Erika Dreifus

Each week in this space, Practicing Writing shares no-fee, paying markets for writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction: competitions, contests, and calls for submissions. These weekly posts complement monthly issues of The Practicing Writer newsletter, where you’ll always find more listings, none of them limiting eligibility to residents of a single municipality, state, or province. (But this blog does share those more localized opportunities, including jobs.)

As always, if you’d like to share a specific opportunity listed here, please credit the blog for the find. Thanks for respecting the time and effort that I put into researching, curating, and posting this information! I do notice, and I appreciate the courtesy.

• “Fern Press and How To Academy are delighted to launch the inaugural Fern Academy Prize, in association with Tortoise Media – a new annual non-fiction essay prize for those working at the frontier of creativity and thought. The prize is designed to find and nurture emerging non-fiction talent and will be awarded to an essay of literary merit with an international and multicultural interest. The prize encourages essays that shine a light on the universal human experience – on a micro or macro scale – and which speak clearly to the times we live in. The prize is open to unagented and unpublished writers from around the world, writing in the English language.” Confers £3,000 and other prize-package benefits. Deadline: April 30.
• From In the Mood: “In honour of our 10th issue, we’re getting literal and asking for submissions on film, TV, music videos, and pop culture relating to the number 10! This could look like: Cinema’s 10 Most Ineffectual Therapists, movies with ’10’ in the title, 10 Times I Fell Asleep in the Theatre, or movies celebrating their 10-year anniversary.” Pays: “$30 CAD for features, $20 CAD for film diaries.” Deadline: April 30.
• Vilas Avenue is open for poetry submissions to Issue Six “for a themed issue on the concept of ‘Impermanence.” Interpret that theme any way you’d like.” Pays: $25. Deadline: May 1. (Hat tip: AuthorsPublish.) UPDATE: Apparently, only one poet will be paid.
• “The Arts Center of Yates County residency program is open to visual artists, mixed media artists, literary artists, and performance artists who can demonstrate professional standing in their field. It offers a 10-day use of the Sunny Point facility located on Keuka Lake in western New York’s Finger Lakes region. This lakeside residence with separate studio space is available at no cost. Travel and meals are not included.” Apply by May 1.
• From Frontier Poetry: “We’re looking to bring on several guest editors to participate in our editorial feedback programs. This position would generally require the editor to write 2 pages of highly professional, encouraging, and actionable feedback to a single poem in the submitters packet, either based on the submitters request, or, if no poem is specified by submitter, the editors choosing. We are looking for poets, editors, and educators with professional experience. Authors with and without MFAs are welcome to apply.” They seek “two to three editors who can commit up to 20 hours of work each month.” Compensation: “We pay $25/letter and typically assign 20-40 letters per month per editor (with the possibility of being assigned more). Letters typically take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to write, depending on the editor’s speed and style.” Apply by May 3.
• “The National Book Foundation (NBF), presenter of the National Book Awards, is seeking a full-time Awards & Communications Coordinator to join our small and dynamic team….This is a full-time position based in New York City (with a flexible in-office/remote hybrid schedule) and benefits package, including paid time off, health care, and other benefits. Salary is $54,000-58,000 depending on experience.” Deadline: “Priority will be given” to applications received by May 19.
• “The Creative Writing Program in the Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences, at the University of Miami invites applications for a one-year position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing to teach two courses in Fall 2024 and three courses in Spring 2025, including a graduate poetry workshop, a graduate craft seminar, and advanced undergraduate courses in poetry.” Deadline: “The search committee will give priority to applications received” before June 1.