November 2021 Top Picks: Opportunities for Writers
The November 2021 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, perfecting your turkey-roasting (or deep-frying) method. That’s important, too.
Contests & Awards
Epiphany Magazine | 2021 Breakout! Prize
Fee: $10; Award: $1,000, publication, year-long mentorship; Deadline: November 1
The Fourth Annual Breakout! Writers Prize brings visibility to the creators of our future by honoring and supporting outstanding college and graduate student writers. Winners have gone on to get agents, publish books, and discover new careers in publishing. Submissions close on November 1st. All applicants will receive a complimentary digital subscription to Epiphany. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Foglifter | Start a Riot! Chapbook Prize
Fee: $0; Award: $1,000; Deadline: November 1
In response to rapid gentrification and displacement of QTBIPOC+ literary artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in celebration of these communities’ revolutionary history, Foglifter Press, RADAR Productions, and Still Here San Francisco joined forces to create a chapbook prize for local emerging queer and trans black writers, indigenous writers, and writers of color. Each year, one chapbook author is awarded publication, a $1,000 prize, and promotion, as well as a spot on RADAR’s Sister Spit tour. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Southeast Missouri State University Press | Nilsen Literary Prize
Fee: $25; Award: $2,000; Deadline: November 12
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Southeast Missouri State University Press is given annually for a novel, novella, or collection of linked stories by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. Submit a manuscript of any length with a $25 entry fee by November 12. Visit the website for complete guidelines. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Writer's Digest | Short Short Story Competition
Fee: $25; Award: $3,000; Deadline: November 15
A prize of $3,000 and travel and lodging expenses for a trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in New York City is given annually for a short short story. A second-place prize of $1,500 is also awarded. The winners will both be published in Writer’s Digest. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Perugia Press | Perugian Press Prize
Fee: $0-$30; Award: $1,000 and publication; Deadline: November 15
Perugia Press seeks to highlight marginalized and underrepresented voices in our publications, and to that end we encourage submissions written by poets of all abilities, ages, and sexual orientations, and from across all cultural, socio-economic, ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival | Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize
Fee: $0; Award: $500; Deadline: November 15
A prize of $500 and publication on the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival website is given annually for a work of nonfiction that is set in Brooklyn, New York, and renders the borough’s “rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer’s actual experiences of Brooklyn.” Submit an essay of up to 2,500 words by November 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Pushcart Press | Editors’ Book Award
Fee: $0; Award: $1,000; Deadline: November 15
A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been rejected by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that have been overlooked by today’s high-pressure, bottom-line publishing conglomerates.” Visit the website for complete guidelines.
The Hudson Review | Short Fiction Contest
Fee: $0; Award: $500; Deadline: November 30
Submit your original short fiction to The Hudson Review between 9/1/21 and 11/30/21. All genres of fiction welcome, but work must be previously unpublished and under 10,000 words. No submission fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Autumn House Press | Rising Writer Prize in Poetry
Fee: $25 (fee waivers available); Award: $1,000 honorarium & $500 travel/publicity grant; Deadline: November 30
The 2022 Rising Writer Prize is for a first full-length book of poetry. The submission period opens October 1, 2021, and closes November 30, 2021 (Eastern Time). The judge for the 2022 Rising Writer Prize is Donika Kelly. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Munster Literature Center | Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Prize
Fee: $8; Award: $2,344; Deadline: November 30
A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,344) and publication in Southword is given annually for a single poem. Submit a poem of up to 40 lines with a €7 (approximately $8) entry fee or five poems of up to 40 lines each with a €30 (approximately $35) entry fee by November 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fish Publishing | Fish Short Story Prize
Fee: $26; Award: $3,517; Deadline: November 30
A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,517) and publication in the annual Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short story. The winner will also be invited to attend a five-day short story workshop and read at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2022. Submit a story of up to 5,000 words by mail with a €22 (approximately $26) entry fee or using the online submission system with a €20 (approximately $23) entry fee by November 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Charlotte Center for Literary Arts, Inc. | Writers/South Awards 2022
Fee: $15; Award: $1,500; Deadline: December 1
Writers/South will award $10,000 in prizes for writing in four categories: poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, and flash. Entries are limited to current and former residents of North Carolina and its border states: South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. The $15 entry fee includes a print copy of Writers/South: Journal of Charlotte Lit mailed to a U.S. address. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Rollick Magazine | 2021 Fiction Prize
Fee: $10; Award: $1,000; Deadline: December 31
Rollick Magazine is an independent literary magazine for contemporary fiction, thought, and opinion about popular culture, society, and everything on the periphery. Our mandate is to attract cutting-edge, quality stories that inspire real engagement. We will consider work that express unique and original thought. Ideally, we want you to share stories that let us explore the world through your eyes. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fellowships & Grants
WGBH | GBH Kids Scriptwriting Fellowship
Fee: $0; Award: $4,000; Deadline: November 12th
The GBH Kids Scriptwriting Fellowship is a program designed to mentor promising, early-career writers from underrepresented communities in writing scripts for a GBH Kids animated series that focuses on STEM learning. The goal is to diversify the pipeline of writers for both this show and the greater children’s media industry by providing early-career writers, who are members of underrepresented groups in the greater children’s media industry (including but not limited to individuals of African American, Asian, Latinx/Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander descent) with a hands-on learning experience in television writing for children and an opportunity for their scripts to be produced for a new television series. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Fee: $0; Award: Mentorship; Deadline: December 31st
The fellowship is funded by a grant with the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art’s (DDFIA) Building Bridges Program. The mission of the Building Bridges Program is to support national efforts, working with U.S. Muslims, to increase mutual understanding and well-being among diverse populations for the benefit of building stronger, inclusive communities. The fellowship aims to further that bridge-building mission by creating space for more diverse, authentic Muslim narratives for children and young adults, and by addressing common misperceptions of those narratives in the children’s publishing industry. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Work Experience
Programs Assistant, GrubStreet
Boston, MA
GrubStreet is seeking a Programs Assistant to work with our Programs Coordinator on ensuring the smooth delivery of hundreds of creative writing classes per year. The Programs Assistant will help students navigate our offerings and register for classes and events, run the technical side of our Zoom classes, and welcome students into our space for in-person classes and events. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Executive Director, Narrative Magazine
Remote
Narrative Magazine is seeking applicants for the full-time, remote position of Executive Director. This position requires a proven record of fundraising and development success, as well as demonstrated creativity, organizational expertise, and entrepreneurial instincts. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Communications Director and Social Media Coordinator, Run Amok Books
Remote
Run Amok Books is seeking applicants for two volunteer positions: Communications Director and Social Media Coordinator. Both are unpaid, remote positions that will require approximately 4-5 hours per week and a minimum term of six months. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Several Positions, Oxford American
Conway, Arkansas | Remote
Oxford Press is seeking a Digital Editor, Development Coordinator, and Junior Account Executive, in addition to Editorial and Podcast interns. These positions have the option to report to the magazine’s main offices in Conway, Arkansas or work remotely. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Development Manager, BreakBread Press
Remote
BreakBread Literacy Project is an all-volunteer, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides free creative writing workshops, pre-professional publishing apprenticeships, literary readings, and curates BreakBread Magazine. The Development Manager will serve on BreakBread’s Leadership Team, and supervise a group of Development Assistants in implementing BreakBread’s fundraising initiatives. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Remote
Want to get some experience in the world of independent publishing? Do you want to learn more about how producing a literary publication works? Would you like the mentorship of an entire group of editors? You can get all of that at Zoetic Press! Even if you have ZERO experience, we want you—after all, how do you GET experience if no one is willing to let you get a foot in the door? Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Senior Content Editor and Membership & Development Associate, Academy of American Poets
New York City, NY
The Academy of American Poets is currently seeking a Senior Content Editor and a Membership & Development Associate. The Senior Content Editor is responsible for producing, copy editing, and maintaining content for the Academy of American Poets. The Membership & Development Associate reports to the Director of Donor Relations and assists in work to grow the base of supporters of the organization to meet fundraising goals. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
After-School Tutoring Program Assistant, 826 Boston
Roxbury, MA
826 Boston is currently seeking an After-School Tutoring Program Assistant. They also have one student position open: Youth Literary Advisory Board Member. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Submissions
Submissions to Foglifter Journal
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 1st
Foglifter is a biannual compendium of the most dynamic, urgent queer and trans writing today. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and they are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Awake, Issue Four | Lucky Jefferson
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 7
Lucky Jefferson’s digital zine Awake amplifies the experiences and perspectives of Black writers. You’re the first Black captain of your crew, and you’ve crash landed and lost contact with mission control. You are soon discovered and greeted by the inhabitants of this world—inhabitants that reflect your culture. Now you have two options: figure out a way to return home or explore this planet and begin a new life. What are you going to do? View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 12
The Fabulist Magazine is open now through November 12 for submissions of short fantastical fiction. We are open to all forms of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, literary fabulism, mythology, folktales, genre remixes and the like. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Yaba Left Review
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 15
Yaba Left Review (YLR) is an online periodical dedicated to the publication of works that combine mastery of craft with fresh perspectives on the human condition. We welcome all writers to task us with their original writing in poetry, fiction and nonfiction. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 20
Recovery can mean a lot of things, but for this issue we are focusing on abuse. Mental, physical, emotional or sexual abuse topics are accepted with appropriate trigger warnings. We want to help give a voice back to those who have been silenced by their abusers. Proceeds of this issue will go to Laurel House, a domestic violence organization fighting to make a change. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Hippocampus Magazine
Fee: $3; Award: $40; Deadline: November 30
Looking for a literary magazine that accepts personal essays? Hippocampus Magazine enthusiastically considers unsolicited, previously unpublished creative nonfiction submissions in the following categories: memoir excerpt, personal essay, flash creative nonfiction, and more. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 30
Toad Hall Editions is looking for writers 18 and younger for their submissions of poetry, essays, short stories, creative nonfiction, and experimental works for our journal Buttered Toast. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Capsule Stories
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 30
The Capsule Stories Spring 2022 Edition theme is Into the Light. We’re looking for stories, poems, and essays that explore growth and new possibilities after a long, dark winter. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to Abandon Journal
Fee: $0; Deadline: November 30
Issue #3 of Abandon Journal will be built around the theme of “Abandon Time.” Interpret that as you wish. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; December 1
Gender Queer/ Genre Queer Playground Special Issue. For all submissions, include a short cover letter noting the title(s) of the work(s) submitted as well as any association or past correspondence with a guest or staff editor. Also include a fifty-word bio. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $3; Deadline: December 15
AGNI is looking 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.” They seek out writers who tell their truths in their own words and convince them that they’ve found something no one else could have written. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $3; Deadline: January 15
Ploughshares welcomes unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction during our regular reading period, which runs from June 1st to January 15th. The literary journal is published four times a year: mixed issues of poetry and prose in the Spring and Winter, a prose issue in the summer, and a longform prose issue in the Fall, with two of the four issues per year guest-edited by a different writer of prominence. View complete submission guidelines here.
Submissions to The Worcester Review
Fee: $3; Deadline: January 31
The Worcester Review publishes literary fiction and poetry by new and established writers, as well as critical commentary on aspects of Central Massachusetts literary culture and history. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $; Deadline: February 1
Soundings East is the annual literary journal of Salem State University, published with support from the Center for Creative and Performing Arts. They are dedicated to publishing high-quality poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. The magazine is distributed nationally, with recent press runs of 750 copies. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $0; Deadline: April 1
Salamander, which is published biannually, features poetry, fiction, and nonfiction; their open reading period for 2021-2022 is October 1–April 1, with a holiday break between late December and early January. Manuscripts sent outside of this reading period will be returned or discarded. 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 Massachusetts Review
Fee: $3; Deadline: Rolling
“We seek a balance between established writers and promising new ones. We're interested in material of variety and vitality relevant to the intellectual and aesthetic questions of our time. We aspire to have a broad appeal; our commitment, in part regional, is not provincial.” View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $4.50; Deadline: Rolling
Meat For Tea is a non-academic affiliated magazine committed to recognizing and featuring the work of the artists, writers, and musicians living in western Massachusetts and beyond. Writing submissions should be works of poetry and short prose no longer than 1500 words in length, 8000 words for short fiction and essays, 1200 words for flash and microfiction. 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.
Submissions to Natalie Sheree Publishing
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Natalie Sheree Publishing is seeking pieces for their 2022-2023 publishing catalog. Please submit the first chapter of your completed, unpublished novella or novel manuscript. View complete submission guidelines here.
Fee: $3; Deadline: Rolling
Hare's Paw Literary Journal is limitless - representing the ability to walk between our own stillness and the world around us, identifying what matters and what intrigues us, regardless of societal demands. Hare's Paw publishes authentic, strange, soulful, and even joyful work that allows all voices to be heard. If you've ever had a hard time placing your work, consider Hare's Paw Literary Journal your home. 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 BreakBread Magazine
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
BreakBread Magazine is a magazine for all young creatives under the age of 25. We are always looking for vivid, timely poetry, nonfiction, short stories and visual arts—fine art, photography, comics, illustrated narratives, and hybrid work that explores new directions in arts and letters. 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; Deadline: Rolling
Mukana Press is currently accepting submissions for our freshman cohort of titles. We will review submissions on a rolling basis. Please allow for up to 8 weeks for a response. Writers may submit more than one manuscript.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.
Submissions to Frontier Poetry
Fee: $0; Award: $50 per poem, up to $150; Deadline: Rolling
Submissions for Frontier Poetry’s New Voices poetry category are open year round to any new and emerging poet who has not published more than one full-length collection of poetry. 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.
Submissions to Boston Poetry Magazine
Fee: $0; Deadline: Rolling
Boston Poetry Magazine accepts submissions year-round. They accept both previously published material and simultaneous submissions. View complete submission guidelines here.
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