March Top Picks: Opportunities for Writers
The March 2023 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, hiding under your covers until spring (with a book!). That’s important, too.
Contests & Awards
Maya Angelou Book Award | Kansas City Public Library
Fee: $0; Award: $10,000; Deadline: March 1st
A prize of $10,000 is given in alternating years for a poetry collection or a novel by an author whose work “demonstrates a commitment to social justice in America and/or the world.” This year the award will be given for a poetry collection. The winner must also participate in a two-week reading tour of Missouri colleges, universities, and libraries. Submit a book of poetry published in 2022 or scheduled to be published in 2023 by March 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award | Poets & Writers, Inc.
Fee: $0; Award: $500; Deadline: March 1st
Two prizes of $500 each are awarded annually to a poet and a fiction writer from a select state. Each winner will also receive a monthlong residency at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Wyoming and will meet with writers, editors, publishers, and agents virtually or in person in New York City, as public health guidelines allow. The 2023 contest is open to residents of Iowa. Poets and fiction writers who have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying are eligible. By email only, submit 7 to 10 pages of poetry or up to 25 pages of fiction by March 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award | Broadside Lotus Press
Fee: $0; Award: $500; Deadline: March 1st
A prize of $500 and publication by Broadside Lotus Press is given annually for a poetry collection by an African American poet. Submit two copies of a manuscript of approximately 60 to 90 pages by March 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Hazel Rowley Prize | Biographers International Organization
Fee: $25; Award: $5,000; Deadline: March 1st
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a work-in-progress by a writer who has not published a biography. The winner will also receive review of their proposal by an agent, publicity through the Biographers International Organization (BIO) website, registration to the annual BIO Conference in May, and a one-year BIO membership. Writers who have not previously published, or who are not under contract to write, a book of biography, history, or other work of narrative nonfiction are eligible. Gretchen Gerzina, Carl Rollyson, and Paula Whitacre will judge. Using only the online entry form, submit a proposal, a writing sample, and a résumé totaling up to 20 pages with a $25 entry fee by March 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Fee: $15; Award: $1,500; Deadline: March 15th
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the competition website is given annually for a short story by a writer whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed publication with a circulation over 5,000. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 3,500 words by March 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fee: $17; Award: $1,000; Deadline: March 15th
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Factory Hollow Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive a monthlong residency in summer 2024 in a private apartment at the Tomaž Šalamun Centre for Poetry in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Prose poetry, hybrid works, and translations of works of poetry by living writers from any language into English are also eligible. Hoa Nguyen will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Poetry Prize | Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
Fee: $10; Award: $1,000; Deadline: March 15th
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Juan Felipe Herrera will judge. Submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each with a $10 entry fee by March 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Literary Awards | Bellingham Review
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: March 15th
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellingham Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The 49th Parallel Award for Poetry is given for a poem or group of poems. The Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction is given for a short story or a work of flash fiction. The Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction is given for an essay or a flash nonfiction piece. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of any length, three pieces of flash fiction or nonfiction of up to 1,500 words each, or a story or essay of up to 4,000 words with a $15 entry fee by March 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award | Sisters in Crime
Fee: $0; Award: $2,000; Deadline: March 31st
The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color. This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Poetry Prize | Fish Publishing
Fee: $15; Award: $1,055; Deadline: March 31st
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,055) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a single poem. The winner is also invited to read at the anthology launch event at the West Cork Literary Festival in July, along with nine finalists, whose work will also be published in the anthology. Billy Collins will judge. Submit a poem of up to 60 lines with a €14 (approximately $15) entry fee for online entries or €16 (approximately $17) for postal entries by March 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Prize for New Immigrant Writing | Restless Books
Fee: $0; Award: $10,000; Deadline: March 31st
A prize of $10,000 and publication by Restless Books is given in alternating years for a debut book of fiction or nonfiction by a first-generation immigrant. The 2023 prize will be given in nonfiction. Writers who have not published a book of nonfiction in English are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit either a prose manuscript (a memoir, essay collection, or work of narrative nonfiction) of at least 45,000 words or a writing sample of 25,000 words or more and a detailed proposal; a curriculum vitae; and a one-page cover letter by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Short Story Contest | Gemini Magazine
Fee: $8; Award: $1,000; Deadline: March 31st
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short story. The editors will judge. Submit a story of any length with an $8 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Prime Number Magazine Awards | Press 53
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: March 31st
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Prime Number Magazine are given annually for a poem and a short story. Felicia Mitchell will judge in poetry and Dennis McFadden will judge in fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a poem of up to three pages or a short story of up to 5,300 words with a $15 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Lascaux Prize in Poetry | Lascaux Review
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: March 31st
A prize of $1,000 and publication both online and in the print edition of Lascaux Review is given annually for a single poem. Previously published and unpublished poems are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length with a $15 entry fee by March 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Frost Farm Prize for Metrical Poetry | Trustees of the Robert Frost Farm
Fee: $6; Award: $1,000; Deadline: March 31st
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem written in metrical verse. The winner also receives a scholarship to attend and give a reading at the Frost Farm Poetry Conference in Derry, New Hampshire, in June. Alfred Nicol will judge. Submit any number of poems with a $6 entry fee per poem by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest | Winning Writers
Fee: $0; Award: $2,000; Deadline: April 1st
A prize of $2,000, a gift certificate for two-year membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website is given annually for a humorous poem. A second-place prize of $500 is also awarded. Jendi Reiter will judge. Unpublished and previously published works are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a poem of up to 250 lines by April 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Chapbook Contest | Backbone Press
Fee: $20; Award: $250; Deadline: April 2nd
The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers. Winner will receive book publication, $250 prize, and (20) copies of the chapbook. In addition, the winner will receive a small honorarium for a reading or chapbook launch event. All submissions should be submitted via Submittable with a $20 submission fee. Deadline is April 2, 2023 and the final judge is Khalisa Rae. Read more about the judge here: https://khalisarae.com/ Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fellowships, Grants & More
Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowships | University of Wisconsin
Fee: $50; Award: $39,000; Deadline: March 1st
An academic year in residence, which includes a stipend of at least $39,000, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison is given annually to at least five writers working on a first or second book of poetry or fiction. Writers with an MFA or PhD in creative writing who have not published more than one book are eligible. Submit 10 pages of poetry or one story or novel excerpt of up to 30 pages, a curriculum vitae, and contact information for two references with a $50 entry fee by March 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Literary Arts Fellowships | Alabama State Council on the Arts
Fee: $0; Award: $5,000; Deadline: March 1st
Approximately two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in the state of Alabama for at least two years. Using only the online submission system, submit 10 to 20 pages of poetry or prose and a résumé including a list of publications by March 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Raiziss/de Palchi Fellowship | Academy of American Poets
Fee: $0; Award: $25,000; Deadline: March 1st
A fellowship of $25,000 is given biennially for the translation into English of a work of modern Italian poetry. The winning translator will also receive a five-week residency at the American Academy in Rome. Jennifer Scappettone, Graziella Sidoli, and John Taylor will judge. Using only the online submission system, translators may submit a proposal and 15 pages of a translation-in-progress, alongside copies of the original poems, by March 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Creative Writing Fellowships | National Endowment for the Arts
Fee: $0; Award: $25,000; Deadline: March 8th
Around 35 grants of $25,000 each are given annually in alternating years to poets and prose writers to “enable the recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement.” Applications in prose will be accepted for 2023. Writers who are citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and who have published at least five different short stories, works of short fiction, creative essays, or excerpts from larger works; a novel or novella; or a volume or collection of short fiction or creative nonfiction over the last seven years are eligible to apply. Using only the online submission system, submit a completed application, which includes a brief project description, 20 to 25 pages of a prose writing sample, and a list of publications by March 8. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
2023 Summer Mentorship Program | The Adroit Journal
Deadline: March 12th
The Adroit Journal is seeking high school applicants to their 2023 Summer Mentorship Program. The Summer Mentorship Program is an online program that pairs established writers with high school students (including graduating seniors) and gap year students (Classes of ’22 or ’23) interested in learning more about the creative writing processes of drafting, redrafting, and editing. The aim of the mentorship program is not formalized instruction, but rather an individualized, flexible, and often informal correspondence. This is a fully online program lasting from June 19 until July 31. Tuition costs $450, but financial aid is available to those who qualify. Interested applicants should submit two application essays and a writing sample via Submittable by March 12. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Emerging Writer Fellowship | GrubStreet
Deadline: March 13th
The Emerging Writer Fellowship aims to develop new, exciting voices by providing three writers per year tuition-free access to GrubStreet’s classes and Muse & the Marketplace conference series. 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 Muse & The Marketplace programming, in order to enhance their understanding of craft and the publishing industry. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
First Novel Fellowship | James Jones Literary Society
Fee: $33; Award: $10,000; Deadline: March 15th
A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. The first runner-up will receive $3,000 and the second runner-up will receive $2,000. Using only the online submission system, submit the first 50 pages of a novel-in-progress and a synopsis of up to two pages with a $33 application fee by March 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
YAWP Summer Writing Fellowship | GrubStreet
Deadline: March 20th
GrubStreet's Teen Summer Writing Fellowship immerses high school students in the writer's life of creative craft and publishing. During three weeks at GrubStreet, teens work with published authors and meet with literary agents and editors, take field trips to inspirational locales like the ICA, and more. In the spirit of writers' residencies for adults, all teens will receive a stipend for their commitment to the program and their time spent as working writers. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
AmeriCorps Writers’ Room Fellowship | 826 Boston
Roxbury, MA
826 Boston seeks mission-driven change-makers to join the 826 Boston AmeriCorps Fellowship for the 2023-2024 school year. This is an exciting opportunity to join a cohort of 16 AmeriCorps members and play a key role in driving impact to serve more students in the Boston Public Schools through 826 Boston’s innovative In-School and Writers’ Room Programs. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
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.
Work Experience
Writing Coach | Hillside Writing
Lexington, MA
Hillside Writing is searching for a talented, experienced, and energetic writer and teacher who is excited about mentoring clients of all ages, and who holds special interest in supporting college-application writers. Our company is at an exciting moment of development, and we are looking forward to expanding our team of seasoned coaches. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
AmeriCorps Program Manager | 826 Boston
Roxbury, MA
826 Boston seeks a dynamic team member to serve as the AmeriCorps and Operations Manager. 826 Boston is rapidly expanding to serve more students in the Boston Public Schools through its innovative Writers’ Room Program, and the AmeriCorps and Operations Manager will oversee the implementation of the AmeriCorps program to support the Writers’ Rooms. This is an exciting opportunity to join the organization during a time of growth and manage a program of 15 AmeriCorps members across six Writers’ Rooms and the 826 Boston Volunteer Team. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Submissions
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 1st
Copper Nickel accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, essays, and translation folios from September 1 to December 15, January 15 to March 1.Please submit four to six poems, one story, or one essay at a time, and please wait at least six months between submissions. For prose we do not have any length restrictions—but longer-than-normal pieces have to earn their space. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Read Furiously One ‘n Done Series
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 1st
The Read Furiously One ‘n Done series features shorter works designed to be portable (the final physical book measures at 4×6 inches) and to be read quickly without sacrificing quality of story and content. We are currently accepting novellas, black and white comic one-shots, and long form essays between 17,000-20,000 words or 80-100 pages of sequential work. The work must be a complete story that is compelling, interesting, and relevant to today’s literary landscape. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $3; Deadline: March 1st
ANMLY is reading unsolicited work in all genres, including poetry, fiction, translation, creative nonfiction, and comics, until March 1st. There is no fee for Black and Indigenous writers. If our $3 submissions fee is a barrier because of financial hardship, please email [email protected] View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 1st
Parabola is a quarterly journal devoted to the exploration of the quest for meaning as it is expressed in the world’s myths, symbols, and religious traditions, with particular emphasis on the relationship between this store of wisdom and our modern life. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 1st
Contrary® was founded in 2003 at the University of Chicago by students and alumni of Chicago’s Master of Arts Program in the Humanities. It was quickly embraced and has been abundantly nourished by graduates of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing program. It now operates independently and without a thought of profit on the South Side of Chicago and publishes writers from throughout the world. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 1st
Apogee is a journal of literature and art that engages with identity politics, including but not limited to: race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and intersectional identities. We are a biannual publication featuring fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art, as well as a digital platform for reviews, interviews, flash, and more. Our goals are twofold: to publish fresh work that interrogates the status quo, and to provide a platform for underrepresented voices, prioritizing artists and writers of color. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to God’s Cruel Joke
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 3rd
God’s Cruel Joke is looking for works of fiction, poems, essays, memoirs, and reviews that explore the stranger, possibly more dangerous waters of the human condition. GCJ does not shy away from depictions of sex and violence, no matter how graphic they may be. It is only asked that those depictions serve a larger purpose than simple exploitation or shock value. Genre fiction is gladly accepted so long as it falls in line with these preferences. Experiment, flex your linguistic muscles, draw daring conclusions, and stretch your mind and body beyond repair. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Cordite Poetry Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 5th
Submission to Issue 109: NO THEME 12 with poetry guest-edited by Nadia Rhook and Caitlin Maling will close at 11.59pm Melbourne time on Sunday, 5 March 2023. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Rusted Radishes
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 15th
Rusted Radishes’ 11th issue calls for works of literature and visual art on the theme of Labor & Idleness. How do the concepts of labor and idleness mirror, face, oppose, or complement one another? How do we imagine labor in a world that has recently seen a seismic shift in people’s engagement with it, but also what of the idle, the time outside of labor, and its fraternal twin concept of the idyllic? View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $25; Deadline: March 15th
Willow Books, founded in 2007, is the flagship imprint of the award-winning Aquarius Press. Program collaborations include the Smithsonian Institution; Library of Congress; Lincoln Center; University of Michigan Special Collection; Poets House New York; Guild Literary Complex; African Libraries Collective; PEN/Faulkner Writers in Schools; University of New Haven, Cave Canem Foundation, Inc.; Harlem Arts Salon; Thurgood Marshall Center; Carr Center; Idlewild Writers Conference; Pratt Women Writers of Color Showcase; Split This Rock; Furious Flower; Weeksville Heritage Center; Busboys & Poets and numerous other universities and cultural institutions. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 31st
FIYAH is a quarterly speculative fiction magazine that features stories by and about Black people of the African Diaspora. This definition is globally inclusive (Black anywhere in the world) and also applies to mixed/biracial and Afro-appended people regardless of gender identity or orientation. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to midnight & indigo
Fee: $0; Deadline: March 31st
midnight & indigo, a new literary magazine celebrating Black women writers, has issued a call for submissions to review short stories and narrative essays. We publish content on our digital platform and in our literary journals (paperback/ebook/audiobook). In 2023, we will publish our first long-form anthology! View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to New Ohio Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: April 15th
We accept literary submissions in any genre. We do not reprint previously published work, book reviews, or unsolicited translations. Our submission periods are September 15th to December 15th, and January 15th to April 15th. 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 30th
Kweli welcomes submissions of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We currently publish four (4) online issues each year. The journal's reading period is September 1 through May 30. We are now accepting online submissions through May 30. Submissions received outside this reading period will remain unread. Submit your work at any time during our reading period. 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.
Submissions to sin cesar (formerly Dryland)
Fee: $5; Deadline: June 1st
sin cesar (formerly Dryland) is an independent print literary journal from South Central Los Angeles established in 2015. We seek to publish the best in Black and Brown poetry, fiction, and non-fiction from established, emerging, and never-before-published writers around the world. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Poetry London aims to publish the best, most exciting poetry being written now, and we are always interested in work by unpublished poets, as well as celebrated ones. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Coffin Bell is a quarterly online journal of dark literature. Submissions now open–seeking poetry, flash fiction, short stories, creative nonfiction, essay, and short criticism that explore dark themes. We publish two themed and two unthemed issues per year, and a print annual anthology of highlights. 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 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.
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.
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.
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