May 2023 Top Picks: Opportunities for Writers
The May 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, doing some spring cleaning. That’s important, too.
Contests & Awards
Emerging Writer’s Contest | Ploughshares
Fee: $24; Award: $2,000; Deadline: May 15
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Each winner also receives a consultation with the literary agency Aevitas Creative Management. Writers who have not published a book or a chapbook with a print run of over 300 copies are eligible. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
James Laughlin Award | Academy of American Poets
Fee: $0; Award: $5,000; Deadline: May 15
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a living poet to be published in the coming calendar year. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid weeklong residency at the Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Cow Creek Chapbook Prize | Pittsburg State University
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 15
The Cow Creek Chapbook Prize is a poetry chapbook contest brought to you by Pittsburg State University. We're open to all styles and subjects. As long as the poems challenge and capture the imagination, we want to see them. The winning poet will receive $1,000 and 25 author copies. The chapbook will be published as a perfect bound book and sold both online and in limited bookstores. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Transformation Awards | Leeway Foundation
Fee: $0; Award: $15,000; Deadline: May 15
The Leeway Transformation Award (LTA) provides unrestricted annual awards of $15,000 to women, transgender, and gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in greater Philadelphia who create art for social change and have done so for the past five years or more, demonstrating a long-term commitment to social change work. Writers who have lived for at least two years in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties, who are at least 18 years of age, and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fee: $10; Award: $1,500; Deadline: May 15
The Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize is awarded annually to an unpublished manuscript of original Anglophone poetry by an author of Asian heritage residing anywhere in the world. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize | American Poetry Review
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 16
The Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize honors the late Stanley Kunitz’s dedication to mentoring poets. The winning poem will appear on the feature page of the September/October issue of The American Poetry Review, and the poet will receive a prize of $1,000. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Autumn House Press Full-Length Prizes | Autumn House Press
Fee: $30; Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 31
Winners of each prize receive publication of their full-length manuscripts. Each winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote the book. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
The Banyan Poetry Prize | Trio House Press
Fee: $20; Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 31
The Banyan Poetry Prize is offered annually for a single poem. The winning poet is awarded $1,000 and included in the summer issue of The Banyan Review in June. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fee: $15; Award: $1,000; Deadline: June 1
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Salamander is given annually for a short story. Kirstin Valdez Quade will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Bard Fiction Prize | Bard College
Fee: $15; Award: $30,000; Deadline: June 1
The Bard Fiction Prize is awarded to a promising emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application. In addition to a $30,000 cash award, the winner receives an appointment as writer in residence at Bard College for one semester, without the expectation that he or she teach traditional courses. The recipient gives at least one public lecture and meets informally with students. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Emerging Poets Contest | Boulevard
Fee: $18; Award: $1,000; Deadline: June 1
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed press. The editors will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fellowships, Grants & More
Teaching Fellowship for Black Writers | GrubStreet
Fee: $0; Award: $25,000; Deadline: May 30
GrubStreet’s Teaching Fellowship for Black Writers provides financial and professional development support to two self-identified Black writers interested in teaching classes, participating in events, and working with our instructors and staff to deepen our curriculum. The fellowship includes compensation of $25,000, artistic mentorship, a showcase of the Fellows’ work, and access to the GrubStreet community and the Muse and the Marketplace conference. In time, the program aims to offer sustainable support to Black Writers and create a cohort of fellows who have direct access to GrubStreet resources, classes, and events. We also hope the fellows can influence GrubStreet’s pedagogy and cultural vision based on their experience and feedback. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships | The Center for Fiction
Fee: $0; Award: $5,000; Deadline: May 31
The Center for Fiction / Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships offer grants, editorial mentorship, and other opportunities to early-career New York City-based practitioners who are at a critical moment in their development as fiction writers. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History | PEN America
Fee: $0; Award: $15,000; Deadline: June 1
The PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History recognize literary works of nonfiction that use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement. Past winners include Sharony Green, Loida Maritza Pérez, Nyssa Chow, and Aleksandar Hemon. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants | PEN America
Fee: $0; Award: $4,000; Deadline: June 1
The PEN/Heim Translation Fund was established in the summer of 2003 by an endowed gift of $730,000 from Michael Henry Heim and Pricilla Heim, in response to the dismayingly low number of literary translations currently appearing in English. Its purpose is to promote the publication and reception of translated international literature in English. 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
Conference Director, Muse & the Marketplace | GrubStreet
Hybrid | Full-Time
The Muse brings exciting authors and publishing professionals to Boston from around the country, and has historically welcomed upwards of 1,200 attendees. The Conference Director will work in collaboration with the Senior Conference Manager to design and implement an annual conference theme, curate conference sessions on craft and publishing, manage the conference budget, and invite keynote speakers, agents, and editors to the conference. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Young Adult Writer's Program (YAWP) Assistant | GrubStreet
In-Person | Part-Time
The YAWP Assistant will support the YAWP program for teenage writers. They will be the go-to person for students, parents, and instructors for assistance and questions, perform administrative functions to track and maintain student information, organize community and fellowship events, and collaborate across GrubStreet departments for YAWP-related initiatives. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fabulist Café Barista | GrubStreet
In-Person | Part-Time
Located in GrubStreet's newly opened Center for Creative Writing and next door to Porter Square Books, Fabulist is looking for an enthusiastic part-time Barista to join our team as we launch this exciting new establishment. Fabulist offers a quality espresso program, simple delicious food, beer and wine. The café will serve the community of booklovers and writers affiliated with the center as well as the general public. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Assistant Digital Editor | Boston Globe Media
In-Person | Full-Time
The Assistant Digital Editor is a multifaceted journalist who maintains Globe Opinion’s presence on digital platforms and works to ensure our content is reaching as broad an audience as possible. This will entail handling a range of tasks across multiple platforms, coordinating with other editors, and developing audience engagement strategies for the section. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Community Writer | Boston Globe Media
In-Person | Full-Time
The Community Writer will focus on the storylines and topics of greatest interest to Bostonians. The ideal candidate is a collaborative, versatile journalist whose work has created meaningful engagement and discussion in the city’s digital sphere. This writer will be responsible for pitching and writing user-generated content, and helping to monitor and contribute to reader engagement across our site, social channels, and newsletters. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Staff Writer | Boston Globe Media
In-Person | Full-Time
Boston.com is one of the most-read digital media outlets in the region. Each month, our stories reach millions of people, and we’re seeking to improve our offering by adding a staff writer to our team. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Editor-in-Chief | Boston Globe Media
In-Person | Full-Time
The editor should be an enterprising journalist who can see the big picture in every facet of our coverage. They will be a seasoned story editor comfortable with assigning and directing reporters on daily enterprise stories, ambitious long-term projects, and investigations that properly convey the context and nuance of this complex topic. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Editorial Writer | Boston Globe Media
In-Person | Full-Time
The Boston Globe opinion section is looking to hire an editorial writer to cover a range of issues, including but not limited to immigration, politics, and criminal justice. The writer would be a member of the Globe's editorial board, which meets almost daily to discuss issues in the news, to frame ideas for editorials and, during campaign season, to interview and endorse candidates. We are looking for a curious, open-minded journalist with strong reporting skills and the ability to write swiftly, elegantly and with voice. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Submissions
Submissions to The BeZine Summer Issue
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 15
The BeZine is published quarterly around the middle of the months: March, June, September and December. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Etched Onyx Magazine and the Story Discovery Podcast
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 28
Onyx Publications is currently accepting submissions for the Summer edition of our online magazine, Etched Onyx. All stories in the magazine are narrated and include an author interview in our bi-monthly Story Discovery Podcast. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Glacial Hills Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 28
Glacial Hills Review is seeking literary nonfiction, reviews, scholarly essays, poetry, and art. The deadline for submissions is May 28. There is no fee to submit unless you want to be considered for one of our annual contests in nonfiction, poetry, and art. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 30
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 31
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 31
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 1455’s Movable Type
Fee: $0; Deadline: May 31
Movable Type Issue 15 will explore the annual theme(s) of “State of the Art” and we welcome submissions of poetry, prose, memoir, essay, visual art, music, and interview. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to sin cesar (formerly Dryland)
Fee: $5; Deadline: June 1
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.
Submissions to West Trade Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: August 1
Are you a writer or artist that wants to be published and recognized? West Trade Review wants to hear from you! We are looking for original and unpublished works of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry by both new and established writers/artists. We also accept novel excerpt submissions. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Apex Magazine is an online zine of fantastical fiction. We publish short stories filled with marrow and passion, works that are twisted, strange, and beautiful. Creations where secret places and dreams are put on display. 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.
Submissions to Santa Monica Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
The Santa Monica Review features fiction and nonfiction only. The editors are committed to fostering new talent as well as presenting new work by established authors. There is a special effort toward presenting and promoting writers who make their home in Southern California. To this end, each issue combines work by established and emerging writers from Southern California and beyond. 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
Persimmon Tree’s mission is to bring the creativity and talent of women over sixty to a wide audience of readers of all ages. We are looking for work that reveals rich experience and a variety of perspectives. Each issue of the magazine will include several fiction and nonfiction pieces, poetry by one or more poets, and the work of one or more visual artists. The magazine is published quarterly. 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 SmokeLong Quarterly
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
SmokeLong publishes flash narratives--fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid--up to 1000 words. We do not consider poetry. 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 Flash Fiction North
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Welcome to Flash Fiction North. The intention of this website is to promote shorter fiction from around the world. It also exhibits poetry and art images. FFN champions both experienced and newer writers. If your writing is coherent and interesting - you’re in. 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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