FICTION / NONFICTION — MARCH 2025

RUMPUS PRIZE FOR POETRY, FICTION, AND CREATIVE NONFICTION

The Rumpus

DEADLINE: March 2, 2025

SUBMISSION FEE: $20 per entry

INFO: The Rumpus has a long history of championing emerging and established poets, fiction writers, and essayists, and we’re pleased to announce a new way the magazine will bring attention to great writing. 

All submissions will be read by The Rumpus‘s editorial team, and our final judges will be Kaveh Akbar (Poetry), Rachel Khong (Fiction), and Megan Stielstra (Creative Nonfiction).

AWARD:

• $3,600 in prizes:

• $1,000 first-place prize and publication in three genres: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction

• Honorable mentions receive $200 and publication in each of the three genres

All submitters can opt in if they’d like to be considered for publication by The Rumpus, regardless of whether they’re named a winner or finalist.

Finalists will be contacted in May 2025. Winners will be announced publicly and published by June 2025.

therumpus.net/2024/12/05/the-rumpus-prize/

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: HISTORICAL FICTION BY AFRICAN WRITERS

Lọún Lọún

DEADLINE: March 2, 2025

INFO: Lọún Lọún is a literary journal focused on historical fiction based on historical events that have shaped and defined places and times in Africa and the experiences of those who lived through the events—or didn’t—no matter how minute. They’re interested in a car crash in 2004 published in the local newspapers as much as they are in the Rwandan and Biafran genocides of 1994 and 1967, respectively.

We are interested in speculative or factual tellings of African history centred on themes across Economics, Society & Politics, Gender & Feminism, Hope & Healing, Identity & Belonging, and War, Conflicts, & Disaster. We strongly recommend reading a few stories from past issues before submitting.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

African writers, and those of African descent, home and abroad.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Before submitting your work, please carefully read and adhere to the following guidelines:

We accept only submissions in fiction.

Fiction: 2000 – 4000 word range.

1. Only original pieces will be considered. Previously published pieces and excepts from a larger body of work are not accepted.

2. Submissions should be in EB Garamond, size 12, 1.5-spaced, and submitted in Word document format with word count included.

3. Submissions should be in English or translated into English. Writers are, however, allowed creative freedom with the expression of their languages.

4. Submissions must be based on an event that has happened on or affected the continent, regardless of where characters in the telling are located.

5. Submissions must contain a brief historical setting description (max. two sentences) formally describing the historical events in telling.

6. Submissions must have at least two reference links to the historical events in telling.

7. We accept simultaneous submissions, but let us know promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.

8. Ensure your submissions are meticulously reviewed for correct formatting, grammar, and punctuation. Significant mistakes in these areas can hinder the likelihood of your work being considered for publication.

COMPENSATION:

As of now, we cannot appropriately compensate our writers but stick around.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

To submit your work, send an email to submissions@lounloun.com with the subject ‘Fiction Submission.’ In the body of the email, include your third-person bio and theme, and attach the story. Please ensure the story has references and is in Word document format.

REVIEW PROCESS:

Our editorial team carefully reviews each submission. We strive to provide feedback and appreciate the time and effort you put into your work. Please be patient; the review process may take 3-8 weeks after the deadline.

We look forward to reading your work!

CONTACT:

If you have questions or encounter issues during submission, please contact our editorial team at lounlounjournal@gmail.com.

lounloun.com/submissions/

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RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

The Boston Public Library

DEADLINE: March 3, 2025

INFO: The Boston Public Library is proud to announce two new research fellowships to support the use of special collections:

I - Telling Boston Stories Fellowship:

The Boston Public Library's Special Collections Department is offering a four-week fellowship intended to support research projects whose focus is on the people and communities of Boston that are often left out of the historical narrative.

This fellowship can support a wide variety of projects, both academic and artistic. Successful topics for this fellowship could include projects looking at Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood and its history of community activism, the rise of Boston’s Little Syria neighborhood, the campaign from Villa Victoria residents to save their community from urban renewal displacement, or other projects that applicants may be interested in researching further.

Fellows will receive a $4,500 stipend, with the first half dispensed at the start of the fellowship and the second at the completion of the fellowship. Fellows will be expected to spend four weeks working with collections, primarily at the Boston Public Library and Northeastern University, though trips to other Boston cultural heritage institution or research centers may be included in the four weeks. The weeks do not have to be consecutive.

In addition to their research time, fellows will be asked to:

• Write a blog post on their research topic and collections utilized, to be published on the Boston Public Library’s website

• Work with the Community History Department at the Boston Public Library to create a workshop or program based on their research experience

Fellows will work with the Community History Department to run a program at a neighborhood branch of the Boston Public Library within four months of completing their research time. This program will use the fellow’s research experience as a launching point to encourage other community members to delve into their own research. Suggested formats include a short talk paired with a community discussion or story sharing session. The Programming & Outreach Librarian for Community History will support the fellow in developing a program.

Artists, independent scholars, graduate, and doctoral students are all encouraged to apply, as well as academics, community activists, and library, archives, and museum professionals. We particularly welcome applications from artists, scholars, and researchers who belong to the community or neighborhood they wish to study.

II - Surfacing Overlooked Stories Fellowship:

The Boston Public Library's Special Collections Department is offering an eight-to-ten-week fellowship intended to highlight often overlooked voices and narratives in our collections.

The theme for the 2025-2026 fellowship will be looking into Black Bostonians from Boston’s founding through Boston’s incorporation as a city in 1822. Suggested collections for research include the Boston Town Records, Elijah Adlow Collection of Boston Legal History, Mellen Chamberlain Autograph Collection, and Boston Tax Records, 1780-1821, as well as city directories and newspapers held in our research collections.

Fellows will receive a $9,500 stipend, with the first half dispensed at the start of the fellowship and the second at the completion of the fellowship. Fellows are expected to research at the Boston Public Library's Special Collections Department for eight to ten weeks within their fellowship year, though these do not have to be consecutive weeks. Supplementary research with the Boston Public Library’s Research Collections will also count towards the research time.

In addition to their research time, fellows will be asked to:

• Give an informal talk to Research & Special Collections staff midway through their fellowship about their research

• Give a public talk at the Central Library in Copley Square on their research topic and collections they utilized at the end of their research time

• Create a narrative guide to identifying the voices of Black Bostonians in the collections they utilized

Fellows will work with the Special Collections Public Services Supervisor to create this narrative guide within four months of completing the research residency, to be published digitally by the Boston Public Library on a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license. Fellows are welcome to publish, present with, or otherwise use their written work elsewhere and retain the copyright for their work. The fellow will not be processing collections or creating archival description or finding aids for materials. Staff may choose to augment collection description based on findings from this fellowship at a later date.

Masters and doctoral students, post-doctoral, academic, and independent scholars, and artists as well as curators and other library, archive, and museum professionals are welcome to apply. We particularly welcome applications from students and scholars who identify in groups that have been historically unrepresented in academia. We will look for fellows whose expertise and research interests align with our chosen theme of the year and whose research projects would be supported and informed by the collections they utilize during their research at the Boston Public Library.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A FELLOWSHIP:

Fellowship applications are due on Monday, March 3, 2025. To apply for this fellowship, please email specialcollections@bpl.org. Please include in the subject line which fellowship you are applying to. Please also include the following documents:

• Cover letter

• Curriculum vitae or resume

• Writing sample (maximum 400 words, preferably public-facing; excerpts from larger works are fine)

• Project proposal, including explanation of how this fellowship would support and inform the project

• Proposed research dates and collection materials

  • For the Telling Boston Stories Fellowship include any other institutions and collections you would hope to use during the fellowship

If you have any questions about the fellowship or application process, please write to Special Collections Public Services Supervisor Kathleen Monahan at specialcollections@bpl.org. Please identify yourself as an applicant for a fellowship in your email.

bpl.org/blogs/post/apply-for-a-research-fellowship-with-the-bpls-special-collections-department/

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2025 SUMMER INSTITUTE ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Black Midwest Initiative (University of Illinois Chicago)

DEADLINE: March 7, 2025

INFO: The Black Midwest Initiative (BMI) at the University of Illinois Chicago invites applications from early-career scholars, artists, and community organizers to its 2025 Summer Institute on Environmental Justice. This convening will bring together 15 participants, designated as BMI Fellows, who are doing work around environmental justice issues affecting Black people and communities within the Midwest and Rust Belt regions of the United States for a week-long series of discussions, presentations, and workshops with leading figures in the field. In alignment with environmental sociologist and Institute facilitator David Pellow, we conceive of environmental racism as a “form of violent control over bodies, space, and knowledge systems.” Accordingly, we define the parameters of the environmental justice issues applicants might propose to address broadly—from urban agriculture, toxic emissions, natural disasters, and climate change to carcerality, housing instability, residential segregation, community health and wellness, and beyond.

After the conclusion of the Institute, each Fellow will also work to develop a project, individually or in collaboration with one or more other Fellows, that will be incorporated into the Black Midwest Justice Hub (the HUB)—a digital platform we will launch in the fall of 2026 that will serve as a resource repository for the BMI Environmental Justice Collaboratory, a set of environmental justice courses that will be taught across multiple midwestern colleges and universities during the 2026-27 academic year. HUB projects may ultimately take any number of forms that can be accessed digitally, including but not limited to short films, virtual exhibits, traditional academic papers, storymaps, graphic notes, sound recordings, oral histories, interviews, and introductory essays or lectures.

INSTITUTE FACILITATORS:

• Erika Allen, Urban Growers Collective

• Adrienne Brown, University of Chicago

• Lydia Marie Hicks, Black Eden Arts Alliance

• Fayola Jacobs, University of Minnesota

• Tonika Lewis Johnson, UnBlocked Englewood

• David Pellow, UC Santa Barbara

• LaShawnda Crowe Storm, Indianapolis, Indiana

• Monica M. White, University of Wisconsin-Madison

ELIGIBILITY:

Emerging artists of all genres (including filmmakers, dancers, poets, and other literary, visual, sound, and performance artists), community organizers and activists, graduate students, junior faculty, adjunct and non-tenure track faculty, independent scholars, and postdoctoral scholars whose work deeply engages with environmental justice issues affecting Black communities in the Midwest or Rust Belt regions of the United States (ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, KANSAS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, SOUTH DAKOTA, WISCONSIN).

DETAILS OF PARTICIPATION:

Fellows from outside of the Chicago area will be expected to arrive in Chicago on Sunday, July 20, with departure scheduled for the morning of Saturday, July 26. Most days of the Institute will feature a morning session during which facilitators will discuss their work with the Fellows and an afternoon session during which the Fellows will present their work to the group. There will also be a site visit during the week to a location TBA that is engaging critical EJ work in the Chicago metro area. Fellows will be expected to attend all sessions, including the site visit and final group dinner, to complete any readings or screenings assigned by the facilitators, and to prepare a presentation of their work to be shared during one of the afternoon sessions. The Summer Institute will be hosted at the UIC Institute for the Humanities, and all sessions will be held in person.

Each Fellow will receive up to $500 toward their travel expenses to attend the Summer Institute. Lodging will be provided in UIC campus housing for all Fellows coming from outside of the Chicago area. Breakfast and lunch will be provided each day of the Institute, as well as dinner on Friday. After the conclusion of the Summer Institute, each participant will receive a $1000 stipend to be used toward the costs associated with their HUB project.

APPLICATION:

The BMI Summer Institute Application requires a 500-word project statement and a 5-page cv or resume.

Applicants will be notified of decisions by April 10.

QUESTIONS?

Please feel free to email theblackmidwest@gmail.com with any questions.

theblackmidwest.com/summer-institute

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PB Rising Stars Mentorship Program

PB Rising

APPLICATION PERIOD: March 7 - 21, 2025

INFO: The #PBRisingStars Mentorship started with a tweet, a huge response, and two authors with book deals looking for ways to give back to the KidLit community that gave so much to them.

We pair agented picture book creators that are knowledgeable about querying, author-agent relationships, being on submission, book deals, and contract language, with the next generation of children’s book creators for an immersive, three-month, one-on-one mentorship experience that is more than just a critique.

Our mission is to give experienced picture book professionals the platform to pull up-and-coming picture book creators up the turbulent publishing ladder. We center Black creators, creators of color, and ALL historically excluded communities because we believe in equity. Above all, we believe that our mentors and mentees should reflect what publishing SHOULD look like.

MENTEE ELIGIBILITY:

• Must be 18 years or older.

• Must be an agented or unagented picture book author, illustrator, or author-illustrator.

• Everyone in our program must foster diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• We encourage past PB Rising Star runner-ups and honorable mentions to apply!

• You must not have any AGENT-REPPED traditionally published PICTURE BOOKS or traditional PICTURE BOOK deals sold by (or represented by) an agent. Self-published creators can apply! AND Creators who self-represented their book deals can apply! And creators with traditionally published books in other markets can apply!

• Must not have been a mentee in another official PICTURE BOOK mentorship program anytime between January 2024-September 2025.

• Must be available to participate in the full mentorship program from May 15, 2025 through September 30, 2025. The schedule and workload are flexible and is led by the mentor’s availability + a mutually agreed upon plan.

• Must agree to pause (or wait on) querying for the duration of the mentorship, unless a unique opportunity arises and is agreed upon by both mentor and mentee.

• Must commit to revising one or more manuscripts, portfolio pieces, and/or dummies based on you and your mentor’s agreed upon terms and schedule.

PB RISING STARS MENTORSHIP INCLUDES:

• A 4-month long mentorship, including 3 months of a 1-on-1 craft intensive with your mentor + 1 month of publishing business development with PBRS co-founders Ebony Lynn Mudd and Kailei Pew. The full experience runs from May 23-September 30.

• Feedback and revision help on one (or more) manuscripts, dummies, or portfolio pieces that will go well beyond typical critique.

• A website spotlight, showcasing your headshot, bio, and social media links.

• Exclusive workshops hosted by industry professionals.

• A mentee-only Discord chat group to communicate and build community with fellow mentees.

• An end-of-mentorship wrap party to celebrate your accomplishments and growth.

• Lifelong membership in our PB Rising Stars community which gives you access to private, in-person meetups and any private virtual events that we have for our community.'

IMPORTANT DATES:

• March 7, 2025 - March 21, 2025: Mentee applications open! Apply here during the application period. Applications close on March 21, 2025 at 11:59 PM EASTERN TIME. Please coordinate with your time zone and plan accordingly.

• May 15, 2025: 2025 Mentees, Runner Ups, and Honorable Mentions are announced! We won’t be announcing on social media this year, so subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know everything! www.pbrisingstars.com/subscribe

• May 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time: 2025 Mentee Bonding Event (Virtual/Zoom) — This is an opportunity for our 2025 mentees to meet and mingle prior to the mentorship. Expect intros/games! *This will be a private event for the 2025 Mentees only.

• May 29, 2025 at 8:00pm-10:00pm Eastern Time: 2025 Mentee Orientation (Virtual/Zoom) — This is mandatory to attend live or to watch the recording by June 1, 2025. *This will be a private event for the 2025 Mentees only.

• June 2, 2025 - June 8, 2025: Your one-on-one mentorship begins! During this week, Mentors will host their first meetings with their Mentees based on a mutually agreed upon date and time.

• June 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time: Honorable Mention AMA (Ask Me Anything) Zoom Q&A w/ Ebony Lynn Mudd and Kailei Pew. *This will be a private event for the 2025 Honorable Mentions only.

• June 12, 2025 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time: PB Rising Stars Meetup & Reunion (Virtual/Zoom) — This is an exclusive event for PB Rising Stars Mentees and Mentors only.

• June 27, 2025 - June 30, 2025: PB Rising Stars 2nd Annual IN-PERSON Meetup in Philadelphia, PA (During the American Library Association Annual Conference) — Optional Event for 2022-2025 Mentees and Mentors ONLY. More info will be sent to 2025 Mentees after they apply and get selected.

• August 27, 2025: This is the final day of the one-on-one mentorship with the mentors!

• August 28, 2025 at 8:00-10:00 PM Eastern Time: 2025 PB Rising Stars Wrap Party (Virtual/Zoom) — Time to celebrate yourself, the mentors, and your fellow mentees!

• September 4, 2025 - September 29, 2025: The four-week publishing business intensive with co-founders Ebony Lynn Mudd and Kailei Pew. [Workshops will tentatively be held on September 4, 11, 18, and 25 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.]

In addition to the dates above, exclusive industry workshops will take place during the mentorship. The dates and details will be released to our 2025 Mentees in May.

pbrisingstars.com/mentees

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2025-2026 EMERGING WRITER FELLOWSHIP

GrubStreet (Boston, MA)

DEADLINE: March 10, 2025

INFO: The Emerging Writer Fellowship aims to develop new, exciting voices by providing three writers per year tuition-free access to GrubStreet’s classes and several key publishing/industry events. Over the course of one year, each Emerging Writer Fellow will attend a combination of seminars and multi-week courses of their choosing, along with a wide selection of other topical programming, in order to enhance their understanding of craft and the publishing industry.

We hope that this year's fellows will be able to join us in-person for classes and events. Priority will be given to applicants who will be able to join us in Boston.

OVERVIEW: The Emerging Writer Fellowship will be awarded to three writers who demonstrate a passion for writing, a commitment to developing their writing abilities, and financial need. Any person 18 and older who demonstrates ability and passion for writing is eligible.

The Emerging Writer Fellowship will provide access to each of the following:

• 5 multi-week courses

• 5 three-hour seminars

• Access to key annual industry events and other craft-related programs.

• Access to GrubStreet's Artistic Director and/or other program staff members for quarterly (or as-needed) office hours for personalized mentorship. (Optional)

• At the end of the program, fellows will also receive a complimentary one-year GrubStreet membership so they can continue enjoying extra community perks even after their program year ends.

The fellowship year begins in May.

WHO SHOULD APPLY: This fellowship is open to anyone 18 and older with a passion for writing. The fellowship specifically aims to assist writers in need of financial assistance in reaching their writing goals. We particularly encourage writers of color, ethnic minorities, those who identify as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and other members of communities historically underrepresented by the literary community to apply.

WHY WE CREATED THIS FELLOWSHIP: Over the years, GrubStreet encountered more and more people who loved to write but didn't have the money to invest in a creative writing education that would help advance their craft or give them a thoughtful introduction to the publishing world. As part of its mission to make sure that voices of every type and talent are heard, GrubStreet developed the Emerging Writer Fellowship to eliminate some of the financial barriers to entry. Through this program, we hope to connect writers to a literary world – a world made richer and more relevant with the contribution of these voices.

In the program's first year, we were able to offer one fellowship to one student. As of the 2018-2019 cycle, we were able to begin offering a second fellowship in memory of novelist Anita Shreve, longtime board member and dear friend of GrubStreet. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, we now offer three fellowships each year.

HOW TO APPLY:

The Emerging Writer Fellowship Application Form will require the following:

A sample of your writing that demonstrates your artistic style and voice. 5-10 pages for prose, screenwriting, or playwriting. 3-7 pages for poetry.

A personal statement—no more than 500 words please!—which should include the following:

• How you envision using the fellowship.

• A description of your relationship to writing. By this we mean: what excites you about it? What does it mean to you personally?

• How the fellowship will help you in your growth and success as a writer.

• Your writing and workshop history (Note: Prior workshop experience at GrubStreet is not required).

• The Fellowship year begins in May.

• All applicants can expect to hear back by early May.

grubstreet.org/write/emerging-writer-fellowship

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LGBTQIA+ LITERARY SUCCESS GRANTS

Georgia Writers

DEADLINE: March 10, 2025 BY 11:59 pm ET

INFO: Georgia Writers’ LGBTQIA+ Literary Success Grants, modeled on our John Lewis Grants, are designed to encourage and amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ youth (18-24) in Georgia. At a time when the country possesses a record number of anti-LGBTQ legislation (400+ bills and counting), we believe it is our responsibility to promote positive stories of queer life in the South. By promoting young queer voices state- and nationwide, we offer models for success that all young queer people in the state of Georgia can aspire to.

Generously supported by the Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA), the LGBTQIA+ Literary Success Grants will be awarded annually in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. The purpose of the grants is to elevate, encourage, and inspire the voices of young queer writers in Georgia.

THE GRANTS:

Winners in each genre will receive:

• A grant of $500 to give a reading at our Red Clay Writers Conference

• A scholarship to the next annual Red Clay Writers Conference

QUALIFICATIONS:

Applicants must be 18 - 24 years of age and emerging writers who are queer residents of Georgia for at least one year, or full-time students at a Georgia college or university at the time of application and on the date of the award.

• Applicants are ineligible if they have published more than one traditionally published book. Promising writers without publication will be considered. Writers who are eligible may apply annually but may only win a grant once. There is no submission fee to enter.

• Applications will be reviewed anonymously.

• Applicants are ineligible if they are of relations to any of the Georgia Writers staff or board of directors.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Writers may apply in only one genre and must submit the following:

• A completed grant application

• An essay of no more tha 500 words as a concise description of your work and goals as a writer. Please tell us what inspires or challenges your writing career.

• No more than a ten-page writing sample of a published or unpublished piece in the genre in which you are applying--fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or screenwriting. If submitting poetry, one poem per page please.

• Please format your manuscript: 12 pt. font, double-spaced, name and page number on each page.

georgiawriters.org/literarysuccess

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CALL FOR PAPERS - CHRONIC: LIVING WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS

WSQ (Spring 2026)

DEADLINE: March 14, 2025

INFO: In late December 2023, Giorgia Lupi, an information designer, published a long illustrated essay in the New York Times Opinion section titled “1, 380 Days: My Life With Long COVID.” “Long COVID,” she writes, “is a physical affliction, but chronic illness, stretching over months and years, has a way of picking apart your mind and breaking your heart. It is a constant deluge of pain that slowly strips you of everything you used to be by taking away everything you used to do . . . and, eventually . . . the ability to imagine a future without harsh physical limits.” The reported suffering of those like Giorgia Lupi who live with long COVID has brought into the spotlight the many chronic illnesses Americans endure—notably ME, myalgic encephalomyelitis (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome), from which primarily women suffer. Thanks to innovative treatments, especially over the last decade, some cancers have also become manageable chronic illnesses.

In contrast to acute or terminal disease, chronic illness—which includes mental illness—takes many forms over a lifetime: chronic with pain, chronic without pain, chronic with a medical diagnosis or without one (conditions that resist clinical documentation), chronic that is life-limiting or life-threatening, with progression, progression free, or stable, visible or invisible. There is not one chronic experience.  

This special issue of WSQ takes this contemporary phenomenon as our point of departure to consider the social, affective, and political consequences of living with chronic illness. We are soliciting essays, personal and researched, that reflect this variety and that map the critical and scholarly intersections of chronic illness with disability and critical race studies, notably in relation to lupus, but also related to health and healthcare issues. These might include, for example, issues primarily affecting Black women, including access to diagnosis and treatment of various cancers, notably gynecological ones. Though we will consider all approaches, we welcome work theorizing from the first person, whether in poetry, essay, comic, or hybrid form. Questions about chronic illness align as well with care, affect, and feminist eco-theory, which help illuminate the literary, social, and philosophical implications of what it means to be living one’s life in an ill body. To document the surprising variety of expressions of the lived experiences of chronic illness, we hope to include pieces that in some way grapple or experiment with the visual, whether through data visualizations, graphic representations, photography, or other media. (See guidelines below for more details.)

We see this project, in the spirit of the journal’s history, as transdisciplinary in conception, accessible and experimental at a variety of levels, and committed to the public good.

At the same time, we want specifically to explore new ways to live with and understand the challenges of chronic illness, and in the process, following activism and scholarship in the fields of health humanities and graphic medicine, we also hope to propose new paradigms of health and healthcare.

Submissions might attend to some of the following:

• definitions and themes of the chronic in the twenty-first century: diagnosis, disability, medical infrastructure, autoimmune disease, comorbidity, chronic and crisis (as in the case with COVID-19)

• discussions and/or representations of/discourse around chronic illnesses such as COVID/long COVID, HIV/AIDS, Lupus, ME (CFS), Lyme, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, heart disease, and cancer

• advocacy and community: What are the challenges of living in relation to what philosopher Havi Carel calls “social architecture”? What different/alternative communities/illness mentorships exist? How do different illness communities advocate for their specific needs? What role(s) are played by factors like gender, race, religion, sexuality, etc.?

Other topics may include but are not limited to:

• individual experiences and their relation to community activism, advocacy, and social norms

• questions of gender expression, sexuality, and race

• economics and illness; economics and healthcare

• the physical (side effects, immunology)

• psychological/social/temporal frames: “scanxiety”; the scan-to-scan existence; recurrence

• relation to medical establishment

• literal and metaphorical space

• pain: its literary languages and visual representation

• American television drug promotion

• affect and chronicity (prolonged grief disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.)

ISSUE EDITORS:

• NANCY K. MILLER, The Graduate Center, CUNY

• TAHNEER OKSMAN, Marymount Manhattan College

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Scholarly articles should be submitted to WSQ.submittable.com. Upload one Word document that includes the anonymized, complete article. Directly in Submittable, not as an attachment, please write a cover page that includes the article title, abstract, keywords, and a short author bio. Remove all identifying authorial information from the file uploaded to Submittable. Scholarly submissions must not exceed 6,000 words (including un-embedded notes and works cited) and must comply with formatting guidelines at feministpress.org/submission-guidelines. For questions, email the guest issue editors at WSQEditorial@gmail.com.

Artistic works (whose content relates clearly to the issue theme) such as creative prose (fiction, essay, memoir, and translation submissions between 2,000 and 2,500 words), poetry (3 poems maximum per submitter), and other forms of visual art or documentation of performative artistry should be submitted to WSQ.submittable.com. Note that creative submissions may be held for six months or longer. We do not accept work that has been previously published. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if the editors are notified immediately of acceptance elsewhere. Visual artists are also asked to submit a document containing captions for all works (including title, date, and materials), an artist’s statement and a short bio, each 100 words or less. For questions, email the guest issue editors at WSQEditorial@gmail.com.

For works that are difficult to categorize, including those that fall between academic articles and personal narratives or creative essays, please choose the hybrid works option on Submittable, and explain the nature of the work in your cover page. Please especially indicate whether the work requires academic peer review.

All submitters please note that if your submission contains images (including images embedded into a larger article or essay) please include them as separate attachments of 300dpi or more. Please also include a short bio and current email address [all submitters, directly onto the Submittable form, not as an attachment] as well as an artist’s statement and image caption [visual artists] or an abstract and keywords [academic submissions].

ABOUT WSQ:

Since 1972, WSQ has been an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of emerging perspectives on women, gender, and sexuality. Its peer-reviewed interdisciplinary thematic issues focus on such topics as Unbearable Being(s), Pandemonium, Nonbinary, State/Power, Black Love, Solidão, Asian Diasporas, Protest, Beauty, Precarious Work, At Sea, Solidarity, Queer Methods, Activisms, The Global and the Intimate, and Trans-, combining legal, queer, cultural, technological, and historical work to present the most exciting new scholarship, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, and visual arts on ideas that engage popular and academic readers alike. WSQ is edited by Shereen Inayatulla (York College, CUNY) and Andie Silva (York College and the Graduate Center, CUNY), and published by the Feminist Press at the City University of New York. Visit feministpress.org/wsq.

feministpress.org/current-call-for-papers

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Writer to Writer Mentorship Program

AWP

DEADLINE: March 15, 2025

INFO: The AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program is open to all AWP members who identify as emerging writers, but we particularly encourage applications from those writers who have never been associated with an MFA program, and those writing from regions, backgrounds, and cultures that are too often underrepresented in the literary world.

We take your interest in connecting with a mentor seriously. After the AWP membership team reviews all mentee applications, we send a selection of potential matches to our mentors, who ultimately choose their own mentee. They tend to choose mentees based on shared goals and interests, and whether they feel they can help that person at the stage they are in now. Our mentees come from all backgrounds and levels of experience; to ensure that we make the best possible matches this season, we ask that you be open and honest about your goals, your background, and where you are now with your writing.

Should you be chosen to participate, your mentor will review your writing, listen to your concerns, and help you work towards your writing goals. AWP's membership team will also be there to support you, every step of the way.

Season 21 begins on May 5, 2025, and will consist of six lightly structured modules over a three-month period, concluding on July 25. You and your mentor will make a commitment to the process—and to each other.

awpwriter.secure-platform.com/applications/page/W2W/W2W_Mentees

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DAG Prize for Literature

DAG Foundation

DEADLINE: March 15, 2025 by 11:59 pm

INFO: The $20,000 DAG Prize for Literature is awarded annually to an emerging prose writer whose work expands the possibilities for American writing.

The goal of the DAG Prize is to contribute meaningfully to the evolution of American prose literature. To that end, we aim to support writing that offers significant innovation—for example, at the level of form, content, or genre. What more can prose literature be? What more can it do? The recipient will be a writer who has already published one book demonstrating commitment to such investigations but whose work has not yet received prominent literary recognition. The DAG Prize is meant to support a second project already substantially underway.

Prize funds can be used for research, writing, editing, workshops, residencies, or other activities that facilitate the creation of a significant project in prose literature.

ELIGIBILITY: 

• You have published one book of prose with a nationally distributed U.S. press. Online publication and self-publication do not fulfill this criterion, nor do books first published in another country or in a language other than English.

• You aim to publish a second book of prose in the U.S., written in English.

• This second project must be substantially underway.

• You reside in the United States as of the application deadline.

• A “book of prose” may contain elements of poetry, visual art, or other forms but should be primarily recognized/categorized as prose.

• If you have won, or were a finalist or shortlisted for, the Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, a National Book Critics Circle Award, an award from the American Academy for Arts and Letters, a PEN America Literary Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Booker Prize, or another major national or international prize, you are not eligible for the DAG Prize.

• If you have published a second book of prose, or have a second book of prose under contract, by the application deadline, you are not eligible for the DAG Prize.

• We do not invite or accept nominations from agents, editors, mentors, or peers.

APPLICATION MATERIALS: 

On the application page, you will be asked for:

• Your author bio (250 words maximum)

• Information about your first book. Copies will be requested from finalists in April.

• Your CV or résumé (3 pages maximum)

• A description of your new project that gives an overview of its subject matter and discusses its artistic innovations, with an approximate timeline for completion of the project (500 words maximum)

• An excerpt from your new project (25 pages maximum)

• We neither require nor accept letters of support. Please do not ask anyone to contact DAG on your behalf.

dagfoundation.org/the-dag-prize/

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BAYARD RUSTIN RESIDENCY

Penington Friends House (New York City)

DEADLINE: March 15, 2025

INFO: Building on the social activist history of Penington’s founders, original board, and later residents, the Bayard Rustin Residency at Penington Friends House (PFH) is envisioned as an ongoing ladder to empowerment for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) working to end Systemic Racism and to create a culture of anti-Racism and intersectional equality in the United States of America. It is also intended to extend and strengthen the wider Quaker witness to equality.

Beginning in September of 2025, this residency will provide up to one year of room and board to a person who demonstrates a strong project that addresses ending Systemic Racism and who has a necessity to be in New York City for up to one year. They will reside at the Penington Friends House located in New York City’s Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Bayard Rustin Resident will demonstrate a need to live in Manhattan. Areas of focus of their work can include activism in the arts, policy change, human rights, community organizing, and other areas of activism focusing on ending racism and strengthening equality. Residents will meet regularly with the Residency Manager and will be expected to share their progress with the New York City community in the form of presentations or workshops.

The resident does not have to be Quaker but their work should be shaped by and in harmony with our tenets of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. The resident will be expected to be a full-time resident of PFH and be participating member of this intentional community. This includes eating chef prepared dinners with the other residents and participating in shared light house chores. ( 1 1/2 hour commitment per week on average.) The Penington Friends House’s approach to living collaboratively may be new to you. We encourage to look at our website and instagram account (@Penington_friends_house) to gain a better understanding of what we are. Feel free to call us as well with questions. We are LGBTQ embracing community. We believe Black Lives Matter. We are always working to be a safe space and an anti-racist community.

Resident selection is made through a BIPOC committee of Quakers and non-Quakers and is based on the strength of the applicants work and proposed project. Final approval of the Bayard Rustin resident is made by the Penington Friends House Residents and staff, in the same interview process that all other residents are approved to live at the Penington. Applicants should note that the Bayard Rustin Resident bedroom is on the 4th floor of an historic Brownstone. An elevator is not available. Bathrooms are shared with other floor residents. This residency covers the cost of rent, boarding (food) provided 5 nights a week, internet, cable, and heat/AC. Limited access ( starting at 3:30PM weekedays) to a studio space may be available. A stipend is NOT currently provided by this residency.

Here are a few types of artists and activists activities that we would be interested in considering. Please contact us before applying if you are not sure your project would fit our call. Questions can be directed to Todd Drake at outreach at penington dot org.

• An artist working on a body of art that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.

• A writer working on a new book, play, screenplay, or collection that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.

• A performer creating a new dance piece that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.

• A community based artist designing or carrying out a community based project that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.

• An activist organizing communities to address racism and/or intersectional issues.

• A social entrepreneur that is starting a non-profit focused on addressing racism and/or intersectional issues.

• An inventor or designer working on solving a problem associated with systemic racism and/or intersectional issues.

• A graduate student that has a strong and well defined anti-racism project that needs support and time to launch.

BACKGROUND: The residency is named after Bayard Rustin who was a Quaker and an attender at 15th Street Monthly Meeting in New York City. This meeting (Quaker house of worship) is next to the Penington Friends House. Rustin worked commitedly for the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He was an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on nonviolence. Rustin was also a chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and a founding member of the Freedom Riders. He was an early advocate for gay rights. Rustin’s later work included a heavy focus on refugee affairs. Rustin served as Vice Chairman of the International Rescue Committee, helped to found the National Emergency Coalition for Haitian Refugees, and was Chairman of the Executive Committee of Freedom House. He died in 1987. In 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom. ( Source rustinfund.org)

We are currently accepting applications for the 2025-2026 Bayard Rustin Residency. This is our 5th Bayard Residency.

The Bayard Rustin Residency is supported with funds from the Society of Friends (Quakers) New York Yearly Meeting, the New York Quarterly Meeting, the Brooklyn Monthly Meeting, the Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, and the Board of Penington Friends House. Donations are currently being accepted.

penington.org/rustin-residency/

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Raz-Shumaker Book Prize in Fiction and Poetry

Prairie Schooner

DEADLINE: March 15, 2025

ENTRY FEE: $25

INFO: Submissions to the 2025 Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize Contest are open.

PRIZES: Winners will receive $3000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press.

ELIGIBILITY: The Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize Series welcomes manuscripts from all living writers, including non-US citizens, writing in English. Both unpublished and published writers are welcome to submit manuscripts. However, we will not consider manuscripts that have previously been published, which includes self-publication. Writers may enter both contests. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but we ask that you notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted for publication somewhere else. No past or present paid employee of Prairie Schooner or the University of Nebraska Press or current faculty or student at the University of Nebraska will be eligible for the prizes.

MANUSCRIPT:

We prefer that fiction manuscripts be at least 150 pages long and poetry manuscripts at least 50 pages long. Novels are not considered; we will consider manuscripts comprised either entirely of short stories or one novella along with short stories (please do not send a single novella or a collection of novellas). Manuscripts may contain stories or poems that have been published in journals or in chapbook form; however, if the full-length manuscript includes work from a previously published chapbook, the majority of the manuscript must be additional work not appearing in the chapbook. Prairie Schooner accepts electronic submissions as well as hard copy submissions. Please see below for further formatting guidelines and the link to submit electronically.

HARD COPY SUBMISSIONS:

The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript. All entries will be read anonymously. Please include two cover pages: one listing only the title of the manuscript, and the other listing the author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address. An acknowledgements page listing the publication history of individual stories or poems may be included, if desired. No application forms are necessary.

For hard copy submissions, photocopies are acceptable. Please do not bind manuscripts with anything other than a binder clip or rubber band. Please include a self-addressed postage-paid postcard for confirmation of manuscript receipt. Please use a standard postcard—small index cards will not be accepted by the U.S. Postal Service. A stamped, self-addressed business size envelope must accompany the submission for notification of results. No manuscripts will be returned. All manuscripts that do not win will be recycled.

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS: The author’s name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. All entries will be read anonymously. An acknowledgements page listing the publication history of individual stories or poems may be included, if desired. No application forms are necessary. Click here to submit via Submittable.

NOTIFICATION: Winners will be announced on this website on or before August 15, 2025. Results will be emailed or mailed shortly thereafter.

ADDRESS:

Prairie Schooner Prize Series
Attn: Fiction or Poetry
110 Andrews Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0334

Please send any questions to PSBookPrize@unl.edu.

For information on submitting to the journal, please see our submission guidelines.

prairieschooner.unl.edu/book-prize-guidelines/

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The 117° Summer Writer’s Residency

Black Mountain Institute (Las Vegas, NV)

DEADLINE: March 15, 2025

INFO: The 117° residency is for emerging and distinguished writers working in English who have published at least one book with a trade or literary press. This fellowship is for writers working on a project in nonfiction or poetry (or a hybrid work that includes one or both of those genres). The fellowship includes:

• A salary of $10,000 paid over a two-month period

• a two-month letter-of-appointment

• eligibility for optional health coverage

• office space at BMI on the campus of UNLV

• housing (fellows cover some utilities) in a unique and vibrant arts complex in the bustling district of downtown Las Vegas—home to The Writer’s Block, our city’s beloved independent bookstore

• recognition as a "BMI Fellow"

While there are no formal teaching requirements, this is a “working fellowship” located in Las Vegas. BMI’s visiting fellows will maintain office hours (1 day a week), and will offer regular service to the community. In addition to the primary goal of furthering one’s own writing during their term in Las Vegas, visiting fellows are expected to engage in a substantial way with BMI’s community in ways that connect to their interests and skills. Upon acceptance into the program, each fellow will craft a plan for community-engagement in partnership with BMI. This component is equally weighted along with the writing sample and proposed literary project in the application. Here are some examples of activities a visiting fellow might pursue:

• Offer readings, craft talks, and other public presentations to the readers and writers of UNLV and Southern Nevada.

• Offer workshops or seminars.

• Curate events or programs, live and virtual.

Please feel free to move beyond these examples in your application – BMI wants to find new ways to serve the Las Vegas community.

APPLICATION DETAILS:

Please submit:

1. A one-page personal statement,* which includes 1) your interest participating in the Las Vegas literary community, 2) a description of how you envision fulfilling your service hours and engaging the Las Vegas community, and 3) the writing project(s) you will work on while in residency.

2. A writing sample (10 pages maximum,* double-spaced, 12 pt. font).

3. A résumé or CV.

*Please respect the committee’s time by observing these guidelines and page limits.

Candidates are selected by a committee of staff and community members at BMI.

For more information, please consult our Fellowship FAQs.

blackmountaininstitute.submittable.com/submit

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2025 NOVELETTE PRINT PRIZE

CRAFT

DEADLINE: March 16, 2025

ENTRY FEE: $30 (multiple entries will be welcomed)

INFO: The novelette occupies a unique and enigmatic space in the literary landscape. Too expansive to be confined by the brevity of a short story, yet too concise to fully embody the scope of a novel or novella, the modern novelette stands on its own as a bold and ambitious form. But within its constraints lies the opportunity for daring experimentation, as seen in last year’s prize winner, Landing in Andonia by Philip Anderson. This year, we dare you to embrace the challenges and idiosyncrasies of the form and then send us your most mesmerizing novelette for consideration.

For the CRAFT 2025 Novelette Print Prize, we’re seeking submissions of polished novelettes from 7,500 to 15,000 words. One grand-prize winner will receive $3,000, print publication, royalties, and twenty author copies. The winner will have the option of international distribution through drop-shipping at Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and other platforms, earning fifty percent of royalties on their published novelette.

GUEST JUDGE: ’Pemi Aguda, a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award, will choose the winner and write the foreword for the print publication. 

AWARDS:

• $3,000,

• online excerpt publication,

• print publication with foreword by the guest judge, 

• royalties on optional international drop-shipping with our partners, 

• twenty author copies,

• and a free class at The Loft Literary Center!

https://craft.submittable.com/submit

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Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship

Democracy Center

DEADLINE: March 17, 2025

INFO: The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is thrilled to announce the 3rd annual Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship. This year’s fellowship will award $5,000 unrestricted awards to two emerging writers of color who write critically about music.

Writers of color have knowledge and experiences that differ from the dominant Eurocentric ones, and their perspectives give art produced by marginalized communities the depth of attention and consideration it deserves. The fellowship seeks to encourage critics of color starting out in the field to continue writing about works from their own cultural and political perspectives, enriching and broadening cultural criticism as a practice and profession. By supporting and highlighting these voices, the fellowship seeks to broaden public discourse and strengthen participation in cultural conversations by diverse communities.

Irene Yamamoto (1937–2020) was a life-long lover of the arts. Born in Los Angeles, she was incarcerated with her family during WWII in Gila River, AZ. Upon returning to Los Angeles, she attended UCLA and had a long career as a production artist for several design and advertising agencies. In her free time, she loved to draw, learn new languages, visit museums, and travel.  

The Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship is made possible through a gift from Sharon Mizota to honor Irene Yamamoto. This project is also supported by Critical Minded, an initiative to invest in cultural critics of color cofounded by The Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Ford Foundation. 

PURPOSE:

The fellowship focuses on a different artistic discipline each year. This year’s focus is music.

In order to ensure full consideration of your application, please make sure your writing samples are works of criticism or reviews of live or recorded music. Although music is experienced in many different contexts, for the purposes of this award, music is defined as a creation that is experienced primarily as sound. For example:

• A review of a film’s soundtrack would be appropriate, but not a review of the film.

• Criticism of an audio recording of songs from an opera or musical theater production would be considered, whereas a response to the overall production would not. 

• Critical views on the music industry, its figures, or trends are acceptable, as long as they are directly related to the artistry, production, or reception of music.

Above all, writing samples must provide a critical, analytical, or interpretive perspective on a piece or pieces of music. 

AWARD:

Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowships will be awarded to two (2) emerging writers of color, each of whom receive a $5,000 award to be spent over a six-month period.

The awards are unrestricted. Funds may be used for any purpose that helps the fellows advance their careers, including paying themselves to write. In addition to the cash award, the fellows are given the opportunity to write a piece of criticism or review of a musical work for the Democracy Center blog as well as the opportunity to deliver a talk at the Democracy Center at JANM on their work.

A brief, written report in the form of a letter accounting for the use of funds is required at the end of the fellowship period. No receipts or other documentation is required.

For more information:

• See Eligibility Criteria, Application Process, and Review Process  VIEW NOW

• Official Fellowship Call APPLY NOW

• Learn about past Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship Recipients  PAST FELLOWS

ORGANIZATIONS:

Established in 1985, the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)  promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories and strives to provide a voice for Japanese Americans as well as a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite while traveling 17 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus, throughout Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Southern California, and beyond from early January 2025 through late 2026. For more information, visit janm.org/OnTheGo or follow us on social media @jamuseum. 

The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at JANM, convenes and educates people of all ages about democracy to transform attitudes, celebrate culture, and promote civic engagement. The Democracy Center is a place for dialogue about race and social justice, where visitors can examine contemporary and historical frameworks, including the Asian American experience. 

janm.org/democracy/arts-writer-fellowship

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Spring YA Workshop

Tin House (Portland, OR)

DEADLINE: March 17, 2025

INFO: The Tin House Spring YA Workshop is a long weekend consisting of curated and intimate workshops (with no more than six participants per class), craft lectures, generative exercises, and readings. There will also be plenty of opportunities for mingling, sightseeing in Portland, and, of course, karaoke.

The workshops will take place at our offices in NW Portland, which are centrally located in Northwest Portland. Many housing and eating options are within walking distance of our offices.

Room and board are not included in this workshop, though breakfast will be provided throughout the weekend, as well as coffee/tea, snacks, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Lunch will be provided on Monday.

Enrolled applicants will be able to connect for shared housing as well as discount rates at the Silver Cloud Inn, a nearby hotel.

APPLICATION:

We ask for one unpublished novel sample (4,000 words or less) from the project you intend to work on while attending. Once admitted, you will have the opportunity to workshop a different manuscript or section from your project.

If you have previously attended, please do not apply with the same sample. A different excerpt from the same project is acceptable.

In addition to the writing sample, the application includes several questions about your project.

Applicants must be 21 years of age to apply.

International writers may apply.

There is no cap on the number of Tin House Workshops you may attend.

Applications are read by a board composed of Tin House Workshop staff and Reading Fellows (whose stipends are paid via the application fees). At least two readers will read all applications, and acceptance is based on the strength and promise of the writing sample and how much the board feels an applicant might benefit from the Workshop and contribute to the community.

Fee waivers: Through our Pay It Forward program, Tin House offers a limited number of application fee waivers. We will distribute these waivers on a first-come, first-serve basis. As an applicant, you can help cover the cost of another writer’s application fee through this same program. All excess application funds will go towards our Scholars Travel Fund.

For inquiries, please email workshop@tinhouse.com with the subject line “Spring YA Fee Waiver.”

COST: $1000

SCHOLARSHIPS:

Scholarships cover the entire conference tuition. Scholars are responsible for their travel to/from Portland.

All scholarship applicants are considered for general admission (you do not need to submit a separate general application).

Previous Tin House Scholars are not eligible to apply for awards.

We announce the names of the Scholars publically after the workshop’s conclusion (though scholars themselves will be notified before the conference).

Please reach out to workshop@tinhouse.com if you have any eligibility questions.

General Scholarship: Open to all applicants.

BIPOC Scholarship: This award is open to anyone identifying as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color.

LGBTQIA2S+ Scholarship: This award is open to anyone identifying as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, plus other identities not explicitly listed.

SCHEDULE:

Thursday, May 29th
3:00 pm: Welcome Lecture
3:30 pm: Welcome Workshop Meeting
5:00 pm: Welcome Reception

Friday, May 30th
9:oo am: Student Readings
10:00 am: Workshops
3:00 pm: Lecture
4:30 pm: Lecture
5:30 pm: Social Hour

Saturday, May 31st
9:30 am: Student Readings
10:30 am: Lecture
12:00 pm: Portland Getaway Day
8:00 pm: Karaoke

Sunday, June 1st
10:00 am: Workshops
3:00 pm: Lecture
4:30 pm: Student Readings
7:30 pm: Faculty Reading

Monday, June 2nd
10:00 am: Workshops
1:00 pm: Goodbye Lunch

tinhouse.com/workshop/ya-workshop

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The Editor-Writer Mentorship

The Word for Diversity

DEADLINE: March 17, 2025 at 11:59pm US Denver/MT

INFO: The Editor-Writer Mentorship pairs upcoming writers from underrepresented groups* with experienced book publishing editors!

 Our Editor Mentors provide substantive feedback to help raise a strong manuscript to its best position for submission to potential agents and editors. This is an opportunity to learn from the knowledge of experienced acquiring editors. This program is free of cost to ensure wide accessibility, which is made possible due to the generosity of our volunteer editors. 

ELIGIBILITY: Aspiring or upcoming writers from underrepresented groups (see explanation below) with a completed, unpublished manuscript in the above outlined categories may apply. Applicants may apply in only one category.

HOW TO APPLY:

Step 1: Download the full application instructions.

   Remember to follow all formatting requirements when you apply! 

Step 2: Take a look at this example submission attachment to double check yourself.

Step 3: Submit your application HERE.

More about underrepresented voices:

How do we focus our search for underrepresented voices? We promote the inclusive representation of experiences in literature, including a diversity of experiences based on: racial, cultural, ethnic, or religious identity; gender identity; sexual orientation; physical, cognitive, or emotional disability; socioeconomic adversity; and personal experiences of adversity or injustice. 

*We recognize that personal experiences of adversity occur in many forms and we believe that the impact of each must be respected. To guide the use of our resources, we focus on experiences that lack representation in literature, based on our best knowledge and research. 

Additional program information:

Mentors and mentees will determine their contact schedules and frequency based on the needs of both parties. All mentors and mentees will be provided guidelines and resources to help promote productive working relationships. The mentorship relationship does not guarantee publication of any completed work and mentors are not expected to provide any referrals to acquiring agents, editors or others. The program’s goal is to support the development of the mentee writer’s work.​

Mentors and mentees will have a minimum of two meetings over a 6-9 month mentorship relationship. Feedback may be written or oral, as is determined by each volunteer editor. Additional meetings and feedback will be determined by each mentor/mentee pair, based on the volunteer editor's availability and the needs of the mentee. 

FAQs

Is this opportunity open to writers whose subject-matter may not directly reflect their personal identity?

We recognize that the perspectives of individuals from marginalized backgrounds will influence their works in a variety of ways. We further recognize that identity is a complex question. We, therefore, do not have any subject-matter limitations for this opportunity.

I’ve read the explanation of “underrepresented voices” but I’m still not sure if my background fits within the underrepresented category. Should I submit?

Our mentorship is focused on providing support for individuals whose background has proved a challenge to their writing path and entry into the publishing space, as well as focused on stories that are underrepresented among published books. We ask that you consider whether your identity and background have offered challenges on your writing path, and whether you think that your work will contribute to our mission to achieve greater inclusivity among those groups that have been regularly marginalized. If based on those considerations you believe that your work is the right fit for this program, we welcome your submission. 

Is this opportunity open to agented writers or writers who have been previously published? 

We don’t require that a writer be unpublished or unagented. Given the high volume of interest and need, we do ask all writers to consider whether you are truly in need of this opportunity. 

The manuscript for which you are seeking feedback must be unpublished. 

What can I expect from my mentor-editor if selected for the program?

This mentorship pairing is for the purpose of providing our Mentee Writers with editorial feedback on one full-length manuscript. Mentees will have at least two touch points for feedback during the mentorship program (approximately 6-9 months in length), and each pair will determine the method of feedback that will be provided (e.g.,: editorial letter, oral feedback, or feedback in multiple rounds). 

Can I submit to more than one category?  

Applicants may only submit one manuscript for consideration per application year. Applicants should not submit multiple manuscripts, even if in different categories, or this will result in disqualification.

What category should I apply for?

Editor Jessica Anderson generously demystifies the KidLit genres for us. Learn about the differences between Chapter Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult books. Here is the link to the video and skip to the 24-minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-_120Rj4k4

Does my manuscript have to be complete for me to apply? 

Yes, your manuscript must be complete. If you are chosen as a finalist, you will be required to submit your complete manuscript for the Editor-Mentors to evaluate and chose their mentee. This mentorship program is meant for authors who are looking to prepare a manuscript for agent or editor submissions, which requires a completed piece of work.  

Are you accepting graphic novel submissions?

At this time, we are NOT accepting graphic novel submissions.

For picture books: What if my manuscript is less than 10 pages? 

You should submit your entire manuscript in your initial application materials if it is less than 10 pages.

 For picture books: Should my manuscript include directions on page breaks and art direction or art notes? 

As long as your manuscript does not exceed 10 pages, and meets all other formatting requirements listed in the application instructions, it can be formatted in whatever way you feel best communicates your vision.  

For my pitch, should I include comp titles? 

Write your pitch in whatever way you think will best represent your manuscript. What you choose to include is up to you as long as it does not exceed the word limit set in the application instructions.  

Can non-US citizens or non-US residents (international applicants) apply? 

You are welcome to apply for our mentorship program regardless of your location. Keep in mind that all of our editors are located in the US, and so if you are chosen as a mentee, when it comes to scheduling times to chat, meet, and do critiques, you'll have to be a lot more flexible with their schedules. But if that's not a problem, then please apply!

Can co-authors submit?

We unfortunately can only accept submissions for one writer mentee.

thewordfordiversity.org/editor-writer-mentorship

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Call for Papers: Summer 2026 CENTRO Journal

The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO)

DEADLINE: March 17, 2025

INFO: The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO) opens a call for contributors to a special issue of CENTRO Journal titled New Histories of Health, Care Work, and Healthcare Activism in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and the United States, which will be published in September 2026.

This special issue will bring into dialogue new scholarship on the history of health, care work, and healthcare activism in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and relevant Latinx communities in the United States since the late nineteenth century. In recent years, new histories of health and medicine have built on social history and showcased the volatile relationship between health and political and economic systems. In interconnected ways, scholarship on care work and healthcare activism has underscored how political and other forms of mobilization around care, health, and social reproduction have taken shape and challenged the state and society to create a more caring world. In this special edition, we will explore the intersections within these conversations, emphasizing how thinking about health and care as uncertain and contested terrain allows us both to account for “hidden” and “silenced” histories and to map new paths forward in times of continuity, crisis, and change.

The issue will build on scholarship that has considered how social, cultural, political, and economic factors have informed medical logics and practices, and expanded who is seen as qualified to produce and exercise health knowledge, power, and authority. We seek to further unpack and nuance these recent trends in a historical register while charting interdisciplinary terrain. To pursue and complicate history in modest or intense cross-/interdisciplinary fashion, we will use health, care work, and healthcare activism as conceptual tools to help anchor our collective effort and center what Pablo Gómez, Katherine McKittrick, and others have called the “experiential”—creative-intellectual- sensorial-embodied ways of knowing and being (Gómez 2017; McKittrick 2021). By amplifying the variability of medical and health actors and their techniques, taking seriously community voices and knowledge, and stressing how medicine and healing always exist in layers of context and community, we seek to trouble traditional understandings of the history of medicine and health.

This discussion will engage with the histories of care work and healthcare activism, exploring how individuals and communities have fought against marginalization, discrimination, and violence. As Premilla Nadasen has argued, a deep history of the care economy can show us how it has served as an engine to extract profit under racial capitalism while also revealing how minoritized people have organized politically around social reproduction and fought for new ways of provisioning care and mutual aid (Care: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, 2023). This issue will examine the crucial roles of women, people of color, and heterodox practitioners, among others, as activists demanding care and healthcare in their communities. We invite contributions that shed light on Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and US-based Latinx approaches to and mobilization around health and care and how their ideas, practices, and organizing have confronted epistemic imperialism, state violence, and colonialism while envisioning, materializing, and demanding new social and economic relationships in society.

Contributors to this issue of CENTRO Journal are welcome to think with, critique, and transcend prevailing frameworks and, potentially, interpretive status quos in histories of health, care work, and healthcare activism. We encourage thinking from and with the people, ideas, practices, and sources at the core of our work rather than just producing knowledge on or about them. We therefore invite submissions that engage with and expand CENTRO’s archive, as well as those that contemplate the histories in question in comparative, transnational, and “undisciplined” keys, specifically in relation to how health, care work, and healthcare activism have manifested in Puerto Rico, the circum-Caribbean, and/or Latinx communities in the US. We seek to sit with and lean into how health, care work, and healthcare activism have been lived historically across categories of difference and invite methodologically ambitious and rigorous submissions that elaborate on this aspect.

Topics for this issue may include histories of health, care work, and healthcare activism that dialogue with:

• Health and wellness

• Medicine and public health

• “Popular” or “folk” medicine

• Medical pluralism

• “Madness” and psychiatry

• Social work and social welfare

• Communities of care and mutual aid

• Religious/spiritual healing

• Care work and reproductive labor

• Social determinants of health and social reproduction

• Healthcare activism

• Social movements

• Reproductive health and justice

• Popular culture

• Art and literature

• Gender and sexuality

• Race and ethnicity

• Feminisms

• Disability studies

• Geographies of health

• Colonialism and capitalism

• Environment and ecology

• Climate justice

• Policing and incarceration

POSSIBLE SUBMISSION FORMATS:

To allow for a breadth of approaches and lenses, contributors are invited to submit pieces in one of the following formats (with listed word counts, inclusive of main text, references, and notes):

• Articles (12,000 words max)

• Short essays/interviews (2,000 words)

• Poems (1-3 poems depending on length)

• Art/photography (1 piece/representative photograph with a brief written explanation)

GUEST EDITORS
Emma Amador, University of Connecticut-Storrs
Alberto Ortiz Díaz, University of Texas at Arlington

TIMELINE:

• Abstract submission deadline:
  March 17, 2025

• Notification of abstract approval:
  April 7, 2025

• Final manuscript submission:
  July 25, 2025

• The publication of this special volume (v. 38, n. 2) is scheduled for September 2026.

ABSTRACT AND MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION DETAILS:

Please send a 250-word abstract of your work and a 50-word biography to the following link (https:/ /bit.ly/centro_journal_summer_2026_abstract)
We will accept abstracts and manuscripts in English and Spanish.

Approved manuscript submissions should be uploaded to the following link (https:/ /bit.ly/centro_journal_summer_2026_manuscript)

All submissions should follow CENTRO Journal’s style guidelines (https:/ /bit.ly/centro_journal_style_guide) and will be sent out for peer review. Please include a brief cover letter with your manuscript title, the word count (including references and notes), your full name, a short biography (of no more than 75 words), institutional or organizational affiliation (if applicable), email address, and phone number.

For more information:
Questions should be addressed to the guest editors of the special issue:

Emma Amador
(emma.amador@uconn.edu)

Alberto Ortiz Díaz
(alberto.ortizdiaz@uta.edu)

or to the journal editor:
Gustavo Quintero Vera
(journal@hunter.cuny.edu)

centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/opportunities/call-for-papers-summer-2026-centro-journal/

_____

2025 LAMMY AWARDS

Lambda Literary

DEADLINE: March 21, 2025

INFO: Lambda Literary Awards celebrate the outstanding LGBTQ+ storytelling from a given year. Lambda uses “LGBTQ+” as a catch-all term, meaning that works reflecting identities beyond lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer or questioning are also welcome, to include two-spirit, intersex, pansexual, aro/ace, and other emerging identities.

Please read through these guidelines carefully to ensure that your book is eligible for consideration and that you are submitting it to the proper category. When you are ready during the open submission period, tap the “GO TO SUBMITTABLE” button at the top of the page to submit works through our Submittable portal and follow the instructions for the feature labeled “37th Lambda Literary Awards Registration.” If there is no button, it means the submission period has not opened.

If you have a question not answered here, visit the Awards FAQ page or email awards[at]lambdaliterary.org.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Submitted works must be published between January 1 and December 31, 2024. The work must also be distributed (i.e., available in bookstores or online) or performed (in the case of plays) in the United States during 2024.

• Lambda Literary Awards are open to all authors regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity except in the case of the special prizes that mark specific stages of an individual LGBTQ writer’s career. The content of the submitted work must be representative of/content relevant to LGBTQ+ lives.

• Titles must be published in English. Translations from other languages are eligible provided they meet other requirements re: publication year.

• Self-published books are eligible. Works must be available for purchase in a bound or collected format (i.e. not dripped in chapters delivered by newsletter. The work should exist published in a single file). Works published exclusively on social or subscriber-based sites such as blogs, personal newsletters, Patreons, and Wattpad are not eligible.

• First print editions of books previously published online or in ebook format are eligible.

• Reprints of books that were published in the US in previous years are not eligible. This includes second (or later) editions, books that have been republished by a different publisher, and books that are modified versions of previously published works. 

• First US editions of books published outside the US before 2024 are eligible if the original edition was not submitted for Lammy consideration in a previous year.

• Poetry chapbooks over 30 pages in length are eligible.

• Submitted works must be human-authored and not generated in whole or in part by “A.I.”/LLM engines or services (i.e. ChatGPT). Submitted works found in violation of this policy will be disqualified without refund.

SUBMISSION FEES:

For the 2025 award cycle, submission fees are as follows:

• Submissions by Big 4 publishers and large universities: $115.00 USD per title

• Submissions by small press/independent publishers, small colleges, and individual authors: $65.00 USD per title for 1-10 titles; $55.00 USD per title for 11+ titles

SUBMISSION FORMATS:

For the 2024-2025 award cycle, submissions must be made initially in digital format (epub, pdf preferred). To accommodate accessibility requests for our judges, we request three (3) additional physical/print copies of each submitted title where available (4 titles for the LGBTQ+ Young Adult category). Mailing address and additional information will be provided within Submittable. Failure or refusal to submit physical copies does not automatically disqualify a title from consideration, but may make it more difficult for judges to fully review the work. We do not accept audiobooks at this time. 

CATEGORY-SPECIFIC GUIDELINES:

A book may be submitted to only one category.

If a category receives fewer than ten (10) submissions, the category will not be active in this awards cycle. The submitted books may then be reassigned to another category, if appropriate. If the book cannot compete in another category, the submission fee will be refunded.

LESBIAN OR GAY CATEGORIES:

Books eligible for lesbian categories feature a prominent lesbian/sapphic/nonbinary and/or female- or femme-attracted character or contain content of strong significance to lesbian lives.

Books eligible for gay categories feature a prominent gay/achillean/nonbinary and/or male- or masc-attracted character or contain content of strong significance to gay lives.

Lesbian Fiction or Gay Fiction:
Literary fiction that does not fit more precisely into a specific genre category such as Erotica, Romance, Speculative Fiction, or Mystery. Novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author are eligible; anthologies are not.

 Lesbian Memoir/Biography or Gay Memoir/Biography:
Biographies, memoirs, autobiographies, and works of creative nonfiction by or about lesbians and gay men or with content of strong significance to gay and lesbian lives. Posthumously published works and/or those with co-authors are eligible; anthologies are not. 

Lesbian Poetry or Gay Poetry:
Single volumes and collected poems are eligible as are chapbooks over 30 pages in length. Updated editions of previously published works are not eligible unless at least 50% of the poetry (not the supplemental text) is new.

Lesbian Romance or Gay Romance:
Novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author that focus on a central love relationship between two or more characters are eligible; anthologies are not. Category includes a broad range of subgenres including traditional, historical, gothic, Regency, and paranormal romance.

BISEXUAL OR TRANSGENDER CATEGORIES":

These categories are non-gender-specific works containing material of strong significance to members of the bi/pan and trans communities.

Bisexual Fiction or Transgender Fiction:
Novels, novellas, short story collections, and anthologies with prominent bi/pan, nonbinary/genderqueer, and trans characters and/or content of strong significance to these communities. May include historical novels, comics, cross-genre works of fiction, humor, and other styles of fiction.

Bisexual Nonfiction or Transgender Nonfiction:
Nonfiction works with content of strong significance to members of the bi/pan, nonbinary/genderqueer, and trans communities. Includes a wide range of subjects for the general or academic reader (e.g., history, memoirs, cultural studies, public policy, law, politics, community organizations, humor, spirituality, gender studies, parenting, religion, spirituality, relationships, psychology, travel).

Bisexual Poetry or Transgender Poetry:
Single volumes and collected poems are eligible, as are chapbooks over 30 pages in length. Updated editions of previously published works are not eligible unless at least 50% of the poetry (not the supplemental text) is new.

LGBTQ CATEGORIES:

These categories are non-gender-specific works containing material of strong significance to members of the LGBTQ+ community.

LGBTQ+ Anthology:
Anthologies are collections of fiction, nonfiction, and/or poetry by multiple authors. Collected works authored entirely by a single person are not eligible in this category.

LGBTQ+ Children’s Books:

Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, picture books, board books, early-readers and poetry whose intended audience is young readers are all eligible; anthologies are not.

LGBTQ+ Middle Grade:
Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry whose intended audience is the middle grade audience are all eligible; anthologies are not.

LGBTQ+ Young Adult:
Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry whose intended audience is young adult readers are all eligible; anthologies are not.

LGBTQ+ Comics:
Book-length works of fiction or non-fiction that use a combination of words and sequential art to convey a narrative are eligible, including novels, graphic memoirs and short story or comics collections by the same author/team. Individual comic books, periodicals, anthologies, and web-only content are not eligible.

 LGBTQ+ Drama:
Plays and other theatrical works and performance pieces that have been published in book or script form during 2024. Collections from a single author are eligible; anthologies featuring multiple authors are not. Plays which have been produced in 2024 but not published are also permitted, but will need to be provided in a written format for review.

 LGBTQ+ Mystery:
Novels, novellas, and short story collections in which a crime or series of crimes is an integral part of the story are all eligible; anthologies are not. Category includes a wide range of crime fiction subgenres including police procedurals, political/legal/medical thrillers, cozies, and hard-boiled detective stories.

LGBTQ+ Nonfiction:
LGBTQ-themed works for general readers, as opposed to those targeted primarily to scholarly audiences (e.g., LGBT/Queer/Gender Studies programs). Includes but is not limited to law, history, politics, spirituality, humor, parenting, relationships, psychology, travel, and photography. Anthologies (edited collections of separately authored work) are not eligible in the LGBTQ+ Nonfiction category and should be submitted to LGBTQ+ Anthology. (Please see the LGBTQ+ Studies category below for comparison.)

LGBTQ+ Poetry:
Single volumes and collected poems are eligible as are chapbooks over 30 pages in length. Updated editions of previously published works are not eligible unless at least 50% of the poetry (not the supplemental text) is new. Works of specifically Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Poetry are encouraged to submit in their respective categories to allow representations of other identities space in this category.

LGBTQ+ Romance and Erotica:
Novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author that focus on a central love relationship between two or more LGBTQ+ characters, to include characters on the aromantic/asexual spectrum, or whose content is principally of an erotic nature are eligible. Category includes a broad range of subgenres including traditional, historical, gothic, Regency, and paranormal romance. Works of specifically Lesbian or Gay Romance are encouraged to submit in their respective categories to allow representations of other identities space in this category.

LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction:
Includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, and related genres. Novels, novellas, and short story collections are eligible; anthologies are not.

LGBTQ+ Studies:
Scholarly work focusing on issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, and oriented toward academia, libraries, cultural professionals, and the more academic reader. Generally, but not exclusively, published by university presses. Anthologies (edited collections of separately authored work) are not eligible in the LGBTQ+ Studies category and should be submitted to LGBTQ+ Anthology. (Please see the LGBTQ+ Nonfiction category above for comparison.)

lambdaliterary.org/awards/lammys-submissions/

_____

The Artist Publishing Practicum: March 22 - 23, 2025

at Louis Place

INFO: The Artist Publishing Practicum is a virtual crash course on pathways to book publishing, designed for artists and open to all.

Workshops are led with generosity and care by our supportive network of authors, editors, and mentors: Elizabeth Karp-Evans (Pacific), Erika Stevens (Salky Literary Management), Kameelah Janan Rasheed (artist and writer), Karen Kelly (Dancing Foxes Press), Mindy Seu (designer and author, Cyberfeminism Index), Rachel Valinsky (co-founder, Wendy’s Subway; Director of Publications, C.A.R.A.), and Yusuf Hassan (BlackMass Publishing).

The Practicum takes place Saturday, March 22 - Sunday, March 23, 2025.

atlouisplace.com/practicum

_____

Luminary Editorial Incubator for Black Feminist Writers

SISTORIES

DEADLINE: March 24 at 10:00pm ET

INFO: In The Style of Liberation is a two-pronged political education & public program series housed by SISTORIES and curated by Mariah M. designed to develop and deepen attendees' political consciousness & narrative voice.

This program is a study and praxis space for Black women and non-binary/genderqueer artists based in North Carolina looking to make a deeper commitment to both one's craft, study & creative self.

Six (6) young Black creatives, ranging from ages (22-28), will comprise the 16-week Luminary Editorial Incubator (LEI) fellowship cohort. As a part of the cohort, members will engage in craft study of Black radical feminists, their writing and politic, as well as create a zine from both their written and photographic work.

There will also be a zine launch & exhibition opening of the works created during the LEI program held at the conclusion of the program in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Awardees of the Luminary Editorial Incubator fellowship will also receive a personal no-strings scholarship of $1500 to use however is needed in order to actualize themselves as artists paid midway (June) and at the conclusion of the program (August 10th)

To apply to this program you must:

• be Black woman, genderqueer and/or non-binary

• be a current resident of the Southeastern US

• have 8-10 hours weekly for 16 consecutive weeks to dedicate to this program and your creative development

• be available virtually on Tuesday and Thursdays from 6:30-8:30pm EST starting the week of April 6th

• be available Friday, April 11th - Sunday, April 13th for opening weekend orientation

• be available for the artist talk + zine launch on Friday, August 8th & closing brunch Sunday, August 10th

• submit samples of your writing

• have & express your desire and interest to study a Black radical feminist creative writer/figure

Meet the LEI Mentors & Workshop Stewards

Mariah M. (@m_lightsower) | LEI Program Director & Guest Curator of Cultural Programs for SISTORIES ||

Mariah M., or Em, (they/them) is a Black queer writer, cultureworker , and worldbuilder rooting in Greensboro, North Carolina (ancestrally Keyauwee & Saura tribal land). As a practicing abolitionist, Em embodies non-binary as a praxis for navigating our lives under and undoing imperialism, and moves with their roles in community inseparable from their identity as an artist. by way of Toni Cade Bambara, they aim to use their existence to the ends of making revolution irresistible. They are presently a 2024-25 Mellon Community Fellow with the Diaspora Solidarities Lab and a 2024 Winter Roots.Wounds.Words. Fellow in Speculative Fiction. They are the inaugural artist-in-residence at The Beautiful Project (c. 2023) and Program Steward of Ekphrasis in Black, an artist incubator for young Black women & non-binary folk designed for fellows to expand in both poetryform and photography as well as deepen in politic. They are also a two-time Watering Hole fellow (c. 2017, 2019) and an Emergent Poet Fellow with Crescendo Literary & the National Poetry Foundation (c. 2017). You can find Em talking to a tree about our futures, indoors dancing under red lights and on Substack at Selfish Mars Musings. They have poems published by the Neighbor News Pan-African News Service of Oakland, voicemail poems & SISTORIES.

Ashley Nickens (@laydeeashley) | Founding Director & Editor-in-Chief of SISTORIES Literary Magazine || 

Ashley Nickens (she/her) is an educator, writer, and the founding director of SISTORIES—a southern-rooted queer Black feminist publishing and production organization that explores sites of recovery and resistance in the archival narratives of southern Black women, femmes, and GNC people. Born in Maryland, raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, and made a woman in the Carolinas, her work is grounded in her southeastern roots, and seeks to continue a tradition of Black feminist storysharing that uncovers, recovers, and (re)creates models of possibility across time and space. In 2024, Ashley received the Charlotte Arts & Science Council $50,000 Founders Grant Award for visionary artists who build and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to community. She has held artist residencies as a Culture Bearer with QC Family Tree (2024),  a Prismatic Artivist with  Cypress Fund (2022-2024), and The Roll Up CLT (2021). Her writing has been published in RaceBaitr, Engaging Collections, and Black Femme Collective.  

Samiah Fulcher (@samiahfulcher) | Editorial Mentor, Poetry Editor @ SISTORIES ||

Samiah Fulcher is a lifelong writer and editor moved by personal poetry and the world-building power of narrative storytelling. As a proudly Black, Queer, and Jewish woman from the South, it is the weaving of disparate parts in visual art, media, and the written word that inspires her passion for building community. She has spent the last 5+ years braiding experiences in nonprofit communications and community strategy with a deeply rooted commitment to creative expression. From Nigeria to Montreal, uplifting interconnected narratives of peoples, cultures, and the places they’re from is the North Star for her work in this life.

Ivy Nicole-Jonét (@ivynicolejonet) | Study & Curriculum Mentor || 

Ivy Nicole-Jonét is a Black Womxn and storyteller based in Greensboro, NC, whose work teleports between the past, present, and future. Rooted in Afrofuturism and Black Womxnism, their art blends archival exploration, digital media, and immersive landscapes to conjure spaces where history and imagination embrace. Water flows through Ivy’s work as both an ancestral guide and a symbol of transformation, shaping dreamscapes where Black Womxn and folx exist in their full power—unbound, thriving, free. Each piece is a ritual, a reclamation, and a call to remember and reimagine liberation.

Fola Onifade (@_holafola) | Editorial Mentor, Poetry Editor @ SISTORIES ||

Fola Onifade (she/they) is an Aries sun, Libra moon, and Aries rising, so it's sweet and spicy over here. She serves as Sistories' Editorial Director and Poetry Editor and is the staff writer and associate podcast producer for Democracy in Color, a nonprofit media organization at the intersection of race and politics. In her creative work, Fola explores and celebrates the realities of African diaspora women through poetry, playwriting, and narrative fiction. You can find her on a nature trail, strolling in an art museum, or nibbling on plantain chips.

J. Tiffany Holland | Study & Curriculum Mentor || 

J. Tiffany Holland is a public educator, freedom dreamer, and wayward scholar. Her scholarly passions focus on the expansiveness and complexities of black identity and the potentials of black liberation. A
former performing artist and middle-school teacher, Tiffany teaches in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She livesin Greensboro, North Carolina with her partner, her wonder-twin children, and her extended and magical queer family.

We can't wait to review your application! If you have any questions, please email mariahmcreates@gmail.com with 'LEI' in the subject line.

The Luminary Editorial Incubator is a program and personal project of Mariah M. as SISTORIES' Guest Curator of Cultural Programs. This project is made possible in part by the Poetry Partnerships, Programs and Innovation Grant awarded jointly to Mariah M. and SISTORIES by the National Poetry Foundation.

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbB8jkD1UqvbwuwG6QJqE8rWtaJBWz-UjoNCnRxRz0zjJ07g/viewform

_____

call for submissions: Winter Black fox prize

Black Fox

DEADLINE: March 30, 2025 by midnight EST

ENTRY FEE: $12

INFO: Black Fox is accepting submissions for our winter writing prize. The theme for this round is “Rise or Ruin.” We are open to loose interpretations of the theme in any genre, as always.

Good reputation or bad? Reputations can mold destinies, define legacies, and/or echo through history. We invite writers to investigate a reputation’s power, potential, and frailty. Will your hero rise or will your legends fall? Give us themes of redemption, scandal, honor, or betrayal—where truth or lies can shift the direction of a life or shatter a legacy in a single moment. We’re looking for work that will uncover truths behind personas and reveal the complex layers of how we are perceived and remembered.

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

PRIZE: $325 and print publication in the Summer 2025 issue. All submissions are considered for print publication in the Summer 2025 issue.

https://blackfoxlitmag.com/contests/

_____

THE WRITING FELLOWSHIP 

A Public Space

DEADLINE: March 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm ET 

INFO: The Writing Fellowships at A Public Space support writers who embrace risk in their work and their own singular vision. Writers who have not yet published a book are invited to apply. The three Fellows selected annually receive editorial support to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine; a $1,000 honorarium; complimentary access to all A Public Space Master Classes during the fellowship year; the opportunity to meet virtually with members of the publishing community and to participate in a public reading.

APPLICATION DETAILS:

Time Period and Compensation: Writers who have not yet contracted to publish a book are invited to apply to the 2025 Writing Fellowships. Submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are welcome. Three fellowships will be awarded. 

During the seven-month fellowship, fellows will receive:

• editorial support from A Public Space editors to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine;

• a $1,000 honorarium;

• a one-year subscription to A Public Space;

• a guest pass to attend Master Classes;

• the opportunity to participate in a public reading and conversation with A Public Space editors and contributors.

ELIGIBILITY: Only writers who have not yet published or been contracted to write a book-length work with a U.S. publisher are eligible. Writers who have self-published, published an academic text, published a book with a publisher outside the U.S., or translated another writer’s work are eligible to apply. Writers who have published a chapbook or published (or contracted to publish) a book-length work in any of the fellowship genres (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) in the U.S. are ineligible to apply. International applicants are encouraged to apply, but we are only able to consider submissions in English. Only one submission per person is allowed. Please do not submit a piece you have previously submitted to A Public Space, either through the Fellowship category, the General Submissions category, or an Open Call. A Public Space reserves the right to invite submissions.

TIMELINE: Successful applicants will be informed no later than May 27, 2025. The fellowship period will be June 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025.

PROCEDURE: Only electronic submissions will be considered. Applications must be submitted through the Writing Fellowship category in Submittable. (The category will not be available until March 1, 2025.) There is no application fee. Please submit the following:

• A résumé

• A cover letter containing a one-paragraph biographical statement; one paragraph that is a favorite of yours from a book you've read, be it recently or long ago; and a brief statement telling us why this particular passage is meaningful to you. 

• One previously unpublished piece (for prose, a limit of 6,000 words; for poetry, up to 15 pages). If selected, the submitted manuscript is the piece that will be published in the magazine. 

Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please note that if any part of the submitted work is accepted elsewhere, you will be required to withdraw your entire application; replacement submissions will not be accepted once the deadline has passed. 

Only PDF or Word files (.doc and .docx) are accepted. The cover letter and manuscript should be submitted as separate files. Incomplete applications will not be considered and will be returned unread.

apublicspace.org/about/fellowships/writing-fellowship 

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WINTER 2025 STORY CONTEST

Narrative

DEADLINE: March 31, 2025 by 11:59 pm PST

SUBMISSION FEE: $27 (with your entry, you’ll receive three months of complimentary access to Narrative Backstage).

INFO: Our Winter 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.

Narrative winners and finalists have gone on to win Whiting Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, the Pushcart Prize, and the Atlantic prize, and have appeared in collections such as Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and many others. View the recent awards won by Narrative authors.

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.

We welcome and look forward to reading your pages.

AWARDS: 

• First Prize is $2,500

• Second Prize is $1,000

• Third Prize is $500

• Up to ten finalists will 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 April 30, 2025. 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/winter-2025-story-contest

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2025 creative nonfiction Prize

Indiana Review

DEADLINE: March 31, 2025 by 11:59pm

SUBMISSION FEE: $20 (comes with a year-long subscription to Indiana Review. Entrants without a US mailing address will receive an electronic version of the journal.

INFO: Send us one creative nonfiction piece, up to 5000 words, for a chance at $1000 + publication. Each paid submission also gets you a year-long subscription to Indiana Review. Entrants without a US mailing address will receive an electronic version of the journal.

Please note the following:

• Previously published works and works forthcoming elsewhere cannot be considered.

• Multiple and simultaneous submissions are permitted; however, each submission requires a separate reading fee. Please withdraw your piece immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.

• IR cannot consider work from anyone currently or recently affiliated with Indiana University or the prize judges. This includes people who have studied or taught at Indiana University in the past four years.

JUDGE: Shayla Lawson

indianareview.submittable.com/submit

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The Future Success of American Writers

Deep South Convening

DEADLINE: March 31, 2025

INFO: This event convenes writers, literary nonprofits, journal publishers, book publishers, writing programs, and funders. Our aim is to listen to writers speak about what they need to thrive, understand the work that organizations and funders already do to support that goal, and synthesize findings to develop and grow bold new initiatives that nurture and embolden writers who live or work in the American South.

RATIONALE: The Deep South has historically lagged other regions in terms of literary infrastructure, including access to publishing houses, agents, journals, and residency programs. In an era where storytelling has the power to unite and inspire or divide and demean, our goal is to take one big step to overcoming the historical and contemporary challenges that writers in the South face while gathering and amplifying a diverse array of voices from the region.

ATTENDANCE: 100 people will attend by way of invitation or application. No one will pay registration fees.Some people will receive travel stipends. Applications will be available on Submittable. Writers and organizers working in the South are encouraged to apply to attend the convening. A successful applicant will demonstrate a commitment to building literary community in the South and a commitment to active participation in the convening, bringing expertise from their work in their own communities.

Organizers

• Ashley M. Jones, Poet Laureate of Alabama, Executive Director of Magic City Poetry Festival

• Meg Reid, Executive Director, Publisher, Hub City Press

• John T Edge, Developer, Greenfield Farm Writers Residency, University of Mississippi

hubcity.submittable.com/submit

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The American Library in Paris Visiting Fellowship

The American Library in Paris

DEADLINE: April 1, 2025

APPLICATION FEE: €30 

INFO: The American Library in Paris Visiting Fellowship offers writers, researchers, and creators the unique opportunity to spend a month in Parisworking independently on their own creative project while contributing to the cultural life of the Library.

In addition to working on their own project, Fellows present a public program during their residency that engages our audience and members around a central theme. The theme for 2025-2026 is Ways of Seeing.

THEME: Ways of Seeing is a theme that invites exploration of how we perceive and interpret the world through art, literature, media, and culture. Inspired by John Berger’s influential work and the broader concept of understanding perspectives, this theme encourages Fellows to delve into new ways of thinking, creating, and connecting. Programs could explore topics such as visual storytelling, cultural perception, cross-cultural exchange, or innovative approaches to creativity and representation. 

FELLOWSHIP DETAILS: 

• Residency Period: One month, between September 2025 and June 2026. Fellowships are not available in July or August due to the Library’s programming hiatus.

• Stipend: $5,000 USD paid prior to the Fellowship period to cover travel, accommodation, and expenses in Paris.

• Eligibility: Open to writers, researchers, journalists, poets, screenwriters, playwrights, directors, and documentary filmmakers. International applicants are welcome.

THE FELLOWSHIP INCLUDES:

• An orientation day that includes meeting Library staff, a guided tour of the collections and archives, and lunch.

• A Library membership with full access to the Library’s collections, archives, and e-resources.

• A commitment to spend at least three half-days per weekin the Library during the residency working on your personal creative project.

• Dedicated time and space to work independently on a self-guided creative project.

• The opportunity to develop and deliver a one-hour public program tied to the theme of Ways of Seeing. This program could be a talk, workshop, panel, performance, or other creative format.

• Opportunities to attend fundraising dinners, cocktail gatherings, or exclusive events as a representative of the Fellowship.

• Participation in filming promotional material for the Library and your Fellowship experience.

• A final exit interview to share feedback and insights about the Fellowship experience.

• An expectation to acknowledge the Library and Fellowship in any publications or media resulting from the project.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applications for the Visiting Fellowship require:

• A single PDF file (maximum 5 pages) containing:

• A one-page cover letter and a two-page CV.

• A one-page narrative description of your personal creative project, including its timeline, current stage, and how the Fellowship at the Library will contribute to its success.

• Three brief (max. 50 words each) proposals for a public program tied to Ways of Seeing.

• Two professional references (names and contact information).

americanlibraryinparis.org/about-the-visiting-fellowship/

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Black Mountain Institute-Kluge Fellowship

Black Mountain Institute / Library of Congress

DEADLINE: April 1, 2025

INFO: The Black Mountain Institute-Kluge Fellowship consists of a three-month term for a writer whose book would directly benefit from access to the Library of Congress’ extensive collections and time in which to conduct research and write. Although this fellowship has some in-person requirements it is primarily virtual, wherein the recipient can continue most of their scholarship and creative activity where they live while receiving prestigious support from Black Mountain Institute and the Library of Congress. During the three-month term, the fellow will spend two weeks at the Library of Congress conducting research. After the conclusion of their fellowship, the scholar/writer will visit BMI and UNLV in Las Vegas to offer a public program during the academic year.

The fellowship includes

• a salary of $15,000 to be paid over a three-month period

• flights to/from Washington, D.C. for research at The Kluge Center

• flights to/from Las Vegas for a public program

• 3 nights of lodging in Las Vegas

• recognition as a BMI-Kluge Fellow

Applicants must have a master’s degree or doctorate directly related to the area/subjects the applicant proposes to study (although, major creative or scholarly publications in the area of the proposed research may replace the graduate degree requirement); or, a bachelor's degree plus five (5) years professional work experience. 

The application includes:

• a proposal regarding the project the fellowship would serve, 1 - 3 pages in length 

• identification of specific Library collections materials that the applicant deems necessary for their research

• a CV

• a writing sample of no more than 10 pages, double-spaced in 12-point font

• three references’ names and contact information 

ABOUT:

The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute at UNLV champions writers and storytellers through programs, fellowships and community engagement. From the brightest spot on the planet, Black Mountain Institute amplifies writing and artistic expression to connect us to each other in the Las Vegas Valley, the Southwest, and beyond.

The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress was created in the year 2000 to host scholarly programs and to support scholars in residence from around the world in their use of the Library’s extensive collections.

blackmountaininstitute.submittable.com/submit

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Ann Perry Award

Red Hen Press

DEADLINE: April 1, 2025

SUBMISSION FEE: $0

INFO: Founded in 2020 in partnership with Red Hen Press and the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance, the Ann Petry Award seeks to publish prose literature by Black authors.

The Ann Petry Award is for a work of previously unpublished prose (including self-published works), either a novel or a collection of short stories or novellas, with a minimum of 150 pages, by a Black writer.

The awarded manuscript is selected through an annual submission process, with primary review by Aliah Wright, who will winnow the submissions to a list of finalists for the final judge.

The Ann Petry Award will consist of $3000 and publication of the awarded manuscript by Red Hen Press, as well as a four-week residency at The Community Library's Ernest and Mary Hemingway House in Ketchum, Idaho.

Please use double-spaced, 12-pt. Times New Roman font. Title only on the cover sheet, with no other identifying information on the manuscript itself. The entry should be a minimum of 150 pages. 

ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES:  

The Ann Petry Award is open to all Black writers, with the following exceptions:

• Authors who have had a full-length work published by Red Hen Press, or a full-length work currently under consideration by Red Hen Press;

• Current employees, interns, or contractors of Red Hen Press;

• Relatives of employees or members of the Red Hen Press executive board of directors;

• Members or former members of the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance;

• Relatives or individuals having a personal or professional relationship with any of the final judges or with members of the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance where they have taken any part whatsoever in shaping the manuscript, or where, for whatever reason, selecting a particular manuscript might have the appearance of impropriety.

PROCEDURES + ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

To be certain that every manuscript finalist receives the fairest evaluation, all manuscripts shall be submitted to the judges without any identifying material. Bios, acknowledgments, and other identifying material shall be removed from judged manuscripts until the conclusion of the competition.

Please remove all names, bios, acknowledgments, and other identifying material from the submitted manuscript, and include only your name, contact information, and a short biographical statement in the cover letter field of Submittable.  

The Ann Petry Award of Red Hen Press and the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance is committed to maintaining the utmost integrity of our awards. Judges shall recuse themselves from considering any manuscript where they recognize the work. In the event of recusal, a manuscript score previously assigned by the managing editor of the press will be substituted.

redhen.org/awards/ann-petry-award

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Call for submissions: Prose, Poetry + Translation

Michigan Quarterly Review

DEADLINE: April 1, 2025

ENTRY FEE: $3

INFO: Michigan Quarterly Review is currently seeking submissions of prose, poetry and translation for its print journal. The average turnaround time is six months, but we may take longer and ask that you do not query us until a year has passed.

GUIDELINES:

• Prose submissions: Manuscripts should be double-spaced, right margins not justified; 1,500–7,000 words. All nonfiction submissions will be automatically considered for publication in MQR Online. All stories accepted for publication will be passed on to a judge as finalists for the $2000 Lawrence Prize. There is no additional fee for the prize beyond submission.

• Poetry submissions: Please submit up to 6 poems in one document, not to exceed a total of 12 pages. Poems published in MQR by early career writers (those who have not yet published a full-length collection) will be considered as finalists for our Page Davidson Clayton Prize.

• Translations: Please submit translations in the appropriate genre and include biographical information for both the author and translator.

Upon publication, MQR takes a nonexclusive license to publish work in print and online in perpetuity, and requests that MQR is formally acknowledged as the first publisher in any reprints.

mqr.submittable.com/submit

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The State of the Art Prize

Creative Capital

DEADLINE: April 3, 2025

INFO: Through the 2026 Open Call process for the Creative Capital Award, Creative Capital will also select recipients of the State of the Art Prize, a new national, two-year initiative, which aims to recognize one artist residing in each U.S. state and its territories, with an unrestricted grant of $10,000 per artist. All applicants to the Creative Capital Award will be automatically considered for the State of the Art Prize and will be evaluated for the Prize using the same criteria; there is no separate application process. State of the Art Prize recipients will also have access to a suite of online professional development resources, including the Creative Capital Curriculum and Artist Labs, Artist Opportunities, and online community-building opportunities.

State of the Art Prize recipients may apply again to future open calls for the Creative Capital Award. However, artists who have already received the Creative Capital Award may not apply for the State of the Art Prize. Both the State of the Art Prize and the Creative Capital Award are one-time awards. 

APPLICATION PROCESS:

ROUND I: Project Proposal

Creative Capital welcomes project proposals for original, imaginative, impactful new artistic works in Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Film, and Literature. Multidisciplinary, technology, and/or socially-engaged projects are welcome in every category. 

Along with a project title, one line project description (50 words max), project description (500 words max), bio, resume, and artist website (recommended), applicants will answer the following questions:

1. Creative Capital supports formally and conceptually innovative and experimental work. How does your project idea take an original and imaginative approach to content and form? (150 words / 1,000 characters max)

2. Place your work in context. What are the main influences upon your work as an artist? How does your past work inform your current project? (150 words / 1,000 character max)

3. What kind of impact do you hope your project will have, and why? What specific audiences and/or communities will the project engage? (150 words / 1,000 character max)

4. Creative Capital awards artists at catalytic moments in their careers. How is this a catalytic moment in your practice? How will your proposed project or new work act as a catalyst for your artistic and professional growth? (150 words / 1,000 character max)

5. Creative Capital provides professional development services and community-building opportunities for awardees and encourages a spirit of mutual generosity and exchange among our artists. How would this support and being part of the Creative Capital community be impactful for you? (150 words / 1,000 character max)

In addition, applicants will submit one (1) work sample from a completed, past work. 

• Visual Arts applicants will submit one Image Sample or Video Sample. 

• Performing Arts applicants will submit one Video Sample.

• Film applicants will submit one Video Sample.

• Literature applicants will submit one Writing Sample.

For more details on application questions and work sample guidelines, see the Creative Capital Application Handbook.

ROUND II: Project Details

Applicants selected by our external reviewers to advance to Round II will submit additional materials to support their application:

1. Project itemized budget

2. Project timeline (1 page)

3. Work samples (see Application Handbook for guidelines)

4. Proof of eligibility

ROUND III: Panel Review

Applicants selected by our external reviewers to advance to Round III will be asked to:

1. Confirm collaborators (if applicable)

2. Submit project updates (optional, 100 words max)

2026 OPEN CALL APPLICATION TIMNLINE:

These dates may change.

• March 3, 2025: Round I application portal opens

• April 3, 2025 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time: Round I application deadline

• June 2025: Notification of advancement to Round II

• September 2025: Notification of advancement to Round III: Final Panel Review

• Early 2026: Public announcement of 2026 Creative Capital Awards and State of the Art Prizes

Artist Eligibility

• US citizen, permanent legal resident, O-1 visa holder, or Tribal ID holder

• At least 25 years old by application deadline

• Working artist(s) with at least 5 years of professional artistic practice within their chosen discipline

• Applicant may not be enrolled in a degree-granting program

• May not apply to the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant program in the same year

• May not have previously received a Creative Capital Award

• May not be an applicant or collaborator on more than one proposed project per year

• State of the Art Prize recipients must be a resident of the state they are awarded in through February 1, 2026. Prize recipients must provide proof of residence in the state or territory to receive the grant. 

Projects that are not eligible

• Projects whose main purpose is promotional

• Project is to fund ongoing operations of existing business or nonprofit organization 

• Curation or documentation of existing work

• Projects that will premiere or be completed before October 1, 2026

FAQS:

Eligibility

• Do you fund artist-run nonprofits or businesses?

The Creative Capital Award is specifically designed to support the realization of new artist projects. Creative Capital does not fund nonprofits and artist-run businesses, nor are Creative Capital’s services well-suited to support these kinds of ventures. 

• Do you fund curatorial projects?

The Creative Capital Award does not support the production of exhibitions. Creative Capital funds new, discrete artistic projects that have one author, director, lead or a core group of collaborating artists. 

• Do you fund educational projects?

Creative Capital supports artist projects, and does not fund projects that are solely academic. While Creative Capital understands that all art is educational to some degree, if the end goal of your project is to serve a student audience, create a curriculum, or help fund programming for a community center, then the project is ineligible.

• I am looking to expand an existing project, should I apply?

Creative Capital is most interested in projects that are in the early stages of development and production, as they can benefit the most from the services that Creative Capital offers. That being said, if you still consider your project to be in development or have only shared the work in workshops or much more condensed versions, you are welcome to apply. Note that Creative Capital does not provide support to projects that are at a stage where they need finishing funds or touring support. Creative Capital asks our reviewers to specifically consider the timeline of development for a project to make sure that Creative Capital can make the most impact on the artist and the final results of their project. If you think that a significantly more evolved version of your project could take form, then the project is eligible. 

• How do you define five years of professional experience?

Creative Capital defines five years of professional experience as engaging an artistic practice in some public capacity over a cumulative five years. This could be constituted through projects, exhibitions, readings, panel conversations, screenings, interviews, etc. 

• How do you define student status?

All applicants must have finished any degree-granting educational commitments before applying. This applies to ABD (all but dissertation) status Ph.D. candidates and students in low-residency MFA programs. 

• Can I apply with multiple projects?

You may only submit one project per award cycle. Artists may not apply as a collaborator on an additional application, as all collaborators are considered awardees. 

Application Materials

• My work spans multiple disciplines. How do I pick just one?

Creative Capital invites artists to submit their proposals based on which area experts are most suited and qualified to review the project proposal, with the understanding that radical art is often by nature interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, or antidisciplinary. Choosing a disciplinary category is a way to frame the discussion around your work and to indicate which experts are most qualified to evaluate the project proposal.

• How do you define the “Technology” sub-discipline category in Visual Arts and Performing Arts?

Visual Arts and Performing Arts applicants have the option of selecting “Technology” as one of their project’s three sub-disciplines if technology (including but not limited to: games, digital media, artificial intelligence, robotics, AR/VR, internet art, bio art, etc.) plays a significant role in the form of the work.

• What kind of non-monetary support does Creative Capital provide?

Creative Capital offers a range of professional development services including strategic planning, legal and financial advising, marketing and communications strategy, industry networking, awardee gatherings, and artist-to-artist connections. 

• Why do you ask about my hometown?

The hometown question lets us know if you maintain roots that are different from your present location. Creative Capital finds that many people who currently live and work in major cities still identify as coming from another place. If you were born and raised in your current city, please enter your current city.

• My application contains sensitive information. How are you going to use this information? Can I submit it another way besides through your application portal?

Creative Capital is only able to receive information through the application portal as this is what reviewers use to access and score submissions. Applications are only shared with select Creative Capital staff and the reviewers who will evaluate the project. You can make note of any sensitive information in the materials or in the title of your work.

State of the Art Prize

• How are State of the Art Prize recipients selected?

The State of the Art Prize recipients will be selected from the Creative Capital Award applicants, following the same guidelines and criteria. There is no separate application process. A multi-disciplinary cohort of artists will be selected for as many states and territories as Creative Capital receives applications from. They represent the strongest applications per state.

• How many artists will receive the State of the Art Prize?

One artist will be selected for the Prize from each state and territory that Creative Capital receives applications from.

• What is the Prize amount?

Prize recipients will receive $10,000.

• Are collaboratives eligible for the State of the Art Prize? Do all members of the collaborative have to live in the same state to be eligible?

For Collaboratives, eligibility for State of the Art Prize is based on the state of residence of the Lead Applicant.

• If I receive the State of the Art Prize, am I required to complete my proposed project?

No, this is an unrestricted artist prize of $10,000.

• Can I apply for both the Creative Capital Award and the State of the Art Prize? If so, how?

The State of the Art Prize recipients will be selected from the Creative Capital Award applicants. There is no separate application process.

• Is it possible to receive both a Creative Capital Award and State of the Art Prize in the same year?

No. State of the Art Prize recipients are welcome to apply for the Creative Capital Award in future grant cycles. Past recipients of the Creative Capital Award are not eligible to apply for the State of the Art Prize. Recipients of the State of the Art Prize may apply again for the Creative Capital Award, but will not receive the State of Art Prize a second time.

More questions? Email awards@creative-capital.org. No phone calls please.

creative-capital.org/about-the-creative-capital-award

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Call for Submissions: Incarcerated Writers & Families

Massachusetts Review

DEADLINE: April 4, 2024

INFO: INCARCERATED WRITERS & FAMILIES is a special Massachusetts Review issue that seeks to center and honor the literary art of incarcerated writers and their families. 

With INCARCERATED WRITERS & FAMILIES, a special issue, the Massachusetts Review intends to extend the definition of families and broaden the portrait of lives impacted by our justice system to include that most basic unit of our society, the family. We are interested in traditional families but also in alternative forms of caretaking, parenting, and kinship that have a long history in queer and/or BIPOC communities. 

The Massachusetts Review seeks writers who can reveal more about how the concept of family might be transformed by those who are on the inside. When the bonds with their loved ones outside are severed, what kind of familial care emerges between people who are still incarcerated, in spite of the carceral system's tactics for dividing and isolating them from one another? 

In the spirit of the stunning documentary Time, created by Garrett Bradley, the Massachusetts Review wants to publish stories, poems, essays, hybrids, and art that follow the struggles of families to confront, survive, and triumph over the challenges that incarceration creates for both prisoners and their families. We seek writing and art that traces the tragic aftermath and long-term effects on children and families that too often result from a system that we euphemistically call “correctional.” We are also interested in how communal caretaking that redefines what "family" means (and what justice means) contributes to the overall goal of prison abolition. In widening our focus to include family members as well as the incarcerated, we hope to give a more accurate portrait of the toll of our prison-industrial complex and also include readers who haven’t yet confronted the Kafka-esque dilemma of standing directly before the law.

INCARCERATED WRITERS & FAMILIES is a special MR issue that asks for your personal essays, stories, interviews, poems, hybrids and visual art about incarceration and its direct and indirect impacts. Your essays, stories, interviews, poems, and/or hybrids might (but do not have to) engage these questions:

1. How can a family persist in the face of incarceration’s barriers and obstacles?

2. What is the impact of incarceration on the radius of care beyond the individual imprisoned?

3. How do definitions of family shift, contract and/or widen in the carceral environment?

SUBMISSION INFO: Submissions should be no more than 7,000 words for prose (fiction, nonfiction), hybrids, up to 6 poems for poetry, or up to 3 pages of visual art. We are interested in submissions from people who are most marginalized by oppressive systems, to include trans, gender queer, poverty-born, incarcerated, justice-involved, system-impacted, disabled, neurodivergent, BIPOC, colonized, people living on the frontlines of climate crisis, and others. 

COMPENSATION: Published writers will receive $300 upon publication.

Please send work as a Word or PDF attachment to themassreview@gmail.com and indicate the special issue and genre in the subject line (i.e. "INCARCERATED WRITERS & FAMILIES: Fiction"). 

If online submission is not possible, please mail work to:

The Massachusetts Review
400 Venture Way

Hadley, MA 01035

PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS OF PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK.

themassachusettsreview.substack.com/p/mr-call-for-papers

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APPLY YOURSELF! Applying to Residencies, Grants, Workshops, and Other Writing Opportunities in Europe and Beyond

Black Women Writers in Europe

INFO: Are you looking for opportunities to support, develop or fund your writing? 

Join BWWE co-founders, Joy and Jeannetta, for a two-part class designed to help writers navigate the world of residencies, grants, fellowships, workshops, and other writing programs in Europe and beyond.

DATES:

• April 6, 2025 (Session 1 - Resources + Artist Statement DNA)

• April 20, 2025 (Live Feedback Session on Submitted Artist Statements)

TIME:: 7:30–9:30 PM CET

LOCATION: Zoom

PRICE: 50€

WHAT TO EXPECT:

In this hands-on workshop, we will explore:

• The different types of writing opportunities available, including residencies, fellowships, grants, workshops, mentorships, and MFA programs.

• How to find and research opportunities that align with your goals.

• How to craft a compelling artist statement—a key component of most applications.

• Writing prompts and exercises to help articulate your creative vision.

• During the second session, we will provide feedback and guidance on your artist statements, helping to refine applications for success.

 Whether you’re new to applying for opportunities or looking to strengthen your applications, this workshop will give you practical tools and confidence to take the next step in your writing journey.

Limited spots available! Sign up now to secure your place.

blackwomenwritersineurope.com/the-classes

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OPEN CALL - THIS QUEER ARAB FAMILY: AN ANTHOLOGY BY LGBTQ+ ARAB WRITERS

Saqi Books (UK)

DEADLINE: April 10, 2025 at Midnight GMT

ENTRY FEE: £0

INFO: Are you Queer and of Arab heritage? Do you have something to say about it? Would you like your work to be published alongside other ground-breaking writers, including Randa Jarrar and Elias Jahshan?

Whether you’re a published author or are looking to get your life writing down for the first time, we would love to read about your experiences.

Successful pieces from the open call will be included in a collection titled This Queer Arab Family, edited by Elias Jahshan and published by Saqi Books (September 2025). This intimate and hopeful collection celebrates the family we inherit and the friends we choose to become our family. It is a testament to the challenges and triumphs that bind us together.

You might want to write about:

• Finding kinship in unexpected places – at festivals, online, etc

• Parenting – rewriting the parenting ‘rule’ book

• Staying connected with extended family around the world – the wild etiquette of your family WhatsApp group, the rituals we hold dear to feel near to one another

The writing you submit can be funny, poignant, passionate, thoughtful, angry and every shade in between. We want to readers to understand how LGBTQ+ Arabs are redefining what traditional roles and relationships look like.

COMPENSATION: Successful writers whose work is selected will be notified in May 2025 and paid a fee of £400.

Please review the guidelines and submit your writing for consideration at submissions@saqibooks.com

saqibooks.com/2025/02/open-call-for-submissions-this-queer-arab-family/