Creative Opportunities 01/24/2024

GENERAL SUBMISSIONS:

–carte blanche––a publication project from the Quebec Writers’ Federation––welcomes submissions for their 48th issue, which is unthemed. They seek fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations (French to English), photography, and comics, and writers receive an honorarium of $75 per published piece. There is no entry fee and the deadline to submit is February 15. 

–The Spectacle––based out of the Creative Writing department at Washington University in St. Louis––is holding its twice-annual reading period, welcoming submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The journal is interested in “vivid, striking imagery and language” and they “value relationships between the literary and visual arts.” Chosen writers receive a $50 honorarium. There is no entry fee and the deadline to submit is February 15. 

–Denver Quarterly––housed in the Department of English & Literary Arts at the University of Denver––is open to submissions of conversations, critiques, performance reviews, translations, and visual art. Further guidelines for each category can be found on their Submittable page. There is no entry fee and the deadline to submit is February 15. 

–The Santa Clara Review––the 150-year-old global literary magazine from Santa Clara University––is open for submissions of prose, poetry, and art. There is a $2 reading fee and the deadline to submit is February 15. 

–The Offing is open for art and comics submissions. By “art”, the publication includes painting, sculptures, installations, performances, and writing on, about, or inspired by art. Upon publication, contributors will be paid between $25 and $100, depending on length/department. There is no entry fee and the deadline to submit is February 16. 

–The Rumpus is open for submissions of essays, up to 4,000 words in length. They are interested both in personal narrative-driven essays as well as non-traditional forms of nonfiction. Contributors will receive a small honorarium (exact amount to be determined.) There is no entry fee and the deadline to submit is February 29.  

 

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CONTESTS + PRIZES: 

 

–The Masters Review is holding their Winter Short Story Award for New Writers, with guest judge Kelly Link. The contest welcomes submissions of fiction or creative nonfiction up to 6,000 words, and is open to any writer who has not published a novel or memoir with a major press. The first-place winner receives a $3,000 grand prize, along with publication; second- and third-place winners receive $300 and $200, respectively, along with online publication. All finalists receive agency review from Nat Sobel from Sobel Weber, Victoria Cappello from The Bent Agency, Andrea Morrison from Writers House, Sarah Fuentes from United Talent Agency, Heather Schroder from Compass Talent, and Marin Takikawa from The Friedrich Agency. The entry fee is $20 and the deadline to submit is this Sunday, January 28. 

 

–The 2024 Chautauqua Janus Prize celebrates a single work of short fiction or nonfiction that has “daring formal and aesthetic innovations that upset and reorder readers’ imaginations.” The winner receives a $5,000 award, publication in the Chautauqua literary journal, as well as a $2,000 travel and lodging stipend to come give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute during the summer season. This year’s guest judge is Jimin Han. There is a $20 entry fee and the deadline to submit is this Wednesday, January 31. 

 

-[RE-SHARING] The Iowa Review is currently holding their annual contests in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Winners receive $1,500, first-runners up receive $750, and all are published in the December issue of the review. Judges for the 2024 awards are Terrance Hayes (poetry), Sarah Viren (nonfiction) and Sequoia Nagamatsu (fiction). There is an entry fee of $20 for subscribers, or $30 for non-subscribers, and the deadline to submit is this Wednesday, January 31.  

–Poetry Northwest welcomes submissions for the James Welch Prize, which awards two outstanding poems written by Indigenous U.S. poets. The two first-place winners receive publication in Poetry Northwest, and are featured in a reading (2024 location TBA), with travel and lodging paid for. Poets must not have published more than one book-length literary work in any genre, and all entries will be screened by a team of poets from the board and advisory committee of In-Na-Po (Indigenous Nations Poets). There is no entry fee and the deadline to submit is February 15. 

–Finishing Line Press welcomes submissions for their 2024 Open Chapbook Competition (16-34 pages of poetry.) The winner receives $1,500 and publication (perfect-bound print edition) as well as a royalty contract and Ingram Group distribution. There is a $20 entry fee and the deadline to submit is February 15. 

-The Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize welcomes submissions of manuscripts in progress from February 1-29. A $20,000 advance and publication by Graywolf Press will be awarded to the most promising and innovative literary nonfiction project by a writer not yet established in the genre. The winning author will also receive a $2,000 stipend intended to support the competition of their project. The deadline to submit is February 29. 

RESIDENCES + FELLOWSHIPS:

-[RE-SHARING] PEN America’s Emerging Voices Fellowship is a virtual five-month immersive mentorship program for early-career writers. The fellowship includes curated one-on-one mentorship, introduction to editors, agents, and publishers, workshops on editing and marketing, and more. The program is focused on cultivating the careers of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and immigrant writers, as well as writers with disabilities and those living outside of urban centers. Applicants cannot be enrolled in a degree-granting program at the time of the fellowship’s start (January 2024) and cannot be recipients of advanced degrees in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. There is a $25 application fee and the deadline to apply is this Wednesday, January 31. 

–Bucknell University welcomes applications for the Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing. The residency provides up to four months of unfettered writing time for a writer working on a first or second book in any genre, and includes lodging in Bucknell’s “Poet’s Cottage” and a stipend of $5,000. The deadline to apply is this Thursday, February 1.

–The Juniper Summer Writing Institute is currently open for applications. The institute will be held in person June 9-15, 2024, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and is a week-long immersion for writing, invention, and community. This year’s faculty includes Ari Banias, Renee Gladman, and Diana Khoi Nguyen. Tuition is $2150 (not including housing) but there are several scholarship opportunities available. The deadline to apply is February 15. 

 

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JOBS + GRANTS:

–The de Groot Foundation welcomes applications for their 2024 Courage to Write grants. The foundation awards 30 unrestricted grants to writers––ten at $7000 each, and twenty at $1500 each. These grants are meant to encourage and support writers as they further or complete a specific project in any genre, including fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, YA, children’s books, plays, and screenplays. There is an entry fee of $22 and the deadline to submit is February 5. 

–Frontier Poetry seeks new readers to join their volunteer editorial team. The position requires 2-3 hours per week. Poets from historically marginalized communities are especially welcome, and the deadline to apply is February 20. 

-An LA-based artist studio seeks a Bookbinding Specialist, who will work a minimum of 10 hours per week at $27/hour. The ideal candidate has a strong background in bookbinding techniques and an eye for accuracy and details, and will work on the artist’s one-of-a-kind screen printed and hand painted artist books. To apply, send CV and availability to [email protected]. 

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OPEN QUERIES:

 

–Amy Giuffrida at the Belcastro Agency will be open to queries of fiction and nonfiction during the first week of February.  Her wish list includes fiction with unreliable narrators, undercurrents of social commentary, feminist slants, BIPOC representation, and horror, non-fiction that is narrative or self-help focused, among others, and is also open to Picture Books, YA, and Adult. Submit through her Query Manager. 

–Katie Gisondi at Laura Dail Literary Agency seeks queries for commercial fiction and nonfiction with a clear, distinct voice and a unique hook. In particular, she would like to see more Indigenous, Native American, as well as Latinx, disabled, chronically ill, and trans/nonbinary/queer stories and voices. Submit through her Query Manager.

–Rebecca Eskildsen at Writers House is open to queries of middle grade, YA, and adult fiction, looking to elevate LGBTQ+ and BIPOC voices. Her full manuscript wish list can be found on her website. To query, send a personalized letter and the first 15 pages of your manuscript pasted in the body of the email to [email protected]. The subject line should read “Query [genre] [TITLE].”