FICTION / NONFICTION - APRIL 2016

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Shade Mountain Press

INFO: Shade Mountain Press is seeking novel manuscripts (70,000 words or more) by African American women writers. Submissions can be any topic and style (preferably literary rather than genre).

They do not publish children’s or young adult literature.

READING PERIOD: April 1 – July 1, 2016

shademountainpress.com/contact.php

 

IMMIGRATION WRITING FELLOW

Center for Community Change Action

 INFO: The Center for Community Change Action seeks an Immigration Writing Fellow for their Latino and immigrant voter program. The ideal candidate is a first-time voter who has been personally affected by the country’s immigration policies (with either parents, siblings or other close relatives who are undocumented immigrants). Special consideration will be given to candidates based in Florida, Colorado or Nevada.

The writing fellow would be responsible for identifying potential stories and storytellers within the nation’s vast immigrant community and will conduct interviews and write first-person essays and opinion pieces or third-person reported narratives. The Fellow will also be trained as a spokesperson for the organization and is expected to appear in front of the media or before a public audience and speak about their personal experiences related to immigration. 

DEADLINE: April 1, 2016

cccaction.org/immigration-writing-fellow/

 

LUCIEN STRYK ASIAN TRANSLATION PRIZE

The American Literary Translators Association 

INFO: The prize recognizes the importance of Asian translation for international literature and promotes the translation of Asian works into English. Submission will be judged on the literary significance of the translation in recreating the literary artistry of the original.

To be eligible, works must be:

  • Book-length translations into English of Asian poetry or source texts from Zen Buddhism
  • Book-length translations from Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean into English
  • Published in the previous year (though re-translations or first-time translations of important older works will also be considered)

DEADLINE: April 8, 2016

literarytranslators.org/awards/lucien-stryk-prize

 

2016 SHORT FICTION COMPETITION

Kore Press

INFO: Judged by Edwidge Danticat, the competition is open to any female-identified individual writing in English, regardless of nationality.  

SUBMISSION FEE: $20

DEADLINE: April 10, 2016

korepress.org/KorePressShortFictionAward.htm

 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: IMMIGRANT WRITERS

Ninth Letter

INFO: Ninth Letter is accepting submissions of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry from immigrant writers (those who consider themselves to be 1st, 1.5, or 2nd generation immigrants in their current country of residence) for a special online edition to be published at ninthletter.com in Summer 2016. Submissions are not required to focus on the "immigrant experience" and can be on any and all topics. 

DEADLINE: April 15, 2016

ninthletteronline.submittable.com/submit

 

THE PINK DOOR WRITERS RETREAT

INFO: The Pink Door Women’s Writing Retreat is exclusively for writers of color. It serves to promote community and dialogue for writers currently excluded from the dominant cultural narrative; it actively seeks to bring Black women, women of color, trans women and gender non-conforming writers / activists / scholars / rebels and regional voices into exchange & engagement with each other to provide a space for mentorship and exploration of ideas while building an active and informed literary community.  

 The retreat will be held in Rochester, New York from July 27-30, 2016.

APPLICATIONS DUE: April 15, 2016

thepinkdoorwomenswritingretreat.tumblr.com/

 

2016 KIMBILIO [FICTION] SUMMER RETREAT

INFO: Kimbilio [Fiction], a community of writers and scholars committed to developing, empowering and sustaining fiction writers from the African diaspora, is currently accepting applications for their summer retreat, which will be held at SMU Campus in Taos, New Mexico from July 17-23, 2016.

FEES: Tuition is covered by Kimbilio [Fiction] and there is no application fee, however, participants are responsible for their own transportation to/from the retreat as well as a fee that partially covers the costs for room and board with the amount varying by size of the chosen accommodation. Should one get accepted, a $200 deposit is due by May 15 to secure a spot at the summer retreat. 

DEADLINE: April 15, 2016 (for applications)

kimbiliosubmissions.submittable.com/submit

 

WALTER DEAN MYERS GRANT 2016

We Need Diverse Books

INFO: We Need Diverse Books™ honors the memory of celebrated children’s book author Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014) by establishing a grant in his name. Walter Dean Myers was a lifelong advocate for diversity in youth literature, and a National Book Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His legacy can be seen in the thousands of lives he touched, including those of readers and authors alike.  

Eligibility requirements include:

  • Applicants must identify as diverse.
  • Applicants must be unpublished as illustrators and/or authors. This includes both trade publishing and self-publishing. If the applicant has a book deal for an as yet unpublished book, the applicant is considered published for purposes of this grant. Essays, short stories, and articles do not render an applicant ineligible.
  • Applicant must be working toward a career as a children’s author and/or illustrator. This includes but is not limited to: Picture Books, Early Reader Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade Books,Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction, and Poetry.

AWARD: $2,000 to five winners individually.

APPLICATIONS OPEN: April 15, 2016 

DEADLINE: May 15, 2016

weneeddiversebooks.org/walter-grant-submission-guidelines/

 

PEN PARENTIS WRITING FELLOWSHIP FOR NEW PARENTS

INFO: Pen Parentis, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to authors who are also parents, is accepting applications for its Fellowship, which will promote the creation of new work by writers with at least one child under the age of 10. All genres and styles of fiction are welcome and novel excerpts are acceptable if they can stand alone as a story.

PRIZE: $1000, presented at the Pen Parentis Literary Salon on September 13th, 2016, in conjunction with the reading of the winning work. In addition, the Fellow will be showcased for one year on their website as the “Pen Parentis Writing Fellow” and paired with an established author.

SUBMISSION FEE: $20 (and an extra $5 fee if submitted online)

DEADLINE: April 18, 2016 

penparentis.org/fellowships/guidelines/

 

2016 NOEMI BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

Noemi Press

INFO: Fiction writers at any stage in their career may submit a manuscript (no page limit). All manuscripts are read blind so they request that applicants strip their manuscript of all identifying material, including title pages, dedications, and acknowledgements; otherwise, the manuscript will not be considered. Contest winners will be announced in summer 2016.

ENTRY FEE: $25

PRIZE: $1,000, plus publication by Noemi Press, and 10 author’s copies.  

DEADLINE: April 30, 2016 

noemipress.org/contest/

 

SI LEEDS LITERARY PRIZE

INFO: SI Leeds Literary Prize is a biennial prize for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women resident in the UK aged 18 years and over. The prize aims to act as a loudspeaker for Black and Asian women’s voices, and a platform to discover exciting new talent, from a group largely under-represented on our bookshelves. 

DEADLINE: April 30, 2016

sileedsliteraryprize.com/

 

OPEN CALL: GO HOME! - AN ASIAN AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY AND PROSE

Asian American Writers’ Workshop

INFO: The Asian American Writers’ Workshop seeks submissions of fiction and nonfiction for Go Home! an anthology to be published by the Feminist Press. The anthology will showcase the incredible variety of responses to the word home – physical homes, mental homes, the longing for homes, the flights from them, the homes one makes in words, in the hearts of others, and in the air.

They request contributors send no more than three pieces of prose under 500 words, or one piece of prose over 500 words in one single file. 

DEADLINE: May 1, 2016

aaww.submittable.com/submit/55785

 

WHITING CREATIVE NONFICTION GRANT

Whiting Foundation

INFO: The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant will be awarded to as many as three writers in the process of completing a book-length work of nonfiction for a general, not an academic, readership. Its purpose is to give grantees the additional means to do exacting research, to free up the time to bring the writing to the highest possible standard, and to encourage original and ambitious projects. 

Whiting welcomes submissions for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, the sciences, philosophy, criticism, food or travel writing, and personal essays, among other categories. Again, the work should be intended for a general reader.  Self-help titles and textbooks are not eligible.

Projects must currently be under contract with a publisher in the United States to be eligible, and the contract must have been signed at least two years before applying for the grant (i.e., by May 1, 2014). Authors must be US citizens or residents to qualify.

AWARD: $35,000

DEADLINE: May 1, 2016

whiting.submittable.com/submit/58029ee8-6d84-486b-84bc-ad400e5eb6e9

 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

AMPLIFY(HER)

INFO: AMPLIFY(HER) is looking for art, prose, poetry, short stories, photography and/or mixed medium submissions from undocumented Asian women (including trans and gender non-conforming folks) on how they understand and navigate their intersecting identities in today's societ

AWARD: $100 honorarium (for each selected submission). Two artists selected for the cover or spread will each receive $175 honorarium.

DEADLINE: May 6, 2016

amplifyher.submittable.com/submit

 

2016 FARAFINA TRUST CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP

INFO: Organized by its creative director, award-winning writer Chimamanda Adichie, Farafina Trust will be holding a creative writing workshop in Lagos, Nigeria from June 21 – July 1, 2016. The Caine-Prize winning writer Binyavanga Wainaina, Aslak Sira Myhre and others will teach the workshop alongside Adichie.

The workshop will take the form of a class and participants will be assigned a wide range of reading and writing exercises. The aim of the workshop is to improve the craft of published and unpublished writers and encourage them by bringing different perspectives to the art of storytelling.

DEADLINE: May 20, 2016

farafinabooks.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/2016-farafina-trust-creative-writing-workshop/

 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – ISSUE 8 (JUNE 2016)

Masque & Spectacle

INFO: Masque & Spectacle’s June issue is a special PICTURES + WORDS ISSUE. They are seeking work that combines pictures and words (graphic stories, essays, and poems; comics; video poems and essays; & collaborations between visual artists and writers.

masqueandspectacle.com/submission-guidelines/

FICTION / NONFICTION - MARCH 2016

THE EMERGING WRITER’S CONTEST

Ploughshares

INFO: The Emerging Writer's Contest is open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish or self-publish a book.

AWARD: The winning story, essay, and poems from the 2016 contest will be published in the Winter 2016-17 issue of Ploughshares. Each writer will also receive $1,000. 

SUBMISSION FEE: $24, free for current subscribers.

DEADLINE: March 1, 2016, at noon EST.

pshares.org/submit/emerging-writers-contest/guidelines

 

MACONDO WRITERS’ WORKSHOP

INFO: Founded by Sandra Cisneros in 1995, the Macondo Writers’ Workshop focuses on bringing together a community of poets, novelists, journalists, performance artists, and creative writers of all genres whose work is socially engaged,

The Workshop will take place from July 13-17, 2016 at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, TX. They are seeking generous and compassionate professional writers who view their work and talents as part of a larger task of community-building and non-violent social change. This year, they will hold four workshops led by Allison Hedge Coke (poetry), Alex Espinoza (fiction), Gregg Barrios (playwriting), and Joe Jimenez (multi-genre young writers’ workshop).

To be eligible, applicants must have a strong record of publications (books, chapbooks, major literary magazines) and/or public readings/performances of original work, and a history of community involvement, consciousness raising via literary work and/or activism/outreach.

DEADLINE: March 1, 2016, at midnight

guadalupeculturalarts.org/macondo-workshop/

 

TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP

INFO: The Tulsa Artist Fellowship, which seeks talented and diverse voices to support Tulsa’s expanding arts scene, has expanded its program this year to include writing (creative nonfiction, fiction, graphic novel, young-adult fiction, poetry, and play/screenwriting). Fellowships are merit-based, not project grants, and include a two-year term for writers. The program will begin on January 9, 2017.

AWARD: $20,000 stipend, and in most cases, free housing and studio work space.

DEADLINE: March 4, 2016

tulsaartistfellowship.org/index.html

 

CHAMPION OF CHANGE FOR AAPI ARTS & STORYTELLING

White House Initiative on AAPIs

INFO: As a part of AAPI Heritage Month (May 2016), the White House Initiative on AAPIs is seeking nominations for Champions of Change for AAPI art and storytelling – individuals who have raised the visibility of diverse AAPI experiences and created dialogue around issues the community faces. The Champions of Change program honors individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities

Nominees may include:

  • Storytellers who have included and continue to include AAPI characters in their films, television shows, and literature to address pressing issues, including immigration, civil rights, economic opportunity, health, diversity and inclusion, and more.
  • Poets and spoken word artists who highlight AAPI experiences in their work in order to advance pressing issues, including immigration, civil rights, economic opportunity, health, diversity and inclusion, and more;

DEADLINE: March 9, 2016

1.usa.gov/1ROpsTu

 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ISSUE 07

Apogee Journal 

INFO: Apogee Journal is currently accepting fiction and creative nonfiction submissions for Issue 07. The goal of the publication is to publish exciting work that interrogates the status quo, providing a platform for unheard voices, including emerging writers of color. All work must be previously unpublished.

DEADLINE: March 15, 2016

apogeejournal.submittable.com/submit

 

VONA / VOICES SUMMER 2016

INFO: Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation (VONA), which develops emerging writers of color through programs and workshops taught by established writers, is offering two one-week sessions (June 19-25 and June 26-July 2) at the University of Miami. In all workshops, writers exchange their works, share strategies and have discussions vital to their craft, practices and lives as writers of color. In the residencies, writers work one-on-one with a master faculty member and meet with the residency group.

FEES:

  • Regular - Weeklong workshop: $800
  • Residency: $800
  • Room and Board: $650 (includes meal card)

VONA offers financial aid in the form of tuition grants. A letter-of-need is required to be eligible.

DEADLINES:

  • March 15, 2016 – for application
  • April 22, 2016 – to confirm acceptance and pay non-refundable deposit of $100
  • May 23, 2016 – to upload manuscripts for the workshops
  • June 1, 2016 – all fees are due

voicesatvona.org/apply/

 

SAIF GHOBASH BANIPAL PRIZE FOR ARABIC LITERARY TRANSLATION

Banipal Trust for Arab Literature

INFO: The Banipal Prize is given to the translator(s) of a published translation in English of a full-length imaginative and creative Arabic work of literary merit published after, or during, the year 1967 and first published in English translation in the year prior to the award.

PRIZE: Award of £3,000

DEADLINE: March 31, 2016

banipaltrust.org.uk/prize/

 

WINTER 2016 STORY CONTEST

Narrative

INFO: Narrative’s Winter Contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers. They accept flash fiction, 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.

AWARDS: First Prize is $2,500, Second Prize is $1,000, Third Prize is $500, and ten finalists will receive $100 each. All entries will be considered for publication.

SUBMISSION FEE: $24 (includes three months of complimentary access to Narrative Backstage).

DEADLINE: March 31, 2016, at midnight PST. 

narrativemagazine.com/winter-2016-story-contest

 

IMMIGRATION WRITING FELLOW

Center for Community Change Action

INFO: The Center for Community Change Action seeks an Immigration Writing Fellow for their Latino and immigrant voter program. The ideal candidate is a first-time voter who has been personally affected by the country’s immigration policies (with either parents, siblings or other close relatives who are undocumented immigrants). Special consideration will be given to candidates based in Florida, Colorado or Nevada.

The writing fellow would be responsible for identifying potential stories and storytellers within the nation’s vast immigrant community and will conduct interviews and write first-person essays and opinion pieces or third-person reported narratives. The Fellow will also be trained as a spokesperson for the organization and is expected to appear in front of the media or before a public audience and speak about their personal experiences related to immigration.

DEADLINE: April 1, 2016

cccaction.org/immigration-writing-fellow/

 

LUCIEN STRYK ASIAN TRANSLATION PRIZE

The American Literary Translators Association 

INFO: The prize recognizes the importance of Asian translation for international literature and promotes the translation of Asian works into English. Submission will be judged on the literary significance of the translation in recreating the literary artistry of the original.

To be eligible, works must be:

  • Book-length translations into English of Asian poetry or source texts from Zen Buddhism
  • Book-length translations from Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean into English
  • Published in the previous year (though re-translations or first-time translations of important older works will also be considered)

DEADLINE: April 8, 2016

literarytranslators.org/awards/lucien-stryk-prize

 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: IMMIGRANT WRITERS

Ninth Letter

INFO: Ninth Letter is accepting submissions of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry from immigrant writers (those who consider themselves to be 1st, 1.5, or 2nd generation immigrants in their current country of residence) for a special online edition to be published at ninthletter.com in Summer 2016. Submissions are not required to focus on the "immigrant experience" and can be on any and all topics. 

 DEADLINE: April 15, 2016

ninthletteronline.submittable.com/submit

 

2016 KIMBILIO [FICTION] SUMMER RETREAT

INFO: Kimbilio [Fiction], a community of writers and scholars committed to developing, empowering and sustaining fiction writers from the African diaspora, is currently accepting applications for their summer retreat, which will be held at SMU Campus in Taos, New Mexico from July 17-23, 2016.

FEES: Tuition is covered by Kimbilio [Fiction] and there is no application fee, however, participants are responsible for their own transportation to/from the retreat as well as a fee that partially covers the costs for room and board with the amount varying by size of the chosen accommodation. Should one get accepted, a $200 deposit is due by May 15 to secure a spot at the summer retreat. 

DEADLINE: April 15, 2016 (for applications)

kimbiliosubmissions.submittable.com/submit

 

PEN PARENTIS WRITING FELLOWSHIP FOR NEW PARENTS

INFO: Pen Parentis, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to authors who are also parents, is accepting applications for its Fellowship, which will promote the creation of new work by writers with at least one child under the age of 10. All genres and styles of fiction are welcome and novel excerpts are acceptable if they can stand alone as a story.

PRIZE: $1000, presented at the Pen Parentis Literary Salon on September 13th, 2016, in conjunction with the reading of the winning work. In addition, the Fellow will be showcased for one year on their website as the “Pen Parentis Writing Fellow” and paired with an established author.

SUBMISSION FEE: $20 (and an extra $5 fee if submitted online)

DEADLINE: April 18, 2016 

penparentis.org/fellowships/guidelines/

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS             

BGD Press

INFO: BGD Press is looking for manuscripts by queer and/or trans writers of color that center QTPoC characters. Only polished manuscripts in the following areas will be considered:

  • YA Fiction (especially, but not limited to, YA Fantasy)
  • Speculative Fiction
  • Literary Fiction

GUIDELINES: Send a query letter along with the FIRST PAGE of your manuscript only to submissions.bgd@gmail.com

blackgirldangerous.org/submissions/#manuscripts

 

THE MARGINS

Asian American Writers Workshop

INFO: The Margins, which publishes works of short fiction by emerging and established Asian American writers, is accepting submissions for its biweekly Fiction Friday feature. Expect at least five weeks for a response.

aaww.submittable.com/submit/44798