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.

Notwithstanding the “each week” mention above, the blog will actually be on a hiatus starting Friday, July 5. Expect the Markets & Jobs to return Monday, July 22.

• ICYMI: Our July newsletter went out to subscribers yesterday! Dozens of fee-free (and paying) opportunities are included within, so check it out (and subscribe, if you haven’t already!).
• Two one-time stipends of $1,000 apiece will be offered as part of Airlie Press‘s current (July 1-31) reading period. One stipend is available to anyone for whom the time and duties associated with serving on the editorial board—a condition of acceptance— would present a financial hardship. The other is open to anyone who identifies as BIPOC. To be considered for a stipend, note your interest on the Submittable form, which should be open July 1-July 31, concurrent with the reading period. NB: The reading period is for “full-length manuscripts from poets who reside in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska).” As always, be sure to read the fine print here; I’m highlighting the stipends, which make this a “Markets and Jobs” item, because “authors receive no money from the sales of their books; profits go toward the publication of work by the next two authors selected by the press.”
• New Jersey poets: You have until July 16 to apply for an Individual Artist Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. “Past awards have ranged from $4,000 – $32,000.” (Hat tip: Funds for Writers.)
• “The Artist Trust (AT) Endurance Grants (END) are unrestricted emergency need-based grants of $2,500 to artists working in all disciplines across Washington State to assist with an unforeseen emergency, crisis, or catastrophic event. These 40 grants will fund artists who identify with one or more of the following communities: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and/or Native, LGBTQIA+, immunocompromised, with immigrant status, have or are living with a disability, residing outside King County, and/or low income.” Deadline: July 29.
• Literary Cleveland’s Breakthrough Writing Residency “provides free yearlong mentorship, support, and opportunities to help six emerging writers in Greater Cleveland develop a book-length project. Residents (two in each genre of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry) will work with a mentor to make progress on a manuscript, gain free access to Literary Cleveland programs, take part in professional development opportunities, and present their work at the annual Inkubator Conference. The program is primarily virtual with monthly in-person meetings throughout the year. Thanks to a generous funder, 2024-2025 residents will also receive a monthly stipend of $200 to support their work. Plus new this year we will be able to accept a seventh resident specifically from Mahoning County.” Deadline: July 29.
• Deadline extended to July 31: The Hopkins Review, “in partnership with the Chen Lab of JHU’s Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, [presents] the first ever fiction Made to Read & Investigate (fMRI) Writing Prize. In this unique flash fiction contest, winning stories will not only be published by The Hopkins Review, but also serve as the basis for a new scientific study of people’s brain activity while reading stories. This award aims to create new literature and new science, while generating awareness of and interest in both fields in the city of Baltimore. High school and adult writers in Baltimore City can enter for a chance to see how your words affect readers’ brains!” There will be a $500 prize for the winners (hs and adult); “additional finalists may be selected for publication, in which case they will receive a $100 prize.”
• The Oxford American seeks a Digital Editor. Location: “Houston area or Central Arkansas.” No application deadline indicated.
• The Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA) is hiring a Fellowship Director who “will lead JWA’s new fellowship for Jewish women writers of color. This yearlong fellowship is a new initiative intended to support and amplify underrepresented voices in the field and to position them as thought leaders in the Jewish community and beyond. Working in close partnership with JWA staff, the Fellowship Director will serve as the primary designer and coordinator for the program, and will provide editing support and mentorship for the fellows.” This is a part-time, contracted, remote position. Application deadline: July 21.
• “The Department of Literary Arts at Brown University invites applications for a tenure-track, Assistant Professor position, with an emphasis in poetry, beginning July 1st, 2025.” Deadline: “Review of applications will begin on September 20, 2024 and will remain open until filled.”