CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Hispanecdotes
INFO: Hispanecdotes - a magazine providing a platform for Latino writers to share their stories, poetry, and personal essays - is excited to announce the theme of our very first print issue: Ascendencia to be published in October 2020! We are interested in essays, poems, and flash fiction up to 1500 words pertaining to the theme.
Limit for submissions: no more than 2 full prose and/or 3 poems.
DEADLINE: May 1, 2020
http://hispanecdotes.com/ascendenciasubmissions/
LITERARY ARTS TOURING GRANT
South Arts
INFO: The Literary Arts Touring grant program offers presenting organizations the opportunity to receive financial support to engage Southern writers (fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry) who reside outside of the presenter’s state. Support is awarded to literary projects that contain both a public reading and an educational component such as a writing workshop. The project can include a single engagement by a writer or multiple writers involved in an event (for example, writers series or festivals). The maximum request is 50% of the writers’ fees, up to a total grant of $2,500. Each writer is required to fully-participate in the reading and educational/outreach component.
Projects must take place between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
DEADLINE: May 1, 2020 by 11:59 PM ET
THE RESTLESS BOOKS PRIZE FOR NEW IMMIGRANT WRITING
INFO: The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing For will be awarded for an outstanding debut literary work by a first-generation immigrant. We’re looking for extraordinary unpublished submissions from emerging writers of sharp, culture-straddling writing that addresses identity in a global age. A distinguished panel of judges will select a winning manuscript to be published by Restless Books.
Fiction manuscripts must be complete. All submissions must be in English (translations welcome).
Candidates must be first-generation residents of their country. “First-generation” can refer either to people born in another country who relocated, or to residents of a country whose parents were born elsewhere.
Fiction candidates must not have previously published a book of fiction in English. Nonfiction candidates must not have previously published a book of nonfiction in English. We encourage applicants to look at the other titles Restless has published and previous contest winners to get a sense of our aesthetic.
Submitted manuscripts may be simultaneously under consideration for publication by other publishing houses. Once a manuscript has been selected as the winner of the Prize, Restless will contact the author and ask that the manuscript be withdrawn from consideration elsewhere. A publishing contract between the winning author and Restless Books must be signed before the winner is announced.
* Please note that while Restless Books welcomes all submissions for the Prize, we do not accept unsolicited manuscripts for our publishing program.
PRIZE: The winner will receive a $10,000 advance and publication by Restless Books in print and digital editions. We expect to work closely with the winner and provide editorial guidance.
DEADLINE: Extended to May 1, 2020
https://restlessbooks.org/prize-for-new-immigrant-writing
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: SHORT STORIES
midnight & indigo
INFO: midnight & indigo, a new literary platform dedicated to short stories and narrative essays by Black women writers, is currently accepting submissions. We are looking for previously unpublished, CHARACTER-DRIVEN fictional short stories written by Black women writers. All genres are welcome. Subject matter and plots can run the gamut, but we want emotion, grit, soul, and writing that forges an immediate connection with the reader.
Stories must meet our minimum 1,500 word count requirement. Please include the word count at the top of your submission.
We offer $75 for Short Stories accepted for publication in our literary journal (eBook, print, and/or audiobook) and $50 for Short Stories accepted for online publication on midnightandindigo.com.
All submissions will be considered for publication in our upcoming anthology (December 2020/January 2021) at a rate of $125 per story.
DEADLINE: May 3, 2020 at 11:59pm ET
https://midnightindigo.submittable.com/submit
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: NARRATIVE & PERSONAL ESSAYS
midnight & indigo
INFO: midnight & indigo, a new literary platform dedicated to short stories and narrative essays by Black women writers, is currently accepting submissions. We are looking for previously unpublished, first-person POV fictional short stories written by Black women writers.
Essays can be funny, entertaining, serious or sincere. Content must uplift, inspire and leave readers with something to think about. We want emotion, grit, soul, and writing that forges an immediate connection with the reader around your experience. Submissions cannot include list formats or "5 Ways to..." inspirational instructionals.
Essays must meet our minimum 1,200 word count requirement. Please include the word count at the top of your submission.
We offer $50 for Essays accepted for publication in our literary journal (eBook, print, and/or audiobook) or midnightandindigo.com.
DEADLINE: May 3, 2020 at 11:59pm ET
https://midnightindigo.submittable.com/submit
CREATIVE NONFICTION GRANT
Whiting Foundation
INFO: The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $40,000 will be awarded to as many as eight writers in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general readership. It is intended for multiyear book projects requiring large amounts of deep and focused research, thinking, and writing at a crucial point mid-process, after significant work has been accomplished but when an extra infusion of support can make a difference in the ultimate shape and quality of the work.
Whiting welcomes applications for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, the sciences, philosophy, criticism, food or travel writing, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories. Again, the work should be intended for a general, not academic, adult reader. Self-help titles and textbooks are not eligible. Examples of the wide range of previous grantees can be found here.
Projects must be under contract with a US publisher to be eligible. Contracts with self-publishing companies are not eligible. Applicants must be US citizens or residents. (In previous cycles, projects had to be under contract for two years at time of application; recognizing that many projects do not secure publishing contracts until they are nearly complete, we have removed that restriction.)
Writers must submit the following materials through the online application form.
The original proposal that led to the contract with a publisher
Three sample chapters, totaling no more than 50 pages (or 25,000 words total if your chapters are short)
A statement of progress and the requirements for completion of the book (including a projected budget)
A signed and dated contract (please note that to be eligible, books must be under contract with a US publisher – unfortunately, we can make no exceptions to this requirement)
A current resume
A list of grants, fellowships, or other funding received for the book
A letter of support from the book’s publisher or editor (due no later than May 18, 2020)
One additional letter of support (not to come from your agent, and due no later than May 18, 2020)
DEADLINE: May 4, 2020
https://www.whiting.org/writers/creative-nonfiction-grant/about
JEROME HILL ARTIST FELLOWSHIP
INFO: Jerome Hill Artist Fellowships support Minnesota or New York City-based artists, early in their careers, who generate and create bold, innovative and risk-taking new work that explores and/or challenges conventional artistic forms.
Fellows receive $50,000* over two consecutive years ($25,000 each year) to support self-determined activities for creation of new work, artistic development and/or professional artistic career development. Fellowship funds support grantees for taking creative risks, exploring new ideas, and pursuing professional and artistic activities.
Fellowships are offered in six fields: Dance, Media (including Film/Video and New Media), Literature, Music, Theater/Performance Art/Spoken Word, and Visual Arts. The Foundation expects to award a total of 60 Fellowships (ten per field).
Jerome Foundation recognizes that many artists today are working across disciplines. Though each applicant must apply in one of the six specified disciplines, there will be the opportunity to identify any additional disciplines in which the artist is working. Artists are invited in the application to share in their own words how they categorize their work.
Artists may apply either as an individual or as part of an ensemble/collective/collaborative—but not both. Artists may submit or be part of only one application: any individual named in more than one application will be ruled ineligible, and all applications in which that individual is named will be removed from consideration.
Fellows will be announced in 2021. Fellows must pursue their self-determined Fellowship activities between mid 2021–mid 2023. After this current cycle, the program will open again for application in 2022 with awards announced in 2023. This program is offered in alternating years.
DEADLINE: May 6, 2020
https://www.jeromefdn.org/jerome-hill-artist-fellowships
CALL FOR WORK
Raising Mothers
INFO: Raising Mothers is currently accepting flash submissions of 250 words max on what motherhood means to you: how it has transformed you, what it is teaching you, the hard, the beautiful, the spiritual.
We are interested in submissions from BIPOC women and nonbinary writers of color who explore this theme.
DEADLINE: May 13, 2020
www.raisingmothers.com/submissions/
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Writers Space Africa
INFO: Writers Space Africa (WSA), an international literary magazine, published by the African Writers Development Trust (AWDT), is calling for submissions for its 43rd edition (JULY Edition) under the theme “FEAR”.
We accept submissions in the following categories:
Articles/Essays – 1,200 Words maximum
Flash Fiction – 300 words maximum
Poetry – 1 poem, a maximum of 24 lines
Children’s Literature – 700 words maximum (illustrations may be attached)
Short Stories – 1,500 words maximum
DEADLINE: May 14, 2020
http://www.writersspace.net/submissions/
2020 Riedel Fellowship for Vietnamese Visual Artists and Writers
Ragdale Foundation
INFO: The Ragdale Foundation and Loan and Norbert Riedel are pleased to announce a new fellowship opportunity for emerging Vietnamese visual artists and writers. This fellowship opportunity will support one visual artist or writer with an 18-day or 25-day residency at Ragdale along with a cash stipend of $500, the creation of a brief video documentary/interview, and the presentation of a public program. Presentation of a public program may include an artist talk, workshop, or other program and will take place within 18 months of the residency.
ELIGIBILITY: One Riedel Fellowship is awarded annually. This opportunity is designed to support an emerging visual artist or writer who lives in Vietnam and/or identifies as Vietnamese. The fellow will be chosen on the merits of their work and their potential contribution to the Ragdale community. All artists of the Vietnamese diaspora and Vietnamese nationals are eligible to apply, first-time visitors to the US are strongly encouraged to apply. Candidates whose work has the potential to find wider audiences in the US are encouraged. English must be at least conversational. Ragdale encourages applications from artists representing the widest possible range of perspectives and demographics, and to that end, emerging as well as established artists are invited to apply. While there are no publication, exhibition or performance requirements for applying, applicants should be working at the professional level in their fields. Ragdale encourages artists of all backgrounds to apply and does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of age, disability, gender, origin, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
DEADLINE: May 15, 2020
http://ragdale.org/residency/fellowship/
ALICE JUDSON HAYES FELLOWSHIP
Ragdale Foundation
INFO: The Alice Judson Hayes Writing Fellowship is an annual award in memory of Alice Hayes, who created the Ragdale Foundation in what had been her family home. All her life she was committed to working for a just and peaceful world. An 18- or 25-day residency, free of charge, and a $500 stipend will be given to a writer who is working on a project designed to bring awareness to a contemporary issue having to do with peace, social justice, education, or the environment. Projects can be nonfiction or fiction (including journalism, essays, memoir, script-writing, creative nonfiction). No academic writing.
DEADLINE: May 15, 2020
http://ragdale.org/residency/fellowship/
Spring 2020 Literature Grant
Café Royal Cultural Foundation
INFO: Café Royal Cultural Foundation NYC will award a publishing grant to authors of fiction / creative non-fiction, poetry and playwriting.
Grants awarded in this category may fund costs associated with continuing the composition of work submitted.
Writers applying must be a current resident of New York City and have lived there for a minimum of one year prior to applying.
The processing time of application can take up to three months. Please make sure to submit your application with ample time before the start date of your project.
GRANT Up to $10,000
DEADLINE: May 18, 2020
https://caferoyalculturalfoundation.org/
ARTS WRITERS GRANT PROGRAM
Andy Warhol Foundation / Creative Capital
INFO: The Arts Writers Grant Program was founded in 2006 to recognize the precarious situation of arts writers, and their indispensable contribution to a vital artistic culture. As the COVID-19 outbreak further threatens the cultural and arts writing landscape, the Arts Writers Grant Program is grateful for the Andy Warhol Foundation's continued support to once again offer an open application.
The Arts Writers Grant supports emerging and established writers who are writing about contemporary visual art. Ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, these grants support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. We also support art writing that engages criticism through interdisciplinary methods or experiments with literary styles. As long as a writer meets the eligibility and publishing requirements, they can apply.
By “contemporary visual art,” we mean visual art made since World War II. Projects on post-WWII work in adjacent fields—architecture, dance, film, media, music, performance, sound, etc.—will only be considered if they directly and significantly engage the discourses and concerns of contemporary visual art.
Writers are invited to apply in one of the following categories—article, book, or short-form writing.
DEADLINE: May 20, 2020 at 11:59pm ET.
https://www.artswriters.org/?mc_cid=40c9c5c40e&mc_eid=45394a798e
THE EMERGING WRITER’S CONTEST
Ploughshares
INFO: The Emerging Writer's Contest is open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish or self-publish a book. Read past winners of the contest here.
We award publication, $2,000, review from Aevitas Creative Management, and a 1-year subscription for one winner in each of the three genres. Submit to the Emerging Writer's Contest through our submission manager. You must be logged in to access our submission manager.
The 2020 contest judges are Kirstin Valdez Quade (Fiction), Ilya Kaminsky (Poetry) and Esmé Weijun Wang (Nonfiction).
PUBLICATION: The winning story, essay, and poems from the 2020 contest will be published in the Winter 2020-21 issue of Ploughshares.
ELIGIBILITY:
Have yet to publish a book (including eBooks, translations, books in other languages/countries, self-published works, and poetry chapbooks with a print run of more than 300).
Have no book forthcoming before April 15, 2021.
Are not affiliated with Emerson College or with Ploughshares as a contributing author, volunteer screener, intern, student, staff member, or faculty member.
Will not have a relationship with Emerson before April 15, 2021 (example: if there is a chance you will attend the Emerson MFA program in the coming year or if your work has been accepted for publication for an upcoming issue).
DEADLINE: May 22, 2020 at noon EST
https://www.pshares.org/submit/emerging-writers-contest/guidelines
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Filipinx-American NARRATIVES
Here-After Magazine
INFO: Here-After Magazine is accepting writing and visual art that centers Filipinx-American narratives. You may submit up to 4 pieces of writing, but be sure to observe the limits for each genre (see below). *For example: you may choose to submit two pieces of poetry and two pieces of prose, but may not submit three pieces of prose and one piece of poetry. Please submit pieces of writing submissions of the same genre in one document. If you are sending both poetry and prose, submit two documents.
*You must send your pieces as a .pdf or .docx file.
PROSE: Please submit fiction/non-fiction up to 1,200 words, single-spaced 12-pt. font in Times New Roman or Arial; this includes short stories, personal essays, think pieces and more. You may only submit two pieces of prose to be considered.
POETRY: Please submit poetry up to 30 lines, single-spaced 12-pt. font in Times New Roman or Arial. All forms are welcome. You may submit up to 4 pieces of poetry to be considered.
DEADLINE: May 24, 2020
Tin House Fall Residency
INFO: The Tin House Fall Residency (May 4 – 27, 2020) is intended to support two authors working on full-length projects (in any genre) focused on climate, environment, and the natural world. This residency aims to give these authors the time, space, and financial flexibility to further their projects while exploring the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Application Requirements (to be submitted as one document):
-Bio
-Personal Essay (1500 words or less outlining your journey as a writer and description of the project you will be working on)
-Writing Sample:
Fiction and Nonfiction: One writing sample of no more than 7,500 words. A short story/essay or a portion of a novel or memoir may be submitted. If you are submitting a novel/memoir, please include a synopsis.
Poetry: Up to eight poems, totaling no more than 20 pages.
Translation: Please follow the requirements for the genre in the original language and submit both your translation and the original text.
Graphic Narrative: Project synopsis and up to 20 pages of the project (please upload everything except the project excerpt here. Email the project excerpt to india@tinhouse.com).
No reference letters, please.
Location: Portland, Oregon
Includes:
Private 0ne-bedroom apartment
$1000 living stipend
Public reading
Option to teach Tin House Craft Intensive (paid)
APPLICATION FEE: $30.00
DEADLINE: May 28, 2020
https://tinhouse.com/workshop/residencies/
Writer-in-Residence Program
Associates of the Boston Public Library
INFO: The Associates of the Boston Public Library's Writer-in-Residence program is intended to:
Provide an emerging children’s writer with the financial support and office space needed to complete one literary work for children or young adults.
Encourage the imagination of young readers, and in so doing, draw attention to the importance of authors and the essential role they perform in nurturing developing minds and furthering our culture.
Promote the awareness of the Boston Public Library and its resources, by establishing a living link between the Library and the community.
Residency Benefits
A total stipend of $20,000, paid in monthly installments over a nine-month period.
Use of a private office, Internet access, and a photocopier.
Access to and use of the Boston Public Library’s collections.
A forum for the presentation/promotion of your finished literary work.
Opportunities to establish connections with writers, publishers, artists, and the community at large through participation in/attendance at Library readings, lectures, and other events.
At the end of the residency, your completed manuscript will be added to the BPL’s collections. (However, you retain all rights to your completed work.)
Eligibility
The proposed literary project should be intended for children or young adult readers. All genres are welcome, including fiction, non-fiction, scripts, or poetry. (The format is flexible and can include illustrated children’s books or graphic novels, but the majority of our submissions are generally Young Adult novels.)
The applicant should demonstrate active engagement as a writer, whether full or part-time, as an avocation or profession.
Since this program is intended for emerging authors, the applicant should not have any prior professional book publications. (Self-published books, works for hire, articles, and short stories published in an anthology do not count against this eligibility criteria.)
Only one proposal may be submitted per person; joint applications or proposed collaborations by more than one author are not permitted.
Works that are already under contract with a publisher are not eligible for submission.
There is NO residency restriction to apply, but you must be able to spend at least nineteen (19) hours per week at the Boston Public Library’s Central Library in Copley Square, if selected.
Must be eligible to work in the US, as a U.S. citizen or green card holder. English fluency required.
There are NO age, gender, race, or educational requirements.
Terms of Residency
Must work in-residence at the Boston Public Library’s Central Library in Copley Square, for a minimum of nineteen (19) hours per week from October 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.
Participation in a public reception toward the beginning of the residency, on a mutually agreed upon date.
Completion and public presentation of a submission-ready manuscript at the end of residency, on a mutually agreed upon date.
Include an acknowledgment of the Associates of the Boston Public Library in all work created during the residency and during any media opportunities stemming from the program, using mutually agreed upon language.
Optional participation in Boston Public Library programs such as writing workshops and/or presentations to Boston-area students, as mutually agreed upon. (Participation would be only a small portion of your time.)
Application Process
To apply, please complete the application form (below) and upload a proposal (5 pages max.) and writing sample (15 pages max.) by Friday, May 29, 2020. The documents should be double spaced with one inch margins. The attachments should not include any biographical information, since there is a blind judging process.
Basic questions about the application will be answered via email (via hello@AssociatesBPL.org); no calls please. Questions regarding how to present your work will not be considered. Inquiries concerning applications under review will not be answered.
Since the physical Boston Public Library is currently closed due to the pandemic, we cannot accept hard copy submissions this year. If using Submittable creates an undue burden for you, please let us know so we can work out an alternative.
Late applications will not be considered. Once submitted, applications may not be altered by either candidates or Associates' staff.
Selection Process
Finalists are evaluated by a panel of judges, which includes a rotating group of authors, librarians, booksellers, publishers, editors, book designers, teachers, and/or citizens representing different areas of the world of children’s literature. Associates' staff do not vote in this process. The judges do not know the candidates’ names, gender, educational qualifications, or any background information. This blind judging process is focused solely on the quality of the applicant’s writing. The candidate selected to be the 2020-2021 Associates of the Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence will be notified by July 30, 2020.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Application Deadline: Friday, May 29, 2020
Notification: July 30, 2020
Residency Period: October 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021
EMERGING WRITER FELLOWSHIPS
Miami Book Fair
INFO: The Miami Book Fair at Miami Dade College is pleased to present the Emerging Writer Fellowship program. The program supports new literary voices that demonstrate exceptional talent and promise by providing writers working on a first book with time, space, and an intellectually and culturally rich artistic community.
The goal of the program is to actively support writers working to complete a book-length project within a year, and to help launch the literary careers of three fellows per year. The Emerging Writer Fellowships are designed to provide 12 months of uninterrupted time and studio space to write; mentorship with feedback from a nationally established author in their respective genre; professional experience such as arts administration, teaching creative writing, and other opportunities; $41,000 stipend, and strong literary community support in Miami, Florida.
Each Fellowship Includes:
$41,000 honorarium, to be divided as follows:
$5,000 initial lump sum to be paid to fellow one month before fellowship dates begin.
$36,000 = 12-monthly stipend of $3,000 to cover all living expenses (i.e. utilities, incidentals, transportation, groceries, etc.)
Mentorship with an established writer in your genre. Mentors arepart of the selection committee, and meet with fellow a minimum of 6 times (approximately every two months) during the 12-month fellowship. Fellows are expected to share progress and receive feedback on their manuscript-in-progress throughout the year.
Professional experience. Fellows have the option to gain valuable experience in the field and build their professional resume during the 12-month fellowship:
Creative Writing Workshops: Miami Book Fair offers community creative writing workshops in all genres throughout the year. Fellows have the opportunity to create and teach one workshop during the 12-month fellowship.
School Visits: Give presentations at local elementary, middle, or high schools to inspire and empower students.
Fellows may visit Miami Dade County Public School Title 1 schools and/or Miami Dade College classes to give presentations and/or readings.
Additional benefits:
Fellows may attend one community creative writing workshop per semester for free.
Fellows may attend one Miami Writers Institute workshop in the genre of their manuscript-in-progress. This includes one 15-minute manuscript consultation with that year’s MWI literary agent/editor.
Fellows are invited to attend any and all year-round Miami Book Fair events.
Studio space to work during your residency.
DEADLINE: Extended to May 31, 2020
https://www.miamibookfair.com/fellowships/
2020 Berkshire Prize
Tupelo Press
INFO: The Berkshire Prize is open to anyone writing in the English language, whether living in the United States or abroad. Translations are not eligible for this prize, nor are previously self-published books. Poets submitting work for consideration may be authors having published only one previous collection or writers without prior book publications. Previous winners include Jenny Molberg, Ye Chun, and Amy Munson.
FINAL JUDGE: Bin Ramke
PRIZE: $3,000
DEADLINE: Extended to May 31, 2020
2020 BEACON STREET PRIZE - FICTION
Redivider Journal
INFO: Enter here for the 2020 Beacon Street Prize, fiction category. One winner will receive $1,000 and publication in Redivider 18.1 -- This year's fiction category features judge Stephen Graham Jones.
GUIDELINES
Length Restrictions: One story, up to 8,000 words
Multiple submissions: Entrants may submit as many times as they please, to as many categories as they please, but the entry fee must be paid separately for each entry.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are welcome. If accepted for publication elsewhere, simply withdraw the piece promptly (for fiction/nonfiction using the withdraw feature on Submittable, for poetry using the notes feature on Submittable to tell us which poem(s) is unavailable).
Manuscript Specifications: Submissions must not contain the author’s name or any other identifying information. All entries must go through our online submission manager.
Eligibility: All are eligible except current and former Emerson College students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, our judges’ students, or those with a personal connection to any one judge, are asked not to submit to that judge’s category.
PRIZE:
$1,000 prize for fiction
$1,000 for nonfiction
$1,000 for poetry
SUBMISSION FEE: $10
DEADLINE: Extended to May 31, 2020
https://redivider.submittable.com/submit/161097/2020-beacon-street-prize-fiction
2020 BEACON STREET PRIZE - NONFICTION
Redivider Journal
INFO: Enter here for the 2020 Beacon Street Prize, nonfiction category. One winner will receive $1,000 and publication in Redivider 18.1 -- This year's nonfiction category features judge Elisa Gabbert.
GUIDELINES:
Length Restrictions: One essay, up to 8,000 words
Multiple submissions: Entrants may submit as many times as they please, to as many categories as they please, but the entry fee must be paid separately for each entry.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are welcome. If accepted for publication elsewhere, simply withdraw the piece promptly (for fiction/nonfiction using the withdraw feature on Submittable, for poetry using the notes feature on Submittable to tell us which poem(s) is unavailable).
Manuscript Specifications: Submissions must not contain the author’s name or any other identifying information. All entries must go through our online submission manager.
Eligibility: All are eligible except current and former Emerson College students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, our judges’ students, or those with a personal connection to any one judge, are asked not to submit to that judge’s category.
PRIZE:
$1,000 prize for fiction
$1,000 for nonfiction
$1,000 for poetry
SUBMISSION FEE: $10
DEADLINE: Extended to May 31, 2020
https://redivider.submittable.com/submit/161102/2020-beacon-street-prize-nonfiction
Aura Estrada Short Story Contest
Boston Review
INFO: The theme of this year’s contest is Ancestors.
Who are your people? Who made you who you are? What about you only makes sense to someone who knows where you’re from? What’s a secret about your past?
It is rare now for people to stay where they were raised, and usually when we encounter one another—whether in person or online—it is in contexts that obscure if not outright hide details about our past. But even in moments of pure self-invention, we are always shaped by it. Ancestors asks today’s most imaginative writers to consider what it means to be made and fashioned by others: parents, grandparents, family, the deep past, the animal and natural world, epigenetic memory, predispositions for health or illness, political forebears, inherited social and economic circumstances, settled (and unsettled) ideas about gender and sex, class and racial history, the elders of whatever you feel beholden to or unable to outrun—not to mention your own best and worst decisions. Can we choose our family, or is blood always thicker? And looking forward, what will it mean to be ancestors ourselves, and how will our descendants remember us?
JUDGE: Ivelisse Rodriguez
Ivelisse Rodriguez’s debut short story collection Love War Stories is a 2019 PEN/Faulkner finalist and a 2018 Foreword Reviews INDIES finalist. She has published fiction in the Boston Review, Obsidian, Kweli, the Bilingual Review, Aster(ix), and other publications. She is the founder and editor of an interview series focused on contemporary Puerto Rican writers published in Centro Voices. She was a senior fiction editor at Kweli and is a Kimbilio fellow and a VONA/Voices alum. She earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College and a Ph.D. in English-creative writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. To learn more about Ivelisse, visit: www.ivelisserodriguez.com.
PRIZE: $1,000
ENTRY FEE: $20
DEADLINE: May 31, 2020
Call for Submissions
You Don’t Look Like a Professor!
INFO: The narrowly defined stereotype of the college professor as a white, cisgendered male has real-life implications for teaching and learning in higher education. Systemic obstacles facing marginalized scholars in all areas of academia are well documented but the scholarship of teaching and learning has been slow to respond in productive, practical ways to the classroom challenges of teaching and learning when you “don’t look like a professor.” This new anthology will be the first book to build on and move beyond the abundant empirical research, anecdotal evidence, and lived experiences of discrimination in academia to offer specific, actionable strategies for effective teaching and learning—strategies which fully take into account embodied identity and unequal teaching contexts.
Submission Guidelines: I am seeking short (5,000 words or less including notes) snappy chapters that draw on evidence-based scholarship about effective teaching, the science of learning, and wisdom of practice to describe specific, actionable pedagogical practices and teaching techniques. Your chapter title should clearly indicate what strategy, teaching tool, or recommendation you are making. For example: “Formative Student Feedback as a Strategy for Navigating Student Preconceptions” or “Cultivating Pedagogical Gratitude Practices While Fighting for Academic Equity.” Clear, engaging, and jargon-free writing is a must! Please submit your proposed chapters as a Word document email attachment.
DEADLINE: June 1, 2020
PEN/Heim Translation Fund
PEN America
INFO: The PEN/Heim Translation Fund was established in the summer of 2003 by an endowed gift of $730,000 from Michael Henry Heim and Pricilla Heim, in response to the dismayingly low number of literary translations currently appearing in English. Its purpose is to promote the publication and reception of translated international literature in English. As of 2015, each grant recipient receives a copy of The Man Between: Michael Henry Heim and a Life in Translation, generously provided by Open Letter Books.
Thanks to the generosity of Michael Henry Heim and Pricilla Heim’s endowment, PEN America has awarded grants to almost 200 winning projects. From 2009, the Fund’s annual contribution for grant awards has been augmented by support from Amazon. The Fund has been uniquely successful in finding publishers for major international works, encouraging younger translators to enter the field, and introducing English-speaking readers to new and exciting voices. All other criteria being equal, preference is given to translators at the beginning of their career, and to works by underrepresented writers working in underrepresented languages.
Over the 16 years of its existence, the Fund has given grants of $2,000–$4,000 to nearly 200 translations from over 35 languages, including Armenian, Basque, Estonian, Farsi, Finland-Swedish, Lithuanian and Mongolian, as well as French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic. Among the 108 projects awarded grants in the Fund’s first 13 years of operation (2004–2016), 91 (nearly 70 percent) have thus far been published or are forthcoming from a publisher. Many of those books found their publishers as a result of being awarded a grant by the Fund. In addition to being excerpted and favorably reviewed in a host of magazines including The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Granta, The Paris Review, Words Without Borders, The Literary Review, Mandorla, and many others, about 20 percent of the published PEN/Heim Translation Fund projects have won or been shortlisted for major literary awards.
ELIGIBILITY:
The PEN/Heim Translation Fund provides grants to support the translation of book-length works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or drama that have not previously appeared in English in print or have appeared only in an outdated or otherwise flawed translation.
Works should be translations-in-progress, as the grant aims to provide support for completion.
There are no restrictions on the nationality or citizenship of the translator, but the works must be translated into English.
The Fund seeks to encourage translators to undertake projects they might not otherwise have had the means to attempt.
Works with multiple translators, literary criticism, and scholarly or technical texts do not qualify.
Translators who have previously been awarded grants by the Fund are ineligible to reapply for three years after the year in which they receive a grant.
Please note that projects that have been previously submitted and have not received a grant are unlikely to be reconsidered in a subsequent year.
Projects may have up to two translators.
Translators may only submit one project per year.
DEADLINE: June 1, 2020
https://pen.org/pen-heim-grants/?mc_cid=2843f611d3&mc_eid=d562c31e56
CALL FOR PAPERS: WORDS BEATS & LIFE: THE GLOBAL JOURNAL OF HIP-HOP CULTURE, SPECIAL ISSUE ON SOUTH AFRICA
INFO: South Africa was one of the first countries in Africa to embrace hip hop culture. Since the 1980s, hip hop culture has grown and spread throughout South Africa, where multiple hip hop communities have emerged across the country to shape distinctly South African hip hop cultures. All of the hip hop elements have strong representation in SouthAfrica, which still has one of the largest hip hop scenes on the continent. South Africa offers a lot of diverse themes and topics for in depth discussion when it comes to hip hop. This issue will explore many of those topics, and seeks submissions that address topics like:
The history of SA hip hop
The role of gender & sexuality in South African hip hop music, breakdance, graffiti, and/or DJ culture
The role of race & ethnicity in South African hip hop culture
The role of NGOs and external donors
The role of mass media (radio stations, TV, publications, etc…)
The role of language in South African hip hop
Business and hip hop
The making of hip hop “moguls”
The relationship between hip hop and the entertainment industry
The relationship between hip hop & kwaito
The growth of hip hop as an industry
The influence of South African hip hop globally
The future of SA hip hop
The growth of hip hop community organizations & movements
The politics of street art and graffiti
This issue of the journal, like many of the journal’s other issues, accepts submissions from scholars, artists, activists, and cultural critics.
* Scholarly research papers should be a minimum of 3,000 words and a maximum of 8,000 words (includes endnotes and reference list). All submissions designated as scholarly require an abstract that should not exceed 150 words in length. All scholarly submissions should be accompanied by five key words.
* Critical essays, or essays that explore the various perspectives on debate, should be 1,500 – 3,000 words.
* Scholarly reviews of books, albums, or films related to the topic, should be 1,000 to 2,000 words.
* Poetry should include no more than 3 poems. You must create a separate submission for each poem.
* Original artwork submissions should be limited to 3 pieces. Artwork should be submitted as low-resolution .jpg or PDF files. Artwork must include the following information: title of piece, year created, media, dimensions (in inches), location of the piece.
* Interviews should be 1,500 to 3,000 words.
DEADLINE: June 1, 2020
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: AFROFUTURISM ISSUE
Speculative City
INFO: Every issue of Speculative City is defined by a distinct theme. We are excited to announce our Issue 9 theme will be Afrofuturism. Writer Stefani Cox and writer/visual artist Jacqueline Barnes will act as guest editors for this issue.
Definition of AFROFUTURISM:
literary works that use the frame of science fiction and fantasy to explore what Black futures could look like and to reimagine past and present experiences of the African diaspora
We are looking for afrofuturist fiction, poetry, and essays written by authors who are specifically of Black and/or African descent. And, as per usual, we seek provocative works that are centered within a cityscape. Writers published will be paid $20-$55 according to the category and length of their submission. We do not accept submissions exceeding 5500 words.
All submissions should be the original, unpublished work of the submitter.
We will accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us if the submission has been accepted by another publication.
We do not accept multiple submissions for fiction or essays.
Please submit word (.doc, .docx) or rich text format (.rtf) files and format your submission according to our format guide.
Please send all inquiries to info @ speculativecity .com .
We try to respond to all submissions, but as a team of two, we may not always be able to.
Before submitting work, please also be familiar with our contract.
DEADLINE: June 1, 2020