Creative 05/26/2023

Read on for this month's Creative opportunities, from contests and prizes, to fellowships and residencies, and more.

 

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 recently bought a basketball and is considering a rebrand as a poet-turned-jock. 

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

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GENERAL SUBMISSIONS

–The Margins is the award-winning magazine from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and publishes emerging and established Asian American/diasporic writing. The magazine is currently open for poetry submissions, and contributors receive $50-$90 (depending on length of poem and number of poems published.) There is no reading fee, and the deadline to submit is June 5. 

–The Brooklyn Review, which is run by students and faculty from the Brooklyn College MFA program, is open for nonfiction submissions. Pieces should be a maximum of 3,500 words and all submissions will be considered for both digital and print. The deadline is June 16 and there is a reading fee of $3. 

–YesYes Books is holding an open reading period for fiction and poetry. The press seeks submissions of full-length manuscripts, and winners receive 40 author copies, $1,000 advance, $500 toward tour expenses, and 15-25 percent in royalties. Apply early, as the fiction open reading period closes after 200 submissions have been received, and the poetry open reading period caps off at 400 submissions. The deadline is June 30 and there is a reading fee of $25. 

–The Elephants is holding their annual open reading period for full-length manuscripts. The Elephants publishes “heterodox materials as acts of love and solidarity with the communities that write them” and is open to any genre that works toward this. Submissions are due 11:59 pm PST on June 30 and there is a reading fee of $15. 

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CONTESTS AND PRIZES

–The Flannery O’Connor for Short Fiction Award — held each year by the University of Georgia Press — recognizes a short fiction collection manuscript between 40,000-75,000 words in length. The winner receives $1,000 and publication with the press, with a standard book contract. This year’s final judge is Lori Ostlund. The deadline for submissions is this Wednesday, May 31 and the reading fee is $30. 

–Boulevard Magazine’s Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets welcomes submissions from a “poet who has not yet published a book of poetry with a nationally distributed press.” The award goes toward a winning group of three poems, and includes $1,000, as well as publication in the magazine. The reading fee is $18 per group of three poems and the deadline is this Thursday, June 1. 

-PEN America’s PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History recognize nonfiction works that use oral history to “illuminate an event, place or movement.” The project of focus must be an unpublished work-in-progress, as the grants are intended to support the completion of a book. Grantees receive $15,000. There is no fee to apply, and submissions are due this Thursday, June 1.

–Finishing Line Press’ Donna Wolf-Palacio Poetry Prize awards $500 and publication to a poetry book, judged this year by Leah Huete de Maines. Applicants should submit a manuscript of 40 to 99 pages, along with a cover letter. The reading fee is $10 and the deadline for submissions is this Friday, June 2. 

–The Omnidawn Poetry Chapbook Contest recognizes a poetry collection between 25-45 pages, in a “wide range of styles, approaches, forms, diversities and aesthetics.” The winner receives $1,000, publication with Omnidawn, and 20 printed copies. The contest is judged this year by Brody Parrish Craig. There is a reading fee of $30 and the deadline for submissions is June 13. 

–Hayden’s Ferry Review Indigenous Poets Prize welcomes submissions of a single poem, from writers with a “commitment to Indigenous communities.” HFR defines commitment as “those who advocate for Indigenous communities, have personal experience with/within these communities, or contribute in some capacity to supporting Indigenous communities,” and especially encourages submissions from Indigenous writers. There are adult and youth categories, all judged by Pulitzer-prize-winning poet Natalie Diaz. There is no reading fee and the deadline to submit is 11:59pm PST on June 10. 

–The New American Fiction Prize is awarded to a full-length fiction manuscript (which could be a story collection, novel, novella, or something in between.) The winner receives $1,500 and a book contract with New American Press, 25 author copies and “promotional support.” There is a reading fee of $25 and the deadline for submissions is June 15. 

–The Los Angeles Review Literary Awards are open in all categories, which include Poetry, Short Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction (see each specific category for length requirements and guest judges). Winners in all categories receive a $1,000 prize and publication in the LAR. There is a reading fee of $20 (per category) and the deadline for submissions is June 30.

–The Drue Heinz Literature Prize welcomes submissions of short fiction manuscripts between 150-300 pages, from authors who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories/novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals. Winners receive $15,000 cash, publication with the University of Pittsburgh Press, and promotional support. Manuscripts are judged anonymously by nationally known writers (past judges include Joyce Carol Oatmes, Raymond Carver, and Joan Didion.) There is no reading fee and the deadline is June 30. 

–YesYes Books Pamet River Prize is a nomination-based contest open to first or second full-length books of poetry or prose, by women writers, gender-queer writers, and native writers. Entrants can nominate their own work or the work of others. Nominations should include a cover letter and sample; semi-finalists will be invited to submit full manuscripts. Winners receive $1,000, publication with YesYes Books, 40 author copies, 15-25 percent royalties, and $500 towards tour expenses. The reading fee is $20 and submissions are due June 30. 

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EVENTS AND COURSES

–Cleaver Magazine presents Reading Like a Writer, a five-week online course on learning craft and finding inspiration in what we read, taught by Study Haller, Ilana Masad. The class will take place Sundays in July (July 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30) and costs $250. Sign ups are open until the class reaches 15 students.

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FELLOWSHIPS AND RESIDENCIES

–The Center for Fiction’s Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowship Program offers New York City-based fiction writers grants, editorial mentorship, and other opportunities for early-career development. To apply, submit a fiction writing sample and proof of New York residency. There is no fee to apply, and the deadline for submissions is this Wednesday, May 31. 

–The Catskills Creative Residency welcomes two playwrights annually for a fully funded week in the Sullivan County Catskills, in upstate New York. Each playwright receives a $200 travel and food stipend. Playwrights collaborate with director Eugenia Manwelyan and Catskills-based actors to workshop their plays, and the residency culminates in a works-in-progress performance at the Tusten Theater. The deadline for submissions is this Thursday, June 1, and the residency will take place October 15-22.