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I’ve mentioned this no-fee contest in a previous issue of The Practicing Writer, but since the deadline is approaching, it’s probably worth mentioning again: “This year sampad is delighted to be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore with Inspired by Tagore an international writing competition. Tagore was a hugely influential South Asian poet and many sampad projects have celebrated his legacy or been sparked by a line of his poetry….There are 2 categories: one for writers aged between 8 and 15, one for writers aged 16 and over. Entries can be poetry, short stories or reportage, and writers can submit up to 6 pieces of work, maximum length 400 words, using Tagore’s poetry and writing as a starting point.” Cash prizes and publication. Open to writers around the world. Deadline: January 31, 2012.
From WritersWeekly.com: “We’re Out Of Features! QUERY US! WritersWeekly pays $60 on acceptance for features averaging around 600 words. See our guidelines HERE.”
“The American South is a haunted place — full of ghost stories, native legends, persistent devils & angels, souls sold at the crossroads, and moon-eyed maidens living in the Okefenokee. The South’s best writers — Faulkner, O’Connor, McCullers — all keep this sense of the otherworldly in their fiction. In this spirit, Q & W Publishers is looking for submissions for an anthology of short fiction and non-fiction that explores the fantastic, eerie, and bizarre side of the American South.” Pays: $50/accepted piece, plus one copy of the anthology.”
From the Kentucky Arts Council: “BOOKSTORE SEEKING LOCAL AUTHOR BOOKS FOR SALE Bakery Blessings & Bookstore @ the Bar in Lexington is accepting local, Kentucky author books for sale on consignment. More info: Jan(at)aprilword(dot)com.”
Something for my fellow New Yorkers: Free writing workshops around Manhattan on January 10 and 11. Check them out and pre-register.
From Colby College (Maine): “Position in Fiction Writing starting September 2012 to teach 1-3 sections of Introduction to Fiction (English 278). Applicants must have a MFA or equivalent, publication, and evidence of teaching effectiveness at the college level.”
The Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University (Mass.) seeks a Staff Writer, Melville House Publishing (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is looking for a Publicist, and Carleton College (Minn.) seeks applications for a Publications Writer/Editor.
Call for submissions on “Southern Sin”: “Creative Nonfiction and the Oxford Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference & Workshop are looking for essays that capture the South in all its steamy sinfulness–whether you’re skipping church to watch football, coveting your neighbor’s Real Housewife of Atlanta, or just drinking an unholy amount of sweet tea. Confess your own wrongdoings, gossip about your neighbor’s depravity, or tell us about your personal connection to a famous Southerner headed down the broad road to Hell. Whether the sin you discuss is deadly or just something that would make your mama blush we want to hear about it in an essay that is at least partially narrative–employing scenes, descriptions, etc. Your essay can channel William Faulkner or Flannery O’Connor, Alice Walker or Rick Bragg; it can be serious, humorous, or somewhere in between, but all essays must tell true stories, and must incorporate both sin and the South in some way. Usually the wages of sin is death, but this time we’re making an exception. The best essays will be published in Creative Nonfiction #47, and CNF and Oxford will be awarding multiple cash prizes (amount TBA).” Deadline: May 28, 2012.
From The First Line: “We are looking to fill some slots for our Favorite First Line section for 2012. Between now and the end of January, send us a 500-800 word critical essay about your favorite first line from a literary work. Payment is $20 for an accepted essay.”
Attention, DC-area writers! Leslie Pietrzyk has kindly posted the following: “The Jenny McKean Moore Free Community Workshop is one of the best deals in the DC writing world. Each year, a writer comes to DC to be in residence at George Washington University, and part of their obligation includes teaching a FREE, semester-long writing class. Yes, FREE. All you have to do is follow the application directions and keep your fingers crossed that your manuscript will be accepted. That’s right, even the application process is FREE! (Thank you, Jenny McKean Moore.)” You’ll find all of the details and application instructions here.
Interesting WritersWeekly.com article on “lucrative niches in children’s writing.”
“New to the 2012 Muse and the Marketplace conference, Grub Street is soliciting “Hour of Power” suggestions from presenters all over the country. We are looking for authors, editors, agents, publicists or literary industry professionals with a compelling topic they’d like to share with a group of up to 50 aspiring and emerging fiction and non-fiction writers. You can lead a lecture with Q&A, a discussion class, a panel, a series of writing exercises, or a combination of the above. Accepted presenters receive free tuition to the conference on the day of their presentation, breakfast and lunch, invitations to a private Kick-Off party. If you have books, we will sell those at the event. Travel and accommodations are not included. To apply: first, read some samples of previous Muse sessions here: http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=687. Then, fill out our online submission form: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HOP2012 by January 16th, 2012. Winners will be notified by January 23rd. This year’s conference will be held May 5-6, 2012 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.”
From Emerson College (Boston): “The Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing seeks a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in the area of Magazine Writing and Publishing to teach a range of magazine publishing courses. The initial appointment is for the 2012-13 academic year beginning September 1, 2012.”
Simmons College (Boston) seeks a Writer/Editor, Tulsa World (Okla.) is looking for a Feature Writer, and the Center for Fiction (New York) invites applications for a Webmaster position.
Elise Blackwell blogs about the Squaw Valley Community of Writers (and summer writing conferences more generally).
Reflections on the question: What is a story?
Really enjoyed this inspiring and instructive interview with author and editor Matt Bell.
A new column on The Millions is focusing on “Post-40 Bloomers,” writers “whose first books debuted when they were 40 or older.” Hurray!
Last week, I had the privilege of adding my voice to others paying tribute to memorable writing teachers on the Fiction Writers Review site: I wrote about the amazing Sands Hall.
Attention, practicing writers in the Boston area: “Grub Street is happy to be able to offer fifteen partial (50% discount) scholarships for our newly expanded daytime course curriculum to writers who have been impacted by the economic downturn. Scholarships are valid for one year from date of issuance, and can be used towards any weekday Grub Street class that takes place between the hours of 9am – 5pm. To see a sampling of our current daytime offerings, click here: http://bit.ly/pf5gnv. Starting in Fall 2011, we’ll have a more robust calendar of daytime events.” Application deadline: July 25, 2011. No application fee indicated.
Wordrunner Electronic Chapbooks plans an anthology e-chapbook (fiction only) on the subject of “loss”: “We want to read about any kind of loss and its impact, be it serious or humorous or both.” Writers may submit up to three stories; at least one of the submitted stories must be previously unpublished. This mini-collection will feature work by up to six authors. Submission deadline is August 21, 2011. Pays: “Per story: $10 to $20, depending on final selections.”
This one’s for you, practicing-writers-who-are-also-high-school-teachers: “The Norman Mailer Center and the National Council of Teachers of English are pleased to invite submissions for the 2011 Norman Mailer Writing Award for High School Teachers. Full- and part-time high school teachers are eligible to enter the competition….From five finalists, one winner will be selected to receive a $10,000 cash prize along with travel and lodging to attend the Norman Mailer Center’s Annual Gala on November 8, 2011, in New York City, where the Mailer Prize and the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards are also presented. The winner will also receive a fellowship to the prestigious Norman Mailer Writers Colony during the summer of 2012.” Application deadline is July 27, 2011 (noon, CST), and the work entered–which must be fiction–may be previously published (if publication took place within the last 12 months). The competition is open to teachers who live outside the U.S. but work in American-accredited schools. No entry fee indicated.
“The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the editorial team of film.culture360.org are inviting potential writers (comprising of film journalists, filmmakers, film academics, festival programmers, film professionals and film enthusiasts) from ASEM countries to submit proposals for articles. The selected articles will be published on culture360.org website dedicated to connecting Asia and Europe through film.” Proposals are due before July 31, 2011. Pays: “The writers will receive a financial remuneration of 250 Singapore Dollars (SGD) per article.” (Find a list of ASEM countries by scrolling down this page.)
The University of Wyoming seeks a Managing Editor for UWyo Magazine, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (Toronto) is looking for a Web and Social Media Editor (25 hrs/week, one-year position), and the College Art Association (N.Y.) is advertising an Editorial Assistant position.
“Best Fiction is an online publication of brilliant stories by new, emerging writers alongside the work of established authors.” Pays: “a minimum honorarium of $25 US for first electronic and print publication rights,” though “established authors may negotiate a fee for their stories.” (via Duotrope.com)
It’s almost April. You know that that means. A new issue of The Practicing Writer, packed with additional no-cost competitions and paying calls for submission. If you’re not yet a subscriber, sign up to receive your copy right in your inbox. No charge, and we keep email addresses confidential. More info here.
If you’re the author of a recent book, and you were born or are currently residing in Washington state, your work may be eligible for the Washington State Book Awards. “The winners of the Washington State Book Awards will be celebrated at a special event held in their honor in the fall. Each author, as well as the illustrator of the children’s picture book, will receive a $500 honorarium, thanks to the sponsorship of The Seattle Public Library Foundation.” There is no entry fee. Deadline: April 1.
Scholarship opportunity: “The Writer’s Center [Bethesda, Md.] is pleased to open its Call For Applications for the 2012 Undiscovered Voices Scholarship. The Writer’s Center seeks promising writers earning less than $25,000 annually to apply. This scholarship program will provide complimentary writing workshops to the selected applicant for a period of one year, but not to exceed 8 workshops in that year (and not to include independent studies). We expect the recipient will use the year to make progress toward a completed manuscript of publishable work.” In addition to free workshops, the winner “will give a reading from his or her work at the close of the scholarship period (June 2012) and will be invited to speak with local high school students on the craft of writing.” There is no application fee. Deadline: July 1.
Also from The Writer’s Center: a new first-novel prize. “Thanks to the generosity of board member Neal P. Gillen, The Writer’s Center is pleased to announce that it will award $500 annually to the author of the best first novel published during a given calendar year. Conceived and funded by Gillen, the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns Prize honors three dedicated writers and members of The Writer’s Center faculty–Ann McLaughlin, Barbara Esstman, and Lynn Stearns–each of whom unselfishly nourish and inspire students and fellow writers.” There is no entry fee indicated. Deadline: July 15.
“The Literature Program at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey invites applications for a one-year, full-time Visiting Instructor/Assistant Professor position, beginning Fall 2011. Candidate must be able to teach a multi-genre introduction to creative writing course as well as upper-level workshops in Fiction.
Poets & Writers, Inc., (NYC) is looking for a Development & Marketing Associate, Harvard Medical School (Boston) seeks a Writer/Editor, and The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) plans to hire a Senior Writer (requisition #47391).