✎STUDY HALL CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES JULY✎

The Creative Opportunities newsletter is a monthly compilation of lit mag submission opportunities, creative writing contests and prizes, and literary fellowships and residencies. This month’s newsletter is written by Sarah Yanni, who has returned from a weeklong poetry residency in the forest and won’t stop talking about trees. 

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GENERAL SUBMISSIONS

– The Cleveland Review of Books has put out a call for pitches and submissions of critical writing. A full list of welcomed topics / sections are on their website. Rates start at $70 and there is no specific deadline. Pitches and submissions can be sent to [email protected]. 

– Gasher is open for submissions of poetry chapbooks, between 20-37 pages. Selected chapbooks will receive publication with Gasher, 10 free copies, $150, and additional 40% royalties after 75 copies are sold. The deadline to submit is July 30 and the reading fee is $10.

–Ricochet Editions is holding their annual call for manuscripts which “merge genres and languages, draw on found forms, are collaboratively or collectively authored.” Selected manuscripts receive $1000, publication, and 50 author copies. The deadline to submit is July 31, and the reading fee is $15, waived for self-identifying BIPOC writers or those facing financial hardships. 

–Sarabande Books is holding their open reading period for manuscripts in three categories––works in translation, literary nonfiction, and Kentucky Literature (a manuscript of any genre that is set in Kentucky, about a Kentuckian, or written by an author that is from or has lived in Kentucky.) Selected manuscripts receive publication with the press. The deadline to submit is July 31, and there is a reading fee of $15-22, depending on category. 

–The Offing is open for submissions for their Enumerate series, defined as their “department of cataloging, of naming, of listing” featuring work across genres and mediums which use a list form, up to wide interpretation. More information on what The Offing seeks is here. The deadline to submit is August 1, and there is no reading fee. 

–The Rumpus is open for submissions of essays––up to 4,000 words in length, exploring “issues and ideas with depth and breadth, illuminating a larger cultural context or human struggle.” Chosen pieces will be published in the online magazine, which is one of the longest running online literary and culture magazines. The deadline to submit is August 2, and there is no entry fee. 

–Kitchen Table Quarterly is open for submissions of poetry, creative nonfiction, and art. The journal describes itself as “preoccupied with history––cultural, political, geographical, personal––and how each interacts with the other to mold our experiences.”  The deadline to submit is August 1, and there is no reading fee. 

–Impossible Archetype, an international online journal of LGBTQ+ poetry, is open for submissions for their 14th issue. Submit 1-4 poems to [email protected], with the subject line: Submission: x Poem/s by [INSERT NAME]. The deadline is August 1 and there is no reading fee. 

–Grist: A Journal of the Literary Arts is holding their annual open reading period, welcoming submissions of craft essays, interviews, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Submissions will be considered for publication in both the print issue and the online journal. Payment is $10 per poem, or 1 cent per word for prose (up to $50). The deadline to submit is August 15, and there is a reading fee of $4.

–Sundress Publications seeks full-length poetry manuscripts, especially welcoming authors from marginalized and underrepresented communities. Selected manuscripts will be offered a standard publication contract, which includes 25 author copies. The deadline to submit is August 31, and there is a reading fee of $15, which is waived for entrants who purchase or pre-order any Sundress title or broadside, or who are BIPOC writers. 

CONTESTS & PRIZES

–The Poetry Project’s 5th Brannan Prize for Emerging Poets is open for submissions, judged by guest judge Vi Khi Nao. Prize winners receive $1000 and publication in the Poetry Project Newsletter. Submit three previously unpublished poems with no personal identification. There is no reading fee, and the deadline to submit is July 28.

–Sunspot Lit’s Inception Contest invites submissions of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, or art, with a word limit of 250 for prose or 25 for poetry (excerpts welcomed.) The winner in each category receives $500 cash plus publication. Publication will also be offered to runners-up and finalists. For an additional fee, you can also request feedback on written entries. The deadline to submit is July 31, and there is an entry fee of $10. 

–The 128 LIT International Chapbook Contest seeks submissions between 20-40 pages, in either poetry or prose. Individual pieces may have been published, but the manuscript must not have been published as a whole. Translated manuscripts are also welcomed. The winner receives $1200, plus publication in print. The deadline to submit is July 31, and there is a reading fee of $18.

–Tupelo Press is hosting their annual open reading period, inviting submissions of book-length poetry collections (48-90 pages) and chapbook-length poetry collections (28-47 pages.) Selected manuscripts will receive publication by Tupelo, a $1000 advance, book launch, and national distribution with PR/promotion. The deadline to submit is July 31, and there is an entry fee of $30. 

–Prairie Schooner is holding their annual creative nonfiction essay contest. Submit any kind of creative nonfiction essay up to 5,000 words, for the chance to receive a $1,000 prize and publication in the journal’s Spring 2024 issue. This year’s guest judge is Siddhartha Deb. The deadline to submit is August 1 and there is no reading fee. 

–Gasher is also open for their 2023 Bennett Neiberg Transpoetic Broadside Prize, which awards a single poem written by a trans poet who has “yet to publish their first full-length book.” The prize consists of $500, 10 limited edition letterpress broadsides of the winning poem, and a feature in Gasher Journal. The deadline to submit is August 1, and there is no reading fee.

–The Robert Watson Literary Prize welcomes submissions of fiction (one story up to 25 double-spaced pages) or poetry (any number of poems up to 10 pages). Organized by The Greensboro Review, the winners of each prize receive $1,000 cash and publication in the review. The deadline to submit is August 1, and there is a reading fee of $15 for those not already subscribed to the journal.

–The Yale Drama Series is seeking submissions for its 2024 playwriting competition. The winning play will be selected by the series’ current judge, Jeremy O. Harris. The winner receives $10,000, publication of their manuscript by the Yale University Press, and a celebratory event. Submissions must be original, unpublished, full-length plays (minimum 65 pages.) The deadline to submit is August 15, and there is no entry fee.