December 2022 Top Picks: Opportunities for Writers
The December 2022 edition of "Writing Life Essentials" is a monthly hand-curated list of contests, grants, scholarships, submission calls, and awards. We try to prioritize opportunities that are at least one of the following: local, free to apply, and/or committed to celebrating and supporting writers from historically marginalized communities. We do the research, so you have more time for what matters: the writing. Or, crafting paper snowflakes. That’s important, too.
Contests & Awards
Harvard Review Chapbook Prize | Harvard Review
Fee: $20 (fee waivers available); Award: $500 & publication; Deadline: December 13th
This October Harvard Review will launch the inaugural Harvard Review Chapbook Prize. This year’s prize will be given in fiction for a work of novella length (15,000 to 30,000 words). In subsequent years, the prize will be awarded in nonfiction (2024) and poetry (2025). The judge for the 2023 prize is Lily King, award-winning author of five novels, including Writers & Lovers (2020) and Euphoria (2014), which won the Kirkus Award and the New England Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Award. Her most recent book, Five Tuesdays in Winter (2021), is a collection of short stories. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Cabell First Novelist Award | Virginia Commonwealth University
Fee: $0; Award: $3,000; Deadline: December 30th
A prize of at least $3,000 is given annually for a debut novel published during the current year. The winner and two additional guest panelists (usually the winner’s agent and editor) also receive lodging and travel expenses to attend the First Novelist Award event night at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in fall 2023. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award | Poetry Society of America
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: December 31st
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Poetry Society of America website is given annually for a group of poems from a manuscript-in-progress. Wayne Miller will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit 10 pages of poetry with a $15 entry fee by December 31. There is no entry fee for PSA members. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards | Cleveland Foundation
Fee: $0; Award: $10,000; Deadline: December 31st
Three to four prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published during the current year “that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of cultural diversity.” A lifetime achievement prize is also awarded. Rita Dove, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Joyce Carol Oates, Steven Pinker, and Simon Schama will judge. Submit five copies of a book published in 2022 by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fabulist Fiction Chapbook/Novelette Contest | Omnidawn Publishing
Fee: $18; Award: $1,000; Deadline: December 31st
A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a work of fabulist fiction. Michelle Ruiz Keil will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of one or more stories or a novelette totaling 7,500 to 17,500 words with an $18 entry fee by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Prize in Short Fiction | Lascaux Review
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: December 31st
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words with a $15 entry fee by December 31. Previously published and unpublished stories are eligible. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers | Boulevard
Fee: $16; Award: $1,500; Deadline: December 31st
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a nationally distributed book. The editors will judge. Submit a story of up to 8,000 words with a $16 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Boulevard, by December 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fee: $15; Award: $6,128; Deadline: December 31st
A prize of €6,000 (approximately $6,128) and publication in the Moth is given annually for a single poem. Three runner-up prizes of €1,000 (approximately $1,021) each and publication in the Moth are also given. The four shortlisted poets, including the winner, will also be invited to read at an awards ceremony at the Poetry Ireland festival in Dublin in spring 2023. Louise Glück will judge. Submit any number of poems of any length with a €15 (approximately $15) entry fee per poem by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Literary Awards | Black Caucus of the American Library Association
Fee: $0; Award: $1,000; Deadline: December 31st
Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a first novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African American writers published in the United States in the current year. The awards honor books that depict the “cultural, historical, or sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.” Publishers may nominate books published in 2022 by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Robert H. Winner Memorial Award | Poetry Society of America
Fee: $15; Award: $2,500; Deadline: December 31st
A prize of $2,500 and publication on the Poetry Society of America website is given annually to a poet over 40 who has published no more than one book. Nuar Alsadir will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit 10 pages of poetry with a $15 entry fee by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Four Quartets Prize | Poetry Society of America
Fee: $0; Award: $20,000; Deadline: December 31st
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a unified and complete sequence of poems published in the United States in a print or online journal, a chapbook, or a book during the current year. Three finalists, including the winner, will receive $1,000 each. Submit four copies of at least 14 pages of poetry or a book-length sequence of poems published in 2022 and unified by subject, form, and style by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fee: $0; Award: See Description; Deadline: January 2nd
Entries will be accepted in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry through January 2, 2023. One winner in each category will be published in Granta.com (fiction), NinthLetter.com (non-fiction) or The Common (poetry). One grand prize winner will receive a full scholarship, accommodations, and travel stipend to attend the tenth annual DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon (June 25-July 7, 2023). Genre winners will receive a tuition waiver for DISQUIET 2023 in addition to publication. Winners who are unable to attend the program in Lisbon may elect to receive a $1000 cash prize in lieu of the tuition waiver. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fellowships, Grants & More
BWOC Literary Support Program | GrubStreet
Fee: $0; Award: $125-250; Deadline: Rolling
BWOC’s Literary Support Program offers stipends for BIPOC writers to be used for submissions, contests, fellowships, retreats, writing supply expenses, and any other literary opportunities. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and will be reviewed every three weeks at the time of each submitted application. Funding is issued as a Visa or Mastercard e-gift card. Applicants must be in the US, and may reapply every six months/twice a year. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Writing Fellowships | Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown
Fee: $50; Award: $8,000; Deadline: December 15th
Fellowships for a seven-month residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are given annually to four poets and four fiction writers who have not published a full-length book in any genre. Each fellowship includes a private apartment, a monthly stipend of $1,000, and an exit stipend of $1,000. For fellowships beginning in October 2023, using only the online submission system, submit up to 15 pages of poetry or 35 pages of fiction (include a synopsis if submitting a novel), a personal statement, and a $50 entry fee by December 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
The Studios at MASS MoCA Residency Program | Fellowships
Deadline: January 8th
The Studios is MASS MoCA’s artist and writers residency program situated within the museum’s factory campus and surrounded by the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. Operated by MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists department, the residency runs year-round and hosts up to 10 artists at a time. Artists of any nationality can apply for stays of 2 or 4 weeks. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Artist Development Grants | Vermont Arts Council
Fee: $0; Award: TBD; Deadline: January 31st
Artist Development Grants support Vermont artists at all stages of their careers. Grants can fund activities that enhance mastery of an artist’s craft or skills or that increase the viability of an artist's business. Funding may also support aspects of the creation of new work when the activity allows the grantee to accept a rare and important opportunity. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Opportunity Grant | Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
Fee: $0; Award: $100 - $1,000; Deadline: Rolling
Opportunity Grants provide Rhode Island artists funding for concrete opportunities that will support professional growth. This grant is available to artists working in all disciplines at any stage in their career. Examples of the wide range of opportunities covered include: materials to complete work for a specific show; hiring a career coach or agent; attending classes or professional development events; marketing materials or documentation of a specific project; and/or attendance and travel costs for a residency/performance/conference. The grant awards are for unique, short-term opportunities that do not constitute routine completion of work in progress and that the applicant would not be able to take advantage of without this funding. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Work Experience
Boston, MA
We are looking for an experienced bookkeeper or accountant to join our diverse team as the Finance Manager. This role will be responsible for the management of the financial and budgeting functions in our organization, including the day-to-day work of financial operations, monthly financial reporting, budget creation and monitoring, and yearly audit prep. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Production and Poetry Editors | MAYDAY
Boston, MA; Deadline: December 16th
Production Editors are responsible for layout and formatting of all content prior to posting at MAYDAY. Poetry Editors are responsible for reading submissions and selecting work for publication; soliciting work for the magazine; and helping develop various feature series and ongoing projects in collaboration with other editors on staff. These are remote, volunteer positions that require no more than five hours of work per week. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Submissions
Submissions to Kitchen Table Quarterly
Fee: $0; Deadline: December 10th
Kitchen Table Quarterly is seeking poetry, creative nonfiction, and artworks for its Spring issue. We are a journal preoccupied with history– cultural, political, geographical, personal– and how each interacts with the other to mold our experience. We are all made of our pasts, and the pasts of our parents, grandparents, religions, neighborhoods, nations. We want honesty. We want an education. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: December 15th
Superpresent magazine is seeking submissions of poetry, art, essays, short stories, videos, films, recipes, etc. on the theme of FOOD. Food not only in the literal sense but also in the metaphorical sense. What feeds us? What feeds our mind? What do we feed others? What do we hunger for? All food for thought. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Devastation Baby
Fee: $0; Deadline: December 15th
Devastation Baby is now accepting submissions for our inaugural digital issue. All submissions will also be considered for our first print issue, publishing in Spring 2023. We are accepting submissions of short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, reviews, photos, and art. We seek to publish and curate work from those outside the traditional literary system. We hope to be a repository for the weird, as well as a community of writers and artists who can help each other grow. We want to carve out a place for you. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to West Trade Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: December 15th
West Trade Review strives to put forth the best contemporary poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction (memoir/personal essays) and publishes a mix of established and up and coming writers. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and want to hear from underrepresented voices of all types. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to SoFloPoJo – South Florida Poetry Journal
Fee: $0; Deadline: December 19th
SoFloPoJo – South Florida Poetry Journal reads year-round and publishes quarterly with quarterly deadlines for each issue. We are currently reading Poetry, Flash, and CNF/Essays for our February 2023 issue through December 18th. We also have an open call for Video. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: December 31st
At Arc, we find the brave new voices. We feature poetry that is woozy, cunning, shearing and wildlike, and prose that offers new perspectives on the verse you thought you knew. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: January 1st
45th Parallel is an online Oregon-based literary magazine produced by graduate students at Oregon State University. We accept original, previously unpublished submissions in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art, and comics. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: January 1st
Apricity Press is an annual online publication of poetry, prose, short fiction, visual art, and dance works. Embodying the obsolete word it was named after, Apricity aims to manifest the feeling of the warmth of the sun in the winter in all that it publishes. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Bennington Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: January 9th
We aim to stake out a distinctive space for innovative, intelligent, and moving fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, and cross-genre work. In the spirit of poet Dean Young’s dictum that poets should be “making birds, not birdcages,” we are particularly taken with writing that is simultaneously graceful and reckless. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $3; Deadline: January 15th
Ploughshares has published quality literature since 1971. Our award-winning literary journal is published four times a year; our lively literary blog publishes new writing daily. Since 1989, we have been based at Emerson College in downtown Boston. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 1st
Founded in 2002, Bayou Magazine is a biannual, international literary magazine published by The University of New Orleans. We publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and the winner of the annual Tennessee Williams One-Act Play Contest. Our mission is to publish exceptional, exciting work by both established and emerging writers. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 31st
We look for writing that catches experience before the crusts of habit form—poetry and prose that resist ideas about what a certain kind of writing “should do.” We seek out writers who tell their truths in their own words and convince us as we read that we’ve found something no one else could have written. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 31st
Barnstorm publishes only previously unpublished work in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. While we welcome submissions in multiple genres, please wait to hear from us before submitting twice in the same genre. We also accept visual art which accompanies each written piece published. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Bodega releases digital issues on the first Monday of every month, featuring poetry, prose, and occasional interviews by established and emerging writers. We’re here to give you a handful of essential pieces you can digest in one sitting. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to The Decadent Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
The Decadent Review is seeking spectacularly written texts of any length on the subject of Dmitri Shostakovich and his music. They’re looking for: Criticism (cultural, literary), reviews (recordings, books, poetry, art), essays (aesthetics, linguistics, meta, history), musical ekphrasis of compositions (poetic, euphonious, discordant). They value: Erudition, cynicism, sarcasm, classicism, brutality, humor, and existential despair. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to World Wildlife Love Letter
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
World Wildlife Magazine invites submissions of short, uplifting personal essays about nature’s impact on a writer. Length: 100-300 words. Pay: $1.25/word for accepted pieces. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to The Boston Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
The Boston Review welcomes nonfiction and book review submissions on a wide range of subjects, from politics, philosophy, and economics to science, law, gender, sexuality, and race. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
The WebSalh0n for Poetry and Poetry related writing and media. Accepting poetry, essays, reviews, and audio recordings.Send submissions w/short bio to: [email protected] View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Lily Poetry Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Lily Poetry Review is currently accepting general submissions of poetry, art and flash fiction for the review, chapbook and full-length poetry books. Please go to the Submittable for full details. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to The Los Angeles Review
Fee: $3; Deadline: Rolling
The Los Angeles Review is open for submissions year-round. All submissions will be considered for LAR Online and for the new best-of print edition to be released yearly in the Spring. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Contributors can submit fiction, non-fiction, poetry or visual artwork that portrays experiences from their lives, or activities and happenings in the world around them. We encourage you to share your work in any form as long as each mode represents a topical theme relatable to life, human nature, human condition, human concerns, human growth and achievements, etc. Whatever your story is, you are welcome to share it with us. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Capsule Stories
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Capsule Stories is a print literary magazine published once every season. Our first issue was published on March 1, 2019, and we accept submissions year-round. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Rollick Magazine
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Rollick’s mandate is to attract cutting-edge, quality content that inspires real engagement. We will consider any pitch that expresses unique and original thought. You can send in short stories, essays, poetry, memoirs, confessionals, experimental fiction, and anything else in between. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
The Puritan seeks submissions all year round, from anywhere in the world. Regular submissions to the magazine are free of charge and should fall under one of four categories: fiction, essays, poetry, and reviews. Unless we are soliciting your work, all submissions must be previously unpublished (this includes self-publishing, publishing on blogs, and in chapbook format). View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to The 365 Collection | Lucky Jefferson
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Lucky Jefferson happily accepts unsolicited submissions of poetry year-round into its 365 Collection, a 100% digital collection of poetry and other literature. Upon acceptance, submissions will be included on our website and social media account(s). View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Embark Literary Journal
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Embark accepts submissions from all over the world and have no geographical constraints. However, all submissions must be written in English (or translated into English from another language, in which case both the author and the translator must be credited). They do NOT accept submissions of memoirs or other nonfiction works. Only the openings of novels (works of fiction 50,000 words or longer) will be considered. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Award: $200 per accepted story; Deadline: Rolling
Voyage YA simply aims to publish good work and provide a space for new and established voices. To get an idea of what they publish, please read their archives. General submissions are open year-round and there is no fee to submit to their general categories. New work is published weekly. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to So to Speak Blog
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
The So to Speak Blog is unique in that it opens itself up to multiple forms of storytelling. Hybrid works, reviews, interviews, and visual art are welcomed submissions. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Award: $100-$2,000; Deadline: Rolling
The Sun publishes personal essays, fiction, and poetry. Personal stories that touch on political and cultural issues are welcome. They encourage submissions from writers of color. View more submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Boston Accent Lit
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Submissions to Boston Accent Lit are always open on a rolling basis. They accept works in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art. Issues are published six times per year online. View complete submission guidelines here.
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