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.

• By this time next week, the July 2024 edition of The Practicing Writer 2.0 will have gone out to subscribers. Make sure you haven’t missed any of the still-open opportunities featured in the June installment and the most recent weekly supplements here on the Practicing Writing blog.
• 105 Meadowlark Reader is open for submissions until June 30. “We are looking for true stories about Kansas written by Kansans, therefore you must be a Kansas resident or have lived in Kansas at some point in your life.” Pays: “$10 per story and one contributor copy of the journal.”
• June 30 is also the application deadline for the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award from the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW). “The award is intended to encourage young [under age 31] science writers by recognizing outstanding reporting and writing in any field of science. The 2024 winner will receive $1,000 and expenses to attend the ScienceWriters2024 conference to receive the award.”
• Artist Opportunity Grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts “are awarded on a competitive basis to support unique professional and artistic development and presentation opportunities for artists. Examples include: materials to complete work for a specific show or program; the cost to rent a facility for a performance; study with a master for a specified period of time. Evaluation criteria include: anticipated impact on the artist’s work or career; financial feasibility and need; marketing plans; and uniqueness of the opportunity. Applicants can request up to 80% of the opportunity cost not to exceed $1,000.” The upcoming deadline is July 1. NB: Applicants must be “a resident of Delaware for at least one year at the time of application.”
• July 1 is also the deadline for applications for the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts General Operating Support for Artists grants. “This funding is unrestricted, meaning artists can use the funds to support their goals however they need. This program includes a cohort community of current grantees, with meetings and learning opportunities that are focused on the grantees’ needs. Each year, three artists will be selected for this program, for a total of nine artists receiving yearly grants at any given time.” Awards $6,000 per year for three years. Check for eligibility requirements, which include Rhode Island residency. (Hat tip: Funds for Writers.)
• July 3 is the application deadline for the Maine Artist Fellowship program, which “recognizes artistic excellence in the overall career of a Maine artist. Fellowships are not grants for artist projects; they are merit-based awards that evaluated by a review panel on the level of artistic creativity and vision shown in the artists’ support materials.” NB: One $5,000 fellowship will be awarded in the category of “Literary Arts.”
• “The Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston announces the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts Scholar in Residence, a non-tenure track, nine-month post-graduate fellowship in Creative Writing for the 2024-25 academic year. The opportunity is open to any practice in Creative Writing (e.g., Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction). Candidate is expected to reside in Houston for the duration of the residency and will work alongside faculty in the Creative Writing Program while vigorously pursue their creative/scholarly activities.  The Scholar in Residence is an honored award to a post-graduate candidate of the highest caliber in their respective field. Supported by the Mitchell Center to engage in interdisciplinary methods of inquiry and collaborate with faculty, students and schools across the UH campus, the ideal candidate should be motivated to engage with these pursuits and whose work/research aligns with the mission of the Mitchell Center. Teaching ideally could cross over to Interdisciplinary Arts courses. Applicants must work in two or more artistic disciplines OR have clear interdisciplinary research interests they wish to pursue while in residence.” No deadline indicated.
• The Department of Literature within the School of Arts and Humanities at UC San Diego invites applications “for Temporary Lecturer(s) in Creative Writing for the 2024/25 academic year. The successful applicant(s) will have expertise in teaching multiple disciplines and genres of creative writing, potentially including Fiction Writing, Poetry Writing, Creative Nonfiction Writing, Screenwriting, and Speculative Fiction Writing. Appointments may be part-time or full-time, from one quarter up to one year in duration.”
• At North Carolina A&T State University, the Department of English “invites applications for a 9-month, tenure-track faculty position of Assistant/Associate Professor, Creative Writing.”