JACOBS/JONES AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY PRIZE
North Carolina Writers’ Network
DEADLINE: January 2, 2024
SUBMISSION FEE:
Member: $10
Non-Member: $20
INFO: The Jacobs/Jones African-American Literary Prize honors Harriet Jacobs and Thomas Jones, two pioneering African-American writers from North Carolina, and seeks to convey the rich and varied existence of African-American/Black North Carolinians. The contest, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network, is administered by the Creative Writing Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. The winner receives $1,000 and possible publication of the winning entry in The Carolina Quarterly.
ELIGIBILITY + GUIDELINES:
The competition is open to any African-American/Black writer whose primary residence is in North Carolina.
Entries may be fiction or creative nonfiction, but must be unpublished*, no more than 3,000 words, and concerned with the lives and experiences of African-American/Black North Carolinians. Entries may be excerpts from longer works, but must be self-contained. Entries will be judged on literary merit.
An entry fee must accompany each submission: $10 for NCWN members, $20 for nonmembers. You may submit multiple entries, but the correct fee must accompany each one.
You may pay the members’ entry fee if you join the NCWN when you submit.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
If submitting by mail, submit two copies of an unpublished manuscript, not to exceed 3,000 words, on single-sided pages, double-spaced, in black 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins.
The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript. Instead, include a separate cover sheet with name, address, phone number, e-mail address, word count, and manuscript title.
To submit by USPS:
Jacobs/Jones African-American Literary Prize
c/o NCWN
P. O. Box 21591
Winston-Salem, NC 27120When you submit online, Submittable will collect your entry fee via credit card ($10 NCWN members / $20 non-members). (If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information. For more information about Submittable, click here.)
Entries will not be returned.
The winner will be announced in February.
For questions, please contact mail@ncwriters.org.
ncwriters.org/programs/competitions/jacobs-jones-african-american-literary-prize/
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call for full-length manuscripts
Feminist Press
DEADLINE: January 3, 2024
INFO: Feminist Press is now accepting full-length book manuscripts, including fiction, nonfiction, and anthologies!
Your submission must be one PDF that includes:
A synopsis of your work, including a brief explanation of why it is a good fit for Feminist Press
A short author bio, including anything you’ve published before and where we might find you on social media (if applicable)
A brief marketing plan that outlines the following: your network, your promotional experience and capacity, and your ideas for positioning your work
At least three sample chapters (or 50 pages) of your work
Please review the submissions guidelines on our website for more information about what we're looking for.
You will only be able to submit one project to this portal, so please review your work carefully before submitting.
feministpress.submittable.com/submit
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SALTONSTALL FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS
DEADLINE: January 7, 2024. by 11:59pm
APPLICATION FEE: $0
INFO: The Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts is thrilled to announce our Call for Entries for the 2024 Residency season! Residencies will begin May 30 and run through October 31.
We welcome submissions from artists and writers living in New York State and Indian Nations therein working in the following disciplines:
Poetry
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction
Photography & Filmmaking
Painting | Sculpture | Visual Arts
Accessible to all artists and writers
Saltonstall has re-centered our mission to make the residency experience accessible to all artists and writers in New York State.
In 2017, we waived application fees to remove an economic bar to access.
In 2019, we piloted a one-week residency specifically for artists and writers with at least one dependent child at home.
And in 2021, we offered a newly-constructed accessible space, so that all artists and writers in New York State could be part of our residency program
There is no cost associated with the residency and no cost to apply.
Artists and writers who are awarded a residency are provided the following:
$100 per-week stipend + additional stipend support based on financial need. This was a new initiative in 2023. We expect the upper threshold to be approximately $1,000 with priority given to those living below the median household income for their NYS County.
Artist/writer parents who attend the 7-night residency for parents will receive a $500 stipend.
writers: a spacious private apartment with ample desk space
visual artists: a private apartment with adjoining studio space on the same level
photographers or filmmakers: a private apartment with ample desk space and a fully functional wet darkroom
all apartments have private baths and a patio or balcony
hearty chef-prepared vegetarian dinners (we always accommodate for allergies but cannot always accommodate very specific dietary sensitivities.)
groceries and a 24-hour accessible kitchen
washer and dryer in each building
saltonstall.org/residencies/application-guidelines/
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2024 COURAGE to WRITE GRANTS
The de Groot Foundation
APPLICATION PERIOD: January 7 - February 5, 2024
APPLICATION FEE: $22.00
INFO: The de Groot Foundation will award thirty COURAGE to WRITE unrestricted grants to writers in 2024.
Ten COURAGE to WRITE grants of $7000 each and twenty Writer of Note grants of $1500 each. These grants are meant to encourage and support writers as they further or complete a specific project. The Writer of Note grantees are chosen from the pool of finalists for the COURAGE to WRITE grants.
GUIDELINES: Applicants for COURAGE to WRITE grants may be writing in any genre. We welcome projects of fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, YA, children’s books, plays, and screenplays.
WHO SHOULD APPLY: Writers over 18 years of age who are actively engaged in a writing project and for whom a monetary boost could help them further or complete a project.
ELIGIBILITY:
Applications:
are open to individual writers over 18 years of age regardless of race, ethnicity, gender orientation, education, economic situation, geographic origin or location.
must be submitted in English.
are not open to family, members of the board or employees of the The de Groot Foundation, Lando family members, reviewers, or the selection committee.
Applicants must be individuals. Companies or organizations are not eligible.
If you’ve already received a writing grant from The de Groot Foundation, please wait a year before applying again.
HOW TO APPLY:
Please read this section carefully before preparing or submitting your application. We receive grant applications through the Submittable platform. If you have an account already, click the button at the bottom of this page and login to apply. If you do not have an account, you will need to create a free account in order to apply. You can create an account here: https://manager.submittable.com/signup
Application
There are three parts to your application: 1) a biosketch, 2) the letter of application, 3) your writing sample
Your biosketch
a. A brief statement about you, what matters in your work, what you’ve written, what you want to write, and something about you as a person
b. Limited to no more than 100 words
c. Your biosketch will be inserted into a form on the application so have this ready to cut and paste.
2. The letter of application (2-4 pages) which must include:
a. An introduction to the writing project for which you are seeking support (1-3 paragraphs)
b. How this project is important (1-2 paragraphs)
c. How a grant at this time would be helpful to you and how you would use the funds (2-3 paragraphs)
d. Anything else you would like us to know about you as a writer (1 paragraph)
e. Please address the letter to: Dear COURAGE to WRITE Reviewers
f. Please double space your letter of application and use Times New Roman 12-point font.
The paragraph suggestions above are recommendations. Should you wish to add a paragraph in a section and have one fewer in another that is fine as long as the needed information is well conveyed.
3. Writing sample
a. Please submit an unpublished writing sample, which relates to the project for which you are requesting funds. Do not submit a previously published writing sample.
b. Your unpublished writing sample should be five pages.
c. The writing sample, like the letter of application, should be double spaced and in Times New Roman 12-point font.
d. Exceptions:
i. Poetry: Use your original poetry formatting. You do not need to double space the poems. There can be more than one poem on a page.
ii. Screenplay or a play: You may submit up to 12 pages of a sample using the standard formatting for plays or screenplays.
iii. Graphic novel: You may include up to 10 pages of prose and graphics for the writing sample. Please submit by PDF.
IMPORTANT: The letter of application and the five pages of your current writing project must be uploaded as a SINGLE DOCUMENT. Please make sure you have merged them as a SINGLE DOCUMENT before you submit.
Submit your application through the Submittable platform, which you will be directed to below. Make sure your document is ready and exactly as you want it to be before uploading. Once you have submitted an application, you are unable to change it.
Format:
Use Times New Roman 12-point font and double space your application document.
Numbering pages is optional.
Application Timeline:
Grant recipients will receive an automatic notification from Submittable once your application is received.
Finalists will be notified by the end of April 2024.
Grant awardees will be notified by the end of May 2024.
Review and Selection:
You’ll be sent a message when your application has been received.
Stage 1 Review: All eligible applications are read by teams of reviewers. Depending on the discretion of the reviewers, between 40 to 60 finalist applications are chosen.
Stage 2 Review: Finalist applications are evaluated by the final Selection Committee. This committee chooses the ten COURAGE to WRITE grantees. From the remaining applications, this committee will then pick the 20 Writer of Note grantees.
The Selection Committees are writers and writing professionals who appreciate the challenges of emerging writers. Selection Committee decisions are final. Correspondence will only be entered into with finalists and grantees.
Grantees will be asked to complete a Grant Acceptance Agreement and, if appropriate, a U.S. W-9 tax form. One year after receipt of funding, grantees agree to complete and return a one-to-three-page final report so that we can learn about your project and the grant’s impact on your work.
degrootfoundation.org/courage-to-write-grants/
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2024 LANDO Grant
The de Groot Foundation
APPLICATION PERIOD: January 7 - February 5, 2024
APPLICATION FEE: $22.00
The de Groot Foundation is thrilled to collaborate with Barry Lando, award winning investigative journalist and former 60 Minutes producer, to provide the LANDO grants for immigration, migration, and/or refugee writing.
GUIDELINES: Applicants for LANDO grants may be writing in any genre. We welcome projects of fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, YA, children’s books, plays, and screenplays.
WHO SHOULD APPLY: Writers over 18 years of age who are actively engaged in a writing project and for whom a monetary boost could help them further or complete a project.
ELIGIBILITY:
Applications:
are open to individual writers over 18 years of age regardless of race, ethnicity, gender orientation, education, economic situation, geographic origin or location.
must be submitted in English.
are not open to family, members of the board or employees of the The de Groot Foundation, Lando family members, reviewers, or the selection committees.
Applicants must be individuals. Companies or organizations are not eligible.
If you’ve already received a writing grant from The de Groot Foundation, please wait a year before applying again.
HOW TO APPLY:
We want all applications to be considered. Please read this section carefully before preparing or submitting your application. We receive grant applications through the Submittable platform. If you have an account already, click the button at the bottom of this page and login to apply. If you do not have an account, you will need to create a free account in order to apply. You can create an account here: https://manager.submittable.com/signup
Application
There are three parts to your application: 1) a biosketch, 2) the letter of application, 3) your writing sample
1. Your biosketch
A brief statement about you, what matters in your work, what you’ve written, what you want to write, and something about you as a person
Limited to no more than 100 words
Your biosketch will be inserted into a form on the application so have this ready to cut and paste.
2. The letter of application (2-4 pages) which must include:
An introduction to the writing project for which you are seeking support (1-3 paragraphs)
How this project is important (1-2 paragraphs)
How a grant at this time would be helpful to you and how you would use the funds (2-3 paragraphs)
Anything else you would like us to know about you as a writer (1 paragraph)
Please address the letter to: Dear LANDO Reviewers
Please double space your letter of application and use Times New Roman 12-point font.
The paragraph suggestions above are recommendations. Should you wish to add a paragraph in a section and have one fewer in another that is fine as long as the needed information is well conveyed.
3. Writing sample
Please submit a writing sample which relates to the project for which you are requesting funds. Do not submit a previously published writing sample.
Your unpublished writing sample should be five pages.
The writing sample, like the letter of application, should be double spaced and in Times New Roman 12-point font.
Exceptions:
i. Poetry: Use your original poetry formatting. You do not need to double space the poems. There can be more than one poem on a page.
ii. Screenplay or a play: Please submit a one to two page synopsis of the screenplay or play and up to 12 pages of a sample script using the standard formatting for plays or screenplays.
iii. Graphic novel: You may include up to 10 pages of prose and graphics for the writing sample. Please submit by PDF.
IMPORTANT: The letter of application and the five pages of your current writing project must be uploaded as a SINGLE DOCUMENT. Please make sure you have merged them as a SINGLE DOCUMENT before you submit.
Submit your application through the Submittable platform, which you will be directed to below. Make sure your document is ready and exactly as you want it to be before uploading. Once you have submitted an application, you are unable to change it.
FORMAT:
Use Times New Roman 12-point font and double space your application document.
Numbering pages is optional.
Grant recipients will receive an automatic notification from Submittable once your application is received.
Finalists will be notified by early April 2024.
Grant awardees will be notified by early May 2024.
degrootfoundation.org/2024-lando-grant-guidelines/
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JAMES MERRILL WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
James Merrill House
DEADLINE: January 8, 2024 by 11:59 pm EST
APPLICATION FEE: $30
INFO: In recognition of Merrill’s own contributions to Stonington, and his longstanding generosity, the fellowship provides living and working space and a $1,100 stipend to a writer to complete a project of literary or academic merit. Fellows are also hosted by local community members and organizations.
CRITERIA:
A writer or scholar with a specific project of literary or academic merit who is committed to full-time residence in Stonington during his or her stay. We regret that the residency is not intended for completion of one’s dissertation. Genres accepted: poetry, fiction, non-fiction, plays.
A person willing to contribute to the community. It is expected that this will include a reading or a workshop for the community.
A person of integrity and responsibility who can be entrusted with the Merrill Apartment and its contents.
We welcome suggestions from applicants about ways in which our fellows might reinforce the community’s links to writing, poetry, and James Merrill’s legacy.
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY:
We have six residencies for 2024-25: September 2024 (4 weeks), October (4 weeks) November (4 weeks) February-mid March 2025 (6 weeks) April-mid May (6 weeks) August (4 weeks)
For more information about living and working in the apartment, please visit: https://www.jamesmerrillhouse.org/apply
The Writer-in-Residence program includes a stipend of $1,100 per month, prorated according to the length of stay.
APPLICANTS:
We accept applications for the 2024-2025 residencies between October 1, 2023 and January 8, 2024 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time. Decisions will be made by mid-March A complete application includes the following documents:
A resume of four or fewer pages
A writing or work sample of ten or fewer pages
A statement of your plan of work while in Stonington CT
Two letters of reference
If applicable, a brief biographical sketch of a spouse or partner who would be residing in the apartment with you. Please note that due to the age and nature of the building we cannot accept pets and it may be difficult for a child to reside there. If you have a child that would need to reside with you during the residency please let us know. Also, please note that the apartment is located on the third floor and is only accessible by stairs.
The James Merrill House follows the State of Connecticut guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“MISS SARAH” FELLOWSHIP FOR BLACK WOMEN WRITERS
Trillium Arts
DEADLINE: January 9, 2024 at 11:59pm EST
APPLICATION FEE: $0
INFO: The “Miss Sarah” Fellowship for Black Women Writers aims to provide Black women writers a restful environment conducive to reflection and writing. It also offers uninterrupted, independent time to plant the seed of an idea for a new writing project or to develop or complete a project underway.
For 2024 the Fellowship will focus on the genre of Fiction.
WHAT THE FELLOWSHIP ENTAILS:
The selected writer will receive a ten-day solo residency in July 2024 and can choose whether to stay at Trillium Arts’ rural “Firefly Creek” apartment in Mars Hills, NC or at E. Patrick Johnson and Stephen Lewis’ “Montford Manor” residence near downtown Asheville, NC. Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend and transportation to and from Asheville, NC. Additional benefits will be custom tailored to the needs of the awardee.
DATES: The preferred dates for a “Miss Sarah” Fellowship in 2024 are July 10-20. However, the panel will consider other dates.
ELIGIBILITY: Black women writers at any stage of their careers are invited to apply. For applicants outside of the United States, please note that travel expenses will only be covered within the United States. International airfare will be at the expense of the applicant.
TIMELINE: The Deadline to apply is Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 11:59pm EST. The deadline is firm and the submission portal will be closed at the deadline. Applications will be reviewed by a panel and applicants will be notified by late April 1, 2024.
REQUIREMENTS:
Please upload and submit all of the following documents, either as PDF or Word documents. Files should not exceed 10 MB each.
CV or resume (not to exceed 5 pages)
A one-page statement of purpose outlining the proposed project.
A one-page statement that addresses the question of, “Why Trillium Arts?” Be specific in how a Fellowship at Trillium Arts will benefit your creative work.
One letter of recommendation. The letter should be submitted separately by an outside recommender. The letter should specifically refer to your writing project. Be sure to choose someone who can speak specifically about your project, and we suggest you share your work sample with your recommender so they can be informed about your writing.
In your letter, we will request that the recommender address the following three questions:
What makes the applicant's project significant?
Who do you imagine would be most served by this project?
What do you find inspiring about the applicant's project?
Provide an email address for your recommender in the online Submittable application form and your recommender will receive an automatic link to use to submit their letter on your behalf. Please remind the recommender that they need to reply to the automatic email and submit their letter by no later than Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 11:59pm EST, which is a two day grace period for the recommenders, following your application completion deadline of Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 11:59pm EST. Please plan accordingly to ensure that your recommender has enough time to submit.
A writing sample of your proposed project. Work-in-progress is highly recommended. Writing samples should be in English. The genre for 2024 is Fiction.
MA and MFA theses, PhD dissertations, and edited collections are not eligible and will be disqualified. Your work sample must be original.
·Your name and the title of your written piece should appear on the top of each uploaded file.
Please submit your writing sample in ONE PDF document. The sample should be a minimum of 10 pages not exceed 15 pages. All submitted documents should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and in an easily readable 12-point font.
trilliumartsnc.org/writing-fellowships-guidelines
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2024 ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
Anderson Center at Tower View
DEADLINE: January 9, 2024 at noon CST
INFO: Applications for our 2024 Artist Residency Programs in Red Wing, Minnesota are open. Advance your practice with dedicated time & space in a community of artists!
Jury review will take place in late January and February. Selected artist residents, wait-list and runners-up will be notified by March 5, 2024.
Anderson Center at Tower View offers various residency programs of two to four weeks’ duration from May through October each year to enable artists, writers, musicians, and performers of exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishment to create, advance, or complete work. There are typically 5 residents at the Anderson Center at a time, and the organization hosts approximately 35-40 residents each year.
andersoncenter.org/residency-program/
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2024 Bechtel Prize
Teachers & Writers Collaborative
DEADLINE: January 12, 2024
INFO: T&W is now accepting submissions for the 2024 Bechtel Prize, judged by Garth Greenwell. Each year the Teachers & Writers Magazine editorial board awards the Bechtel Prize and a $1,000 honorarium for an essay describing a creative writing teaching experience, project, or activity that demonstrates innovation in creative writing instruction.
The Bechtel Prize is named for Louise Seaman Bechtel, who was an editor, author, collector of children’s books, and teacher. In 1919, Bechtel became the first person to lead a juvenile book department at an American publishing house. Bechtel helped establish the field of children’s literature and was a tireless advocate for the importance of literature in children’s lives. This award honors her legacy.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
We are looking for essays that describe a project or activity that got students excited about writing and fostered a vibrant and dynamic culture of literacy in the classroom. We welcome essays about projects that carved a space for students to reflect on the events of the past year (eg. public health, remote learning, social justice, etc.). The experience/project/activity should be one that:
helped students identify as writers
opened new pathways to creative writing
engaged students in all parts of the writing process
promoted connections between reading and writing
supported the publication of student writing
The essay itself should:
Share actual classroom experience, including how students engaged with the project (in other words, this should not be a planned project but one that has already taken place).
Focus on the classroom experience and what makes it innovative.
Focus on teaching creative writing (eg. poetry, fiction, playwriting). Please do not send essays that have to do with teaching academic writing or teaching literature in general.
PRIZE: The essay selected to receive the Bechtel Prize will be published in Teachers & Writers Magazine, and the author will receive a $1,000 award.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Essays must be previously unpublished and under 2,500 words. They should include a cover page with the essay title, author’s name, e-mail address, phone number, and a brief bio (no more than 150 words).
Send submissions in Word or PDF format via Submittable.
Submissions will be judged anonymously. The author’s name and address must not appear anywhere on the essay.
Authors of the Bechtel Prize winning essay and finalists must permit T&W to publish their essays in Teachers & Writers Magazine. T&W reserves the right to edit essays for publication.
Submissions that do not conform to the above guidelines will not be reviewed for the Bechtel Prize. Submissions are only being accepted through Submittable.com. Please do not email submissions. Selection criteria for the Bechtel Prize include the proposal’s relevance and appropriateness for readers of Teachers & Writers Magazine, most of whom teach writing at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level. Teachers & Writers Magazine publishes work that is concise, lively, and geared to a general audience. Prospective entrants for the Bechtel Prize are encouraged to visit the magazine to become familiar with the work of Teachers & Writers and to read past winners of the award.
teachersandwritersmagazine.org/bechtel-prize/ ‘
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2023 Literary Awards
Santa Fe Writers Project
DEADLINE: January 14, 2024
ENTRY FEE: $30
INFO: We are looking for fiction and creative nonfiction of any genre. Past winners have included upmarket novels, collections of short stories, flash fiction, memoir, essays, magical realism, and even a graphic novel. SFWP is a traditional publisher with global distribution. We aggressively pursue subrights and have successfully sold translation, audio, and seven figure movie/TV deals for many titles in our catalog. Authors selected by our publishing wing will be offered a competitive contract with full marketing support. SFWP has extensive relationships with trade publications, sales reps, subrights agents, and bookbuyers worldwide.
Contracted authors enjoy a full developmental edit, an in house copyeditor, and will work closely with our in-house layout and design team. SFWP provides full support throughout the duration of your contract, and our authors consistently earn out.
You do not need to be from or associated with New Mexico or Santa Fe. We publish a wide range of books from authors who live all around the world, and are globally distributed by the Independent Publishers Group. Our subrights are represented by the Susan Schulman Agency in New York.
JUDGE: Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
ELIGIB ILITY: All unpublished work is eligible. Previously published material is also eligible as long as it has not been published by a major press. So you can submit if you have published in zines, lit journals, and with micro presses. Self-published books are eligible, as are books published via Amazon and Ingram. If you have published with a small press and have not received any marketing support, then your book is eligible. We will accept excerpts and Works-In-Progress. If you have questions about eligibility, please contact us.
PRIZE: The grand prize is $1,500, and two runner-ups will receive $500 each
Authors retain all rights to their work
Winners will be offered a competitive book contract for full-market, frontlist release. There’s no obligation to sign this contract. The prize money is awarded either way.
There is a pay-it-forward option, 100% of which will be used to cover the entry fee for authors who are not able to afford the fee. We will also be offing coupons, discounts, and raffles via our social media channels. If you are unable to pay the entry fee, please contact us.
There is no minimum or maximum page limit.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed. If your work is published during the contest, you will not be disqualified, and you do not need to withdraw your entry. If you do withdraw from the contest, we are not able to refund the reading fee.
santafewritersproject.submittable.com/submit/264984/2023-literary-awards-judged-by-deesha-philyaw
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KUNDIMAN RETREAT
Kundiman
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024
INFO: In order to mentor and build community among AAPI writers, Kundiman sponsors an annual Retreat in partnership with Fordham University. During each Retreat, six nationally renowned AAPI poets and fiction writers conduct craft classes and mentorship meetings. Readings, writing circles, and informal social gatherings are also scheduled. Through this Retreat, Kundiman hopes to provide a safe and instructive environment that identifies and addresses the unique challenges faced by emerging AAPI writers. This five-day Retreat takes place from Wednesday to Sunday.
CRAFT CLASSES & MENTORSHIP MEETINGS: A nationally renowned AAPI writer facilitates each craft class. Fellows are assigned a home group for the duration of the retreat, and each home group takes one craft class with each faculty member in their genre. Craft classes will not exceed six students. The Kundiman Retreat is generative in nature and so craft classes are focused on new work that is written at the Retreat. Craft classes include a craft talk, readings and prompts / exercises to generate this new work. Poetry and fiction Fellows will receive 30 minute mentorship meetings where they can speak with a faculty member about craft, career, and the writing life. Our hope is that Fellows are able to forge a deeper relationship to their artistic process and are able to encounter their work with renewed focus and energy.
LOCATION: The Kundiman Retreat is held at Fordham University's beautiful Rose Hill Campus located in the Bronx, NYC.
If you have any questions about accessibility or if you need any accommodations, please email info@kundiman.org.
ELIGIBILITY: Anyone who self-identifies as AAPI can apply to the Retreat.
LOGISTICS: It is expected that Fellows and faculty are in residence at Fordham University for the duration of the Retreat. We will ask that you not invite in outside visitors, or make plans to meet with visitors during the retreat. If you would like to explore New York City separate from the Retreat, please make plans to arrive in New York a few days before or after the Retreat to make arrangements for this. If you know that you will not be able to be in residence for the entirety of the Retreat, it is recommended that you select another year to attend.
Everyone in attendance will be required to be vaccinated and boosted to attend the Retreat, and to take a COVID test before arrival. Masks are required to be worn at all mandatory indoor events except when drinking or eating. Further guidance on COVID protocol will be provided to admitted Fellows at a later date.
APPLICATION PROCESS: Between December 1st and January 15th, apply to the Kundiman Retreat by clicking on one of the below buttons. Submit a cover letter and brief writing sample 5–7 pages of poetry or 5 pages of prose (1250 words max). Notification on application status will be given by mid-March.
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2023 Memoir Excerpt & Essay Contest
Craft Literary
DEADLINE: January 14, 2024
READING FEE: $20 per entry.
INFO: Calling all memoirists and essayists—we want to read your story! We’re looking for your most authentic creative nonfiction for the 2023 CRAFT Memoir Excerpt & Essay Contest. Here’s what our wonderful guest judge, Sarah Fawn Montgomery, would like to see for this contest:
I’m looking for work that does not follow predictable patterns, but instead reimagines structural and stylistic possibilities entirely, transporting the reader into a writer’s world as opposed to translating that world for the reader. I want to be immersed in the writer’s mind, experiencing their sense of self in all its tender, powerful, painful, and gorgeous uncertainty. I’m drawn to unapologetic vulnerability, a thorough questioning of subject and self, and an attempt to capture complexity that does not necessarily result in tidy conclusion. Bonus points for attention to image and language that sings.
Please carefully review the guidelines below, then send us your most polished work. Three winners will receive $1,000 each and publication. Our team will also select two “editors’ choices” to publish alongside the three grand-prize winners. All fifteen shortlisted creative nonfiction writers will receive a $1,000 scholarship to PocketMFA. Do your words “sing” on the page? If so, don’t wait—submit ASAP!
GUIDELINES:
CRAFT submissions are open to all writers, emerging and experienced.
Submit creative nonfiction ONLY! (Please, no academic work, flash prose, short fiction, or poetry.)
International submissions are allowed.
Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
This contest is for creative nonfiction excerpts and essays between 1,001 and 6,000 words. Please do not submit flash prose.
We review literary creative nonfiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles including memoir excerpts, lyric essays, personal essays, narrative nonfiction, speculative nonfiction, and experimental prose—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
For this contest, we will consider previously unpublished work only—we will not review reprints or partial reprints, including self-published work (even if only on social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
We allow simultaneous submissions—writers, please notify us and withdraw your entry if your work is accepted elsewhere.
The $20 reading fee per entry allows one longform creative nonfiction piece (either memoir excerpt or essay) from 1,001 to 6,000 words. We will not read flash nonfiction prose for this contest. Please do not submit flash prose.
We allow multiple submissions—each entry should be accompanied by a separate reading fee.
All entries will also be considered for publication in CRAFT.
Please double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.
Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
Please include appropriate content warnings (if applicable), for the sake of our dedicated, diligent staff.
We do not require anonymous submissions, but the guest judge will review the shortlist anonymously.
Creative nonfiction writers from historically marginalized groups are invited to submit for free until we reach the twenty-five free submissions budgeted for this particular contest. Email us with relevant inquiries.
We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication: work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined/disqualified without complete review.
AI-generated work will be automatically disqualified.
Entries that do not adhere to these guidelines in full will be declined/disqualified without complete review.
AWARDS:
The writers of the three winning pieces will receive:
$1,000 each;
publication in CRAFT, each with an introduction by Sarah Fawn Montgomery;
publication of an author’s note (craft essay) to accompany the piece;
and a set of six titles of Graywolf’s The Art Of series.
The two writers chosen in the editors’ choice round will receive:
$200 each;
publication in CRAFT, each with an introduction by the editorial team;
and publication of an author’s note (craft essay) to accompany the piece.
All fifteen shortlisted writers will also receive a $1,000 scholarship to PocketMFA.
craftliterary.com/craft-memoir-excerpt-essay-contest-2023/
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50TH ANNIVERSARY FELLOWSHIPS FOR ARTISTS OF COLOR
VCCA
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024
APPLICATION FEE: $30 (if the application fee presents a significant barrier to application, please write to vcca@vcca.com by January 10, 2024, to request an application fee waiver)
INFO: Conceived during VCCA’s 50th anniversary year in 2021 and established in 2022, the 50th Anniversary Fund provides free first-time VCCA residencies for 50 artists of color a year.
Each 50th Anniversary Fellow receives a free residency of up to two weeks at Mt. San Angelo, VCCA’s artist residency program in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. All VCCA residencies include a private studio, a private bedroom with en-suite bath, three prepared meals each day, and access to a community of more than 20 other artists in residence.
APPLICATION DETAILS
Eligibility: Artists of color (writers, visual artists, and composers) who have not previously been in residence at VCCA
Length of Fellowship: Up to two weeks with flexible scheduling
Next available for: Fall 2024
Residencies Available: September 1 – December 31, 2024
Application Deadline: January 15, 2024
Notification by: April 30, 2024
To be considered as a 50th Anniversary Fellow, complete the “Application for Mt. San Angelo Residencies, VCCA in Virginia,” selecting your fellowship interest in Question 2..
VCCA intends the term artist of color to broadly include those creating original work in a wide variety of literary, visual art, and/or musical/sound disciplines who self-identify as part of one or more of these U.S. census groups: American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian; Black or African American; Hispanic or Latinx; Middle Eastern or North African; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; Multi-Racial. If you have a question about whether VCCA’s studio spaces would be suitable to the nature of your creative work, please write to Artists Services at vcca@vcca.com in advance of the deadline.
Applicants must submit an online application by the deadline, complete with recent work samples, a project description, and a variety of biographical and logistical details. VCCA no longer requires letters of recommendation. Applicants will be considered for a VCCA residency and as many funding opportunities for which they are eligible.
vcca.com/apply/fully-funded-fellowships/50th-anniversary-fellowships-for-artists-of-color/
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Pigeon Pages Essay Contest
Pigeon Pages
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024
ENTRY FEE: $15
INFO: Pigeon Pages’ annual Essay Contest - judged by by Jiordan Castle, author of Disappearing Act - is now open.
PRIZE: The winner will receive $250 and publication in Pigeon Pages.
Honorable mentions will be receive $50 and publication.
GUIDELINES:
Previously unpublished creative nonfiction pieces of 3,500 words or less are eligible for this contest.
We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if the submitted piece is accepted elsewhere.
Please do not include personal information on your piece, as submissions will be read blind.
All submissions will be considered for publication in the general journal.
pigeonpagesnyc.com/essaycontest
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MVICW 2024 Summer Writers’ Conference FELLOWSHIPS
Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024
INFO: MVICW is committed to providing financial support to writers through our fellowship program. Our fellowships offer parent-writers, writers of color, educators, queer-writers, vineyard writers, and authors/poets with financial needs the opportunity to attend our Summer Writers’ Conference every year.
I - VOICES OF COLOR FELLOWSHIPS
We are proud to announce the Leonard A. Slade, Jr. Poetry Fellowships for Writers of Color (established 2018) to honor poets of color, and The Voices of Color Fellowships (established 2017) to honor prose writers of color. The fellowships assist MVICW with our commitment to expanding the American literary canon by promoting voices from a wide array of cultural backgrounds, and to increasing philanthropic support for writers of color in the arts. Application for these fellowships is open to all writers of color, ages 18 and older.
FELLOWSHIP PRIZES:
Two Full Fellowship Winners (one prose and one poetry) will receive the Full Attendance Package to the MVICW Summer Writers' Conference which includes registration, lodging, and a manuscript session.
Two Second-Place Fellowship Winners (one prose and one poetry) will receive full registration to the MVICW Weekend Writers Series which includes four virtual weekend-long craft seminars on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Please note: Previous First Prize Fellowship & Contest Winners (who attended the in-person conference) are not eligible to apply. Second-place winners and all virtual conference winners are eligible.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME IN THE TITLE, FILE NAME, SUBMISSION, OR LETTER OF INTEREST. Submissions will be judged anonymously.
For Poetry Submissions - Letter of Interest (approx. 750 words): Please tell us about who you are as a person and an artist. We'd like to hear about your life, your artistic career, and your creative work. If you have specific needs (financial or creative) which would be met by this award please outline them in your letter.
Submit your single best poem (1-3 pages max)
For Prose Submissions - Letter of Interest (approx. 750 words): Please tell us about who you are as a person and an artist. We'd like to hear about your life, your artistic career, and your creative work. If you have specific needs (financial or creative) which would be met by this award please outline them in your letter.
Submit one short story OR one flash fiction piece OR novel excerpt OR creative non-fiction entry. (The submission should not exceed 3,000 words)
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES:
Payment is $20 per submission. You are welcome to submit more than one piece by submitting them separately and paying the submission fee for each entry.
The entry must be submitted in English and must be your own original work.
You may submit new or previously published material. As the manuscripts will not be published/reprinted, the author retains all rights to the work.
There is no restriction to style, content, or genre.
You must be a writer of color.
You must be 18 years old or older on the day the retreat begins to enter.
The submission must not include your real or pen name or any information that identifies you in any way.
You must submit before midnight on the deadline date.
Previous First Prize Fellowship & Contest Winners (who attended the in-person conference) are not eligible to apply. However, second-place winners and all virtual conference winners are eligible.
II - PARENT-WRITER FELLOWSHIPS
We are proud to announce the MVICW Parent-Writer Fellowships (est. in 2016 thanks to support from The Sustainable Arts Foundation). Writers who are also parents have increased difficulties in making time for their writing. Our Parent-Writer Fellowships are intended to give parents both the time and financial support to devote a week to themselves and their writing at MVICW. These fellowships offer funding to attend programs held by the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. Application for these fellowships is open to anyone who has a child age 16 or younger living with them.
FELLOWSHIP PRIZES:
Two Full Fellowship Winners (one prose and one poetry) will receive the Full Attendance Package to the MVICW Summer Writers' Conference which includes registration, lodging, and a manuscript session.
Two Second-Place Fellowship Winners (one prose and one poetry) will receive full registration to the MVICW Weekend Writers Series which includes four virtual weekend-long craft seminars on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Please note: Previous First Prize Fellowship & Contest Winners (who attended the in-person conference) are not eligible to apply. Second-place winners and all virtual conference winners are eligible.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME IN THE TITLE, FILE NAME, SUBMISSION, OR LETTER OF INTEREST. Submissions will be judged anonymously.
For Poetry Submissions - Include a letter of interest (approx. 750 words) in your submission. Please tell us about yourself as a person, an artist, and a parent. We'd like to hear how your family life inspires or challenges your artistic career and how parenthood plays a role in your creative work. If you have specific needs (financial or creative) which would be met by this award please outline them in your letter.
Submit your single best poem (1-3 pages max)
For Prose Submissions - Include a letter of interest (approx. 750 words) in your submission. Please tell us about yourself as a person, an artist, and a parent. We'd like to hear how your family life inspires or challenges your artistic career and how parenthood plays a role in your creative work. If you have specific needs (financial or creative) which would be met by this award please outline them in your letter.
Submit one short story OR one flash fiction piece OR novel excerpt OR creative nonfiction entry. (The submission should not exceed 3,000 words)
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES:
Payment is $20 per submission. You are welcome to submit more than one piece by submitting them separately and paying the submission fee for each entry.
The entry must be submitted in English and must be your own original work.
You may submit new or previously published material. As the manuscripts will not be published/reprinted, the author retains all rights to the work.
There is no restriction to style, content, or genre.
You must have at least one child under the age of 16 (who lives with you) to qualify for the fellowship.
You must be 18 years old or older on the day the retreat begins to enter.
The submission must not include your real or pen name or any information that identifies you in any way.
You must submit before midnight on the deadline date.
Previous First Prize Fellowship & Contest Winners (who attended the in-person conference) are not eligible to apply. However, second-place winners and all virtual conference winners are eligible.
III - QUEER-WRITER FELLOWSHIPS
Established in 2019, these fellowships assist with our commitment to increasing philanthropic support for LGBTQIA+ writers and expanding the American literary canon. Application for the fellowships is open to all queer-identified writers, ages 18 and older.
FELLOWSHIP PRIZES:
Two Full Fellowship Winners (one prose and one poetry) will receive the Full Attendance Package to the MVICW Summer Writers' Conference which includes registration, lodging, and a manuscript session.
Two Second-Place Fellowship Winners (one prose and one poetry) will receive full registration to the MVICW Weekend Writers Series which includes four virtual weekend-long craft seminars on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Please note: Previous First Prize Fellowship & Contest Winners (who attended the in-person conference) are not eligible to apply. Second-place winners and all virtual conference winners are eligible.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME IN THE TITLE, FILE NAME, SUBMISSION, OR LETTER OF INTEREST. Submissions will be judged anonymously.
For Poetry Submissions - Letter of Interest (approx. 750 words): Please tell us about who you are as a person and an artist. We'd like to hear about your life, your artistic career, and your creative work. If you have specific needs (financial or creative) which would be met by this award please outline them in your letter.
Submit your single best poem (1-3 pages max)
For Prose Submissions - Letter of Interest (approx. 750 words): Please tell us about who you are as a person and an artist. We'd like to hear about your life, your artistic career, and your creative work. If you have specific needs (financial or creative) which would be met by this award please outline them in your letter.
Submit one short story OR one flash fiction piece OR novel excerpt OR creative nonfiction entry. (The submission should not exceed 3,000 words)
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES:
Payment is $20 per submission. You are welcome to submit more than one piece by submitting them separately and paying the submission fee for each entry.
The entry must be submitted in English and must be your own original work.
You may submit new or previously published material. As the manuscripts will not be published/reprinted, the author retains all rights to the work.
There is no restriction to style, content, or genre.
You must identify as queer-writer.
You must be 18 years old or older on the day the retreat begins to enter.
The submission must not include your real or pen name or any information that identifies you in any way.
You must submit before midnight on the deadline date.
Previous First Prize Fellowship & Contest Winners (who attended the in-person conference) are not eligible to apply. However, second-place winners and all virtual conference winners are eligible.
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2023 "Imagination" Fellowship
The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024
SUBMISSION FEE: $35
INFO: The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow is offering a fellowship "Imagination."
How has imagination inspired you? How have you used imagination in your life? This Fellowship invites writers to explore how imagination has influenced them and others. Has imagination helped you confront and deal with a problem? Or, has it helped you form a new idea that changed your life or led you to a creative outlet that you didn't know existed?
The fellowship winner will receive a two-week residency to allow the recipient to focus completely on their work. Each writer’s suite has a bedroom, private bathroom, separate writing space, and wireless internet. We provide uninterrupted writing time, a European-style gourmet dinner prepared five nights a week and served in our community dining room, the camaraderie of other professional writers when you want it, and a community kitchen stocked with the basics for breakfast and lunch. Fellows are given the opportunity to participate in the community outreach of their choice and are provided the chance to be published in eMerge, the online literary magazine of the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow.
Fellowship applications must be accompanied by a writing sample and a non-refundable $35 application fee. Writers proposing more than one project must submit a separate application and fee for each one. The submission period opens on Monday, October 16, 2023. Deadline is midnight on Monday, January15, 2024. The winner will be announced no later than February 26, 2024. Residency must be completed by March, 2025.
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Bakwin Award for Full-Length Prose
Blair Publishing
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024 by 11:59 pm ET (or until we reach our cap of 300 submissions)
ENTRY FEE: $0
INFO: The Bakwin Award for Full-Length Prose is for an unpublished full-length literary prose work of fiction or nonfiction, prioritizing manuscripts by authors that fit Blair's mission of publishing new and historically neglected voices.
Entries should be literary in nature. Novels, short story collections by a single author, memoirs, essay collections, and biographies are all acceptable (NO POETRY COLLECTIONS, PLEASE). Blair does NOT publish strict genre fiction (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.), but we acknowledge that some elements of genre fiction may be present in literary fiction. The last Bakwin Award winner was @Maegan_Poland for her story collection What Makes You Think You're Awake? selected by Carmen Maria Machado. For a list of previous Bakwin Award winners, go to https://blairpub.com/submissions.
This contest is free to enter. There is a suggested donation of $25.00. Donation information will not be known to our team of readers nor the final judge. Submissions will be accepted through Submittable; no mailed submissions will be accepted. For accessibility requests only, please email us at ops (at) blairpub (dot) com.
DO NOT INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION anywhere in your manuscript file. Any manuscripts submitted with identifying information will be automatically declined. Use the cover letter field in Submittable to provide a short bio. If portions of your manuscript are previously published in journals or other outlets, you may include those acknowledgments in the cover letter field of Submittable. The manuscript as a whole should be unpublished.
The 2024 Bakwin Award final judge will be National Book Award-winning writer @TiyaMiles. The winner will receive publication and a $1,000 advance against royalties.
Though you may have multiple manuscripts that fit this call, you may only submit ONE manuscript to this award.
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FALL 2024 RESIDENCY Program
Ucross
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. MT
INFO: Ucross strives to provide a respectful, comfortable, and productive environment, freeing artists from the pressures and distractions of daily life. Each year, we provide residencies to approximately 115 individuals. Residencies range from two weeks to six weeks in length. At any one time, there are up to ten individuals in residence, typically four writers, four visual artists, and two composers.
Ucross provides each artist with living accommodations, meals, work space, and uninterrupted time so that the artists can focus on their creative process. Lunch and dinners are prepared Monday to Friday by a professional chef with ample provisions on hand for breakfasts and weekends. Lunches are delivered to individual studios; group dinners take place at 6 p.m. Towels and all linens are provided, as is weekly housekeeping for bedrooms. There is cell phone service and wireless internet throughout residency facilities. Residents are responsible for providing their own working materials and for their travel to Sheridan, Wyoming. There is no charge for a residency.
The residency program is open to visual artists, writers, composers, choreographers, interdisciplinary artists, performance artists, and collaborative teams. Applicants must exhibit professional standing in their field; both established and emerging artists are encouraged to apply.
Learn more about the dedicated Fellowships for Native American Visual Artists and Writers.
There are two residency sessions each year:
The Spring session runs from February through early June.
The Fall session runs from August through early December.
ucrossfoundation.org/residency-program.html
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Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards
Penguin Random House
DEADLINE: January 16, 2024 3:00 pm CT (or when 1000 applications have been received)
INFO: Penguin Random House is passionate about encouraging the next generation of readers and authors and promoting diverse voices and stories. For 30 years, Penguin Random House has supported this mission through the Creative Writing Awards, which in 2019 entered into an innovative new partnership with national advocacy nonprofit We Need Diverse Books. Through this program, Penguin Random House will award college scholarships of up to $10,000 each to five public U.S. high school seniors, nationwide.
Creative Writing Awards winners have gone on to become professional and award-winning authors. Since 1993, this program has awarded more than $2.9 million dollars to public high school students for original poetry, memoir/personal essay, fiction/drama, and spoken-word compositions. This signature program continues to empower and celebrate hundreds of young writers each year.
This program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
AWARD:
Awards will be distributed as follows:
$10,000 Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word
$10,000 Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry
$10,000 Fiction/Drama
$10,000 Michelle Obama Award for Memoir
$10,000 Freedom of Expression award for book bans prompt
One hundred (100) Honorable Mention recipients will receive a “Creativity Kit” gift from Penguin Random House.
In recognition of the Creative Writing Awards previously being centered in New York City and as an extension of our longtime work with local schools there, we will also offer an additional first-place prize of $10,000 to the top entrant from the NYC area.
ELIGIBILITY:
Applicants to the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards Program in Partnership with We Need Diverse Books must:
Be current high school seniors at a public high school in the United States graduating Spring of 2024
Be 21 years of age and under
Plan to enroll in an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or approved vocational-technical school Fall 2024
Submit one original literary composition in English in one of the following genres of poetry, spoken word, fiction/drama, personal essay/memoir, or book bans prompt.
All submissions must be typed, double-spaced with a minimum 12 point font size and no longer than 10 pages.
All submissions with multiple pages must be numbered with a page number and total number of pages (Ex. 1/3, 2/3, 3/3).
A four-page minimum is recommended for the fiction/drama genre.
Spoken word entries must upload a typed entry along with an emailed audio format file.
Only one entry per student may be submitted and considered.
Freedom of Expression entries must write about the provided topic.
learnmore.scholarsapply.org/penguinrandomhouse/
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2024 Writer to Agent
Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)
DEADLINE: January 17, 2024
INFO: AWP is pleased to offer registered conference attendees the opportunity to apply to meet with literary agents at the #AWP24 Conference & Bookfair. All registered attendees, including both in-person and virtual-only attendees, are welcome to submit to Writer to Agent. These agents are seeking new clients to represent in fiction and nonfiction.
Literary agents from Aevitas Creative Management, Ayesha Pande Literary, Folio Literary Management, The Friedrich Agency, Serendipity Literary Agency, and Trellis Literary Management will read and review applications on a rolling basis to find prospective clients to meet with at the conference. If the literary agency is interested in the author’s work, they will contact the applicant directly to schedule a day and time to meet during #AWP24.
Submissions open on Monday, November 6, 2023 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage applicants to submit as soon as possible. The deadline for submission is 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Only registered attendees of the #AWP24 Conference & Bookfair are eligible to submit.
Submit a query letter along with the first five pages of a novel, essay collection, narrative nonfiction book manuscript, or short story collection as one document via the link to the Writer to Agent Submittable form. The Writer to Agent Submittable form is hidden and can only be accessed through this webpage for registered attendees.
Your submission document should be saved and submitted according to your type of project and your name (ProjectType_LastName_FirstName); for example, “Novel_Lee_MinJin” or “Essays_Smith_Zadie.” Clearly indicating the type of project in your submission title helps the participating agents sort through the submissions more easily.
The five-page writing sample should be double-spaced in Times New Roman, 12-point font.
Query letters are comprised of a description of the book and the author’s bio. If you have questions about writing and submitting a query letter, review the Writer to Agent Web Series episode for instructions and tips.
Agents from each of the six participating agencies will read the query letters and submissions. You may address your query letter to “agent.”
Indicate in the query letter if the submission has been published in a magazine or journal.
Indicate in the query letter if you are actively querying the project or if the project is still in progress.
Submissions are limited to one per conference attendee. If you are working on multiple projects, you can only pitch one but may very briefly mention other projects towards the end of your query letter: i.e. “I am also working on a young adult novel.” Multiple submissions will be removed from consideration.
Submissions in poetry are not eligible.
If you are contacted by a participating agent and have already received and/or are considering another offer of representation, please let the participating agent know right away.
If you accept an offer of representation after submitting to Writer to Agent, please immediately withdraw your submission to Writer to Agent.
TERMS + CONDITIONS:
The opportunity to meet with agents is solely at the discretion of Aevitas Creative Management, Ayesha Pande Literary, Folio Literary Management, The Friedrich Agency, Serendipity Literary Agency, and Trellis Literary Management.
AWP facilitates this service as a benefit to conference attendees but does not participate in reviewing applications.
Meeting with an agent does not constitute a partnership or relationship or establish representation on behalf of the agency.
AWP, Aevitas Creative Management, Ayesha Pande Literary, Folio Literary Management, The Friedrich Agency, Serendipity Literary Agency, and Trellis Literary Management make no claims as to the probability applicants will be selected to meet with an agent.
Applications are only accepted via Submittable. Aevitas Creative Management, Ayesha Pande Literary, Folio Literary Management, The Friedrich Agency, Serendipity Literary Agency, and Trellis Literary Management will not respond to any inquiries about submissions or the Writer to Agent program.
Due to the volume of applications, feedback is not possible for applicants who are not selected.
awpwriter.org/awp_conference/writertoagent_overview
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Artist Residency Program
The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation
DEADLINE: January 18, 2024
APPLICATION FEE: $30
INFO: The Foundation offers three months of rent-free and utility-paid housing to people who specialize in the creative arts. Our eleven artist casitas, or guest houses, are fully furnished and provide residents with a peaceful setting in which to pursue their creative endeavors.
The Foundation accepts applications from painters, poets, sculptors, writers, playwrights, screenwriters, composers, photographers, and filmmakers of national and international origin.
Applications are reviewed by a selection committee consisting of professionals who specialize in the artistic discipline of the applicant. Numerous jurors serve on committees for each: visual arts, music composers, writers, poets, playwrights, and filmmakers. Jurors, who know nothing about the artist's demographics, score in five categories based purely on the merit of the applicant's creative work samples.
Artists in residence have no imposed expectations, quotas, or requirements during their stay on the HWF campus. The HWF’s residency program provides artists with the time and space to create, which in turn enriches the artistic community and culture locally and abroad.
RESIDENCY SESSIONS:
#1: Jan - Apr, 2025
#2: Jun - Aug, 2025
#3: Sep - Dec, 2025
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2024 Brendan Gill Prize
The Municipal Art Society of New York
DEADLINE: January 19, 2024
INFO: The Brendan Gill Prize is given each year to the creator of a specific work; a book, essay, musical composition, play, painting, sculpture, film, or choreographic piece, that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City.
All eligible nominations must have been completed and produced between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, and must be based-in and pertaining to New York City. The prize is not awarded for a body of work or lifetime achievement.
The prize was established in 1987 in honor of Brendan Gill by friend and fellow MAS board member Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis along with board members Helen Tucker and Margot Wellington.
mas.org/news/nominate-brendan-gill-prize-2024/
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CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Mekong Review
DEADLINE: January 20, 2024
INFO: RMIT University’s nonfiction/lab is proud to partner with Mekong Review to commission a new series of short, collaboratively-written literary works or criticism (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comics work, book reviews etc) for publication in forthcoming issues of the international publication.
Mekong Review, under the managing editorship of Kirsten Han, is a quarterly English-language magazine of arts, literature, culture, politics, the environment and society in Asia, written by people from the region or those who know it well. From its founding in 2015 by Minh Bui Jones, its aim has been to provide a fresh perspective: one that covers Asian histories, lives and cultures through emerging regional voices. Its approach is close to that of publications like the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books—that is, basing its writing around new publications of interest—but its view is distinctly Asian. Contributors are requested to please familiarize themselves with the content and style of Mekong Review.
In line with the publication’s position as a cosmopolitan and free press in Asia, this series will examine the notions of space and place through creative exchange and collaboration between writers from Australia and SE Asia. Questions that these pieces might consider/respond to include: What are the pressing conversations or exchanges we might have today about space, place, home, housing, belonging and/or unbelonging? How do writers understand and/or represent place and space? How does the politics of place inform our writing/art? What kinds of spaces do we create through writing? What opinions do we share or differ on regarding space/place phenomena? How might we approach the writing of place together from our respective positions?
Works will be commissioned IN PAIRS but published as a single work. We would like one writer to be based in Australia and one in the SE Asia region. You might like to discuss and debate a book, co-create a poem, story or comic, review one another’s books, interview one another, or anything in between or beyond! It is up to you to choose your writing companion and approach.
There will be up to EIGHT works commissioned. Prose: 1000-1200 words; 50-60 lines poetry; comics up to half a page (dimensions W 24.96 x H 16.74 cm).
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST:
Interested contributors need to submit:
150-word abstract articulating the form and nature of the intended work
Bios for each author
A piece (or excerpt) of writing by each contributor in the form (e.g. fiction, review, poem) proposed in the abstract (or similar sample of writing).
Please submit the above to both Sree Iyer sreedhevi.iyer@rmit.edu.au and Kirsten Han kirstenhan@mekongreview.com by 20 January 2024. Decisions on abstracts will be made by first week of February 2024, and final pieces will be due on a rolling basis as negotiated with Mekong Review. *
*Please note that the first issue in the series (May) has a deadline of 20 March for final pieces.
Please indicate in your submission if you would be able to make that deadline.
Industry-based writers (ie non-salaried practitioners without university affiliation) will be paid for their work.
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Short Fiction Contest
Kenyon Review
DEADLINE: January 31, 2024
ENTRY FEE: $24
INFO: Submissions for the Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest are accepted electronically every year from January 1 through January 30.
GUIDELINES:
Writers must not have published a book of fiction at the time of submission. (We define a “published book of fiction” as a novel, novella, short story collection, or other fiction collection written by you and published by someone other than you in print, on the web, or in ebook format.)
Submissions must be no more than 3,000 words in length.
Please submit no more than once per year.
Please do not simultaneously submit your contest entry to another magazine or contest.
Please do not submit work that has been previously published.
Before you submit, please remove your name and any other identifying information from your manuscript.
The Submittable portal will remain active between January 1 and 31, 2024.
The entry fee for the Short Nonfiction Contest is just $24, collected at the time of submission. All entrants are invited to claim a complimentary half-year Print plus Digital subscription to The Kenyon Review (for domestic addresses) or a half-year Digital-only subscription (for international addresses) through February 15, 2024. Your new half-year subscription to The Kenyon Review will include the Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 issues. Current subscribers will receive a two-issue extension on their current subscription. As always, we will open in the fall for regular submissions, which we read at no cost to writers.
The Kenyon Review publishes the winning story, and the author is awarded a full scholarship to attend the 2023 Kenyon Review Writers Workshops.
kenyonreview.org/submit/short-fiction/
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The Chautauqua Janus Prize
DEADLINE: January 31, 2024
SUBMISSION FEE: $20
INFO: The Chautauqua Janus Prize will be awarded for the seventh time this summer, celebrating an emerging writer’s single work of short fiction or nonfiction for daring formal and aesthetic innovations that upset and reorder readers’ imaginations. In addition to receiving a $5,000 award plus a travel expense, the winner gives a lecture on the grounds during the summer season and appears in a forthcoming issue of the literary journal Chautauqua. Eligibility and submission information can be found below under “Guidelines.”
Named for Janus, the Roman god who looks to both the past and the future, the prize will honor writing with a command of craft that renovates our understandings of both. The prize is funded by a generous donation from Barbara and Twig Branch.
GUIDELINES:
Eligible entries:
May be up to 15,000 words in length but no more than 100 pages. The Chautauqua Janus Prize encourages writing that challenges conventional presentation and publication of fiction/nonfiction in the English language.
Must be either unpublished or published no earlier than April of 2023.
Must be authored by emerging writers of fiction/nonfiction. Emerging writers are defined as writers who have yet to publish their first book (exceeding 15,000 words and/or 100 pages) in any prose genre. (Poets: This prize was created to support emerging writers. Reconsider your eligibility if you have published one or more poetry collections, even if our word count parameters technically qualify you.) There is no age or citizenship status restriction for eligibility.
May be nominated by the authors themselves or on an author’s behalf by editors or creative writing program directors. Self-nominating authors may submit no more than two entries per submission period. Editors and program directors must have the consent of authors to nominate their work and may nominate no more than three entries per submission period. Nomination by an editor program or press/magazine does not preclude an author from submitting additional self-nominated entries.
SUBMISSIONS:
Complete the Submittable form, including fee payment*, by the advertised deadline EST. Please use PDF format. Contact Emily Carpenter at ecarpenter@chq.org if PDF format is not ideal for your submission.
Meet formatting specifications where possible. If your submission’s prior publication or experimental form simply aren’t conducive to Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, and double-spacing, know that we will give full consideration to all legible PDF submissions.
chq.org/schedule/resident-programs/literary-arts/chautauqua-janus-prize