Creative 04/25/2023

Haymarket Books, dirt child, Tupelo Press, and many more.

Welcome to the first edition of our new Study Hall Creative Opportunities newsletter! We are very excited to be back and serve our literary community. Moving forward, the Creative Opportunities newsletter will be 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, a Los Angeles-based poet and editor who helps run TQR Mag, and has been a Finalist for several large, important prizes but has never won. 

►To help make Creative better for all of our members, please let us know what we can do to improve the newsletter at [email protected].

►During the first month, Creative content will be available to all of our subscribers at every tier. It will then become exclusive to subscribers at the Network and the Media Workers of Color tiers in June. You can adjust your subscription on our website.

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GENERAL SUBMISSIONS

–SAND Journal is a Berlin-based journal of literature and art whose work pushes the boundaries of form, message, and voice. SAND pays semi-professional rates, which vary with funding. They are accepting submissions of previously unpublished poems, fictions, flash fiction, translations, and visual art. The deadline for submissions is this Sunday, April 30 and the reading fee is a sliding scale of €0-€3 (USD $3.28).

–Haymarket Books is publishing an anthology of poetry on Japanese American/Nikkei incarceration, and is looking for submissions of writing from descendants of people who were forcibly removed, exiled, and/or incarcerated in the WWII detention centers, prison, and concentration camps. The anthology is slated for release in late 2025 and is edited by Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda. Submit three to five poems with a maximum of 15 pages by this Sunday, April 30, with no fee. 

–T Kira Madden’s digital lit mag No Tokens (which is staffed entirely with “women, queer, trans*, and non-binary individuals”) is open for submissions of all genres including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art (for the issue’s cover image) with no fee. The submission deadline is this Monday, May 1.  

–MQR Mixtape, a self-described “eclectic, online zine” that is curated by editors of the Michigan Quarterly Review is accepting prose, poetry, and translations that center “labor that is often devalued, dismissed, or simply not recognized as work,” for its “Work” issue. The issue will be guest-edited by Urvi Kumbhat. The submission deadline is May 15 with a $3 reading fee. 

–AGNI, Boston University’s lit mag, is open for submissions as part of its annual reading period. AGNI has published the likes of Sharon Olds, Patricia Smith, and Kaveh Akbar, among many others. The rate is $20 per page for accepted prose and $40 for accepted poetry, up to $300. The deadline for submissions is May 31, with a $3 reading fee. 

–dirt child, a print and web journal serving up smart, sexy, off-beat internet lit, is seeking print journal submissions of prose, poetry, visual art, and multimedia with no reading fees. The submission deadline is May 31. Email your submissions to [email protected]

–Mizna, a literary journal run by Arab/SWANA writers, is currently seeking submissions for its Cinema Issue, guest edited by Saeed Taji Farouky. Submissions should focus on fragmentation, ruptures, cuts, and fractures. The journal is open to comics (eight pages max), poetry (four poems max), and prose (up to 2,500 words) submissions with no reading fee. Selected contributors receive a $200 honorarium, a one-year subscription to Mizna, and five copies of the issue. The deadline for submissions is June 5.

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CONTESTS AND PRIZES

–DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press Chapbook Contest is accepting submissions of prose, poetry, or hybrid collections between 18-44 pages. The winner receives $1,000 and 25 author copies. Co-authored manuscripts are welcome. The submission deadline is this Friday, April 28 and the entry fee is $24.

–The F(r)iction Spring Contests are open for submissions of short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The winner will receive up to $2,100 in prizes and will be considered for publication in F(r)iction’s triannual print collection and in the online blog F(r)iction Log. Up to five finalists will be considered for publication. The submission deadline is this Friday, April 28 with a $10-$15 reading fee.

–University of Iowa Press’s Iowa Poetry Prize accepts submissions of full-length manuscripts (50-150 pages) by both new and established poets. Winners receive publication under a standard royalty agreement with University of Iowa Press. The submission deadline is this Sunday, April 30 with a $20 reading fee. 

–Tupelo Press is accepting submissions for the Berkshire Prize, which awards a first or second book of poetry, $3,000 cash prize, as well as 20 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with publicity and promotion. This year’s final judge is the mega talented Diana Khoi Nguyen. Though there is no mandatory page count for submissions, the press suggests the range of 48-88 pages. The submission deadline is this Sunday, April 30 with a $30 reading fee. 

–The Beloit Poetry Journal Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry is seeking submissions of unpublished poetry for a $1,500 award, judged this year by Marie Howe. You can submit between one to three poems. The submission deadline is this Sunday, April 30, with a reading fee of $15 per entry. The journal provides a limited number of complimentary entries to “poets for whom the fee presents a hardship.” 

–Noemi Press is seeking submissions for its Book Award for Poetry, which awards $2,000 and publication to one book-length poetry collection. There is no page limit and poets at any stage in their career are welcome to submit. The deadline for submissions is this Monday, May 1, with a $25 entry fee. 

–Cave Canem Poetry Prize is the first book award from Cave Canem, a nonprofit committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets. The winner receives $1,000, publication by University of Pittsburgh Press, 15 copies of the book, and a feature reading. Submissions should be between 48-75 pages, and the final judge this year is Colleen J. McElroy. The submission deadline is May 10 and there is no entry fee.

-The Frontier Poetry Chapbook Contest seeks up to 30 pages of poems, with no “formal or aesthetic requirements” for submissions. The winner receives $2,000 and a publication package. The final judge is Kemi Alabi. The deadline is May 11 and there is a reading fee of $25 and a reduced BIPOC reading fee of $15.

–The Loraine Williams Poetry Prize is an award for a single poem, to be published in The Georgia Review. The winner will receive an honorarium of $1,500 and an expenses-paid trip to Athens, Georgia, to give a public reading with this year’s guest judge, Hanif Abdurraqib. Three finalists get published in The Georgia Review and receive $200 each. Each entry can include one to three poems (10 pages is the cut off). The deadline for submissions is May 15, with a $30 reading fee. 

–The Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize awards $1,500 and book publication to an unpublished manuscript of original Anglophone poetry by an “author of Asian heritage residing anywhere in the world.” Gaudy Boy is an imprint of the NYC-based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, and this year’s contest judge is Divya Victor. Submissions should be between 70-120 pages and sent to Jee Leong Koh at [email protected] with a brief cover letter in the body of the email. The deadline for submissions is May 15, and the entry fee is $10.

–The Idaho Prize for Poetry is seeking submissions for its annual, national competition, which offers $1,000 and publication by Lost Horse Press of a book-length poetry manuscript. There are no restrictions on content, style, or subject. The submission deadline is May 15 with a $28 entry fee. 

-Carve Magazine’s Raymond Carver Short Story Contest welcomes submissions of 10,000 words maximum, with winning stories published in the fall issue (print and digital) and read by three literary agents. The first prize winner receives $2,000, second prize wins $500, third prize snags $250, and two recipients of “Editor’s Choice” get $125. The contest is in its 23rd year and is judged this year by Carve’s publisher and editorial team. The deadline is May 17 and the entry fee is $18.

–BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize is seeking submissions of manuscripts of 90-200 pages of collected short fiction. BOA is “more concerned with the artfulness of writing than the twists and turns of plot.” The winner will have their collection published by BOA Editions in Spring 2025 and receive a $1,000 honorarium. The contest is judged by Peter Conners and accepts both physical and electronic submissions. The deadline is May 31 with a $25 submission fee.

–Milkweed Editions’ Max Ritvo Poetry Prize honors the legacy of “one of the most original and accomplished poets to debut in recent years” and awards $10,000 and publication to the author of a debut collection of poems. This year’s judge is Louise Glück. The prize-winning poet will receive a “standard royalty contract, simultaneous publication of the collection in cloth and audiobook editions, national distribution, and a comprehensive marketing and publicity campaign.” Submissions should be 48 pages or more, with a deadline of May 31 and a reading fee of $25.

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FELLOWSHIPS AND 🌲RESIDENCIES🌲

-The inaugural Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship provides two $5,000 unrestricted awards to promising writers of color who are focused on art criticism and/or reporting about the visual, performing, or media arts. The fellowship is six months long, beginning in July 2023, and the funds are meant to support fellows writing from their own cultural and political perspectives in order to enrich and broaden arts writing as a practice and profession. The application deadline is May 7.

-The Anna LaBastille Memorial Writers Residency is The Adirondack Center for Writing’s free, two-week residency for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Six residents — three from the region and three others from anywhere in the world — will stay at a lodge on Twitchell Lake in the heart of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Applicants must submit 10 pages of prose or fiction, or 10 poems, as well as a cover letter that includes “a brief, third-person bio and a work plan detailing your goals for this residency.” The application deadline is May 10. 

-The 2023 Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant funds projects about contemporary visual art. Applications should include a resume, publication history, a project description, and context for the project in relation to the writer’s existing work, among other criteria. Find the full application checklist here. Grants range from $15,000 to $50,000 depending on scope (article, short-form writing, or book). Complete applications on Slideroom by May 17. 

-The Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence is awarded annually to one “outstanding, early-career artist who is developing new works that address plants, gardens, or landscapes in the broad sense.” This award is open to visual artists, literary artists, dancers, and musicians who aren’t enrolled in an undergraduate program in 2024. The deadline to apply is May 31. The winner will receive a $10,000 grant and spend two to five weeks at Oak Spring Garden Foundation. 

-The Mesa Refuge is a residency in Point Reyes, CA that supports writers whose work is largely focused on “ideas at the edge” of nature, human economy and social equity. The residency is especially seeking writers of nonfiction books and long-form journalism and those who work on audio and documentary film. It is also open to writers working on other genres including screenwriting, playwriting, poetry, personal memoir, and more. Applications should include one writing sample that is up to 2,000 words or 10 pages. Alums include Michael Pollan, Terry Tempest Williams, Krista Tippett, Natalie Goldberg, and Rebecca Solnit. The deadline to apply is June 1, with a $50 application fee (applicants can also request a fee waiver).

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RESOURCES

And always, ongoing, and very helpful!

Poets and Writers Literary Agents Database