FICTION / NONFICTION — NOVEMBER 2023

LITERATURE GRANT

Café Royal Cultural Foundation

DEADLINE: November 6, 2023 at 9:00 am ET (or when they reach their limit of 40 applications, which ever comes first).

INFO: Café Royal Cultural Foundation NYC will award a writing grant to authors of fiction / creative nonfiction, poetry and playwriting.

AWARD: Up to $10,000.00

ELIGIBILITY:

Authors in fiction / creative non-fiction, poetry and playwriting.
The applicant must be the originator of the written material.
Grants will not be made for the purpose of research only.
Grants will not be made for equipment.
Writers applying must be a current resident of New York City and have lived there for a minimum of one year prior to applying and plan to be a resident through the completion of their project.

Grants awarded in this category may fund costs associated with continuing the composition of work submitted. Such as:

Course Reduction (if you're a Teacher/Professor)
Salary Replacement
Living Expenses
Research Expenses
Travel Research Expenses

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Up to and no more than a 15 page PDF of the work, for the Café Royal Cultural Foundation Selection and Executive Committee to download and read. Please make sure your links are correct and not password protected. If they are not correct or have password protection your application will be declined and not reviewed by the Selection Committee.
A short description of the project.
A short author biography of the person(s) involved.
Budget must not exceed the amount of $10,000.00.
List of costs of how you plan to use the grant funds.
(Please review our lists of Approved and Ineligible Budget Items for Literature Grant Funds, located below)
Travel and Research costs within the United States must demonstrate a direct correlation to the project for which you are applying.
You may not apply for International Travel and Research Costs.
If you are hiring fact checkers / editors / research assistants please be aware that we prefer that individuals providing these services are located in the NYC area.
Writers applying must be a current resident of New York City and have lived there for a minimum of one year prior to applying and plan to be a resident through the completion of their project.
We ask that the completion of your manuscript is no sooner than 90 days after this application's due date and no later than 12 months after your grant’s award date.
Applicants can only apply with the same project twice.
You may apply in a different cycle with a different project.

caferoyalculturalfoundation.org/literature-page

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THE STUDIOS AT MASS MoCA RESIDENCY PROGRAM

MASS MoCA

DEADLINE: November 8, 2023

INFO: The Studios is MASS MoCA’s artist and writers residency program situated within the museum’s factory campus and surrounded by the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. Operated by MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists department, the residency runs year-round and hosts up to 10 artists at a time. Artists of any nationality can apply for stays of 2 or 4 weeks.

At the Studios at MASS MoCA, selected artists receive:

Private, furnished studio space at MASS MoCA, available 24/7.
Housing (private bedroom/queen bed, shared kitchen, and bath) in attractive apartments directly across the street from the museum.
One communal meal per day in the company of fellow artists-in-residence.
An optional studio visit with a MASS MoCA curator or a guest curator.
1 year access to our Assets for Artists Online Workshops on artist career development.
3 months of MASS MoCA member benefits, including free access to the museum’s galleries, and discounts on performing arts events and museum store purchases, plus additional access to The Clark Art Institute while in residence.
The opportunity to connect with a cohort of international creative peers.
Chances to share your work either through Open Studios, artist presentations to your fellow residents, and/or studio visits (all events are optional).

COST / PARTIAL FINANCIAL AID: The already subsidized, full artist residency fee is $650/week (compared to $900+ per week of actual costs), but every artist can be considered for financial aid, so don’t let that number deter you! Simply fill out the quick financial questions at the bottom of your application, and your financial aid package will be sent to you along with your award letter. Please check out the Applying page to learn more about the different applications available.

FELLOWSHIP FOR BLACK OR INDIGENOUS ARTISTS AND WRITERS: Recognizing the additional barriers faced by Black and Indigenous creators of all disciplines, the Studios award a number of additional fellowships to artists and writers working in any discipline who identify as Black or Indigenous. These fellowships fund all residency fees for up to four weeks in residence, and also include a stipend of $200 per week. To apply, simply select the appropriate box on the fellowships question of our general Studios residency application. There is no separate application for this opportunity. Be sure to also indicate whether you would like to be considered for a regular, partially subsidized residency at the Studios at MASS MoCA if you are not awarded one of these special fellowship residencies. All applicants must first be accepted through the regular jurying process to receive this fellowship.

assetsforartists.org/studios-at-mass-moca

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE COMMUTER

Electric Lit

SUBMISSION PERIOD: November 13 - 19, 2023 (or until the submission cap of 375 in prose and poetry is met)

INFO: The Commuter is our home for poetry, flash, graphic, and experimental narratives. It publishes weekly on Monday morning, and has showcased the likes of Caroline Hadilaksono, Aleksandar Hemon, Jonathan Lethem, Lindsay Hunter, Tahirah Alexander Green, and Julia Wertz.

GUIDELINES:

For Prose, submit one or more pieces, either standalone or connected, in a single document. The total word count should not exceed 1500 words. We encourage writers to push boundaries.
For Poetry, submit 4–6 poems in a single document, and please limit the page count to 8. Keep in mind that due to our digital platform, not all poems may render exactly as they appear in a PDF.
For Graphic Narrative, we are interested in both traditional and non-traditional forms of visual storytelling. Submit up to 3 pieces of narrative illustration, comics, mixed media narrative, or genre-negative oddments. For comics, each piece should contain a minimum of 3 panels. The total page count of your submission should not exceed 20 pages.
Please submit all genres in .doc, .docx, or PDF.
Please submit only once per category.
Work previously published in any form cannot be considered.
Please include your email address.
If your work is selected, we offer a total payment of $100.

Writers with a submission pending with Recommended Reading may still submit to The Commuter.

electricliterature.submittable.com/submit

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2024-2025 Writing Fellowship

The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown

DEADLINE: November 15, 2023

INFO: Since its creation 50 years ago, the Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship has become one of the leading residency programs in the world.

Each year, the Work Center offers 20 seven-month residencies to a juried group of emerging visual artists, fiction writers, and poets. Each Fellow receives an apartment, a studio (for visual artists), and a monthly stipend of $1,250 plus an exit stipend of $1,000. Residencies run from October 1 through April 30. During this time, Fellows have the opportunity to pursue their work independently in a diverse and supportive community of peers.

The Fine Arts Work Center has hosted more than 1,000 Fellows since 1968, nurturing an accomplished and far-reaching alumni network. The impact of the experience is best illustrated by the extensive list of awards Fellows have gone on to win, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, MacArthur Fellowship, Prix de Rome, Pulitzer Prize, and the Nobel Prize in Literature.

THE RESIDENCY: During the course of the Fellowship, each Writing Fellow is invited to give a public reading and each Visual Art Fellow is given a solo exhibition opportunity. Readings and openings are attended by current and past Fellows, local residents, visitors to Provincetown, leadership of the town’s numerous cultural institutions, and the many illustrious artists and writers who make their homes in Provincetown. Events take place in the beautifully renovated public spaces of the Work Center: the Stanley Kunitz Common Room and Hudson D. Walker Gallery.

VISITING ARTISTS + WRITERS: While in residence, Fellows also help select a series of visiting artists and writers. These visiting artists and writers meet with the Fellows for studio visits and manuscript reviews and give public readings and artist talks that draw thousands from Provincetown and beyond. Visiting guests have included presidential inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel; winner of the National Book Award for Poetry Mark Doty; Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress Robert Pinsky; artist and MacArthur Fellowship recipient Judy Pfaff; and Katherine Porter, whose work is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The Work Center’s founders believed that seven months was the minimum amount of time needed for artists and writers in the crucial early stages of their careers to learn to structure their lives around their creative practice. Each generation of Fellows ideally moves on from the Work Center with a firm belief in their ability to pursue a life as a practicing artist or writer.

fawc.org/the-fellowship/

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One Teen Story Contest

One Story

DEADLINE: November 27, 2023

ENTRY FEE: $0

INFO: One Teen Story publishes 3 stories a year and accepts submissions from teen writers ages 13-19. For a list of writers we have published in the past and short samples of their stories, please visit our past issues page.

For our One Teen Story contest, we ask writers ages 13-19 to enter their original, unpublished fiction. We are interested in great short stories of any genre about the teen experience—literary, fantasy, sci-fi, love stories, horror, etc. What’s in a great short story? Interesting teen characters, strong writing, and a beginning, middle, and end.

PRIZE: The winning stories will be published in forthcoming issues of One Teen Story, which will reach over ten thousand readers. The contest winners will receive $500 upon publication and 25 copies of the magazine featuring their work. The contest winners will also have the opportunity to work with a One Teen Story editor prior to publication. Honorable mentions will be chosen in three age categories: 13-15, 16-17, and 18-19, and each will be announced on our website, by email announcement, and on social media.

GUIDELINES:

To enter, you must be between the ages of 13-19 as of November 27th, 2023.
Short stories should be between 2,000 to 4,500 words and be the writer’s own original, previously unpublished work.
Previously published stories and stories forthcoming at other publications cannot be considered. This includes stories that have been self-published online on personal websites or other publishing platforms, including blogs and school publications.
By submitting your work, you are acknowledging that it is your own creation, that it has not been borrowed from any other person’s work (including film, video, and online content), that it has not been created with any assistance from AI tools or software, and that the characters and situations are of your own invention.
Stories should have teens as their main characters and be about the teen experience.
Only one submission per person.
One Teen Story reserves the right to approve all final, edited content.
A parent or legal guardian must sign a consent form for One Teen Story to publish the names of winners who are under the age of 18 on our website and social media platforms.
A parent must sign a consent form for One Teen Story to publish the names of the winners and honorable mentions on our website.
You must submit through Submittable.
Proof of age must be provided by all winners and finalists.

HOW TO SUBMIT: When you are ready to submit, please go here and select One Teen Story Contest followed by your age group (13-15, 16-17, 18-19). You will receive a confirmation email upon submitting. This is also where you can view the status of your submission or withdraw a submission.

IMPORTANT: Please note that we only accept work by writers ages 13-19. If your story is being considered for publication, we will ask that you provide us with proof of your age.

IMPORTANT INFO FOR TEACHERS: If you would like to use this contest for a class project, please email us at otscontest@one-story.com with your email and mailing address, and we’ll send you a desk copy of one of our previous winners, along with a PDF for you to share with your classroom.

one-story.com/write/one-teen-story-contest/

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FALL STORY CONTEST

Narrative

DEADLINE: November 30, 2023, at midnight PST

SUBMISSION FEE: $27 (includes three months of complimentary access to Narrative Backstage)

INFO: Our fall contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers. We’re looking for short shorts, short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest.

As always, we are looking for works with a strong narrative drive, with characters we can respond to, and with effects of language, situation, and insight that are intense and total. We look for works that have the ambition of enlarging our view of ourselves and the world.

AWARDS:

$2,500 First Prize
$1,000 Second Prize
$500 Third Prize
Up to ten finalists receive $100 each
All entries will be considered for publication.

All contest entries are eligible for the $5,000 Narrative Prize and for acceptance as a Story of the Week.

JUDGING: The contest will be judged by the editors of the magazine. Winners and finalists will be announced to the public by December 31, 2023. All writers who enter will be notified by email of the judges’ decisions, which will be final. The judges reserve the option to declare ties and to designate and award only as many winners and/or finalists as are appropriate to the quality of contest entries and of work represented in the magazine.

narrativemagazine.com/fall-2023-story-contest

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CALL for submissions: Rhapsody of Regret

Black Fox Literary Magazine

DEADLINE: November 30, 2023 by midnight EST

ENTRY FEE: $12

INFO: Black Fox is accepting submissions for its ninth writing prize. The theme for this round is “Rhapsody of Regret.” We are open to loose interpretations of the theme in any genre, as always.

What lies underneath the weight of regret?

So often, regrets are reminders of roads not taken, words left unsaid, and chances not taken. They echo in the deepest parts of our minds, insisting on what might have been. Whether fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry, we’re looking for work that uncovers the multifaceted nature of regrets. What emotions, lessons, and transformations emerge in retrospect?

Please submit your strongest fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and we will choose one winner that we feel interprets the theme best.

AWARD: The prize is $300 and publication in the Winter 2024 issue.

All submissions are considered for publication in the Winter 2024 issue.

blackfoxlitmag.com/contests

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Memoir Prize

Narratively

DEADLINE: November 30, 2023 at 9 p.m. EDT

ENTRY FEE: $20

INFO: Narratively is accepting entries for our 2023 Memoir Prize. We’re on the hunt for revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view. The winning submission will receive a $3,000 prize and publication on Narratively. We have an absolute dream guest judge to help us select one Grand Prize Winner and two Finalists. We’re truly so excited to have her on board — more on that below.

Who is Narratively?

We’re a storytelling platform and production company that supports indie journalists and storytellers and celebrates humanity through true, authentic and diverse character-driven content. We publish our original stories on Narratively.com and often with top publishing partners across the globe, and we adapt our favorites into TV, film and podcasts with leading partners from Amazon Studios to Warner Bros. Television. We’re immensely proud and excited to do the same with our 2023 Memoir Prize winners! (You can learn more about Narratively’s mission and business model here.)

Who’s judging my story?

Entries will be judged on a rolling basis in four rounds: the first three by experienced Narratively readers and staff, and the final by our incredible and generous guest judge, New York Times bestselling memoirist Stephanie Land!

Eight years ago, we were thrilled to publish Stephanie’s story, “The Three Car Crashes That Changed My Life.” That story ultimately became a part of Stephanie’s book-length memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, which was an instant bestseller, hailed as a “personal, unflinching look at America’s class divide” by President Barack Obama, and adapted into the Netflix series Maid — which is Netflix’s most-watched limited series in history, drawing more than 67 million viewers in its first month alone. Stephanie’s second memoir, Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education, is set to be published in November 2023.

So, what do I win?! In addition to publishing their work on Narratively.com and including it in a special Narratively 2023 Memoir Prize Digital Collection, we’ll award the top three writers the following cash prizes:

Grand Prize: US$3,000
Finalist: US$1,000
Finalist: US$1,000

What are we looking for, exactly?

Narratively’s first-person stories offer intimate takes on unusual personal experiences, pursuits and passions. Across everything we do, our absolute focus is on supporting fresh and underrepresented voices. We want an honest, in-depth glimpse into your life and, through that, a world we and our readers might not have access to otherwise.

So, how does this work?

Our competition period opens at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on September 26, 2023, and closes at 9 p.m. EDT on November 30, 2023. Enter your eligible piece via our dedicated form on Submittable by uploading your submission and paying a US$20 entry fee within the prize submission period. Or, become a Narratively paid subscriber and get free entry to this and all Narratively prizes.

Why do we charge a fee?

Your entry fee will allow us to compensate the people who are enabling us to effectively and fairly evaluate every single Prize submission — from our freelance readers to our Prize editors, copyeditors, fact-checkers, visual editors and producers.

How do I enter for free?

If you’re already a paid subscriber, first of all, thank you for supporting indie journalism! Second of all, just email us at prizes@narratively.com to request the subscriber-only free submission link.

What should my entry look like?

As with all Narratively stories, submissions should be composed of vivid, active scenes, unique characters and an engaging narrative arc. We have a few rules to follow, but encourage maximum creativity within these guidelines. The best way to get a sense of what we’re looking for is to read the stories on the list of examples we love below. (Full formatting info is available on our Submittable form.)

Here are a few examples of first-person Narratively pieces we love:

Your piece should be:

Ready to publish — no pitches accepted
In the 2,000 to 7,000-word range
Nonfiction
Written in the first person
Original and previously unpublished as a written work in a major publication
Written in English, although translations are acceptable

You should be:

Eighteen years of age or older on or before 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 26, 2023
Not employed by, related to or sharing living quarters with Narratively staff or our guest judges

To answer your questions:

We will accept simultaneous submissions (meaning you also can submit your entry to other outlets during our open Prize window), but writers must notify us if their piece is accepted elsewhere.
We will accept multiple submissions from a single author, but each story must be submitted and paid for individually.
We will accept stories that have been previously published on personal blogs and websites.
We will permit adaptations from other media (podcasts, scripts, etc.) with disclosure.
This competition is open to anyone, including past and current Narratively contributors. (Current and former Narratively editors, however, are ineligible.)
The Grand Prize Winner and Finalists will be required to sign our standard Contributor Agreement.

These are a few of the key points in our agreement:

You retain print publication rights, should you pursue a book version of your story now or in the future.
Narratively has the right to pursue TV and film projects based on the work. These projects could be either unscripted/documentary or fictional (inspired by your story).
Revenue from any TV or film projects is shared with contributors.
We publish Narratively Out Loud, which features read-aloud audio versions of all Narratively stories, so the contract also gives us the rights to produce those.

Also please take a look at our FAQ page here. For full Prize eligibility and rules, click here. Still have questions? Email us at prizes@narratively.com.

narratively.com/p/narratively-is-excited-to-announce

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Scholars-in-Residence Program Fellowship 2024-25

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

INFO: The Scholars-in-Residence Program offers both long-term and short-term fellowships designed to support and encourage top-quality research and writing on the history, politics, literature, and culture of the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora, as well as to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary exchange among scholars and writers in residence at the Schomburg Center.

Long-term fellowships provide a $35,000 stipend to support postdoctoral scholars and independent researchers who work in residence at the Center for a continuous period of six months. The Scholars-in-Residence Program provides funding for six fellows each year, three of whom are supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Selected fellows can choose to begin their term either in September or in January. Fellows are provided with individual office space and a computer, research assistance, and full access to the unparalleled resources of the Schomburg Center. In addition to pursuing their own research projects, fellows also engage in an ongoing interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, sharing their research with one another in a weekly work-in-progress seminar. While in residence, they are also exposed to the vibrant intellectual life of the Schomburg through its public exhibitions, panels, screenings, and events.

Short-term fellowships are open to postdoctoral scholars, independent researchers, and creative writers (novelists, playwrights, poets) who work in residence at the Center for a continuous period of one to three months. Short-term fellows receive a stipend of $3000 per month. (These short-term fellowships are a recent addition to the Scholars-in-Residence Program, having been offered for the first time in the 2017-18 application cycle; they are funded by an endowment provided by the Ford Foundation and the Newhouse Foundation.)

Both long-term and short-term fellowships are awarded for continuous periods in residence at the Schomburg Center. Fellows are expected to devote their full time to their research and writing. They are expected to work regularly at the Schomburg Center and to participate in the intellectual life of the Scholars-in-Residence Program. Fellows may not be employed during the period in residence, except on sabbaticals from their home institutions. Those selected as Scholars-in-Residence are encouraged to supplement their stipends with funding support from their home institutions or other non-residential fellowships or grants if the requisite approval is received from the Schomburg Center.

The deadline for applications is December 1, 2023. The online system will open for new applications on September 1. Keep checking this page for updates or sign up for our free enewsletter Schomburg Connection. If there are any questions, please email sir@nypl.org.

ELIGIBILITY: The Scholars-in-Residence Program is intended for scholars and writers requiring extensive, on-site research with collections at the Schomburg Center, the pre-eminent repository for documentation on the history and cultures of peoples of African descent around the globe. Fellows are expected to be in full-time residency at the Center during the award period and to participate in scheduled seminars and colloquia. The Program is intended to support research in African diasporic studies undertaken from a humanistic perspective; projects in the social sciences, science and technology, psychology, education, and religion are eligible if they utilize a humanistic approach and contribute to humanistic knowledge.

Candidates who need to work primarily in the New York Public Library's other research libraries – the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, and the Science, Industry and Business Library – are not eligible for this fellowship, nor are people seeking funding for research leading directly to a degree. (Applications are accepted from current doctoral students, as long as they will defend their dissertation and graduate before starting the fellowship tenure.) Only U.S. citizens, permanent residents and foreign nationals who have been resident in the United States for the three years immediately preceding the application deadline may apply.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

A complete application must include:

The Schomburg Center Scholars-in-Residence Application.
A 1500-word description of the proposed study.
Curriculum vitae (limit to 3 pages).
Names of references (long-term fellows must submit three recommendation letters; short-term fellows must submit a minimum of two letters). References will receive an e-mail instructing them how to upload their recommendations.

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY:

In no more than 1500 words the applicant should provide a detailed description of the proposed study, including but by no means restricted to the following elements:

A statement of the topic under consideration with specific reference to the major questions, problems, and theses being investigated.
An outline of the plan for carrying out the study or project.
Discussion of the sources in the Schomburg Center and other research units of The New York Public Library that the applicant plans to use for the study and plans for examining them.
Description of research methods.
Applicant's competence in the use of any foreign languages needed to complete the study.
The place of the study in the applicant's overall research and writing program.
The significance of the study for the applicant's field and for the humanities in general.
The final objective and expected outcomes of the project. Plans for publications, lectures, exhibitions, teaching, and other vehicles of dissemination should be detailed. Fellows will be expected to share and discuss their research and writing with other scholars-in-residence in the weekly work-in-progress seminar during their residency.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Applications for the Scholars-in-Residence Program will be reviewed by a Selection Committee consisting of five external reviewers, a rotating panel of accomplished scholars and writers with expertise across the fields of study covered by the fellowship. The Selection Committee is convened and chaired by the Director of the Scholars-in-Residence Program.

Fellows will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

Relationship of the project to the resources of the Schomburg Center.
Qualifications of the applicant.
Quality and feasibility of the project plan.
Importance of the proposed project to the applicant's field and to the humanities.
Relationship of the project to the humanities.
Likelihood that the project will be completed successfully.
The provisions for making the results of the project available to scholars and to the public at large.

Applicants selected for the Program will be notified in late March.

nypl.org/help/about-nypl/fellowships-institutes/schomburg-center-scholars-in-residency/application

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Winter '23 Guest Residency

Woodward Residency

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

INFO: Woodward Residency is announces that applications are now open for its Winter '23 Guest Residency in Ridgewood, Queens.

Established/emerging creative professionals in the fields of literary arts, design, music, film, visual arts, architecture, multi-disciplinary and other arts are all encouraged to apply. They also have two pianos in the space for musicians and composers.

RESIDENCY DATES: January 8 — March 29, 2024

ELIGIBILITY: Established/emerging artists and creative professionals in the fields of literary arts, visual arts, design, music, architecture, multi-disciplinary and other arts are encouraged to apply.

Please note that art forms that generate fumes (such as oil painting) cannot be accommodated. Also, with the exception of our piano residents, our space is best suited to less cacophonous artistic pursuits.

AWARD BENEFITS:

Access to the building from 9AM-5 PM, Monday through Friday for the duration of your Guest Residency.
Guest Residents will work in the communal Great Room, with library etiquette.
Open invite to weekly resident gatherings.
A supportive and engaged community of working creatives.

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS:

Work Samples + Personal Statement - Recent work samples and your personal statement should reflect your commitment to your work and clarify how the residency would benefit your work at this time. Please see our application for specific guidelines.
References - Please provide the contact info of at least one professional and one personal reference (excluding family members or significant others). If you are new to your field of interest and don’t have a professional reference to speak to your current creative pursuits, you are welcome to provide a reference from someone in another field who has worked directly with you.

EVALUATION PROCESS: A rotating panel of arts professionals will review all applications with the intent of supporting both established and emerging artists. Panelists include novelists, filmmakers, performance artists, literary agents, film/theater producers.

Selection criteria includes originality, commitment to your proposed field of work, interest in community, and demonstrated need for a work space.

We have limited space for Guest Residents and encourage all applicants to reapply if they don’t get a spot in the upcoming session.

woodwardresidency.co/guestresidency

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Short Forms Contest

Room Magazine

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

ENTRY FEE:

If you reside in Canada: $39 CAD
If you reside in the US: $49 CAD
If you reside outside North America: $59 CAD
includes a one-year subscription to Room, beginning with Issue 47.1 (March 2024).

INFO: Our 2023 Short Forms Contest is now open!

Please note: Each entry can consist of one or two prose poems, flash fictions, or flash creative non-fiction works of up to 500 words. Authors are not required to clarify which genre(s) they are writing in, as long as each work is 500 words or less. All submissions, regardless of genre, will be judged in a single category.

AWARD:

FIRST PRIZE: $500 + publication in Room
SECOND PRIZE: $350 + publication in Room
HONOURABLE MENTION: $150 + publication on Room’s website

2023 JUDGE: Tsering Yangzom Lama’s debut novel, WE MEASURE THE EARTH WITH OUR BODIES, was a finalist for The Giller Prize, The Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writers Prize, The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and The Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. Winner of the GLCA New Writers Award, the novel has also been longlisted for The Carol Shields Prize, The VCU Cabell First Novel Prize, The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and The Toronto Book Awards.

Tsering holds an MFA in Writing from Columbia University and a BA in Creative Writing and International Relations from the University of British Columbia. A lifelong activist, Tsering is a Storytelling Advisor at Greenpeace International, where she guides and trains people around the world in storytelling. Born and raised in Nepal, she currently splits her time between Vancouver, Canada and Sweden. WE MEASURE is being published in eight languages and ten countries.

roommagazine.com/contests/

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call for full-length manuscripts: essay collections, memoirs, and nonfiction

Split Lip Press

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

ENTRY FEE: $15

INFO: We are currently looking for previously unpublished essay collections, memoirs, and nonfiction-hybrid full-length book manuscripts. Individually published pieces within the manuscript are absolutely fine (and expected!) but the book should not have been published as a BOOK before. We won't define "full-length" for you (you're the author, after all) but books between 100-200 pages tend to hit our sweet spot. If your book is shorter, keep us in mind for our chapbook reading period!

We're looking for manuscripts that question boundaries (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional—you get the gist). Dazzle us with your version(s) of truth! When it comes to genre-based boundary bending, we love to see imaginative essays, autofictions, fictionalized memoirs, lyric essaying, formal and layout-based experimentation, etc. Please note: while we are big fans of poetry, we aim to publish prose and mostly-prose/prose-esque manuscripts. If your project includes more than a handful of poems, it may not the best fit for this submission call.

To get an idea of what we love, please check out our current NF/hybrid offerings: Sean Enfield's forthcoming essay collection Holy American Burnout!, Sarah Fawn Montgomery's essay collection Halfway from Home, Esteban Rodriguez's essay collection Before the Earth Devours Us, Jeannine Ouellette's memoir-in-essays The Part That Burns, Athena Dixon's essay collection The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Melissa Matthewson's memoir-in-essays Tracing the Desire Line, and Melissa Wiley's essay collection Antlers in Space and Other Common Phenomena. We'd love it if you'd add a copy of any (/all) of our books to your submission, and we'll happily throw in free shipping as a thanks!

Historically under-represented perspectives are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED and HIGHLY SOUGHT—we want to help bring your voice to the world!

PUR PRESS MISSION: We publish boundary-breaking fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid books, lifting the transition boards that prevent fluidity and smashing those we cannot pry up. We love work that questions the concept of truth, and work that reinterprets what we think we know. We prize experimentation (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional); we welcome the unanswerable. We want to see the dark and the light side of the moon—or we want to see it obliterated. If your book is a wedge in a crack, Split/Lip Press is the hammer helping you split the wall apart.

All books published at Split/Lip Press have been discovered during our open reading periods—we do not solicit manuscripts and do not accept manuscripts sent outside of our reading periods. Every author has the same opportunity to join us! However, Split/Lip Press does not tolerate manuscripts celebrating racist, homophobic, or misogynistic perspectives, and will discard such manuscripts unread. We believe in breaking boundaries at Split/Lip, but we will not assist agendas of hate.

FORMATTING: TNR 12 (or similar), double-spaced (unless you are specifically using special formatting—which we'd love to see), and PLEASE remove your name from the manuscript and file name—our readers want to review your manuscripts without names attached. There is a box on the submission form where, if you choose, you may indicate any information about positionality which may be helpful for the readers to know.

Please note that while we love and welcome work which includes images/diagrams/etc, we are unable to reproduce color images and they would need to appear as black-and-white images within a 6" x 9" printed book, so please keep that in mind when submitting.

splitlippress.submittable.com/submit

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Mesa Refuge Residency

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

APPLICATION FEE: $50

INFO: Mesa Refuge welcomes a diverse community of writers—both emerging and established—who define and/or offer solutions to the pressing issues of our time. Particularly, it is our priority to support writers, activists and artists whose ideas are “on the edge,” taking on the pressing issues of our time including (but not limited to): nature, environment and climate crisis; economic, racial and gender equity; social justice and restorative justice; immigration; health care access; housing; and more.

We especially want writers of nonfiction books, long-form journalism, audio and documentary film. Occasionally we accept poetry, fiction (Young Adult/Adult Literary), screenwriting and playwriting, photojournalism, personal memoirs (as a vehicle to tell a larger story) and graphic narrative. We tend not to accept academic writing. The potential impact and distribution of your project is also important.

We aim to support a diverse community of writers and welcome applicants that represent a broad spectrum of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, immigration status, religion or ability. Please see our DEI statement for more information about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

We typically have one application deadline during the year: December 1. Applications received in December will be considered for residencies throughout the following year.

As a small nonprofit, our application fee of $50 helps underwrite the cost of application review. However, we do not want the application fee to be a barrier to apply. To request a fee waiver, please email us directly here.

Our application process is anonymous, and the questions are mostly short answer. We require one writing sample (max 2,000 words or 10 pages), a current resume, headshot photo and two references (we do not require letters of recommendation). Applicants will be contacted approximately 8-10 weeks after the application deadline.

Our residencies are two weeks long and there is no residency fee. Additional residency expenses like travel, transportation and food are your responsibility. Our facility accommodates three residents at a time.

2024 RESIDENCY DATES:

Session 1: March 1-March 14
Session 2: March 15-28
Session 3: March 29-April 11
Session 4: April 12-April 25
Session 5: April 26-May 9
Session 6: Oct 18-Oct 31
Session 7: Nov 1-Nov 14
Session 8: Nov 29-Dec 12

mesarefuge.org/residencies/application/

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Novel Generator

GrubStreet

DEADLINE: December 4, 2023 at 11:59pm EST

INFO: The Novel Generator is a nine-month program designed to help 14 students write the first drafts of their novels. The course is divided into three phases, each with its own structure and goals. Phase I, which lasts for six weeks, focuses on craft, through a combination of lectures, exercises, and discussion of a common text. Sometime during this phase, students will have an initial one-on-one meeting with the instructor to discuss their project.

In Phase II, the class meets for fourteen weeks of workshopping using the Novel in Progress method—scenes read aloud in class for on-the-spot feedback. Towards the end of Phase II, students will be divided into small groups for weekly accountability for the remainder of the course. At the end of Phase II, students will submit 20 pages of revised or new work to the instructor, and will each have a one-on-one meeting with the instructor to discuss those pages, the novel’s structure, and the student’s vision for the book as a whole. Phase III includes three class meetings, with students writing independently as they finish their novel drafts.

Students have entered this program with as few as 10 pages written and as many as 150. No matter how far along, all writers will be asked (through exercises and class discussion) to re-examine their initial concept and, if necessary, to make changes to shore up their plots. Writers who have already written a substantial number of pages will get the most out of this program if they feel open to all possibilities for their novels.

The Novel Generator can work as a companion to the Novel Incubator, but it is not an alternative to it. The Incubator is for students who have completed a strong first draft of a novel; the Generator is designed to push students toward that strong draft, whether or not they ultimately enroll in the Incubator or pursue other revision strategies.

Please note that the upcoming round of the Novel Generator, which begins in January 2024, will take place at our Center for Creative Writing in Boston. Hybrid participation is not available, however, if you are interested in an online round of the Generator, our Fall 2024 round will be held on Zoom. Applications for the Fall 2024 round of the Novel Generator will open in June 2024.

IMPORTANT DATES:

The application deadline is Monday, December 4th, at 11:59 PM (EST).
All applicants can expect to hear back early in 2024.
All applicants will be notified in early 2024
Program starts on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2023

grubstreet.org/programs/intensives/generators/novel-generator

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual works

Entre Magazine

DEADLINE: December 4, 2023

INFO: Entre is, primarily, a creative platform for queer Latina/o/x artists, but we are open to publishing works from all artists, regardless of background.

They currently seek submissions for its premiere issue, to tentatively debut in Spring 2024, including previously-unpublished creative fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual works that focus on the queer Latinx experience or any experiences that deal with hybridity, fluidity, and inbetweenness (be it race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, etc.)

Submissions should be previously unpublished; please do not submit any works that have been previously published on personal blogs, social media, or in other magazines, anthologies, or chapbooks.

We will gladly accept simultaneous submissions. Please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere and it will be withdrawn from the consideration process.

GUIDELINES: All submissions should include (aside from the work) an artist's bio (50-100 words) and a brief statement describing the artist's motivation behind the work--what is the intention of the work? What does the work represent?

Artists are free to submit multiple works in multiple categories, but please be advised that only one work in one genre will most likely be selected to encourage a diverse representation of artists.

FORMATTING: Written works must be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format. Fiction submissions should not exceed a maximum of 5,000 words. Poetry submissions should not exceed a maximum of 3 poems. Fiction submissions should be double-spaced, utilize a standard typeface and font size (12 pt), and have numbered pages. Poetry submissions can be single-spaced, but should still utilize a standard typeface and font size. If submitting more than one poem, please start each new poem on its own page.

Visual works must be submitted either as JPEGs (JPGs), PNGs, or any widely-accepted image format (up to 100 MB).

PUBLISHING:

All submissions are subjected to an editing process. If selected for publication, artists will always have the final say as to how their submissions will appear in Entre.
By submitting to Entre, artists agree to be published digitally (online) in Entre Magazine. Artists also agree to be potentially promoted on Entre's social media platforms (as they are launched). Social media handles may be included (if provided during the submission process).
After first publication in Entre Magazine, artists will retain all rights to their work.
Entre does not provide monetary compensation for publications at this time.

entremagazine.com/submissions