Even more opportunities added-Updated 2/23/2021!
Have a short story, poem or other work you’re just dying to share? Check out these publication, workshop and contest opportunities:
*Advice on Writing Contests:
When considering contests, look to see how they handled winners’ work from previous years: Is there a list of previous winners? Where you can go to read or have access to the winning pieces of writing? Who are the judges? Are they people who you would read yourself? If you win, what kind of audience would you receive for your work? Research contests and their reputations online. Use places like duotrope.com, Poets and Writers (pw.org), the New Pages (newpages.com), or The Review Review (thereviewreview.net), to see whether there is any other information about the contest from other sources.
The Flying Island: New Look for 2021!
Flying Island, the Online Literary Journal of the Indiana Writers Center accepts submissions on a rolling basis from Indiana residents and those with significant ties to Indiana.
- Fiction: up to 3,000 words
- Nonfiction: up to 3,500 words
- Poetry: up to three poems, no more than 50 lines each.
Visit the journal and submit your work.
THAT PEACE OPEN MIC – A Call for
Poets, Writers, & Essayists
Have you submitted to The Jamii Journal yet? TPOM is honestly excited to highlight the work, voices, and stories of artists ALL YEAR—in a way that allows us to critically engage the themes and topics addressed. Head over to the website to submit and view the perks.
Write for Sixty Inches from Center
Sixty welcomes writers and artists of all experience levels to pitch ideas for traditional and experimental arts writing around topics, and practices that are relevant to the cultural landscapes of the Midwest.
Priority will be given to writing by, about, and for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists, artists with disabilities, and the long list of writing, art-making, and cultural practices that have been neglected in mainstream conversations and canons about art and culture. We publish writing, photography, art, archive materials, video, and conversations that are thoughtful, generative, experimental, and relatable to a variety of readers.
Once a pitch is accepted, writers have full and free access to our editors, transcribers, translators, photographers, and illustrators to support the creation and completion of the final piece.
To see what type of articles they publish and other guidelines, visit the link.
Gluestick Indy “Anaphora” Poetry Zine
Open for Submissions
Any genre of poetry is welcome. They have 20 slots for contributors. To contribute please fill in the google form link . They are also inviting people to send us a pre-recorded video of a poetry reading, which they will post or help facilitate a livestream. Have questions or concerns? Don’t hesitate to contact them through e-mail at GluestickIndy@gmail.com.
Driftwood Press Submissions Open
John Updike once said, “Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.” At Driftwood Press, we are actively searching for artists who care about doing it right, or better. Driftwood Press is a bi-annual literary magazine founded in Tampa, FL in 2013.
As of 2018, we pay our contributors (see guidelines for rates) for each contribution made to our magazine.
At Driftwood Press, we are actively searching for artists who care about doing it right, or better. We are excited to receive your submissions and will diligently work to bring you the best in full poetry collections, novellas, graphic novels, short fiction, poetry, graphic narrative, photography, art, interviews, and contests.]
Visit their website for more information and to submit your work.
OnyxFest Open Call for “Our Way”
OnyxFest 2021 provides a platform through which to shape the narrative of Black life and culture from the minds of those who know it best. This is the first and only theater festival exclusively for Black playwrights. If you or someone you know has an original, never produced concept, scripts are being accepted at OnyxFestARTI@gmail.com. The event is sponsored by the Africana Repertory Theater of IUPUI (ARTI).
Columbia Journal: Submit to Our Spring 2021 Contest!
Deadline February 15
We are excited to announce we are now open for submissions in Translation, Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction. Apply with your best work for a chance to win $250 and publication!
This year’s judges include Kristen Arnett (Fiction), Sora Kim-Russell (Translation), Hanif Abdurraqib (Poetry), and Emily Maloney (Nonfiction). There is a $10 entry for each submission.
Read more about our submission guidelines and click here when you’re to submit!
Fresh Purge Open for Submissions
Deadline February 15
We are looking for poetry, personal essays, photography, videography, music videos, songs, animation, Multimedia pieces, comics, etc. You name it, we want it! Open to everyone. qbipoc take priority.
Send us an email at info@weareverne.com
Read the submission guidelines.
Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction
Deadline: February 15
Via Sarabande Books: The prize includes a $2,000 cash award, publication of the winning manuscript, and a standard royalty contract.
The judge for the 2021 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction is Danielle Evans!
Read the guidelines and submit.
Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry
Deadline: February 15
Via Sarabande Books: The prize includes a $2,000 cash award, publication of a full-length collection of poetry, and a standard royalty contract. Kathryn A. Morton was a published author and devotee of fine literature, especially poetry.
The judge for the 2021 Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry is Victoria Chang!
Read the guidelines and submit.
Call for Contributing Writers for Arts Midwest
Deadline February 28
Arts Midwest is seeking contributing writers who are interested in covering stories about creativity, cultural leadership, and community vitality for our website, artsmidwest.org.
Arts Midwest believes that creativity has the power to inspire and unite humanity. Based in Minneapolis, we grow, gather, and invest in creative organizations and communities throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, and beyond.
In 2021, we are expanding our editorial reach to publish 30+ stories focusing on creative projects happening across the Midwest. We are looking to build up a pool of freelance writers located across our region who are interested in writing person-focused stories that expand the understanding of what it means to be a Midwesterner and shine light on the creativity happening across the Midwest.
We particularly aim to foster connections with journalists of color, Indigenous journalists, and journalists based in rural areas of the Midwest to deepen our community-centered coverage.
Writers will be compensated $500 for each 800-1000 word article.
If you are interested in becoming part of our contributing writer pool, please submit the following information to Digital Media Producer Alana Horton at alana.horton@artsmidwest.org by February 28th, 2021, using the subject line Arts Midwest Writer Pool Submission.
View the complete guidelines.
Fall Lit Fest 2021 Call for Proposals
Deadline February 28
Lit Youngstown seeks proposals for Our Shared Story, 5th annual Fall Literary Festival, October 7-9 in Northeast Ohio, featuring Ross Gay, Jan Beatty, Bonnie Proudfoot & Mike Geither. Special guest David Hassler.
General Information
This year’s conference will be centered around the theme “Our Shared Story,” a conversation about writing, publishing, community outreach, and literary inclusion. The conference aims to sustain and enhance community by allowing its members to share a stake in its narrative: its story—past, present, and future.
Sessions will be 60 minutes. Proposals may include panel and roundtable discussions, creative readings, or workshops. Group and individual proposal submissions are welcome. Individual presenters and creative readings may be grouped into panels by conference organizers.
Individuals are limited to two proposal submissions, please. Accepted presenters will be required to register for the conference at the presenter rate of $45 (graduate students and contingent faculty $20; undergraduate students free; hardship scholarships available). The proposal deadline is February 28. Visit link for details and to submit you proposal.
The Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition is Open to Writers Worldwide
The Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition 2021 offers £1000 first prize for stories on any topic up to 2,000 words, £500 second prize, £250 third prize plus publication opportunity in our next anthology for the top twenty stories. Chief judge multi-booker nominated author Andrew O’Hagan. Deadline February 28, 2021. Find out more and submit your work.
The 30th Annual James Jones First Novel Fellowship
Awarded to an American author of a first novel-in-progress, in 2021, by the James Jones Literary Society.
The award is intended to honor the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into modern culture exemplified by the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity and other prose narratives of distinction. Jones himself was the recipient of aid from many supporters as a young writer and his family, friends, and admirers have established this award of $10,000 to continue the tradition in his name. Two runners up awards of $1000 each may be given by the Jones Literary Society. All selections are at the discretion of the judges.
DEADLINES: Entries should be sent to jamesjones.submittable.com/submit. no later than midnight, March 15, 2021 Eastern Standard time.
Entry Fee: $30 plus a $3.00 processing fee.
Read all about eligibility and requirements.
About Place Journal Call for Submissions: Geographies of Justice
Editor: Alexis Lathem
Assistant Editors: Richard Cambridge & Charles Coe
Open for submissions on December 15, 2020
All submissions are due by March 1, 2021
Geographies of Justice
After four long years, we have scaled the mountain. But beyond mountains, there are more mountains. The Haitian proverb can be read many ways: it can mean that only by surmounting one obstacle can we arrive at a clear view of the next one, that the challenges are never ending. Or, that every challenge is, equally, an opportunity. It can also suggest the ways in which the mountains we face form broader patterns, shaped as they are by the same forces (racism, capitalism) that divide us and erode the basis of future life on Earth.
About Place Geographies of Justice issue seeks work that re-imagines the maps that divide us into the privileged and the disadvantaged, that value some lives more than others; work that exposes systems of medical, environmental, and economic apartheid. We look for work that opens itself to the larger world, that takes the long view, that peels back the maps imposed through historical and ecological violence and shows awareness of who and what was here before. Work that is located in sacred geographies, that has come from the difficult ascent, work that is visionary. Send us your poems, essays, stories, artwork and multimedia born from your ascents and descents, your passage through the hollows of grief, your moments of transcendent vision. Give us the view that will take our breath away.
Find out more and submit your work.
So It Goes 2021: Short Stories, Creative Non-Fiction, and Poetry
The submission period for our tenth annual So It Goes Literary Journal opens January 1, 2021, and closes March 1, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EST. The theme is Caring For Our Environment.
“Just in the nick of time they realized that it was their own habitat they were wrecking — that they weren’t merely visitors.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut wrote about the evolution of man and his destruction of the environment in his 1999 novel Galapagos. Vonnegut was a writer with a conscious, and he often wrote about modern-day issues that he felt needed the world’s immediate attention. He spoke on the topic of the environment at rallies and graduations. He had a lot to say and insisted we have a lot to do to change the mess we’ve made.
In this edition, we will tackle everything from air pollution to shortage of clean water to all kinds of environments as they relate to people and their struggles and joys.
View the complete guidelines and submit.
Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference – Scholarship and Partnership Opportunities
Deadline March 1
One $350 MNWC Workshop Scholarship is awarded toward the conference fee in each of the following genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. A $350 scholarship will also be offered to a Minnesota resident. The participant pays the balance.
One full Workshop Scholarship will be awarded to a resident of the five-county Region 2 area.
While these scholarships aim to lower financial barriers for those who want to engage in this unique arts learning opportunity, they will be awarded based on literary merit.
Honorable Mention scholarships of $175 may also be offered. Find out more on their website.
The Rialto Nature and Place Poetry Competition
The Rialto working in association with the RSPB, BirdLife International and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative
Poems are invited that deal with any aspect of nature and place – these terms will be given a wide interpretation by the judge Daljit Nagra. Closing Date March 1st 2021
Prizes
1st prize – £1000
2nd prize – £500
3rd prize – £250
More prizes, information, and how to submit your work.
2022 Creative Capital Awards Now Accepting Applications
Creative Capital helps visionary artists in all disciplines (including Literary Fiction, Literary Nonfiction, and Poetry) build thriving careers, and every year we review applications from artists ready to take the next step in their creative practices. The selected artists receive the Creative Capital Award, which includes up to $50,000 in funding for bold new projects, as well as a wide range of counsel, career development, and networking opportunities to make their work come to life.
Artists can submit their project ideas through a free application. This application helps us identify a selection of artists working at the forefront of their fields. It’s designed to provoke deep thought about project ideas to determine intention, impact, timeliness, and capacity.
Due to the ongoing impact of extreme weather across southern states of the US, we have extended the deadline for the Creative Capital Award application to Monday, March 8, 2021 at 4pm ET.
Visit site for more information. Download the award application toolkit.
Ida B. Wells Fellowship
Deadline March 14, 11:59 p.m.
The Ida B. Wells Fellowship promotes diversity in journalism by helping to create a pipeline of investigative reporters of color who bring diverse backgrounds, experiences, and interests to their work.
The one-year fellowship helps reporters complete their first substantial work of investigative reporting by providing a $20,000 award and editorial guidance from a dedicated editor at Type Investigations. Fellows will also receive funds to cover travel and other reporting costs, and the costs associated with attending the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference, as well as a one-week data reporting boot camp. They will enjoy access to research resources, legal assistance, professional mentors and assistance with story placement and publicity.
Type Investigations holds an annual competition in the spring to select the fellows, who will be expected to publish or air their findings in a U.S. media outlet within one year of the start of the fellowship. We’ll be selecting five fellows in 2021.
Find out more about the fellowship, including how to submit.
Sisters in Crime Pride Award Open for Submissions
Submissions are open January 15 – March 15. Decisions will be made by June 1.
Sisters In Crime has a new award to support the work of an emerging LGBTQIA+ crime writer. Crime fiction holds multitudes of styles, and there’s room for everyone.
-The writer doesn’t need to be published or even finished with their project.
-The writer doesn’t need to be a member of Sisters in Crime; in fact, we’ll fix that, if you win or are a runner-up.
-It’s free to submit; you literally have nothing to lose, and much to gain.
If you’re an LGBTQIA+ writer interested in mystery, thriller, suspense, or in any story where crime and justice play a role, we want to hear from you! Full details and guidelines here.
Two Sylvias Press Chapbook Prize 2021
Open for Submissions
Deadline: May 31st
Judge: Victoria Chang
Winner receives $500, chapbook published as print book, 20 Author Copies, and an amethyst depression glass trophy (circa 1930).
View the complete guidelines and submit.
Extinction Rebellion Creative Hub Open for Submissions
Welcome to the Extinction Rebellion Creative Hub: an anthology of songs, fiction and poetry that’s inspiring, meaningful and original, and that reflects the principles, concerns and values of the Extinction Rebellion from a global, regional or local perspective.
This collection is a voice and a resource for Extinction Rebellion members everywhere, and a contribution to the global XR profile in the wider world.
Find out more and submit your work.
blankcoverpress.com
Submissions open in all genres!
For submissions, email: submissions@blankcoverpress.com
https://blankcoverpress.com
McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: A Force Outside Myself: Citizens Over 60 Speak
Deadline: Rolling
If you are 60 or older, we’re interested in your thoughts right now and hope you can write a short first-person narrative. (100-500 words) Send entries to Kitania Folk at aforce@mcsweeneys.net and watch our site for ongoing updates.
Awakenings Review Seeks Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Photography, and Art
Established in 2000, The Awakenings Review is an annual lit mag committed to publishing poetry, short story, nonfiction, photography, and art by writers, poets and artists who have a relationship with mental illness: either self, family member, or friend. Our striking hardcopy publication is one of the nation’s leading journals of this genre. Creative endeavors and mental illness have long had a close association. The Awakenings Review publishes works derived from artists’, writers’, and poets’ experiences with mental illness, though mental illness need not be the subject of your work. Visit www.AwakeningsProject.org for submission guidelines.
Hip Mama magazine is looking for unique, creative, strong, edgy, alternative parenting stories for upcoming issues.
Check out the magazine here.
Send submissions to: hipsubmissions@gmail.com
Complete Guide to 2021 Artist Grants & Opportunities
A list of the top international open calls, residencies, fellowships, and awards that we believe will benefit artists during the upcoming year! The complete list is broken down into six categories: grants, residencies & fellowships, calls-for-entry, publications, COVID relief funds, and opportunity sites.
This list will be updated throughout the year, so make sure to bookmark the page, check back often. View the list.
Poets & Writers: New Writing Contest Deadlines!
For information regarding writing contests and deadlines:Go Here
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR OPPORTUNITY LISTED HERE? Email the details to: mail@indianawriters.org