photo essays and poetry for both Australian print rights and International Digital rights, plus a contributor’s copy of the print edition.”
  • From WritersWeekly.com: “We’re out of features! We pay $60 for around 600 words; non-exclusive electronic rights only. Our guidelines are here: http://www.writersweekly.com/index-markets.htm.”
  • From Persea Books: “We have a longstanding commitment to publishing extraordinary contemporary poetry and maintain an active poetry program. Although our program is small, we are always on the lookout for a poet we simply must publish. Currently, our open submission period for poetry is the month of July: any submissions sent must have a July postmark.”
  • Northumbria University (U.K.) seeks a Senior Lecturer/Lecturer in Creative Writing.
  • Oklahoma State University is advertising a “tenured or tenure-track open rank position in Poetry.”
  • WRITE BOSTON, an organization within the Boston Redevelopment Authority, is looking for a Part-Time Writing Coach.
  • Los Angeles-based job: “Zócalo Public Square, a Koreatown-based non-profit that blends live events and digital ideas journalism, seeks a smart, ambitious, intellectually curious Editorial/Events Coordinator to help plan events, handle logistics, conduct outreach, manage the office, and proofread and post editorial content on our website.”
  • “The MFA Program for Writers located at Warren Wilson College (N.C.) seeks candidates for the position of Project Manager/Web Manager. The person in this full-time, twelve-month position performs a wide range of duties requiring computer/technical, organizational, customer service expertise in service of the MFA students, faculty, alumni, and prospective students, under the supervision of the Assistant to the Director. She/he maintains the MFA Program’s website as well as the alumni (Friends of the Writers) website; she/he hires and supervises the undergraduate crew; as the Program’s liaison with vendors, she/he develops and negotiates contracts; she/he aids in the production of semi-annual residency session. Among the his/her major duties beyond the maintenance of the websites are the management of the websites are the management of the application process annually, and the compilation, and the compilation and production of student manuscript books for the residency.”
  • Friday Finds for Writers

    For the weekend: some writing-related reflections, news, and resources to enjoy.

  • First up: Rachel Unkefer, whose many roles include leading Charlottesville’s WriterHouse, explains why she’s adding yet another facet to her identity: poet. There’s much here that resonates as I remember the path that led me to four online poetry workshops. For instance: “Recently there have been a few nagging ideas, though, that I haven’t known what to do with. They weren’t enough to base a short story on, even flash fiction. They could have been musings in the head of a character in a novel, but they had too much weight for me to relegate them to such a minor role. And they wouldn’t go away. Looking out my window or walking in my neighborhood triggered them. Maybe these are poems, I thought, but I don’t know how to write poems.” And so a new field of study–and writerly practice–is born.
  • In praise of the semicolon.
  • Hey, book reviewers! Looking for some fall titles to review? The Millions offers quite a preview.
  • Did you miss The International Conference of the Short Story, which recently convened in Little Rock, Ark.? Me, too. Luckily, Creating Van Gogh has a conference recap.
  • Finally, author Kyle Minor has made available an online “Sketchbook: Selections from my Writer’s Notebook, 2010-2012 (45,000 Words of Interview Excerpts, Links, Quotations, Mini-Essays, and Thoughts about the Craft and Art of Making Literature).”
  • Have a great weekend, all. See you back here on Monday!

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • Short Story Month celebrations end tomorrow (quick reminder: you can still enter our collection giveaway right here). There has been a lot of wonderful content online this month that focuses on short stories. I recommend especially the coverage at Fiction Writers Review and David Abrams’s terrific blog post spotlighting noteworthy story collections of 2012.
  • Want to know how to promote your e-book? Really want to know how to do so for free? GalleyCat has some resources for you.
  • And speaking of promotion, Jane Friedman recommends “4 Ways to Immediately Improve Your Book Marketing Efforts.”
  • Congratulations to Carol Tice on the publication of her first co-authored print book. (There’s quite a backstory here, one that will interest you especially if you’re into the subject of how your blogging may lead you to your books.)
  • Poet Diane Lockward has compiled a list of what she considers to be especially appealing online journals.
  • And Kelli Russell Agodon tells us “what’s going on in the Poetry Blogosphere these days.”