Opportunities for Writers: August and September 2014

Over 90 competitions, publication opportunities, fellowships and more.

Please check the relevant websites for all terms and conditions and be aware that entry fees are payable in many instances.

Prairie Schooner
was established in 1926. Its intention is to publish the best writing available, both from beginning and established writers. Entries are now open for its Summer Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest. Closes 1 August.

Can Serrat Residency 
near Barcelona offers two writers full stipends for 30 days (including accommodation and most meals). The residency is open to all writers regardless of nationality or age. Applications close 1 August.

Costa Short Story Award
is run as part of the Costa Book Awards, one of the UK’s most prestigious and popular literary prizes. The award is for a single, previously unpublished short story of up to 4000 words.The winner receives £3500. Entries close 1 August.

Cold Mountain Review 
publishes poetry, creative non-fiction, interviews with creative writers, fiction and art. Submissions are read between August and May each year.

Gival Press Short Story Award
is now in its 11th year. Stories between 5000 and 15,0000 are eligible for entry and the winner receives US$1000 and publication. Entries close 8 August.

Writing Maps
runs a monthly writing contest to coincide with the launch of a new Writing Map. It challenges writers to submit a 150-word response to its prompt of the month. Each month’s two winning entries will be published in A3, the new Writing Maps journal, a fold-out literary magazine to be published every six months.

John Marsden/Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers
is open to writers under the age of 25. There are two categories: short fiction or first chapter of a novel (up to 3000 words) and poetry. A total of AUD$5500 is on offer. Entries close 11 August.

Texas Observer Short Story Contest
is now open for submissions. The winner receives US$1000 and publication. The contest is open to any and all participants regardless of location and there are no restrictions on genre (though entries with a Texas setting or theme are encouraged). Entries close 11 August.

PEN USA Emerging Voices
is a literary fellowship that aims to provide new writers, who lack access, with the tools they will need to launch a professional writing career. During the eight month fellowship, each Emerging Voices Fellow participates in a professional mentorship, hosted Q & A evenings with prominent local authors, a series of master classes focused on genre, a voice class, a volunteer project, and several public readings. Sessions take place in Los Angeles. Applications close 11 August.

Asymptote
is an international journal dedicated to literary translation. Submissions are currently open for its annual English-Language Poetry Feature for which the editors are seeking work that engages with mythology and the mythic. Submissions close 15 August.

Yale Drama Series
is an annual, international competition for emerging playwrights. The winner is awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of US$10,000, publication of the winning play by Yale University Press and a staged reading. The reading of the 2014 winning play will take place at Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. Submissions for the 2015 Competition close 15 August.

Bombay Gin
is the literary journal of The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, co-founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman at Naropa University in Colorado. Submissions are currently being accepted for the journal’s 41st issue. Closes 15 August.

In It For The Long Scrawl
is a literary magazine created by teens. It welcomes submissions from writers aged between 13 and 18 who live anywhere in the world. The magazine’s next submissions deadline is 15 August.

Young Lions Fiction Award
is sponsored by the New York Public Library and awards a US$10,000 cash prize each year to a promising American writer, aged 35 or younger, for a published book or a selection of short stories. Submissions must come from publishers and entries close 15 August.

Gigantic Sequins
is a black & white print journal based in Philadelphia. It publishes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comics and book reviews. Its open reading period ends on 15 August.

Indiana Review’s Half-K Prize
offers a first prize of US$1000 and publications. Writers can submit up to three pieces of writing up to 500 words each and there are no genre or form restrictions. Entries close 15 August.

Wigleaf
is an award-winning online journal of very short fiction (under 1000 words). Submissions are open during the final week (7 days) of each academic month, with the exception of December.

Manchester Fiction Prize
is a major international literary competition open to anyone aged 16 or over. The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000. Stories can be up to 2500 words in length. The organisers also offer a Manchester Poetry Prize. Entries for both competitions close on 29 August.

Whitmore Press Manuscript Prize for Poetry
is now open for entries. The prize is the publication of a fine, limited edition poetry chapbook. The competition is open to all Australian poets – new, emerging and established. Entries close 29 August.

International 3-Day Novel Contest
takes place over the North American Labor Day long weekend, 30 August to 1 September. The competition has been running since 1977. Participants pre-register and then commit to writing a complete novel is three days. The winning novel will be published.

Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction
is open to pieces up to 5000 words in length. Winners will receive US$250 and their work will be featured in the next issue of Lunch Ticket. All submissions will be considered for publication. Entries close 31 August.

Blue Mesa Review Annual Contest
is open to fiction (up to 6000 words) and poetry (up to 3 poems). The 2014 judges are Roxane Gay for Fiction and Carmen Giménez Smith for Poetry and each winner receives US$500 and publication.

Carmel Bird Long Story Award
is for fiction between 4000 and 10,000 words. Winning and shortlisted stories will be considered for publication. Entrants must be either Australian citizens (living anywhere), or permanent residents of Australia. The closing date is 31 August.

Red Line
welcomes submissions of up to 3500 words from contributors ‘who have something interesting to say and a talent for communicating’. Shortlisted stories will be considered for publication in an end of year anthology. Joy is the theme for the upcoming issue and submissions close 31 August.

Wag’s Review
hold two contests annually, with entries for the Summer Contest open until 31 August. The contests are open to fiction, essays and poetry and are judged by the editors. First prize is US$1000 and guaranteed publication in the magazine, second prize is $500 and third $100. All pieces are considered for publication.

Aesthetica Magazine
is inviting writers to submit their work to their 2014 creative writing competition. First prize is £500 and the winner and finalists will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual. Entries closes 31 August.

Newcastle Writers Festival
takes place in Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia) between 20 and 22 March. The festival aims to shine the light on local and national literary talent, as well as promote the written word in all its forms. Submissions for workshops, seminars, author sessions and events are open until 31 August.

The WriteRoom.Org Screenplay Competition
aims to discover and recognise new talented, original voices (an entrant’s total earnings for motion picture and television writing may not exceed US$5000). The competition supports screenplays of women for the benefit of an international and domestic audience. Men are also invited to participate but all screenplay entries must either have a female protagonist, feature dimensional female character(s) or have been either written, co-written or be from an original idea by a women co-writer. The grand prize is US$1000 and the final entry deadline is 31 August.

British Library Eccles Writer in Residence
is open to writers from the UK, with the successful applicant receiving an award of £20,000. Applications for 2015 close on 31 August. The Eccles Centre also offers fellowships for residents from the United States and Canada.

Commonword Children’s Diversity Writing Prize
welcomes submissions from unpublished children’s authors whose writing embraces ethnic diversity either through their own ethnicity and culture and/or in their writing. The winner receives £500 cash and professional mentoring will be from Catherine Pellegrino & Associates. All entrants must be over the age of 16 and a  permanent resident in the United Kingdom. Closes 1 September.

Nano Prize for Flash Fiction
awards publication and US$500 to a previously unpublished work of fiction of 300 words or fewer. While there will be only one winner of the contest, all submitted pieces will be considered for publication. Entries close 1 September.

Scribe Non-fiction Prize for Young Writers
is a developmental award to foster talented Australian writers aged 30 or under who are working on a long form or book-length non-fiction work. In addition to a cash prize of AUD $1500, the winner receives the opportunity to meet with a publisher or an editor and to experience the process of working with an editor on their writing. Entries must be between 5000 and 10,000 words. Closes 1 September.

Harvard Review
publishes short fiction, poetry, essays, drama, and book reviews. Writers at all stages of their careers are invited to apply, however, it only publishes a very small fraction of the material received. Submissions reopen on 1 September.

Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest
is open for fiction and non-fiction of up to 500 words. A total of CA$1000 in cash prizes is on offer and all prize winning entries will be published. Entries close 1 September.

Oxford American 
welcomes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry submissions, as well as proposals for Points South and feature articles. Submissions for the winter issue close on 1 September.

subTerrain Magazine
is based in Vancouver and is published three times a year. Submissions for its winter issue with the theme ‘meat’ close on 1 September.

The Fiction of Relationship
is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) being conducted by Brown University. The course seeks to explore relationships and literature through readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century. The course commences on 1 September and runs for 14 weeks.

Fourteen Hills
is edited by graduate students in the creative writing program at San Francisco State University. It is commitment to presenting a diversity of experimental and progressive work by emerging and cross-genre writers. Submissions reopen on 1 September.

One Story
is a literary magazine that contains, simply, one story. Approximately every three-four weeks, subscribers are sent One Story in the mail, or on their digital devices. Stories must be between 3000 and 8000 words and can be in any style on any subject. Submissions reopen 1 September.

Tampa Review
is the United States’ only hardback literary journal. It features art, poems, stories and essays. Submissions are considered between 1 September and 30 November for publication the following year.

Hedgebrook Writers in Residence Program
for women writers is located on Whidbey Island, about thirty-five miles northwest of Seattle. The program is open to all women writers, whether their work has been published yet or not. Applications for 2015 residencies close 3 September.

Todd New Writers’ Bursary
for New Zealand published writers or presented playwrights at an early stage of their career. The successful writer receives NZ$20,000. Applications close 5 September.

Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellowship
provides a grant of US$3,000 to complete research at the University of Oregon. This short-term research fellowships are open to undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, college and university faculty at every rank, and independent scholars working in feminist science fiction. Applications close 5 September.

Slice Literary Writers’ Conference
will take place on 6 and 7 September in Brooklyn, NYC. Panels and workshops will cover topics from the craft of writing (plotting, dialogue, characterization, poetry, and more) to the business of writing (pitch letters, landing a book deal, and beyond). 

Sustainable Arts Foundation
is offering up to five awards of US$6000 each for writers and artists with families. The money can be for things like child care, workspace, new equipment, research and travel. The awards are open worldwide. Applications close 8 September.

Blunderbuss Magazine
is a web magazine of arts, culture, and politics. It welcomes unsolicited submissions and describes itself as ‘genre flexible’. The current round of submissions is open until 8 September.

MacDowell Colony Fellowships
support residences of up to eight weeks for writers and other artists. Located in New Hampshire, studios, room and board are provided. Applications for Winter/Spring 2015 residences (1 February to 31 May) close on 15 September.

Jentel Artist Residency Program
is located on a 1000 acre plus working cattle ranch 20 miles southeast of Sheridan, Wyoming. It offers individuals a supportive environment in which to further their creative development. Application for residencies in winter and spring 2015 close on 15 September.

Bartleby Snopes’ Dialogue Only Writing Contest
is running for the sixth year. Entrants are asked to compose a short story entirely of dialogue. You may use as many characters as you want but your entry must be under 2000 words. Entries close 15 September.

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Awards
are open to American and Canadian writers, artists and scholars.The Awards are highly competitive. In the 2014 round over 3000 applications were received with 177 grants being awarded. Applications close 15 September.

CutBank
is a literary magazine founded in 1973 by the creative writing program at the University of Montana. It publishes two issues per year featuring  fiction, poetry and literary non-fiction by established writers and new voices alike. Submissions reopen on 15 September.

Künstlerdorf Schöppingen Foundation Artist in Residence Program
supports writers, visual artists, artists in the field of new media and interdisciplinary projects. Accommodation is provided in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a stipend is also provided. The next application round opens on 1 August and closes 15 September. 

Fiction
is a semiannual publication established in 1972. They are looking for the best new writing available, leaning toward the unconventional, and accept a variety of genres: experimental, satire, literary, translations, and contemporary. The magazines reading period reopens on 15 September.

Mslexia Memoir Competition
is for previously unpublished memoirs by women. Submissions need to be the first 5000 words of a full-length memoir, written in prose, and narrate actual events in your life. First prize is £5000 and five other finalists will be offered free professional feedback by The Literary Consultancy. Closes 22 September.

Creative Nonfiction
is seeking new essays on the theme ‘waiting’. It is looking for well-crafted true stories of delays, postponements, and pauses that explore and examine our relationship with time. Creative Nonfiction editors will award $1000 for Best Essay and $500 for runner-up. Closes 22 September.

Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers Program
was established in 1990 to recognise great fiction and non-fiction debuts from authors at the start of their careers. In addition to a US$10,000 prize, the winning titles are promoted extensively in stores and online. Nominations must come via the book’s publisher. Nominations for Spring 2015 close on 25 September.

New York Public Library’s Cullman Center Fellowships
are open to writers from around the world whose work will benefit from access to the collections housed at the Library’s main branch on Fifth Avenue. A stipend of up to US$70,000 is granted to each fellow along with an an office, a computer and full access to the Library’s physical and electronic resources. Applications for 2015/16 Fellowships close on 26 September 2014.

How Writers Write Fiction
is a new free online course being offered by the University of Iowa’s prestigious International Writing Program. The course commences on 27 September and there are no limits on enrolment numbers.

Advanced Writing Masterclass: Manuscript Surgery 
is being run by the Guardian in London on 27 and 28 September. The class will be coordinated Whitbread-winning novelist Tim Lott. The Guardian is also running masterclasses in writing for children, social media, turning your blog into a book and more. Visit the website for full details.

Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award
is open to any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction. The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages. Award-winning manuscripts will be published by the University of Iowa Press under the Press’s standard contract. Closes 30 September.

Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
is an online journal promoting the literary arts in Singapore. It welcomes submissions from Singapore and around the world. Submissions for the October issue close on 30 September. Contributions received after the deadline will be rolled over to the next issue.

Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence
is awarded to the single best submission in the respective categories of poetry and fiction. The winners receive CA$1000 together with a book pack valued at approximately $700. The judges for this year’s prize are Margaret Atwood (for poetry) and Zsuzsi Gartner (for fiction). Entries close 30 September.

Bedford Writing Competition
is open to writers worldwide and carries a first prize of £100. Stories can be up to 3000 words an in any genre. Bedford Writing Competition is not-for-profit and all proceeds are donated to charity. Entries close 30 September.

Anchor & Plume Press
seeks work that is a celebration of language and place. Short works (poems, collection of photographs) and longer works (full length collections of poetry, hybrid prose, creative non-fiction, essays, and short stories) are welcome. Anchor & Plume’s next open reading period begins on 1 August and closes 30 September.

New Children’s Author Prize
is presented by the National Literary Trust and Bloomsbury Children’s Books. UK writers are invited to submit stories for 8 to 12-year-olds and first prize is a publishing contract with Bloomsbury including an advance of £5000. Entries close 30 September.

Palettes & Quills Biennial Poetry Chapbook Competition
is for manuscripts between 14 and 50 pages. First prize is US$200, publication and 50 copies of the published book. Entries close 30 September.

Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize
is for a selection of 10 poems of a maximum of 36 lines each. Two winners will receive 25 copies of their collection up to 52 perfect bound pages. A standard royalty contract will also be awarded. Entries close 30 September.

Boston Review’s Aura Estrada Short Story Contest
is open to all writers, regardless of citizenship or publication history. The winner of the contest will receive US$1500 and have his or her work published in the July/August 2015 issue of Boston Review. The first runner-up will be published in a following issue, and the second runner-up will be published on the Boston Review website. Entries close 1 October.

Colony
is a Dublin-based journal of ideas, fiction, poetry, criticism, music, spoken word and translation. Submissions for its third issue, with the theme magic, open on 1 September and close 1 October.

Shelf Unbound Competition for Best Independently Published Book
is currently accepting entries. ‘Independently Published’ books include self-published books (such as those published through CreateSpace, Lulu.com, iUniverse, etc.) and/or books published through small presses releasing less than five titles per year. There is no limit to the number of books an individual can enter, though each book requires a separate entry fee. Entries are due by midnight on 1 October.

Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University
is accepting fellowship applications from the humanities, social sciences, and creative arts until 1 October. Fellows receive office or studio space and access to libraries and other resources of Harvard University during the fellowship year, which extends from early September 2015 through May 31, 2016. Stipends are funded up to US$75,000 with additional funds for project expenses.

International Aeon Award Short Fiction Contest
is for short stories in any speculative fiction genre including fantasy, science fiction and horror. The contest has been running since 2004 and has a Grand Prize of €1000 (US$1300). Entries must be less than 10,000 words and must not have been previously published. The contest opens on 1 January each year, and runs for four rounds throughout the year. The submission deadline for the third round closes 30 September and the final round 30 November.

Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets
is open to African writers who have not published a book-length poetry collection. The winner receives US$1000 and publication through with the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal. An ‘African writer’ is defined as someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African. Manuscript submissions of at least 50 pages are accepted between 15 September and 1 December and there no entry fees.

Virginia Quarterly Review
is currently accepting submissions of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. While they have a long history of publishing accomplished and award-winning authors, Virginia Quarterly Review also seeks and supports emerging writers and submissions from writers based anywhere in the world are welcomed.

Reed Magazine
publishes works of short fiction, non-fiction, poetry. Prose submissions should be under 5000 words. Reed Magazine also runs three annual writing contests: the John Steinbeck Award (fiction), the Gabriele Rico Challenge (creative nonfiction), and the Edwin Markham Prize (poetry) – entries close 1 November.

Beyond Words: A Retreat for Writers, by Writers
will be held in Bali, Indonesia, following the Ubud Writers’ Festival. The schedule includes writing workshops, Q&A sessions, yoga classes and social events.

Dorland Mountain Arts Colony
offers residencies of up to three months year-round to writers, visual artists and composers in the secluded hills overlooking the Temecula Valley in southern California. The cost of the residency is $300 per week or $1000 per month, and residents are responsible for their own food and travel expenses. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but must be postmarked at least 30 days prior to the requested residency start date.

Irish Pages
is a biannual journal, edited in Belfast and publishing, in equal measure, writing from Ireland and overseas. It publishes poetry, short fiction, essays, creative non-fiction, memoir, essay reviews, nature-writing, translated work, literary journalism, and other autobiographical, historical, religious and scientific writing of literary distinction. Submissions can be made at any time.

Albert Whitman and Company
is an award-winning children’s book publisher founded in 1919. They are have an open submissions policy and will read and review unagented manuscripts and proposals for picture books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult novels.

Barrelhouse
is an independent non-profit literary organisation that aims to bridge the gap between serious art and pop culture. Its magazine welcomes submissions of fiction, poetry, interviews, and essays about music, art and ‘the detritus of popular culture.’

World Literature Today
is the University of Oklahoma’s bimonthly magazine of international literature and culture, founded in 1927. The editors welcome submissions on contemporary literary and cultural topics addressing any geographic region or language area.

Bodega
releases digital issues on the first Monday of every month, featuring poetry, prose, and quarterly interviews by established and emerging writers. Bodega happily accepts simultaneous submissions.

The Zodiac Review
is an online, semi-annual literary magazine presenting short fiction by new and emerging authors, as well as more established ones. The editors welcome submissions of unpublished stories from a range of genres including slice-of-life, psychological, dark humour, thriller/suspense, mystery, fictionalised memoir, historical fiction, light sci-fi and light fantasy.

Iowa Review
publishes short stories, flash fiction, graphic novels, self-contained novel excerpts, and plays; poetry of all kinds; and all manner of creative nonfiction, including personal essays, lyric essays, memoirs, and literary journalism. The page limit for prose is 25 pages and for poetry is 8 pages (query by e-mail if you have a longer poem). It pays $1.50 per line for poetry ($40 minimum) and $0.08 per word for prose ($100 minimum). Submissions are accepted in September, October and November only.

Script Lab
is looking for reviewers of television, film, books and software. Those interested send a writing sample and details of what they are interested in covering to writefor@thescriptlab.com

American Reader
is a bimonthly magazine publishing fiction, poetry and criticism. It was named by Library Journal as one of the best new magazines of 2012. Submissions are accepted throughout the year.

Lamplands
is a new literary journal for children. They are currently seeking new fiction and non-fiction with a focus on place and environment. Five stories will appear in each issue of Lamplands, together with illustrations and maps.

Southern Literary Review
accepts book review submissions from new and emerging authors.  Book reviews should be timely and complement SLR’s focus on southern authors and southern literature (USA). To submit a book review contact the managing editor, Allen Mendenhall.

Great Ocean Quarterly
is seeking well-researched, well-written features journalism about the ocean: history, science, personal experience, adventure, profiles and more. They also publish fiction (generally up to 4000 words) and poetry.

Frank Martin Review
is a new independent, semi-annual literary journal founded by Darien Cavanaugh and William Garland and based in South Carolina, USA. It is accepting submissions including prose up to 10,000 words.

The Bohemyth
is an online literary journal publishing short fiction, poetry, photography and essays on a monthly basis. Each new issue is published on the 7th of the month. To be considered for publication your submission must arrive between the 1st – 23rd of the previous month.

Islandport Press
is a Maine-based, award-winning publisher dedicated to stories rooted in the essence and sensibilities of New England. They are currently accepting manuscript submissions including non-fiction and works for children.

Neon Literary Magazine
is published three times a year and features literary and slipstream short-form writing: poetry, fiction and experimental forms. It has a particular focus on the dark and the surreal. Neon is based in the UK, but publishes writers from anywhere in the world. The editors endeavour to provide personalised feedback to writers that are also subscribers.

Salon.com
publishes writing on politics, culture, technology, entertainment and personal essays. Salon welcomes article queries and submissions. Enquiries should include some details about your background as a writer and qualifications for writing a particular story.

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Title image by Vincen-t