Welcome to our first opportunities round up for 2017. For readers who are new to our site, each month we aim to provide a helpful round-up of writing competitions, fellowships, publication opportunities and more for writers at all stages of their careers.
Deadlines and details do sometimes change, so please check the relevant websites (linked in bold) for all the latest details. For more opportunities and regular updates follow Aerogramme Writers’ Studio on Facebook and Twitter.
Firewords Quarterly
is an independent literary magazine with a strong emphasis on design, as well as substance. Firewords aims to be a publication where exciting new writers can have their voices heard and remembered. Submissions for issue 10 open on 10 January.
The Orwell Prize
is Britain’s most prestigious prize for political writing. Entries are accepted in three categories: books, journalism and ‘exposing Britain’s social evils’. Closes 12 January.
Mogford Short Story Prize
is for work with food and drink at its heart. First prize is £10,000 (US$12,500) and stories may be up to 2500 words. Entries close on 15 January.
River River
is a new literary journal from the heart of the Hudson Valley, in New York, USA. It features new poetry, short prose, photography and translations twice a year. Submissions for the Spring 2017 issue are open until 15 January.
Masters Review’s Short Story Award For New Writers
offers a first prize of $2000 plus online publication and review of your work by three literary agents. It is only open to writers who have not published a book and submissions may be up to 7000 words. Entries close 15 January.
Baltic Writing Residency
is located in Sweden. The selected writer receives $1000, and a free stay in a furnished cottage in Stockholm. The residency is open to writers of fiction, creative non-fiction, plays and poetry. Applications close on 15 January.
Ploughshares
is accepting fiction and non-fiction of up to 6000 words until 15 January. Writers are asked to include a short cover letter citing major publications and awards, as well as any association or past correspondence with a guest or staff editor.
SAND
is an English-language literary journal based in Berlin that features poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, flash fiction, translations and visual art. The last issue featured contributions from five continents. Submissions for issue 17 close on 15 January.
Madeleine P. Plonsker Emerging Writer’s Residency Prize
is offered by Lake Forest College in conjunction with &NOW Books. It offers an emerging poet under forty years old with no major book publication a three-week residency at their campus.The stipend is US$10,000 with a housing suite and campus meals provided by the college. The writer’s completed manuscript will be published (upon approval) by &NOW Books. Applications are open between 1 January and 1 March but only the first 200 will be considered so apply early.
Portable Story Series
is a new writing contest “with an audio twist”. It aims to bring stories to life through high-quality recordings while supporting social causes that deserve greater visibility. Contests take place four times throughout the year and entries may be between 2000 and 4000 words. The first deadline in 2017 is 20 January and the theme is ‘Love Story’.
LitSpace St. Petersburg Writer’s Residency
invites applications from fiction writers, poets, playwrights, essayists, and memoirists. The recipient of the residency fellowship will receive a stipend of US$1400 to defray travel and living expenses for the period of the residency. Accommodations are also provided for two weeks at the Craftsman House on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg, Florida. Applications close 20 January.
Caine Prize for African Writing
is awarded to a short story (3000 to 10,000 words) by an African writer published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere. ‘An African writer’ is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or whose parents are African. First prize is £10,000 (US$12,500) and the shortlisted writers will also receive a travel prize and £500 each. Entries close 31 January.
Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Award
has been held annually since 1981. The award carries a first prize of US$3500 and has four finalist prizes ($1000 each) and five runners-up prizes ($500 each) and there is no entry fee. Stories can be up to 8000 words and must be previously unpublished. The Nelson Algren Award is only open within the United States and entries close on 31 January.
Dearly Beloved: An In Memoriam Anthology
invites writers to eulogise the fallen cultural icons of 2016 who have profoundly shaped their relationship to themselves and their place in the world. The editors will consider fiction and creative non-fiction of up to 5000 words in length. Submissions close on 31 January.
Iowa Review Awards
are open to entries until 31 January. The judges for the 2017 Awards were Joyelle McSweeney (poetry), Amelia Gray (fiction), and Charles D’Ambrosio (nonfiction). First prize is $1500 and all entries will be considered for publication.
The Meadow
is the literary and arts journal of Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada. The Meadow publishes work from both beginning and experienced writers and artists. The current reading period closes on 1 February.
Historic Joy Kogawa House
is located in British Columbia, Canada. This residency is available to Canadian writers who have published two books and have previous teaching and public speaking experience. The residency lasts for three months and successful candidates receive a stipend of $2500 per month. Applications close on 1 February.
Stoneboat Literary Journal
is seeking contributions for ‘Beyond Red and Blue: Voices for America’. From the editors:
“The recent presidential election has revealed a deep divide in the American political and cultural landscapes. Also emerging in the wake of the election is a clear need for conversation among Americans on all sides of this divide. We are excited to facilitate this discourse by providing a space for all people to express their views, not only about the election outcome but also about what it means to be an American in 2017 and what it means to make America great again. (Or, what already makes America great.)” Closes 1 February.
Philosophy Through Fiction Short Story Competition
is open to speculative fiction (including but is not limited to science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternative history, or magical realism) that explores one or more philosophical ideas. These can be implicit; there is no restriction on which philosophical ideas you explore. First prize is US$500 and the winning story will be published in Sci Phi Journal. Entries close 1 February.
Cuttyhunk Island Writers’ Residency
This is an eight-day workshop and residency for fourteen writers on Cuttyhunk Island, seven nautical miles off the coast of southeastern Massachusetts. There are two sessions in 2017: 2 June – 9 June and 25 September – 2 October. Five days are dedicated to the workshop, three to free writing time. A total of four scholarships are available. Applications close on 1 February.
subTerrain Magazine
is based in Vancouver and is published three times a year. Submissions for its spring issue with the theme ‘The Future’ close on 1 February.
Close Approximations
is a contest for emerging translators, offered by Asymptote literary magazine. There are two categories, poetry and fiction, and the winner and runners-up of each category receive US$1000 and $250 respectively. The entry deadline is 1 February.
Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing
is hosted by Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Named for the University’s renowned literary alumnus and initiated in the fall of 1993, the Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing offers up to four months of unfettered writing time for a writer working on a first or second book. The program provides lodging in Poets’ Cottage and a stipend of US$5000. Applications close on 1 February.
Southampton Review
is dedicated to “discovering new voices and visions while savoring long-standing favorites.” Some of the established writers it has published include Billy Collins, Meg Wolitzer, Frank McCourt and David Rakoff. Submissions reopen on 1 February.
Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing
is for unpublished manuscripts by writers from Australia and New Zealand. The winner receives AUD$10,000 (US$7300) and a publishing contract with Text Publishing. Entries close 3 February.
Spread the Word Life Writing Prize
is a new prize established in 2016. Open to any writer living in the UK aged 18 or over, the prize was established to celebrate and develop life writing in the UK. The prize will reward the winner with £1500, an Arvon course, two years membership to the Royal Society of Literature and a meeting with an agent or editor as appropriate. Two highly commended writers will receive £500 each and a meeting with an agent or editor. The prize is open for entries until 5 February.
Overland
is seeking a guest fiction editor to contribute to its June 2017 issue. Aimed at emerging Australian or New Zealand editors, the successful applicant will have a demonstrated interest in contemporary fiction and be capable of writing a short editorial to introduce the edition. Applications close 5 February.
Creative Nonfiction
is seeking new essays about adaptation for its summer 2017 issue. A prize of US$3500 will be awarded to the best essay and all essays will be considered for publication. Closes 6 February.
Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition
offers the winner a place on an Arvon residential writing course of your choice (valued at £1000) and publication on writersandartists.co.uk. Stories must be under 2000 words and, unlike previous years, can be on any theme. Entrants can be from anywhere in the world and there is no entry fee. Closes 13 February.
Granta
is one of the world’s most prestigious literary magazines. Granta will be accepting unsolicited fiction submissions between 16 January and 15 February. There are no strict word limits, though most prose submissions are between 3000 and 6000 words and the editors advise they are unlikely to read more than 10,000 words of any submission.
Granta is also seeking submissions in English and French for a special edition on Canada. The editors welcome fiction, poetry and non-fiction. The work may be of this place, directly or obliquely – historical, imagined, recuperated, possible – but there is no theme and no parameters. Submissions open on 9 January and close on 6 February.
American Library in Paris Visiting Fellowship
is open to writers worldwide. Fellows receive a stipend of US$5000 to assist with travel and housing costs. Applications close 14 February.
Headland
is a New Zealand-based international literary journal of short fiction & creative non-fiction. It aims to give a voice to aspiring writers, alongside established authors, offering a platform for first-time publication and acting as a springboard for writers to explore and develop their potential, and showcase their early career works. The current reading period closes on 17 February.
Litro Magazine
is seeking submissions for its April print issue with the theme ‘Wants and Needs’. It accepts short fiction, flash/micro fiction and non-fiction. Submissions close 19 February.
CBC Creative Nonfiction Competition
is open to all Canadian residents. The competition is for original, unpublished work of creative nonfiction between 1200 and 1800 words and carries a grand prize of CA$6000. Entries close 28 February.
Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing
is only open to first-generation residents of the United States. “First-generation” can refer either to people born in another country who relocated to the U.S., or to American-born residents whose parents were born elsewhere. The 2017 award is open to non-fiction manuscripts which must consist of 100 samples pages and a detailed proposal. The winner receives a US$10,000 advance and publication by Restless Books. Entries close 28 February.
Wrong Quarterly
is a London-based literary magazine showcasing prose from both British and international writers. Its aim is to provide an inclusive platform for emerging writers worldwide. The Wrong Quarterly accepts fiction up to 10,000 words and life-writing, and any pieces which are ‘difficult’ to categorise.
Mont Blanc Writing Workshop
is currently accepting applications. The program takes place in June in the French Alps and recent teaching staff have included Cheryl Strayed, Alexander Chee and Pam Houston.
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