Erica Verrillo's Blog, page 13

67 Writing Conferences and Workshops in June 2023

Squam Lake by Chuck Taylor This June there are more than five dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but many will be in-person or hybrid as pandemic restrictions ease. Virtual events still offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, to how to market yourself and your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.

For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences. Quite a few offer scholarships, so apply early. Popular conferences also tend to close early. 

I've included conferences that have early application dates on my list. So, if you have missed one that is ideal for you, put the application deadline on your calendar for next year. (Many conferences are annual events.)

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Application for the Whole Novel Workshop: An In-Person Retreat for Novelists. Apply by June 1. August 17 - 22, 2023: Boyds Mills, PA. OVERVIEW: In-person 6-Day/5-Night Workshop and Retreat with a Full Novel Critique Included This intensive Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 80,000 words*) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided. Attention in an intimate setting makes this program one that guarantees significant progress in preparation for submission. This Whole Novel Workshop is specifically designed for writers of novels for children and teens. 

Tennessee Writing Day Workshop. June 2 -3, 2023. Online. This “How to Get Published” writing event is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited online “seats” at the event (200 total). Will be conducted online.

Writing The Rainbow: An Online Intensive For Picture BookStorytellers. June 2 -5, 2023: Honesdale, PA. This workshop is designed to bring LGBTQIA+ creators and allies together to craft picture books with clear LGBTQIA+ themes. You will learn to create books that celebrate joy, respect, and appreciation for children in today’s world, showing beauty and strength in our rainbow of experiences. Will be conducted online.

Sundress Academy: Summer Poetry Writing Retreat. June 2nd-4th, 2023: Firefly Farms, Knoxville, TN. The three-day, two-night camping retreat will be held at SAFTA’s own Firefly Farms in Knoxville, Tennessee.  All SAFTA retreats focus on generative poetry writing, and this year’s poetry retreat will also include the following break-out sessions: “The Cascade and the Overflow: The Use and Uselessness of Punctuating Your Poetry” and “Singing the Body Electric: Writing our Embodied Experiences.” A weekend pass includes one-on-one and group instruction, writing supplies, food, drinks, and all on-site amenities for $250. Tents, sleeping bags, and other camping equipment are available to rent for $25.  Payment plans are available if you reserve by March 31, 2023.

Wyoming Writers Conference. June 2 - 4, 2023: Cheyenne, WY. The conference features workshops in craft, marketing, and productivity for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers, as well as publisher pitch sessions, roundtable critiques, and open mics. Participating writers include fiction writer Nina McConigley. Poet Matt Mason will give the keynote address. Participating publishing professionals include publisher Bernadette Soehner (5 Prince Publishing) and director of literary development Angie Hodapp (Nelson Literary Agency). The cost of the conference is $235 until May 15 and $275 thereafter. Single-day registration is available for $150. Lodging is available through the Historic Plains Hotel. 

Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference. June 2 - 8, 2023: Ripton, VT. The Bread Loaf Orion Environmental Writers' Conference is a week-long writers’ conference designed to hone the skills of people interested in producing literary writing about the environment and the natural world. The conference is co-sponsored by the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Orion magazine, and Middlebury College’s Environmental Studies Program. Application Deadline: March 1, 2023.

Bread Loaf Translators' Conference. June 2 - 8, 2023: Ripton, VT. The Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference includes workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as lectures, craft classes, meetings with editors and agents, and readings by faculty and guests. 

IWWG Summer Writers Conference. June 2 - 22, 2023: Virtual. The 2023 Virtual Conference includes an opening panel on spiritual memoir, 9 workshops, an IWWG anthology launch from our work with women writers in Afghanistan, and a closing open mic. Will be held online.

Yale Writers' Conference. June 3 - 10, 2023, on campus, June 11 - 17, virtual: New Haven, CT. The Yale Writers’ Workshop brings together the experience and expertise of leading teachers, authors, editors, agents and publishers in a series of panels and workshops, for the benefit of writers the world over. We are offering three sessions (one on campus and two remote) that will enhance the writing skills of any serious writer. Our faculty provides unique, tailored, and transformative experiences to all participants. Will be conducted online and in person. Application deadline: April 3, 2023. 

An Intersectional Lens: Awareness + Action For Representation In Kids’ Books, Libraries & Classrooms. June 4 - 7, 2023: Boyds Mills, PA.  Professional & Personal Development for Educators, Librarians, Storytellers, & Publishing Professionals. Build the skills you need to analyze children’s books for meaningful representation, reader engagement, visual literacy, and more.

Lit Camp. June 4 - 9, 2023: Bell Valley Retreat Center and the Boonville Hotel in Mendocino County, California. The conference features workshops, panels, and craft talks for fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers. The faculty includes writers Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Janis Cooke Newman, Susan Straight and Daniel Torday. The cost of the conference, including lodging and meals, ranges from $995 to $2,395, depending on lodging. Registration is limited to 25 participants. Application Deadline: March 18, 2023.

Interlochen Writer’s Retreat. June 4 - 9, 2023: Interlochen, Michigan. Nestled deep in the woods between two lakes, Interlochen College of Creative Arts' five-day Writers Retreat is a true writer's dream. Spend your days writing new material, attending presentations by award-winning faculty, and enjoying lakeside lunches and evening readings while making friends and connections in the literary world. Select your concentration from four unique courses, each grounded in different craft concepts  with an emphasis on generating new work—appealing to both advanced and beginning writers alike. 

Fine Arts Work Center Summer Workshops (poetry, fiction, art, and creative nonfiction). June 4 - August 19, 2023: Provincetown, Massachusetts. The faculty includes poets Oliver Baez Bendorf, Tina Chang, Chen Chen, Vievee Francis, Kimiko Hahn, Marie Howe, Jessica Jacobs, Gail Mazur, Eileen Myles, Porsha Olayiwola, Matthew Olzmann, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, and Monica Youn; fiction writers Alexander Chee, Andrea Lawlor, Celeste Lecesne, Carmen Maria Machado, Victoria Redel, and Alexandra Teague; and nonfiction writers Garrard Conley, Melissa Febos, Nick Flynn, Paul Lisicky, Seema Reza, Sarah Schulman, Deborah Taffa, and Joan Wickersham. Tuition is $800 for one workshop/week. Housing is available at nearby guesthouses and inns; limited campus housing is available on a first-come, first-served basis for $1,000 for six nights. See individual workshops for dates.

VCFA Novel Retreat. June 5 - 11, 2023: Montpelier, Vermont. "Whether you seek the reflective solitude of a retreat or writing time combined with consultations, group discussions, and more, the VCFA Novel Retreat enables you to craft an experience best suited to your individual needs. No matter what stage your project is at—beginning, drafting, middle, or final edit—the retreat is designed to accommodate all aspects of the writing process. Retreat participants gain the added benefit of working with our renowned faculty. Our 2023 faculty includes Connie May Fowler, Adam McOmber, Laura Warrell, and literary agent Jeff Kleinman, founding partner at Folio Literary Management in New York City. While participants and faculty write each morning, afternoons and evenings offer a variety of optional sessions, including craft and process discussions, generative writing classes, manuscript clinics, and agent advice."

The Writers Hotel. June 5 - 11, 2023: Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Following the pre-conference Team Reading process, writers meet in Maine for the TWH immersive, intense program. Writers workshop their writing in intimate Major Workshops with some of the industry’s top authors, and they attend generative Craft Lab workshops. We are keeping the price the same, at $3500. This is a semi-hybrid event; our Agent Pitching Sessions and Agent Pitching Practice Session for prose writers will take place virtually on Zoom on June 29th, 2024, following the in-person conference. All other events will be held on-site at the Inn.

Odyssey Writing Workshop. June 5 and August 14, 2023. (6 weeks and 12 weeks) Since its inception in 1996, Odyssey has become one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Will be held online.  Deadline March 15. 

From Pencil Or Paint To Pixel: A Two-Night Mini ForBeginning Illustrators. June 6 - 8, 2023: Honesdale, PA. Beginning illustrators can join children’s book author/illustrator Courtney Pippin-Mathur to talk about approaches to using different media (traditional and/or digital) in your illustrations, and special guest Aram Kim for ten tips about submitting work to an art director (tradition and/or digital).  This program is a great fit if you’re looking for a short course of two, 75-minute sessions offering limited interaction with the community, but loads of information. Will be conducted online.

In-Company: A Retreat For Experienced Authors AndIllustrators. June 7 - 11, 2023: Boyds Mills, PA. Join us in company to share, grow, and cultivate creativity when you’ve been working in the industry for a long time. Talk with your peers about your career, challenges, deadlines, and upcoming projects. Offer your wishes for pushing boundaries of your work, and the industry! 22 participants max. 

The Loft's Wordplay Conference. July 8, 2023, Minneapolis MN. "The Loft’s Wordplay aims to be Minnesota's largest celebration of readers, writers, and great books. Imagine a weekend full of famous authors and celebrated books; a weekend of readings, conversations, workshops, kids’ activities, demonstrations, and one-of-a-kind happenings with outdoor stages, cooking stages, book signings, quiet reading corners, boisterous parties, food trucks, beer tents, and books, books, books." 

Clarksville Writers Conference. June 8 - 9, 2023: Clarksville, TN. Two days of writing workshops and presentations, a keynote banquet with the authors, and manuscript consultations.

Historical Novel Society North American Conference. June 8 - 10, 2023: San Antonio, TX. The biennial Historical Novel Society (HNS) North America Conference will be held from June 8 to June 10 at the Marriott Rivercenter hotel in San Antonio, Texas, as well as online. The conference features presentations, panels, pitch sessions with agents and editors, query critiques, a Readers Festival, and social events for historical fiction writers. The theme for this year’s conference is “The Working Writer.” Participating writers include fiction writers James Scott Bell, Jamie Ford, Libbie Grant, and Lisa Wingate. Participating publishing professionals include editors Amy Durant (Sapere Books), Amelia Hester (Dragonblade Publishing), and Verena Rose and Harriette Sackler (Level Best Books); and agents Danielle Egan-Miller (Browne & Miller Literary Associates), Cate Hart (Harvey Klinger), Shannon Hassan (Marsal Lyon Literary Agency), Viola Hayden (Curtis Brown), Imogen Pelham (Marjacq), Marcy Posner (Folio Literary Management), Rayhané Sanders (Massie & McQuilkin), Mitchell Waters (Brandt & Hochman), and Paige Wheeler (Creative Media Agency). The cost to attend the conference in person is $639 ($589 for HNS members), or $350 for students, not including lodging. The cost to stay at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter is $195 a night. The cost for virtual participants is $299. Registration is rolling through May 15 for in-person participants, and June 4 for virtual participants. The cost of master classes ranges from $50 to $75. The cost of pitch sessions and query critiques is $25 per session. Hybrid event.

New York Pitch Conference. June 8 - 11, 2023: NY, NY. The New York Pitch Conference and writers workshop is held four times a year and features publishing house editors from major houses such as Penguin, Random House, St. Martins, Harper Collins, Tor and Del Rey, Kensington Books and many more who are looking for new novels in a variety of genres, as well as narrative non-fiction. The event focuses on the art of the novel pitch as the best method not only for communicating your work, but for having you and your work taken seriously by industry professionals.

Squam Writes Retreat. June 8 - 11, 2023: Squam Lake, New Hampshire. The Squam Writes Retreat is a small group retreat for experienced fiction writers. We focus on craft with an eye toward publication. We offer opportunities for feedback and plenty of time to write, make new friends, and recharge creative batteries in a beautiful New Hampshire lakeside setting. Every participant receives a one-on-one critique with an agent or editor. 

The 2023 Writers' Police Academy. June 8 – 11, 2023: Raleigh, NC. "MurderCon is a rare opportunity for writers to participate in hands-on “for law enforcement eyes only” training, using modern testing and evidence collection tools and equipment, in workshops taught by some of the world’s leading homicide investigation experts. This incredibly detailed, cutting-edge instruction has never before been available to writers, anywhere."

Indiana University Writers’ Conference. June 8 - 11, 2023, Indiana University in Bloomington. The conference features workshops in poetry and fiction, as well as craft classes, readings, and panels for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers. The cost of the conference is $375, or $800 with a workshop. Lodging and meals are not included; lodging is available in campus dormitories and in the campus hotel. The registration fee is $25; general registration is first come, first served. To attend a workshop, submit 8 to 10 pages of poetry or 15 to 25 pages of prose; admissions are made on a rolling basis. 

Sundress Academy: Trans/Nonbinary Writing Retreat. June 9th-10th, 2023: Via Zoom. All SAFTA retreats focus on generative writing, and this year’s retreat will also include the following craft talk sessions: “Queering the Lens: Trans Ekphrastic” and “The Poetics of Addiction: Imagery, Symbolism, and Juxtaposition in Writing Alcoholism.” The event will be open to trans and nonbinary writers of all backgrounds and experience levels and provide an opportunity to work with many talented authors and poets from around the country, including workshop leaders jason b. crawford and Remi Recchia and keynote speaker Ina Cariño. Cost $75.

West Chester University Poetry Conference. June 9 - 11, 2023: West Chester, PA. The conference offers poetry workshops and features a keynote speaker, critical seminars, panel discussions, faculty readings, and an opportunity for participants to have conferences with workshop leaders and resident poets.

Mountain Heritage Literary Festival. June 9 - 11, 2023: Cumberland Gap, TN. "Every year writers gather at the ancient and beloved Cumberland Gap to celebrate writing, music, and Appalachian heritage. Events include workshops, panels, readings, concerts, lectures, open mic, and more." 

West Virginia Writers Conference. June 9 - 11, 2023: Ripley, West Virginia. Author readings, contests and sharing your love of writing with others. 

The Creativity Workshop in New York. June 9 - 12, 2023: New York, New York. "The Creativity Workshops take away the fear of writing and open the way to new ideas. They are especially helpful for writers in fiction, poetry, memoir, theatre and film to get over writing blocks. In our Creativity Workshop Retreats you will generate both new work and ideas for the work you are in the midst of creating. We use many different techniques to help you find your way through the novel, essay, poem, memoir, or script you are writing or hope to write. In The Creativity Workshop you will be doing free writing, writing from guided visualizations, collaborative writing, journaling and memoir work and even some rudimentary drawing, collage and photography."

Get Published Conference. June 10, 2023: Bozeman, Montana. This conference is devoted to book writing, marketing and getting published. Faculty includes experienced writers who share their methods for planning, writing and finishing their books, along with practical marketing and promotional information

California Crime Writers Conference. June 10 - 11, 2023: Culver City, California. "Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles and SoCal Mystery Writers of America invite emerging and established mystery writers for a weekend of invaluable guidance, insight, and community at the California Crime Writers Conference. Whether your novel is brewing in your imagination, ready to publish, or you already have several published books under your belt, our workshops, presented by agents, editors, award-winning authors, and crime investigation professionals, are geared to elevate your mystery writing skills and foster relationships on your path to publication and beyond."

Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop. June 11 - 15, 2023: Roanoke, Virginia. The conference features workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as craft seminars, individual conferences with faculty members, and readings. 

Juniper Summer Writing Institute. June 11 - 17, 2023: Amherst, MA. Daily workshops in poetry, fiction, & nonfiction; interactive craft sessions that include discussions & writing exercises; evening readings by faculty & writers-in-residence. Workshops and craft sessions are led by MFA candidates from the renowned University of Massachusetts MFA Program for Poets and Writers who design curricula especially for the Institute setting. Application deadline February 15.

Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. June 12 - 16, 2023: Sandy, Utah. A week-long conference filled with hands-on workshops where the faculty work WITH you on your manuscript. As a participant of a five-day workshop, you get free feedback from an agent or editor on your writing, opportunities to network with like-minded writers, and five days of afternoon breakout sessions filled with dozens of craft-specific topics designed especially for kidlit authors.

Naropa Summer Writing Program. June 12 - July 1, 2023: Boulder, CO. Summer Writing Program of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. (See site for individual classes)

Responsible Representation in Children's Books. June 13, 2023. Online. Whether you’re drawing from your own experiences or outside of them, writing demands research, empathy, attention to detail, and an interrogation of one’s own place in this world. Join literary agents and writers D. Ann Williams and Linda Epstein to begin your own personal interrogation, and build understanding of crafting respectful and responsible representation in your writing. Webinar style program.

ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) Writers Conference, June 13  - 15, 2023: Online. "As freelance journalists and authors, we collaborate with editors, agents, publishers, designers, and multimedia experts. At the 2022 conference, we will explore the ways collaboration helps us succeed. We have three tracks of interactive, dynamic programming focused on journalism, content marketing, and books. Sessions will benefit freelancers at all phases in their careers. Also available are members-only mastermind programs for small groups led by freelance experts.​​​​​​​"

Pacific University Master of Fine Arts in Writing Residency Writers Conference. June 15 - 25, 2023: Forest Grove, Oregon. Writers seeking to deepen their craft and expand their professional community are invited to attend the Residency Writers Conference together with MFA students, faculty and guest speakers. Join us for 10 full days of craft talks, workshops, panels, classes, readings and more featuring some of the best minds of the literary world. This residency is a rare opportunity to engage in sustained and meaningful conversation with others who share your passion for the art of writing.

Whole Novel Historical: A Virtual Course for Historical Novelists. June 15 - August 11, 2023. The Highlights Foundation Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 80,000 words) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided. This online program in particular is for writers of Historical Fiction novels. Multi-Month Online Course, $2199. This program is full, but will be offered again next year. If you would like to be notified when it is available, please add your name to the waitlist.

Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop. June 18 - June 23, 2023: The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. This program is for writers who want to learn how to write an Orion essay, short story, or poem; for writers who seek to become better advocates for the environment through their writing; for poets who are drawn to writing about nature and culture; for teachers and scholars who wish to write for a more general readership; and for environmental professionals who want to bring better writing skills to bear on their work. The program will feature small writing workshops dedicated to poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as faculty readings and lectures, student readings, and presentations on publishing.

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference. June 18 – 23, 2023: Santa Barbara, Calif. "Every summer, writers in many genres from around the world gather to participate in a magical week of intensive work focused on story, voice, craft, marketing, and networking with fellow writers and publishing professionals." 

Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops. June 18 – 23, 2023: Gambier, Ohio. At Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops, talented high school students from around the world join a dynamic and supportive literary community to stretch their talents, discover new strengths, and challenge themselves in the company of peers who are also passionate about writing. Online.

Aspen Summer Words. June 18 - June 23, 2023: Aspen, Colorado. Workshops, panels, and readings in fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as opportunities to meet with agents and editors. "Aspen Summer Words is the Rocky Mountain gateway to the literary world. Recognized as one of the country’s pre-eminent literary conferences, Summer Words welcomes visitors and locals alike to celebrate writing and writers in Aspen for a week each June. The exceptional faculty and awe-inspiring mountain scenery combine to make this a writing retreat like no other."

Kenyon Review Writers Workshops. June 18 - 24, 2023: Gambier, Ohio. Workshops in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction led by an accomplished faculty. Genre workshops (Fiction, Literary Nonfiction, and Poetry) are held for three hours each morning. Online. Applications are open March 15 – April 16, 2023.

Speculative Fiction NIP Bookcamp & Writing Retreat Work Week. June 18 - 24, 2023: West Bend, Wisconsin. Six days of personal writing time with opportunities to discuss writing issues with the Retreat Mentor (an award-winning novelist and editor), opportunities to attend certain Bookcamp presentations, all social activities, critiques, and chat with fellow writers and publishing professionals in a relaxed environment.

The All-Genre Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat. June 18 - 24, 2023: West Bend, Wisconsin. The Bookcamp offers morning instruction, an afternoon editing clinic, group critique sessions, discussions on the current publishing industry, one-on-one consultations with our staff, pitch sessions with literary agents and acquisition editors, and presentations on writing or publishing topics.

Chesapeake Writers' Conference at St. Mary's College of Maryland. June 18 - 24, 2023: St. Mary's City, Maryland. "Join us on Maryland’s Western Shore-for the 8th Annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference for a week of craft talks, lectures, panel discussions, and readings, as well as daily workshops in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, translation, songwriting, or creative nonfiction.
Christopher McKitterick Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop. June 18 - 30, 2023: Online. Learn how to write SF that sells. Using the short-story form, we help you master the elements that create great stories. Since 1985. This annual two-week residential writing workshop helps established writers grow their skills while helping those who have just begun to publish or who need the final bit of insight or skill to master the elements that create great stories readers love and editors want to buy. Become part of a writing community: Award-winning author, SF scholar, long-time director of James Gunn's original SF research center, and Ad Astra SF Institute Director Christopher McKitterick has led this workshop since 2010, and served as guest author in James Gunn's SF Writers Workshop starting in 1995. Apply by May 19.

Community of Writers at Squaw Valley: Poetry Workshop. June 19 - June 25, 2023: Olympic Valley, California. "We work together to create an atmosphere in which everyone might feel free to try anything. In the mornings we meet in workshops to read to each other the work of the previous twenty-four hours; each participant also has an opportunity to work with each staff poet. In the late afternoons we gather for a conversation about some aspect of craft. On several afternoons staff poets hold brief individual conferences." Registration deadline: March 28, 2023.

Stonecoast Writers’ Conference. June 20 - 25, 2023, Portland, ME. "Your conference experience centers around the workshop. In these classes, your work (and the work of your peers) serves as the primary text. Faculty focus on providing constructive criticism that can help you unlock your writing. Class discussions provide opportunities to discuss theories and practical application of writing craft. Each instructor adapts their class to reflect the interest and abilities of the students. Generative writing exercises ensure that you’ll have threads of new work to follow after the conference ends. This summer we are offering two distinct workshop classes: Fiction and CNF/Memoir. Each workshop is limited to ten students.

Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference. June 20 - 25, 2023: Bemidji, Minnesota. We offer six intensive four-day writing classes and affordable auditor options. We’re proud to announce our 2023 MNWC faculty:  Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Hybrid Poetry & Prose) Ross Gay (Poetry), Keetje Kuipers (Poetry), Lia Purpura (Creative Nonfiction), Will Weaver (Fiction) and Diane Wilson (Memoir to Fiction). And we’re thrilled to have Heid E. Erdrich and Sun Yung Shin be our two visiting writers. Waitlisted.

Chautauqua Writers’ Festival. June 21 - 24, 2023: Chautauqua, New York. In addition to the Festival’s tradition of intensive workshops and optional à la carte one-on-one conferences with award-winning contemporary authors, attendees can also experience panel conversations, and a keynote address. The 2023 theme is “Hope & its Entanglements” and these various conversations will draw fruitful and urgent connections between the personal, the political, and the craft of writing. All of these features are included in the cost of Standard Registration and available as an option to any workshop participant.

Western Writers of America Convention. June 21 - 24, 2023: Great Falls, Montana. Children's, Fiction, Marketing, Non-fiction, Publishing, Young Adult. History presentations at the convention include Cats in the Old West, Border Wars/Law and Order, Mark Twain Literary Contributions, and more. Other sessions will take place related to the craft of writing, book marketing, and research sources and techniques.
Writing For The Educational Market. June 21 - 25, 2023: Boyds Mills, PA. If the words “educational market” make you think only of workbooks and textbooks, it’s time to think again!  Today’s educational publishers are eager to see lively nonfiction, fast-paced fiction, poetry, video scripts, and more.

Fordham University Retreat. June 21 - 25, 2023: New York City. "In order to help mentor the next generation of Asian American writers, Kundiman sponsors an annual Retreat in partnership with Fordham University. During the Retreat, nationally renowned Asian American poets and writers conduct Master Classes and manuscript consultations with fellows. Readings, writing circles and informal social gatherings are also scheduled. Through this Retreat, Kundiman hopes to provide a safe and instructive environment that identifies and addresses the unique challenges faced by emerging Asian American writers." 

Jackson Hole Writers Conference, June 22 - 24, 2023: Jackson Hole, WY. You will have ample opportunity to share your work with a distinguished faculty as well as writers from Massachusetts to Florida, from Texas to Washington. Serious writers pour into Jackson Hole each June looking for a fresh, but critical eye on their work. This event usually has at least 4 agents to pitch. 

David R Collins Conference Faculty & Workshops. June 22 - 24, 2023: Rock Island, IL. Daily workshops, critiques, pitches, evening events, keynote. Will be held in person.

In Your Write Mind Workshop. June 22 - 25, 2023: Greensburg, Pennsylvania. No up-to-date details. The following is from last year: Special Guest: L. Marie Wood. Agents: Eva Scalzo (Speilburg Literary Agency) and Erin Clyburn (Howland Literary). Editors: Miranda Hill (Berkley-Penguin Publishing Group) and John Edward Lawson (Raw Dog Screaming Press). Artist: Greg Chapman. Business and Craft Tracks. Pitch Sessions. Book Signing. Networking. Author Readings. Writing Sprints. Critique Groups. And more! Will be held online and in person.

Bookstock Literary Festival. June 23 - 25, 2023: Woodstock, Vermont. From Poets & Writers: "The festival features workshops, readings, discussions, and a book fair for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Participating writers have included poets Benjamin Aleshire, Laura Foley, Pamela Harrison, April Ossmann, and Elizabeth Powell; fiction writers Jean Hanff Korenlitz and Roland Merullo; and nonfiction writers Jabari Asim, Bruce Coffin, and Sarah Prager. All events and workshops are free and open to the public."
 
The 2023 Writing Workshop of Chicago. June 24, 2023: Chicago, IL. This is a special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at the Congress Plaza Hotel. In other words, it’s one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome.

Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching. June 24 - 28, 2023 | Writing Intensive June 28 - June 29, 2023: Franconia, NH. Held each year in June, the Conference on Poetry and Teaching (CPT) is a unique opportunity for teachers to work closely with both their peers and a team of illustrious poets who have particular expertise in working with teachers at all levels: K–12, graduate and undergraduate, and nontraditional and community-based instructors.

Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops. June 25 - July 8, 2023: Gambier, Ohio. At Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops, talented high school students from around the world join a dynamic and supportive literary community to stretch their talents, discover new strengths, and challenge themselves in the company of peers who are also passionate about writing. In person.

New York State Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College. June 25 - July 22, 2023: Saratoga Springs, NY. Since 1987, the Institute has been offering students the opportunity to learn from an extraordinary faculty of distinguished writers led by director Robert Boyers. The program is an offshoot of the New York State Writers Institute created by Albany native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy. The curriculum is designed for college-aged students and adults, and the new virtual format will retain many of the Institute’s hallmark features:
Creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction and non-fictionSmall classes that offer individualized attention and workshop student writingsPublic readings and afternoon Q & A sessions with world-renowned guest writersPrivate tutorial sessions for student fiction manuscripts, book-length poetry, or non-fiction (available for an additional fee)Option to enroll for one-week, two-week, or four-week sessionsOptional undergraduate credit for eligible students enrolled in one genre for four weeksMerit Scholarships for tuition
Clarion West Summer Writers Workshop. June 25 - August 5, 2023: Seattle, Washington. "The six-week workshop can give you time away from everyday distractions and encourage you to experiment and take artistic risks. The critique sessions are the heart of the workshop: you learn not only by receiving critiques, but by reading others’ work and constructing your own critiques. Instructors work directly with attendees to present group critiques of newly written stories, participate in discussions about writing techniques or professional concerns, and hold individual or small-group conferences. Throughout the entire experience, the Clarion West Workshop staff is present to help guide participants and facilitate an inclusive environment." Closed.

Hurston/Wright Summer Writers Week. June 26  - July 21, 2023: Rutgers. For more than 20 years, the Hurston/Wright Summer Writers Workshop has offered a safe space for Black writers in intensive workshop sessions and master classes. Workshops are led by award-winning writers who are influencing today’s literature. The program features critiques, craft talks, writing time and public readings. Hurston/Wright workshops serve emerging and experienced writers who are starting projects, developing projects or seeking to polish projects. More than a thousand writers have participated in workshops since the first session in 1996. See website for individual workshops.

Haiku North America Conference. June 28 - July 2, 2023. Cincinnati, Ohio. "Haiku North America is designed for, and open to, everyone—beginners and seasoned specialists alike. Haiku North America (HNA) is a biennial conference in celebration of haiku poetry. Every two years we offer five stimulating days of papers, panels, workshops, readings, performances, book sales, cultural outings, and much socialization with fellow poets, translators, scholars, editors, and publishers. Our first conference was in 1991 and subsequent conferences have taken place in the United States and Canada, focusing on North American poets, their haiku, and related arts. Everyone is welcome to attend HNA, the largest and oldest gathering of haiku poets outside Japan."

12 New Agents Seeking EVERYTHING - Kidlit, Cooking, Commercial Fiction, SFF, Memoirs, LGBTQ+, Poetry and more

Elise Howard Here are twelve new literary agents actively seeking clients. New agents are a boon to writers. They are actively building their lists, and will go the extra mile for their clients.All of these agents work for established agencies with good track records. They are looking for everything from cats to cooking. 
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Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change. 

NOTE: Don't submit to several agents at the same agency simultaneously. If one rejects you, you may then submit to another. (Some small agencies share. Be alert to a notice that "a no from one is a no from all.")

You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients. 


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Ms. HB Steadham of The Tobias Literary Agency

HB is a world-traveling, lifetime-learning lover of shenanigans. She graduated with her MFA in Creative Writing from the Arkansas Writers Workshop, where she served as Editorial Intern for the Oxford American, a National Magazine Award-winning literary quarterly. She joined The Tobias Literary Agency in April of 2022 and is proud to now be cultivating a list of her own.

What she is seeking: HB is open to queries for adult literary fiction. Craft is always paramount; exceptional voice, beautiful and unique style, and sentences imbued with complex meaning are the ideal. Also, fully developed characters with rich inner worlds, whose thoughts and actions are what drives the plot, are a necessity. 

What catches her attention:Setting in the American SouthNarratives by and about queer folksNeurodivergence in all its manifestationsStories informed or inspired by folklore, mythology, fairy tales, superstitionsLight elements of speculative fiction (no high fantasy) How to submit: Use her query manager HERE.

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Ms. Jen Newens of Martin Literary Management

In her role as Senior Literary Manager, Jen applies her 360-view of the publishing business to MLM, seeking out fresh, original voices and developing exciting new talent. At different phases of her publishing career, Jen has been an author, editor, and publisher, giving her experience in all sides of the business. She comes to us after a seven-year stint as publishing director at West Margin Press, an Ingram Content Group company. There, she acquired a wide range of different genres, but holds a special place in her heart for young people’s literature. She began to acquire graphic novels in 2019 and sees it as an exciting and burgeoning way to tell children’s stories. 

A subject matter expert in food and drink titles, Jen spent two decades as a cookbook editor and writer (she even went to culinary school!). She’s experienced in working with celebrity chefs, business owners, cooking brands, and food bloggers, as well as accomplished home cooks.

What she is seeking: The following are on Jen’s current wishlist, but she’s always open to hearing new ideas. 

Childrens/MG/YA/Graphic Novels 
•    Books that portray historically excluded voices, disability, neurodivergent characters, LGBTQ topics
•    Regional books with national crossover potential
•    Author/illustrators with strong storytelling skills and a clear vision
•    Children’s activity books
•    Quirky and humorous stories
•    Cat content (she’s crazy for cats)

Food and Drink
•    New ways to spin current trends (vegan air-fryer anyone?)
•    Chefs with personal stories, especially from under-represented groups
•    Food writers and bloggers with a distinctive story to tell
•    Unique regional topics with wide appeal
•    Weeknight cooking
•    Diet-specific and health and wellness titles
•    Mocktails and the NA lifestyle
•    Fresh takes on wine and cocktails

How to submit: Please submit queries here: http://QueryManager.com/JenNewens

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Katie Greenstreet of Paper Literary (UK)

Katie Greenstreet joined Paper Literary in 2022. A corporate lawyer by training, she worked for several large law firms before making the leap into publishing. She started her career in books as an assistant at ICM Partners in New York, where she supported a list of Booker, Pulitzer, and Nobel Prize-winning authors. She then moved to London and joined C&W, where she began building her own list while also working alongside Sue Armstrong and Sophie Lambert. At C&W, Katie discovered her passion for amplifying undiscovered voices and for getting stuck into projects editorially. At every step of the publication process, Katie prioritises the reach and longevity of her authors’ careers, and she is especially looking for clients with whom she can build enduring, long-term relationships.

What she is seeking: She is building a list of quality commercial and upmarket/book club fiction, with a select number of memoirs and non-fiction projects also in the mix.

How to submit: Send a query letter, synopsis and the first 10,000 words to submissions@paperliterary.com. See website for complete submission requirements. 

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Rose Ferrao of PS Literary Agency

Rose Ferrao is an associate agent at PSLA. She began her publishing career in London, working in non-fiction at Bloomsbury and science fiction, fantasy and horror at Orbit Books. She has a BA in English Literature and Film from Queen’s University and an MA in Publishing from University College London. Rose has a wide range of reading tastes, but she is particularly drawn to compelling, character-driven stories that embrace the weird and wondrous. Outside of work, she spends her time cooking and watching too many movies.

What she is seeking: Rose is currently acquiring both fiction and non-fiction. In fiction, she is looking for commercial romance, adult and crossover fantasy, science fiction, horror, upmarket thrillers, contemporary fiction and select young adult fiction. She is drawn to stories that embrace genre conventions from a fun, fresh angle. In non-fiction, she is looking for cookbooks and food writing, sports, pop culture, music, psychology, lifestyle, and wellness, especially when approached from a specific, unique perspective. She welcomes and encourages submissions from neurodivergent writers. 

How to submit: Follow the agency's guidelines HERE.
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Cole Hildebrand of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc.

Cole Hildebrand began his career as an assistant editor at YesYes Books, going on to become managing editor for the press, involved in manuscript acquisitions, event planning, website design and publicity for YesYes Books' list, which includes works by authors such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Justin Phillip Reed, Danez Smith, and many others. He joined JVNLA in 2021, where he is actively building his list while aiding with international rights, film rights, and contracts, as well as handling the Australia/New Zealand market. Cole earned his BA in English from Lewis & Clark College and his MA in English and American Literature from New York University.

What he is seeking: He is acquiring literary and upmarket fiction, narrative non-fiction, essays, and poetry, particularly works by LGBTQ+ authors. He is drawn to character and voice driven stories with unique perspectives on the contemporary moment, especially those engaging with radical ideas and issues of social justice. He loves fostering the careers of debut authors, working closely with them to help develop and edit their projects, and guiding them through the full process from submission to publication and beyond.

How to submit: Use the agency's query form HERE.
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Ms. Natalie Obando of Ladderbird Literary Agency

Natalie Obando is a graduate from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in journalism emphasizing public relations and a minor in creative writing. Since then, she’s worked in the world of books as a book publicist. Natalie is the founder of Do Good Public Relations Group and the grassroots organization, Women of Color Writers Podcast and Programming. She is the current national president of the 105 years old non-profit, the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA), overseeing all eleven chapters across the nation. As the first Latina president of the WNBA, her goal has been promoting diversity in publishing via grassroots efforts.

What she is seeking: Natalie is primarily looking for BIPOC stories, and stories inclusive of intersectional identities told from an authentic lense and NOT tokenized. In fiction, she is looking for character driven stories with a voice that is relatable yet quirky and worlds that feel real. For non-fiction she’s in desperate search of topics and issues that open up discussions often considered taboo.

FICTION: YA/NEW ADULT: Natalie enjoys a YA or New Adult story that deals with generational relationships and ancestral threads. Throw in some contemporary fantasy, or magical realism, and/or cultural folklore and she’s all over it. Some of her favorite authors who do this well are Zoraida Cordova, Rin Chupeco, Sylvia Moreno Garcia, and Elizabeth Acevedo,  Natalie is especially interested in diverse non-European folklore.

ROMANCE: This can be YA or new adult. Contemporary RomComs with a cultural twist are her favorite as well as friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, secret identities, forbidden love, finding love in a foreign land, feel free to pitch if there is anything fairly similar to that. Her favorite romance authors are Priscilla Oliveras, Alexis Daria, and Lily Chu.

NONFICTION: Natalie is looking for topics that dig deep into who we are as humans and what we have yet to tap into.
She enjoys reading about new forms of wellness therapies, sexual empowerment, ethical non-monogamy, BDSM—in an educational and enlightening nuanced format, astrology, tarot, and modern day magic (brujería and curanderismo) tied to ancestral roots.  If you have a book that ties all of these together it’s her dream. If you have a platform that supports and adds context to what you write or your expertise please don’t forget to add that in your query. 

How to submit: Use her query manager HERE.
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Ms. Kesia Lupo of The Bindery

Kesia grew up in the UK and Germany, studied History at Oxford University and Creative Writing at Bath Spa, then launched her publishing career at Pan Macmillan, London, as an editorial assistant in 2013. She transitioned from adult books to children’s when she joined boutique publisher Chicken House—then from a senior editorial role to agenting when she joined The Bindery in 2023. 

What she is seeking: While her expertise lies in middle-grade and YA fiction, Kesia reads widely across genres, including adult SFF and horror, historical fiction, romance, and non-fiction.

How to submit: To query The Bindery about literary representation, email your query to info@thebinderyagency.com. Please include the following in the body of your email: a clear summary of your book concept, an author biography, at least two sample chapters, relevant contact information, and any publishing history. Include the word “QUERY” in the email subject line. You may address your query to one agent or to The Bindery as a whole. 
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Elise Howard of DeFiore & Company

Prior to joining DeFiore & Company, Elise Howard was the founding publisher of Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Workman Publishing, which she led from 2011 to 2022. Elise was previously SVP and associate publisher at HarperCollins Children's Books, where she oversaw the publication of many award-winning and bestselling books. Some of the authors she has worked with include Masuma Ahuja, Avi, Tracey Baptiste, Kelly Barnhill, Sara Farizan, Neil Gaiman, Kelly Jensen, and Nova Ren Suma. Books she has edited have won the Newbery Medal twice, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for best juvenile novel twice, and many other awards and honors. She began her career as a book packager, conceiving, selling to publishers, and developing juvenile and adult fiction and non-fiction projects. 

What she is seeking: As a literary agent, Elise is looking for new favorites— hers, an editor’s, and ultimately the reader’s: fiction and non-fiction to be savored and remembered for its immersive storytelling, rich world-building, and illumination of landscapes known and unknown.

Elise is generally not looking for genre fiction, but she may take on a book with a great love story at its heart or one with elements of fantasy. She is looking for a twisty, well-done mystery, especially if it features a great new sleuth with many stories to tell.

She’s also eager to represent eye-opening narrative non-fiction, particularly stories of the natural world, visible or invisible, including the human mind and body, or of people and events previously unknown or overlooked.

Submission guidelines: Please email queryelise@defliterary.com with the title of your work and its category (e.g., adult n.f., middle-grade fiction) in the subject line. Please include in the body of your email:
• A brief, compelling description introducing your book
• A paragraph (not more!) about you, relevant to your submission.
• For non-fiction, a concise synopsis that compels me to read on and the opening chapter.
• For fiction, the opening chapter.
• For graphic novels, the first chapter or the first twenty-five pages.
• For picture books, the full manuscript.
• No attachments, please. Submissions that include them won’t be opened.
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Mr. Arley Sorg of KT Literary

Arley Sorg, Associate Agent: (Pronouns: He/Him, Salutation: Mr.) Arley is a kt literary associate agent. Arley is a two-time World Fantasy Award Finalist and a two-time Locus Award Finalist for his work as co-Editor-in-Chief at Fantasy Magazine. He is also a SFWA Solstice Award Recipient, a Space Cowboy Award Recipient, and a finalist for two Ignyte Awards: for his work as a critic as well as for his creative nonfiction. Arley is senior editor at Locus Magazine, associate editor at both Lightspeed & Nightmare, a columnist for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and conducts interviews for Clarkesworld. Arley grew up in England, Hawaii, and Colorado, and lives in the SF Bay Area. He is a 2014 Odyssey Writing Workshop graduate.
What he is seeking: He is primarily interested in adult speculative titles, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror with speculative/fantastic elements, literary speculative fiction, and climate fiction.
How to submit: Use his query manager HERE.
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Mr. Aram Fox of Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents


At age 26, Aram founded a book scouting agency where for 23 years he represented international publishers and American film/TV companies, guiding his publisher and film/TV clients to acquire a Who’s Who of bestsellers and prize-winners, including: Brit Bennett, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Lauren Oyler, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Bill Gates, George Saunders, Angela Duckworth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Dave Grohl, Lena Dunham, Emma Cline, Harlan Coben, Jeff VanderMeer, Alex Honnold and Andy Weir.

What he is seeking: He’s crazy about commercial and literary fiction that put immersive storytelling front and center, and a wide range of nonfiction including memoir, narrative nonfiction, natural history and perspective-changing explainers and advice-givers.


How to submit: Please send your query letter and 30 pages to aram@mmqlit.com. The letter should include a synopsis, a brief bio, and your contact information. Aram asks that you put “Query” in the subject line and paste the letter and sample pages into the body of the email. Please note — and it kills him to say this — that Aram is not able to respond to everyone who sends him material. If he would like to hear more about your writing, he will be in touch within 2-3 weeks.

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Ms. Morgan Strehlow of The Bindery 

An experienced freelance editor and writer, Morgan has worked in various capacities with a range of content providers and education platforms, including Christianity Today, Baylor University, Sacred Ordinary Days, Called Creatives, and Go and Tell Gals. Morgan spent the first decade of her career in the sports industry as a go-to communications strategist and creative collaborator for major brands, coaches, and athletes. She holds a B.S. in Communications from Hardin-Simmons University and an M.S. in Sport Management from Texas A&M University. Morgan lives in Waco, Texas, with her husband, Sean, and their son. 

What she is seeking: Morgan is seeking compelling nonfiction by athletes, journalists, experts, academics looking to publish for the general market, and emerging voices with a growing platform who can speak to pop culture, sports, feminism, social justice, sex/sexuality, or religion/spirituality.

She's especially interested in the dynamic and interesting voices writing and speaking at the intersection of sport and society. On the fiction side, Morgan is eager for upmarket fiction, complex women's fiction, and sports fiction. 

How to submit: To query The Bindery about literary representation, email your query to info@thebinderyagency.com. Please include the following in the body of your email: a clear summary of your book concept, an author biography, the table of contents (for nonfiction), at least two sample chapters, relevant contact information, and any publishing history. Include the word “QUERY” in the email subject line and if you’ve completed a book proposal, please attach that document to your email. You may address your query to one agent or to The Bindery as a whole.

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Ms. Camille Burns of Diamond Kahn and Woods Literary Agency Ltd. (UK)

Camille has an MSc in Publishing from Edinburgh Napier University and an MA in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. She currently serves as the Secretary of the Association of Authors’ Agents, as well as Co-Chair for the AAA’s Bridge Committee for early career agents and assistants. She also previously volunteered at the Story Museum in Oxford. Through organisations such as the SYP she has mentored students from a variety of backgrounds to help them gain access to the publishing industry.

What she is seeking: Children's and young adult fiction, as well as adult non-fiction and commercial adult fiction.

How to submit: Read guidelines here. UK writers only. 
  

Writing Fiction Like Nonfiction

Inside/Outside: Illusion Meets Reality: Uwe Schroder, Flickr ,I abhor writing rules. If you follow them, you will produce cookie-cutter prose that sounds as if it has been written by a machine. (Although, I am told this may be what publishers are actually looking for.) 

One of the most egregious of these rules is: "Write nonfiction like fiction." I have read the work of writers who took this advice entirely too literally. They invariably produce personal essays and memoirs laden with self-conscious turns of phrase, excessively lyrical prose, and literary devices that transform what should have been an honest account into a parody. 

Verisimilitude is the bedrock of fiction. The appearance of reality in fiction is absolutely necessary, because without it readers won't be able to identify with the characters in the story. Even for genres in which readers are required to suspend disbelief, such as fantasy and science fiction, the thoughts and emotions of the characters need to conform to what readers already know about how people operate in the real world. 
 
"But ... but ... but..." (I can hear the objections now) "Write nonfiction like fiction" simply means that there should be an engrossing story line, well-developed characters, and that it should fully engage the reader! That is, in fact, a description of fiction. No, let me amend that. It's a description of good fiction. There is plenty of bad fiction out there that does none of those things. Conversely, there is plenty of nonfiction that does all of those things. The main difference is that unlike fiction, readers don't have to suspend disbelief. From the moment they open the book, they are ready and willing to believe that they are reading something that is actually true not merely like ("simil") the truth.
Good narrative nonfiction, because it is firmly grounded in real life, sticks with you. It expands your knowledge and brings people you have heard of (or perhaps not) to life, with all their quirks. (I will never forget that Winston Churchill wore pale pink silk underwear - a tantalizing detail I learned from Erik Larson's book, The Splendid and the Vile.) A well-written piece of narrative fiction not only expands your knowledge, it is immersive. You will feel as if you have personally experienced the London Blitz, or that you have visited the Black Sea. That quality of immersiveness is what makes good nonfiction unforgettable.

Of course, it also helps if the writer is skilled at storytelling, which is perhaps why so many narrative nonfiction writers have had early training as journalists. In journalism, writers must answer the basic questions: Who? What? When? Where? How? and (sometimes) Why? If those questions are answered in the right order, they combine to make a story. It's no accident that so many of our great novelists - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hemingway, and Mark Twain, to name a few - started as journalists. 

But at the root of good storytelling is mystery. Wanting to know what happens next is what makes you turn the page. Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, any book you can't put down contains that vital element of mystery.

By reading good narrative nonfiction, fiction writers can learn a great deal about their craft. So, which nonfiction books contain all of the features essential to fiction: immersiveness, great story-telling, mystery, "characters" who come to life, believability, and, of course, beautiful writing? 

Here are four books that fulfill those criteria. 

1) The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Literary Crime and the Art of Forgery by Simon Worrall. If you don't think the forgery of an Emily Dickinson poem makes for a thrilling read, think again. (I have devoured this book twice, and the second time was just as luscious as the first.) Worrall (a British journalist) takes a deep dive into a forgery that turned the literary world upside down. Step by step, he follows the path of a forged poem until it ends with psychosis and murder. (Two things you would never think of associating with Emily Dickinson.) I learned a great deal about forgery from this book. But most important, I learned how to bring a dry topic to life. 

This is how Worrall starts his book: "He thought he had gone under deep enough, but as he followed the curve of the letter m, he felt a momentary tremor like the distant rumbling of an earthquake." Now that is how to begin a book about a forger. (By the way, always read prologues. Don't skip them.)

Interestingly, in the fourth chapter of the book (aptly titled, Auction Artifice), Worrall quotes the forger as saying that deceiving people gave him "a sense of power." But the power of deception can only be achieved when people are willing to suspend disbelief. The reason forgeries find willing buyers is because the forgeries themselves are imbued with the stories people want to hear - an old woman who finds a letter written by Lincoln tucked in a picture frame in her attic, a man who comes across a signed first edition of Pride and Prejudice in a rummage sale. The possession of the object therefore comes fully endowed with a desirable story, which the owner now possesses as well. Perhaps, deceiving people through giving them a story they want to hear, and allowing them to "own" it, is the ultimate power wielded by fiction writers.

2) Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia by Peter Pomerantsev. I've read everything written by Pomerantsev and all I can say is that I wish he would write more. Pomerantsev is a consummate storyteller. This book explores the world of Russian reality TV in a way you will never forget. Pomerantsev, whose parents emigrated to England to avoid being sent to the gulag (ironically, for distributing Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago), returned to Moscow to spend ten years working in Russian television, specifically reality TV. And what a ride it was! Professional hit men, Kremlin propagandists, the suspicious death of a supermodel, remote Siberian towns run by the Russian mafia...damn! This book took my breath away.

His second book, This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality, is also breathtaking. He begins each chapter with a gripping biographical section on his parents, told in third person. This is a literary device which was all the more effective because it was a true story.

What I learned from these books is not just how Russian TV propaganda works, but their applicability to our own television, which suffers no less from the war against reality.

3) The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. Any book by Erik Larson (who is, predictably, a journalist) is well worth reading. Each of Larson's books contains the magical alchemy of great storytelling, people you come to know intimately, and immersiveness. And I can guarantee you won't forget what you have learned from reading any o fhis books.

​But among Larson's works, The Devil in the White City stands out as exemplary. The story is captivating. In addition, the writing is superb. Larson is no stranger to lyrical prose, which he uses only where it is essential. (I will never forget his description of the first skyscrapers: "the inaudible cry of overstressed steel.") And most important of all, this book has mystery. Weaving in and out of building the monumental Chicago world's fair in the face of natural disasters and catastrophe, there is the nail-biting story of hunting down a gruesome serial killer. And all of it is true. 

4) I can also recommend The Black Sea by Neal Ascherson, another British journalist. This book is more than a history. Ascherson also includes his own experiences, including the time he just happened to be in Crimea during the coup against Gorbachev, who had been placed under house arrest in Crimea. (That was exciting!) I found the entire book to be captivating, not least because Ascherson is a superb writer. The history of this region is fascinating, and in the hands of a wonderful writer, it is unforgettable. 
 
But let's not stop with nonfiction writers who are worthy of emulation. Here are two works of fiction that embody what is best about narrative nonfiction.

The Giant, O'brien by Hilary Mantel. Mantel, who sadly passed away recently, wrote several noteworthy works of historical fiction. But this book is unique. It is a marvelous combination of science (I learned a lot about surgery), fairy tales, Irish history, and the harsh realities of 18th century squalor. While fiction, this book incorporates the true story of John Hunter, England's most famous surgeon, anatomist, and advocate of the scientific method in medicine. Mantel did a careful job of researching this novel, and it shows. It's not only engrossing, it's perfectly credible.
​
Anthony Doerr is another writer whose prose is so transparent, so (seemingly) effortess, you are hardly aware that you are reading. Like good narrative nonfiction, his prose is natural, yet precise, and it never draws attention to itself. I've read, and loved, all of Doerr's work. But The Shell Collector is the story that embodies what is best about good narrative nonfiction. It is instantly believeable and as lovingly detailed as the shells which provide the story's anchor. Like Ascherson, Doerr has the ability to take you to another place so convincingly, you will think you've been there.

97 Calls for Submissions in May 2023 - Paying markets

Pixabay This May there are more than eight dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

Happy submitting!

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Cemetery Gates. Genre: Horror novels and novellas. Payment: Novel: $500-2,000 advance, 60% royalties to author. Novella: $500-1,000 advance, 60% royalties to author. Deadline: Opens May 1, 2023. 

december magazine. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction (essays, memoirs, biography, literary journalism, social or cultural commentary or analysis) and visual art that can be reproduced in our print format. Payment: $10.00 per page with a minimum of $40.00 and a maximum of $200.00. Deadline: May 1, 2023.


Cincinnati Review. Genre: Prose, poetry, art. Payment: $25/page for prose in journal. $30/page for poetry in journal. Deadline: Opens on May 1, closes when cap is reached.


Crybaby. Genre: Pitch reviews, cultural criticism, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, reported features, profiles, interviews. Theme: Warmth. Payment: Up to $50 per piece. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

This Magazine. Restrictions: Open to BIPOC writers only at this time, with a special interest in queer and/or trans perspectives. Genre: Short stories, poems, Payment: Up to $125 CAD per piece. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers, Vol. 8. Genre: Horror by Texas writers. Payment: 10,000 words - $200; 7,500 words - $150; 5,000 words - $100; 2,500 words - $50; 1,500 words - $30.00. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Rock and a Hard Place: The One Percent – Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved. Genre: Short stories, may have speculative elements. "We are looking for fictional short stories ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 words examining the ways in which the most affluent among us commit wrongs. These transgressions can range from broken laws to the perfectly legal, though otherwise reprehensible." Payment: $25 or $35. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Horror Story Magazine. Genre: Horror poetry and short stories that feature monsters. "Good old-fashioned monster stories: vampires, werewolves, ghosts, ghouls, Frankenstein-style creatures, or newer creatures, including those of your creation. Give us a monster, and tell us a great story." Length: 2,000-10,000 words.  A little more or a tad less is OK. Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: May 1, 2023 or until filled.

Eggplant Emoji is an annual comedy publication. Genre: Eggplant Emoji Volume 3 will be a print and eBook collection of hilarious short stories that are character-driven and culturally striking. Stories selected for this anthology will define pop culture with unforgettable characters, outrageous situations, and riotous humor. Length: 1,000 – 7,000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Struggle Magazine. Genre: Poetry, short stories (1000-7500 words), personal essays (1000-4500 words), art criticism (1000-4500), short plays, and play excerpts. "We are not genre specific, just looking for good and honest writing. We highlight writers who have some kind of a connection to the DC, Maryland, Virginia area." Payment: $75 per contributor. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

The First Line. Genres: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction using the first line provided. (See site.) Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Nonbinary Review: Epic Fail. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and art around the theme of Epic Fail. Payment: 1 cent per word for prose, and a flat fee of $10 for poetry. Deadline: May 1, 2023. Closes when cap is reached, so submit early.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.01 USD per word/$25 USD and copy of magazine; Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.01 USD per word/$10 USD; Poems-less than 200 words $10 upon acceptance and a PDF of the magazine. Deadline: May 1, 2023. May close early if they reach their cap.

Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of  queer and trans writing. 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 we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it." Payment: $25. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Tales of the Apocalypse. Genre: Post-Apocalyptic. Length: 5,000 to 10,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Rich People Being Shitty: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved. Genre: Fictional short stories ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 words examining the ways in which the most affluent among us commit wrongs. Payment: Either $25 or $35, Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Grumpy Old Gods Anthology. Genre: Speculative fiction stories about retired gods. Theme: "Grumpy Gods, particularly those who might be using their abilities in a post-internet environment.  Maybe Mercury is heavily invested in Google.  Janus might be the reason for crypto.  Heck, I bet that Aphrodite owns 90% of every single florist in the country.  Do your gods still have the juice, or have their powers gotten a little wonky as they have gotten older?  Make it Grumpy.  Make it funny." Length: 3,000-4,000 words. Payment: A percentage of the profits. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: May 2, 2023. Opens May 1.

The Suburban Review. Genre: Prose, art, poetry on theme: Spice. Payment: AUD150-275 for prose; AUD125-275 for poetry. Deadline: May 3, 2023.

Carrion Bloom Books. Genre: Chapbooks: Fiction, poetry, hybrid works, and writing with visual elements, and  translated writing of any genre. "We admire work of all genres which might be described as: feminist, grotesque, ecologically resonant, too much, formally experimental, visually acoustic, radically embodied, transnational, or surreal." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 4, 2023.


Tin House. Restrictions: Eligible writers must not currently have an agent, and must not have previously published a book (chapbooks okay). Genre: Poetry collections + Short Story collections that focus on Food and/or Place. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 7, 2023. Opens May 6, 2023.

Lightspeed. Genre: Fantasy short fiction. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: May 7, 2023.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction on theme of Legendary Creatures. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: May 7, 2023.

Riddlebird. Genre: Literary fiction, personal essays, genre fiction. "For our summer issue, we will specifically be looking for humorous work, lighthearted pieces, or works that explore the humor woven through struggles." Payment: $100. Deadline: May 7, 2023.

Stone’s Throw. Genre: Noir stories about the Summer Solstice. "To honor the solstice, we want stories about somebody’s longest, unending day. Send us tales of what someone is going through that is making every minute, every second, tick by in the most agonizing way." Length: Between 1,000 and 2,000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 7, 2023. This is a monthly call.

Northern Gravy. Restrictions: Northern Gravy welcomes submissions from UK & Ireland writers of any background, including first-time writers. Genre: Fiction, Poetry and Kid Lit (writing for Middle Grade and Young Adult audiences) Payment: £100 per contributor. Deadline: May 7, 2023.

Orion's Beau. Genre: LGBTQ fantasy: fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $3. Deadline: May 10, 2023. See theme.

Tiger Lily. Restrictions: Open to writers 18-21 living in the UK. Genre: Fantasy. Length: Roughly 5000 words. Payment: £50 per piece. Deadline: May 10, 2023.

Space Cat Press. Genre: Poetry, flash fiction, short stories and creative non-fiction inspired by the theme ‘Into the Forest’. "We welcome submissions from a variety of genres. Whatever the theme inspires YOU to write – be it traditional science fiction, memoirs, poetry, (mild) otherworldly horror, fairy tales, or something else entirely – we want to read it." Payment: flat rate fee for each piece - £5 for poetry/flash fiction and £10 for short stories. Deadline: May 12, 2023.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. Payment: $0.08/word for fiction, $40/poem, and $75/essay.  Deadline: May 14, 2023.

Spellbinder. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, art. Payment: £3. Deadline: May 14, 2023.

Georgia Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, non-fiction. Payment: $50 per printed page for prose and $4 per line for poetry. Essay-reviews and standard reviews earn honoraria of $50/printed page. Deadline: May 14, 2023. Fee to submit online; no fee for postal submissions.

Arc Poetry Magazine. Genre: Poetry. "Crip Lives: Restoring Subjectivity." "Arc Poetry Magazine invites artists who live with disability/chronic illness/mental illness and other forms of existence that are impacted by ableism to send us poems, prose, essays, and reviews exploring what it means to be in the world, or your topic of choice." Payment: $50 per page. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Diet Milk Minis. Genre: Prose, poetry. Payment: $10 for poetry, $20 for prose. Deadline: May 15, 2023. See theme.

berlin lit. Genre: Poetry. Payment: 20 euros per poem. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Propertius Press. Restrictions: Open to Black, Minority, Indigenous, and other Persons of Color. Genre: Full-length literary fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Propertius Press.  Genre: Literary fiction, children's fiction, YA. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 15, 2023. May close early if cap is reached.

just femme & dandy. Genre: Fashion for the LGBTQIA+ community. Theme: Resurrect. "For this issue, in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the death of one of our most beloved icons, Nina Simone, we ask you to submit creative expressions in any genre, including but not limited to writing, visual art, fashion design, video, audio, and anything you can think of that could be housed on a website that engages with the idea of resurrection and LGBTQIA+ fashion." Payment: 50 USD per text-based submission and 150 USD per multimedia submission (video, photography, image + text, fashion spread + interview, etc.). Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Untethered. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid writing, visual art and those strange things in between. Payment: $20. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

The Lorelei Signal. Genre: Fantasy short stories, flash fiction, and poetry with strong female characters. Payment: $15 for short stories, $5 for poems and flash (<1000 wds) fiction pieces, $5 for reprints. Deadline: May 15, 2023. Accepts reprints.

A Velvet Giant. Genre: "We are open to work that takes the shape of basically any format: words, recordings, visual art, hybrid forms, etc. We are open to translated original work." Payment: $20. Deadline: May 15, 2023. 

Delicate Friend. Genre: Poetry, prose, visual art, music, videos, game descriptions, fake movie reviews, real movie reviews, and more. "We want the unruly things you type at 1 A.M. The quiet daydreams you’ve scrawled down about your crush. Breathless reflections on your favorite fanfiction or how your body comes alive in nature. In short, we want your art and writing about things that are… delicate." Payment: $10. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Farmer-ish. Genre: Nonfiction, CNF, poetry related to farming (including recipes). Payment: $25. Deadline: May 15, 2023. See themes.

The Horror Zine: Book of Monster Stories. Genre: Monster stories. "We are looking for monsters, creatures, beasts, mutants, monstrosities, frightening oddities, malformations, altered insects or animals, mythical creatures, monsters from space or from bodies of water, or something we can't even imagine but you can." Payment: $20. Deadline: May 15, 2023.


Newfound. Genre: Reviews, Poetry, and Visual Arts. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. Genre: Poetry and art. Payment: $7 per poem, $12 for cover art and $7 for inside art. Deadline: May 15, 2023. See themes.


Luna Station Quarterly. Restrictions: Open to women writers only. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $5. Deadline: May 15, 2023. Some reprints accepted.

Intrepidus Ink. Genre: Genre fiction, including flash (no horror, erotica, or children’s fiction). Themes: Intrepid and Overcoming. Payment: 2 cents/word for stories of 300-1,000 words, and $30 for stories of 1,500-2,500 words. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Old Pal. Genre: Poetry, fiction, criticism, excerpts, audio, mixed media, and various mediums of art. Payment: $50. Deadline: May 20, 2023.


Solarpunk Micro Mini. Genre: Solarpunk micro fiction, 250 words max. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 21, 2023.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary flash fiction. Length: 500- to 1000-words. Payment: $80. Deadline: May 21, 2023.

Full House Literary. Genre: Prose, poetry, hybrid, photography and artwork. Payment: Royalties (?) Deadline: May 22, 2023.

Off Topic Publishing: Poetry Box. Genre: Poetry. Payment $40 CAD. May 25, 2023.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: May 27, 2023. See themes.

Cry Baby Bridge: A Collection of Utter Speculation. Genre: Speculative fiction. "Across the United States there are Bridges that belong to another time. Some aren’t even attached to roads anymore, but they are well known. People who cross them, especially at night, have stories to share of phantom cries, sometimes like a baby, sometimes like a woman. There are legends attached to explain these cries, tragedies of women seeking to flee from horrible situations. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. Something dark and more mysterious that we cannot completely understand." Payment: $20 and a contributor’s copy. Deadline: May 29, 2023.


B Cubed Press: Scott's Planet. Genre: Speculative fiction. "Be part of the first B Cubed Press shared-world anthology. The story begins just after the Scott’s Planet colony is abandoned by the founding corporation. Nearly half of the colonists chose to immigrate to other viable colonies. But the rest of the settlers decided to stay. These remaining colonists continue the struggle to carve out a niche within the planet’s native ecology. While the Earth flora and fauna they’ve brought with them are more sophisticated and complex than those of Scott’s Planet, this hasn’t always served as an advantage. Simple algae and fungus exploit the more complex invaders and prove to be incredibly resistant to removal. What happens to the colonists now?" Payment: Royalties and 3 cents/word. Deadline: May 30, 2023.

Heartlines. Restrictions: 50% of content is from writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. Genre: Speculative fiction and about relationships. "We're looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don't want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years." Stories - 1,000 - 3,500 words. Payment: $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction (1,000-3,500 words) and $60 CAD flat per poem. Deadline: May 30, 2023. 

The Wire’s Dream Magazine. Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Art, Photography, Combined Work from underprivileged individuals. Payment: $5. Deadline: May 30, 2023.

Kweli Journal. "Kweli is the first online journal of its kind to celebrate community and cultural kinships. In this shared space, you will hear the lived experience of people of color. Our many stories. Our shared histories. Our creative play with language. Here our memories are wrapped inside the music of the Muscogee, the blues songs of the South, the clipped patois of the Caribbean." Genre: Self-contained novel excerpt, short story, or creative non-fiction piece, poetry. Length: No more than 7,000 words. Payment: "Upon publication." Deadline: May 30, 2023.

Touchpoint Press: Christmas Anthology. Genre: Wholesome stories that inspire, instill kindness and hope, and contain a sense of togetherness and community. Deep conflict (and multiple conflicts) is good, but your story must be HEA or HFN. Payment: $100 on publication ($50 for reprints). Deadline: May 31, 2023. Reprints accepted. 

AKI—Mother Earth. Restrictions: Open to Indigenous creators. Genre: Original unpublished fiction up to 5,000 words and art. Payment: 5 cents CDN per word. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Contemporary Verse 2. Genre: Poetry and critical writing about poetry, including interviews, articles, essays, and reviews. Payment: $30 - $150. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Typehouse. Restrictions: No-fee submissions are open for all API creators and all Mental Health identified creators, not limited to those in the US. Genre: Prose, poetry, art. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 31, 2023.
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Long Con Magazine. Genre: Art (poetry, prose poetry, fiction, translations, visual, video, audio, and other – digital, hybrid, etc.), in response to artwork. (No nonfiction) Payment: CAD25 - 50. Deadline: May 31, 2023.


Poet Lore. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $50. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

The Gettysburg Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays. Payment: $2.50 per line for poetry, with a maximum of $300.00 for an individual poem, and $25.00 per printed page for prose. Deadline: May 31, 2022. Fee to submit online; no fee for postal submissions.


AGNI. Genre: Poetry and prose. Payment: $10 per printed (or printed-out) page for accepted prose, and $20 per page for accepted poetry, up to a maximum of $150. Deadline: May 31, 2023. Fee to submit online. No fee to submit by USPS.


Cast of Wonders. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. Theme: Banned Books Week. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: May 31, 2023.


Touchpoint Press: Nightmares of Strangers Anthology Genre: Horror. "We’re looking for stories that send a chill down your spine and send your imagination into overdrive, that keep you up at night and leave you shaking." Payment: $100 on publication ($50 for reprints). Deadline: May 31, 2023. Reprints accepted. 

Baltimore Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, videos (including poetry), and cross-genre work. Payment: $40. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

New Orleans Review. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: $300 for prose, $100 for poetry. Deadline: May 31, 2023. In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, there are no submission fees for all API writers for the month of May, not limited to those living in/born in the US.

Quarter Press: Quarter(ly). Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. See themes. Payment: $5. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Red Cape Publishing: A - Z of Horror: S is for Slasher. Genre: Horror on theme. Payment: £10. Deadline: May 31, 2023.


Variant Lit. Genre: Poetry, art. Payment: $10. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Haven Speculative. Restrictions: Open to authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 1 cent/word for fiction and $5 - $10 for poetry. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Mythic. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy short stories. Length: 2,000-5,000 words. Payment: 1 cent/word for original fiction, $25 for reprints. Deadline: May 31, 2023. Reprints accepted.


Escape Pod. Genre: Science fiction (Audio and written format). Payment: USD $0.08 per word for original fiction. USD $100 per story for reprint fiction. Deadline: May 31, 2023. Reprints accepted.

Split Lip Magazine. Genre: Fiction (flash and short stories), memoirs, and poetry. with a pop-culture twist. Payment: $50 - $75 per author (via PayPal) for our web issues. Payment for print is $5 per page, minimum of $20, plus 2 contributor copies and a 1-year subscription. Deadline: May 31, 2023. Note: Submit early to avoid submission fees.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Fanatical. Genre: Sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories between 2,000 and 6,000 words. Payment: £20. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Dragon Soul Press: A Death in the Night. Genre: "All stories featuring assassins are welcome." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Apparition Lit. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry on theme of Creature. Payment: $30. Deadline: May 31, 2023. Opens May 15. Submission periods are extended by a week for BIPOC creators only.

Crannóg. Genres: Poetry, short stories. Payment: €120 per poem and €200 per story, €200 per author interview and €200 per cover image. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

One Story. Genre: Short story. Length: 3,000 - 8,000 words. Payment: $500. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Bury Your Gays. Restrictions: This anthology is only open to queer writers. Genre: Horror. "We’re looking for tales that explore queer tragic horror, and any other interpretation of the title theme. Show us what tragic queer love means to you. Horror is a genre with serrated edges—so make your characters bleed." Payment: 7 cents/word. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

the other side of hope. Genre: Fiction and poetry by refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants only. They accept non-fiction, reviews, and interview submissions by anyone as long as the subject matter sheds light on the refugee and immigrant life. Payment: £100 per published author in the print issue, and £50 per published author in the online issue. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series. Restrictions: Open to any individual living in the U.S. who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA. Genre: Books of poetry, prose (fiction or nonfiction), and hybrid texts of poetry and prose. Payment: In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors. Deadline: May 31, 2023.


Exile Editions: Through the Portal – Stories from a Hopeful Dystopia. Genre: Eco-fiction stories or prose poems––literary, magical, speculative, solarpunk, supernatural, slipstream, reimagined folk/fairy tales. "We want eco-fiction that envisions imaginaries and relationships in a new or changing world. How do we walk through the portal to the other side? How will we address or overcome the legacy of the past: the negative actors and social constructs, environmental devastation, racism, exploitation, pathologies? … We want submissions from everyone, emerging through established, and from all communities––including but not limited to LGBTQ2S+, Black, Indigenous, marginalized, culturally diverse, the deaf and disabled. Stories can be literary or speculative, with the environment playing an essential role in the narrative. We welcome visual content in the form of illustrations accompanying a story or prose poem, or as graphic stories.” Length: Up to 3,500 words. Payment: CAD0.05/word. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Exile Editions: Onwaachigewin. Genre: Fictional stories by Indigenous writers in many different genres, including art-based works, about what it means to glimpse the future, how foreknowledge and foretelling can serve as warning, protection, or be a matter of survival. From omens, spirit guides, premonitions, migration stories, and the Seven Fires Prophecy, to predictions encoded in wampum, cowrie shells, beads, birch-bark scrolls, petroforms and petroglyphs. Payment: CAD0.05/word. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Exile Editions: Aki. Genre: Short fiction and image-based works by Indigenous creators. Payment: CAD0.05/word. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Playlist of the Damned. Genre: Horror. "When a hiker finds a cassette tape in an abandoned mine reading DO NOT PLAY, a playlist of unfathomable evil, decadence, and horror is unleashed featuring the 25 songs no human was ever supposed to hear." 500 – 5000 words. Payment: Prose - .5 per word. Poetry - $1 per line, Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Lightspeed. Restrictions: Open to BIPOC writers only. Genre: Science fiction flash fiction Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Brigid's Gate: Scissor Sisters: Sapphic Villains Anthology. Genre: Horror short stories and flash fiction featuring lesbian villains. "We’d especially love to see stories of feminine rage, erotic horror, genderbent retellings and reclamations of power by queer femmes." Length: 1,500 to 4,000 words. Payment: $0.08 a word for flash fiction and short stories. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Broken Sleep Books. (UK) Genre: Poetry pamphlets (up to 40 pages). Payment: Royalties. Deadline:  May 31, 2023.

University Press of Kentucky. Genre: Books of poetry or fiction (novels, short story collections, etc.). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Nashville Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, art, and nonfiction. Payment: $25 per poem & song selection; $100 per selection for all other categories, including featured artwork. Translators receive $25 per poem & $100 for prose selections. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

And a few more...

Eternal Haunted Summer. Genre: Poetry, short fiction. Theme: Genesis. Payment: $5. Deadline: June 1, 2023.

Parabola. Genre: Original essays and translations, poetry, reviews. See themes. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: June 1, 2023. 

Third Flatiron. Genre: SF, fantasy, space opera, hopepunk. Theme: Rhapsody of the Spheres. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: June 1, 2023.

Dead Letters. Genre: Short horror stories in the epistolary format—meaning, stories written as letters, journal entries, transcripts of radio broadcasts, newspaper clippings, text messages, etc. Furthermore, each story should include some mention of how its manuscript was “discovered.” A letter found in a historian’s archive, for example. Or emails saved as part of a missing persons investigation. Or an audio file recovered from a dead podcaster’s PC. Length: 2,500 – 7,000 words. Payment: $0.01 per word. Deadline: June 1, 2023.

Gemma Files. Genre: Horror short stories based on the themes set out in Gemma Files’ classic work, Experimental Film. Payment: $50 per piece. Deadline: June 1, 2023.

The New Lesbian Pulp. Genre: Short stories, scripts. Length: 3,000 - 10,000 words. "The landscape of relationships, queer embodiment, and womanhood has shifted past our cultural focus. We the editors want stories that pull the lens back to where we are now: what is the reality of the contemporary dyke?" Payment: $300 to $1,000 per contributor. Deadline: June 1, 2023.

44 Writing Contests in May 2023 - No entry fees

Pixabay This May there are more than three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $60,000 to publication. None charge entry fees.Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

If you want to get a jump on next month's contests go to Free Contests. Most of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.

Good luck! 

_______________
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Parsec Short Story Contest. Restrictions: Open to non-professional writers. Genre: Speculative fiction. The theme for the contest is: Preserve or Purge. This can be conveyed in the setting, plot, characters, dialogue…the only limit is your imagination. The theme must be integral to the story in some way and not just mentioned in passing. Prize: $200 and publication. Best youth story (age 19 and under) receives $50. Deadline: May 1, 2023. 

The Questions Writing Prize. Restrictions: Open to young Australian writers (18 to 30 years). Genre: Fiction and nonfiction on any topic as long as the piece remains between 1,500 and 2,000 words. Prize: $3,000 AUD top prize. Deadline: May 1, 2023. 

Queer Scifi Flash Fiction Contest. Genre: Fantasy, paranormal or horror LGBTIQA stories of no more than 300 words on the theme of Rise. Prize: The top three winners will receive cash prizes of $75, $50, and $25 respectively. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Jane Austen Literacy Foundation Writing Competition. Genre: Original, fictional short story.  "The theme of the competition is ‘The Wonder of Words’ and you are invited to write an original, fictional short story.  Your short story can be inspired by our theme in any way." Prize: "The winning stories (the winner and two runners up) will be recorded as an audiobook by multi-award winning and best-selling Austen narrator, Alison Larkin, published WORLDWIDE and promoted for all to hear!" Deadline: May 1, 2023.  

Sunlight Press. Genre: Flash fiction. Prize: $750. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

CINTAS Creative Writing Fellowship. Restrictions: Open to any Cuban author (including those of direct Cuban lineage; need not reside in Cuba). Genre: Novel excerpts, short stories, plays, or poems of up to 25 pages. Prize: $20,000 fellowship. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Rabbi Sacks Book Prize. Genre: Published nonfiction book that contributes significantly to the arena of modern Jewish thought. Prize: $50,000. Deadline: May 1, 2023. 

The Waterston Desert Writing Prize. Genre: Literary nonfiction, desert theme. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Questions Writing Prize. Restrictions: Open to authors aged 18-30. Genre: Short stories of any genre or nonfiction between 1500 and 2000 words. Prize: First place winners (or prize pool for a tie) is $2000. The work will also be published in a book. Deadline: May 1, 2023. 

West Virginia Fiction Competition. Restrictions: Open to West Virginia residents or students. Genre: Short fiction, 5,000 words max. Prize: $500. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

LIGHT Contest. Genre: Letters, short stories, art, poetry. "How might we reflect and reimagine wellness in public health through art, letters, stories, and poetry?" Prize: $500 top prize. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Non-Fiction. Genre: Literary non-fiction. Restrictions: Titles must be published in Canada and written by Canadians. Prize: $60,000 will be awarded to a literary nonfiction book published between March 1, 2023 and May 2, 2023. Deadline: May 3, 2023.

Writers' Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers. Restrictions: Open to Canadian LGBTQ+ writers. Genre: Debut book for books published between March 1, 2023 and May 2, 2023. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: May 3, 2023.

Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Genre: Fiction. Restrictions: Titles must be published in Canada and written by Canadians. No self-published works. Prize: $60,000 will be awarded to a novel or short-story collection published between March 1, 2023 and May 2, 2023. Prizes of $5,000 will be awarded to each of the finalists. Deadline: May 3, 2023.

RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award. "The RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award is an annual award that aims to encourage new writing and to provide a space where unpublished Canadian writers can submit short stories, creative nonfiction, journalism, and poetry. The shortlisted submissions are judged by a distinguished jury of Canadian writers." Prize: The winning entry will receive a $3,000 CAD cash prize and mentorship from a distinguished Canadian author. Deadline: May 5, 2023.


Love the Words 2023: Dream. ‘Love the Words’ is an annual celebration of the magic and power of words, and is part of International Dylan Thomas Day. Genre: Poems on theme: Dream. Prize: Publication. Deadline: May 6, 2023.

Lab42 Essay Competition. Genre: Essay. "The objective of this Essay Challenge is to come up with ideas on how to solve the Abstraction and Reasoning Coprus (ARC) Challenge. The ARC Challenge is like an IQ test for machines. The goal of the challenge is to develop a program that can solve 100 secret ARC tasks, which are not accessible to the public." Prize: $2,000 top prize. Deadline: May 7, 2023.

Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers. Restrictions: The contest is open to writers whose creative writing has never produced revenues of over $500 in any single year. Genre: Animal Nonfiction. “Stories should be factual and true accounts of an encounter or encounters by the author with a wild animal or animals. These include, but are not limited to, birds, fish, butterflies, snails, lions, bears, turtles, wombats, etc., as long as it is not a pet.” Prize: First prize is $200. Runners-up will receive $100. Finalists will receive $50. Deadline: May 7, 2023.

Limp Wrist: Glitter Bomb Award. Restrictions: Open to LGBTQ/non-binary poets and their allies. Genre: Poem by a poet of any stage of her/his/their career. Prize: $600 and publication in Limp Wrist. Deadline: May 11, 2023.

Creative Future Writers’ Award. Restrictions: Open to underrepresented writers in the UK only, who are over 18 years old. Genre: Poetry, fiction. This year’s theme is ‘How It Started.’  Prize: Publication, unspecified monetary award (?)  Deadline: May 14, 2023.

Apparition Lit. Genre: Speculative flash fiction inspired by the monthly photograph prompt. (See site for photo.) Length: 1000 words max. Prize: $30. Deadline: May 14, 2023.

Governor General's Literary Awards. Restrictions: Books must have been written by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. They do not need to be residing in Canada. Genre: The Governor General’s Literary Awards are given annually to the best English-language and French-Language book in each of the seven categories of Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Young People’s Literature (Text), Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Books). Prize: $25,000. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction. Sponsored by the American Bar Association. Restrictions: Entrants must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Genre: Original works of short fiction that illuminate the role of the law and/or lawyers in modern society. 5000 words max. Prize: $3,000 and publication in ABA Journal. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

The James Laughlin Award is sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. Genre: A second book of poetry forthcoming in the next calendar year. Must be under contract with US publisher. Restrictions: Open to US citizens and residents only. Prize: $5,000, an all-expenses-paid week long residency in Florida, and the Academy will purchase approximately 1,000 copies of the book for distribution to its members. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Leeway Foundation: Transformation Award. Restrictions: Women and transgender poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area who have been creating art for social change for five or more years. 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. Award: $15,000. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Singapore Poetry Contest. Genre: Poetry. "We are looking for poems that use the word “snail” in imaginative ways." Prize: USD300, 200, and 100 will go to the top three winners. Deadline: May 15, 2023.

Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. Genre: Articles, books, and short-form writing about contemporary art—the grants support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. The program also supports art writing that engages criticism through interdisciplinary methods and experiments with literary styles. Grant: $15,000 to $50,000. Deadline: May 17, 2023.

Roscommon New Writing Award. Restrictions: All entrants must have a connection with the county of Roscommon (born in, living in, currently working in, went to school in, etc). Genre: Short story. Prize: €600.00. Deadline: May 19, 2023.

Whole Life Soaps Haiku Contest. Genre: Haiku. Prize: $100 and publication of your haiku on packages of Whole Life Soaps, a natural soap brand based in California. 2023 theme is Aging and the Cycle of Life. Deadline: May 20, 2023.

A Voice for Animals Teen Essay Contest. Restrictions: Open to students between the ages of 14-18. Genre: Essays on an animal rights topic.  In the 16-18 year olds category, essays must be 800-1,000 words long and be accompanied by a photograph; in the 14-15 year olds category, essays should be between 1,400-1,500 words. One climate change prize (both age categories compete) will be awarded for an essay on how climate change affects a particular animal species. Prize: $500. Deadline: May 21, 2023.

RTÉ Radio Short Story Competition. Restrictions: Open to Irish writers and residents of Ireland. Genre: Short story. Prize: Up to 5,000 euros. Deadline: May 23, 2023.

Changing Light Prize for a Novel-in-Verse. Genre: Novel-in-Verse. Prize: $500 and publication for a novel-in-verse, 90-160 pages. Deadline: May 25, 2023.

Irene Adler Prize for Women Writers. Restrictions: Open to Canadian women. Genre: Creative nonfiction. Prize: $1,000 scholarship to a woman pursuing a degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution in the U.S. or Canada. Deadline: May 30, 2023.

bpNichol Poetry Chapbook Award. Restrictions: Canadian publishers only. Genre: Published poetry chapbook. Prize: The author receives $4,000 and the publisher receives $500. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Furphy Literary Award. Genre: Short stories up to 5000 words, Theme: Australian Life in all its diversity. Prize: First prize of $15,000 in the open category (2nd prize - $ 3,000,  3rd prize - $2,000.  A junior & youth category with a prize pool of $1800 will seek entries for short stories and poetry. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

James Bartleman Aboriginal Youth Creative Writing Awards. Restrictions: Open to aboriginal youth, 18 years or younger, residing in Ontario, Canada. Prize: $2,500. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Jerry Jazz Musician Fiction Contest. Genre: Unpublished fiction approximately 1,000 - 5,000 words. Story should pertain to music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America. Prize: $100 and publication in Jerry Jazz Musician. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

The Wolfe Pack Black Orchid Award. Genre: Mystery novellas in the style of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novellas. Manuscript length: 15K-20K words. Prize: $1,000, plus recognition and publication in a forthcoming issue of AAMM. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Speculative Literature Foundation Older Writers Grant. Restrictions: Open to writers who are fifty years of age or older at the time of grant application. Genre: Speculative fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Fountain Magazine Essay Contest. Genre: Essay on theme: How to focus in an era of distractions. 1,500 - 2,500 words. "We are constantly bombarded with breaking news, online notifications, unscheduled visits, calls, and so on. What are your distractions? How do you cope with them? How do you remain focused on what really matters?" Prize: 1st Place - $1,000, 2nd Place - $500, 3rd Place - $300, Two Honorable Mentions - $150 each. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

#GWstorieseverywhere. Genre: Micro fiction. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag. See themes. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

CNO Naval History Essay Contest. Genre: Scholarly essay on naval history.  Prize: First Prize: $5,000. Second Prize:$2,500. Third Prize: $1,500. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Genesis Jewish Book Week Emerging Writers' Programme. Restrictions: Open to emerging writers over 18 years of age, of any background living in the UK. Genre: Fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Prize: Up to £1,500 and mentorship. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: May 31, 2023. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

36 Marvelous Writing Workshops and Conferences in May 2023

Skagway, Alaska: Wikimedia This May there are three dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but many will be in-person or hybrid as pandemic restrictions ease. Virtual events still offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, to how to market yourself and your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.

For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences. Quite a few offer scholarships, so apply early. Popular conferences also tend to close early. But if you miss one that is ideal for you, put the application deadline on your calendar for next year. (Many conferences are annual events.)

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Getting Strategic About Social Media For Illustrators: A Two-Night Mini. May 1 - 3, 2023: Honesdale, PA. How do you build a social media following? Where should you focus your time to best connect with publishers and fellow artists? And is there a way to monetize your social activity? Join web comic team Lisa Burdige and John Hazard to learn how illustrators can get the most out of their posts without cannibalizing time to do their art! Will be held online.

Rhyming Picture Books: A Two-Night Mini. May 2 - 4, 2023: Honesdale, PA. Take a look at stories that sing with rhythm and rhyme, and learn how to accomplish the structure and skills needed in your own work with Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and Anne Marie Pace. Will be held online.

Nonfiction Writers Conference. May 3 - 5, 2023. ONLINE EVENT. Online conference devoted to writing, publishing and promoting non-fiction books. Participation is live via phone or Skype, and recordings can be downloaded. Features 15 speakers over three days. Private Facebook group for attendees!

IBPA Publishing University. May 4 - 6, 2023: San Diego, CA. The Independent Book Publishers Association offers 30+ educational sessions including experiential learning labs, insightful keynotes, a gala book award ceremony, networking events, and more! Cost: $495. 

Asian And Asian American Voices: An In-Community Retreat. May 4 - 7, 2023: Honesdale, PA. This in-community retreat is for writers and illustrators from the Asian and Asian American Communities, with special hosts Grace Lin and Debbi Michiko Florence and their guests. It is an informally structured retreat, where the focus is on your own projects. We’ll also celebrate this diverse and talented community.

Lakefly Writers Conference. May 5 - 6, 2023: Premier Waterfront Hotel & Convention Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Workshops, talks, and a book fair for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers. Previous presenters: Beth Amos, Malinda Andrews, Valerie Biel, Rebekah Bryan, R. R. Campbell and more. 

Atlanta Writers Conference. May 5 - 6, 2023: Atlanta, GA. The conference features publishing panels, pitch sessions, manuscript and query letter critiques, and a workshop on author branding for fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and graphic novelists. The goals of this conference are to give you access to eighteen top publishing acquisitions editors and literary agents (our most ever!) actively seeking new clients, help you get your work ready for them, and educate you with a workshop and talks by experienced authors and other industry professionals. The Conference Activities page details each activity you can register for: select them all, only one, or some number in between–it’s entirely up to you, so you can craft the conference experience that will be best for your growth, interests, and budget. 

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival. May 5 - 7, 2023, Salem, Massachusetts. The Mass Poetry Festival offers nearly 100 poetry readings and workshops, a small press and literary fair, panels, poetry slams, and open-air readings. More than 150 poets will engage with thousands of New Englanders. 

Picture Book Plotting A – Z. May 5 - June 8, 2023: Honesdale, PA. Are you ready to do a deep, deep dive into picture book structure? This online course with Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen features pre-recorded and/or written assignments for each letter of the “Picture Book Alphabet,” plus weekly LIVE Zoom sessions for all of your course related questions. Will be held online.

Rock Your Research & Proposals! A Two-Night Mini. May 8 - 10, 2023: Honesdale, PA. Join authors Stephanie Gibeault, Jolene Gutiérrez, and Anita Yasuda as they share the tools and strategies writers need to dig into research with confidence. Will be held online.

Writing Around the Wound of Estrangement. May 10, 2023, 6:00-7:30PM EST. "This 90-minute generative workshop will look at how we talk about estrangement and, more critically, what is left unsaid. We’ll examine the landscape of estrangement: Why do relationships fracture? Who is primarily affected? Whose voices are elevated in discussions of estrangement, and whose are silenced? We’ll use Jane Alison’s “Meander, Spiral, Explore” to consider the narrative shapes best suited to estrangement stories. What structures explain what often feels untranslatable? How do we give meaning to this wound when it requires we write about painful material, regrettable behaviors, or family secrets? We will read excerpts from Cheryl Strayed and MB Caschetta to unpack the narrative choices writers make, and what we believe this wound reveals or conceals about us. Generative writing prompts will allow writers to examine this topic in a supportive group environment. Writers will be encouraged (but not required) to share."

Annual Nonfiction Writers Conference. May 10 - 12, 2023: Conducted online. The Nonfiction Writers Conference (NFWC) is a multi-day event featuring live presentations by top speakers and industry experts, Q&A with speakers, and plenty of downloadable materials. You can attend the live webcast by computer, mobile device or phone.

Annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. May 10 - 13, 2023 at various locations in New York City and Los Angeles. "Join more than 125 writers and artists representing over 50 nationalities in New York City for the 2019 PEN World Voices Festival: Open Secrets. In 60+ events in venues across New York City, the 15th anniversary of New York’s first international literary festival will gather nonfiction and fiction writers, thinkers, and activists to discuss what we reveal and what we withhold, and the opportunities and dangers inherent in the rapid reconfiguring of the public and the private in the literary, cultural, social, and political realms." 

Washington Writers Conference. May 12 - 13, 2023: Bethesda, MD. "Expert sessions with authors and publishing pros on the many paths to publishing — from writing killer query letters and landing an agent to going your own way and utilizing a self/hybrid model — and publicizing your book once it exists!" 

Florida Writing Workshop. May 12 - 13, 2023. Online. "This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop. In other words, it’s one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome. And even though this is the “Florida” Writing Workshop, make no mistake — writers from everywhere are welcome to attend virtually."

Big Sur on Cape Cod. May 12 - 14, 2023, North Falmouth, MA. Focus on children's writing. Faculty: Andrea Brown and four of her agents, four editors and four authors. 

Nebula Conference. May 12 - 24, 2023: Los Angeles, CA. SFWA members and other individuals who are interested in the field of science fiction and fantasy are welcome to attend SFWA’s Nebula Conference. Attendees may participate in workshops, programming and special events throughout the weekend. You do not need to be a member of SFWA to attend. Will be held online and in person.

The 2023 Writing Conference of Los Angeles. May 13, 2023: Los Angeles, CA. This is a special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop. In other words, it’s one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome. 

Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference. May 13 - 16, 2023: Homer, Alaska. The 2023 keynote speaker will be Robin Wall Kimmerer, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The amazing writers Francisco Cantú, Reyna Grande, Sara Eliza Johnson, J. Drew Lanham, Jason Mott, and Paisley Rekdal will be teaching at the conference. Editor Daniel Slager from Milkweed Editions and agent Jin Auh at the Wylie Agency will join the faculty to represent the publishing industry.

Longleaf Writers Conference. May 13 - 20, 2023: Seaside, Florida. "Formerly the Seaside Writers Conference, Longleaf Writers Conference is an annual gathering of creative writers from all over the nation, featuring award-winning writers in poetry and fiction and screenwriting who will offer a full week of intensive writing workshops, one day seminars, school outreach programs, and social events. This event occurs every year in May, and offers the opportunity for beginning, intermediate and advanced writers to celebrate writing, to network with other writers, and to hone their craft. There will also be seminars hosted by professional editors and literary agents who will offer one-on-one consultations. All participants who pay the full conference tuition fee will be able to take part in all daily activities, while those paying a la carte pricing will have the pick of which classes and workshops they would like to attend. The Longleaf Writers Conference is one of the only conferences in the nation to take place on one of the most beautiful beaches in the US, and every year will feature notable guest writers, literary agents, and professional editors."

Turn Up The Volume On Quiet Picture Books: A Two-Night Mini. May 16 - 18, 2023: Honesdale, PA. Sometimes feedback whispers, “this book is too quiet,” but what does that really mean? And, is there a place in the market for a “quiet” book? Join award-winning author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow to learn ways to embrace your “quiet” book, turning up the volume for your audiences. Will be held online.

Grub Street Muse and the Marketplace Conference. May 18 -  21, 2023: Boston, Massachusetts. The Muse and the Marketplace is a three-day literary conference designed to give aspiring writers a better understanding about the craft of writing fiction and non-fiction, to prepare them for the changing world of publishing and promotion, and to create opportunities for meaningful networking. On all three days, prominent and nationally-recognized established and emerging authors lead sessions on the craft of writing—the "muse" side of things—while editors, literary agents, publicists and other industry professionals lead sessions on the business side—the "marketplace." Will be held virtually.

Hedgebrook: Virtual Radical Craft Retreat. May 18 - 22, 2023:Virtual. "Our Virtual Radical Craft Retreat series brings Hedgebrook’s retreat experience into your home.  We invite you to transform your space into a writer’s sanctuary for a week.  Join us in virtual residence and study with a celebrated teacher. Creative writing workshops in a diversity of formats and genres are offered to women writers at all levels of experience. Participation in each class is limited to 10 writers to ensure individual attention and create an intimate, supportive writing community. You will enjoy 2 hour daily virtual workshops led by Mira, and a 1:1 session setup for you and Mira to dive deeply into an aspect of your project.  You will receive daily emails with creative writing prompt videos, as well as videos and photos from the current season at the Hedgebrook retreat on Whidbey Island. Each writer will also receive a lovingly curated box of goodies, just for writers, mailed right to your doorstep. Opportunities to meet virtually with other participants outside of the daily workshop sessions are offered 24/7. A private Slack channel is setup for all participants to share work, inspiration, and chat outside of the workshop sessions as well. A virtual orientation on May 17 sets the stage for your week in retreat, and offers an opportunity to meet the writers who will be in retreat with you!" Closed

Idaho Writers League Annual Conference. May 19 - 20, 2023: Sandpoint, Idaho. Workshops focusing on writing, publishing, marketing and IWL awards. Faculty has included Mary Buckham, keynoter; active settings for all fiction; pacing; one-on-ones; Jack Nisbet, memoirs, non-fiction; Janet Oakley, researching/writing historical fiction; Tom Reppert, character development, time-travel; Jim Payne, Jennifer Lamont Le. 

Pennwriters Conference. May 19 - 21, 2023: Pittsburgh, PA. The Annual Pennwriters Conference features three days of workshops, panels, networking and learning to help you learn, grow, soar! Friday, Saturday and Sunday feature an open attendance slate of one-hour workshops on all things writing. The schedule is structured with open attendance, so you can take whichever classes appeal to you. Attendees will have 40+ hours of sessions to choose from. Our faculty is comprised of published authors, literary agents and editors, and other writing industry professionals. Pitch appointments are available at no additional fee.

Biographers International Organization Conference. May 19 - 21, 2023: NY, NY. The conference features panels on current issues in biography and the craft of biography, including discussion of the topics of interviewing, writing about writers, and obituary writing. The conference also offers a unique opportunity to hear some of biography’s best—and best-known—writers share their stories. During the James Atlas Plenary, prominent biographers such as Douglas Brinkley, Annette Gordon-Reed, David Remnick, Stacy Schiff , T. J. Stiles, and Evan Thomas begin the day in casual conversation. The afternoon features a keynote lecture by the recipient of the BIO Award. Past recipients include Robert Caro, Ron Chernow, Arnold Rampersad, Jean Strouse, and Claire Tomalin. Panel sessions throughout the day provide tips for novice biographers, examination of the craft of biography, and exploration of issues aimed at seasoned biographers. And a highlight of the conference is the presentation of the Plutarch Award for the year’s best biography.

Writeaway in New Mexico. May 20 - 27, 2023: Casa Bellisima, New Mexico. $2,750 for private room; $2,350 each for friends or couple sharing a room Includes writing consultations and daily writing workshops, all meals, wine and cocktails, plus a cooking class and excursion. 

Crafting Novels In Verse: Workshop And Retreat. May 21 - 24, 2023: Honesdale, PA. From start to finish, the skills needed to craft a verse novel are unique– part poetry, part narrative, all heart. Join verse novelists Rajani LaRocca and Chris Baron, with special guest Cordelia Jensen, to explore this emotionally packed form of storytelling. We also include ample private retreat time so that you can write, wander, and connect with fellow poets.

Boldface Conference for Emerging Writers. May 22 - 26, 2023: Houston, Texas. Daily workshops, readings, craft talks, social events and professionalism panels in an intimate and supportive environment designed specifically with the needs of emerging writers in mind.

North Words Writers Symposium. May 24 - 27, 2023: Skagway, Alaska. "Exploring the Frontiers of Language," the North Words Writers Symposium welcomes all to an intimate setting with just 40 participants engaging with authors in a spectacular Alaska setting. Join this year's faculty of Alaska-NW authors for four days of panel discussions, writing workshops, readings, and adventure in Skagway, Alaska. Symposium events include activities such as hiking and writing workshops, a barbecue with live music at Alderworks Writers & Artists Retreat in Dyea; and a keynote banquet in a show garden.

The Writer’s Hotel Maine “Mini MFA”. May 24 - 30, 2023: Boothbay Harbor, Maine. "The Writer’s Hotel Maine “Mini MFA” is a unique, hybrid, comprehensive writing program. Our programming includes our TWH two-editor pre-conference Team Reading and our conference, to be held IN-PERSON at the Spruce Point Inn Resort and Spa in Boothbay Harbor, Maine! TWH Directors and Editors Shanna McNair and Scott Wolven will read and consult on each writer’s full length manuscript pre-conference in our “TWH Team Reading”. Each writer receives two sets of comments in their Team Reading—two editors read each manuscript. We also offer a follow-up phone call to discuss the comments and strategize next steps. No other writers conference delivers a full, comprehensive pre-conference manuscript reading and a conference call. We developed our program around the Team Readings—so that writers have their full manuscripts read all the way through, right from acceptance." Closed

Writing Heights Writers Conference. May 25-27, 2023: Fort Collins, CO. Workshops, seminars, speakers, entertainment, agent roundtables, pitch sessions, networking with authors and industry professionals. Will be held online and in person.

Balticon 57. May 26 - 29, 2023: Baltimore, MD. Balticon is sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS). BSFS presents the Compton Crook Award, the Robert A. Heinlein Award, and the winner of the annual Jack L. Chalker Young Writer's Contest annually at this event. Multiple tracks of Programming over the four day weekend, featuring authors, artists, scientists, musicians, podcasters, publishers, editors, costumers and other creative SF luminaries. 

Peripatetic Writing Workshop and Retreat. May 29 - June 8, 2023: Kent, UK. The first week of the conference features daily workshops, discussions, readings, and time to write. The second week of the conference features writing time, discussions, readings, and individual manuscript tutorials. The workshop will be led by NYU teachers and authors Maureen Brady and Martha Hughes. 

ThrillerFest XIV. May 30 – June 3, 2023: New York City. This is the annual conference of the International Thriller Writers. The ThrillerFest conference has four main components: Master CraftFest, CraftFest, PitchFest, and ThrillerFest. Master CraftFest was designed as an educational tool for aspiring writers as well as debut and midlist authors to gain advanced training from the masters of the craft in an intimate, day-long training session. CraftFest was designed for all writers to learn from bestselling authors and subject experts who kindly offer their advice and assistance to advance attendees’ writing techniques and further their careers. PitchFest was designed to match writers with agents, editors, publishers, and producers. ThrillerFest, the final two days of the conference, is intended to offer readers a chance to meet the best authors in the industry and be introduced to debut and midlist authors. Expect innovative panels, spotlight interviews, and workshops to educate and inspire. 

The Crash Course In Children’s Book Publishing:Illustrator’s Edition. May 31 - July 26, 2023: Honesdale, PA. Join lead faculty Pat Cummings and Harold Underdown for this special Illustrator’s Edition of our Crash Course in Children’s Publishing. At the end of the course, you will understand how the children’s book publishing industry works for illustrators and author/illustrators, including ways to build your portfolio and engage with art-directors. Will be held online.

20 Publishers Accepting Novels, Poetry and Nonfiction Manuscripts NOW - No agent required

Wikimedia These twenty publishers have opened their doors to submissions - no agent required. They are looking for romance, thrillers, speculative fiction, kidlit, memoir, and more. All of these are traditional publishers, not vanity publishers. All pay royalties, but only the larger houses pay significant advances. 

When submitting to a publisher make sure you follow their guidelines carefully. Don't give anyone an excuse to throw out your work!

For a list of hundreds of publishers, organized by genre. that don't require an agent see Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts. 

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With Deadlines
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Verve Poetry Press. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Propertius Press.  Genre: Literary fiction, children's fiction, YA, biography, memoir. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 15, 2023. May close early if cap is reached.

University Press of Kentucky. Genre: Books of poetry or fiction (novels, short story collections, etc.). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series. Restrictions: Open to any individual living in the U.S. who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA. Genre: Books of poetry, prose (fiction or nonfiction), and hybrid texts of poetry and prose. Payment: In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors. Deadline: May 31, 2023.

Meerkat Press. Genre: Full-length speculative fiction, novellas and novels. Darker themes. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: June 30, 2023.

No Deadlines

Avon is a commercial fiction publisher looking for crime, thriller, women’s and contemporary fiction, romance, romantic comedy, historical fiction, saga and time-slip fiction. They do not accept non-fiction, children’s books, YA or teen, sci-fi or fantasy submissions. Your submission should be between 70,000-90,000 words.  Please read full guidelines here . 
Pan Macmillan Australia accepts electronic manuscript submissions of fiction and commercial nonfiction, including memoir, directly from writers. Authors need not be Australian.  Read their submission guidelines here.

Tundra Books, Puffin Canada, and Penguin Teen Canada publish books for teens and children. They are open to direct submissions by underrepresented authors and illustrators only. Authors need not be Canadian.  Read their submission guidelines here.

Random House Canada has opened its doors to LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC writers, as well as those from other traditionally underrepresented communities. They are looking for commercial fiction in the following genres: literary, romance, speculative fiction, historical fiction, and mystery. The submissions inbox is open to writers from anywhere.  Read guidelines here.  

Unnerving publishes Horror, Crime, Mystery, & Dark General Fiction novels and novellas. The finished products will need to be between 20,000 and 110,000 words in length. 50/50 net royalties split. No contract fees. 5-year publishing terms. Unnerving also publishes anthologies.  Please read full guidelines here.

Haunted Doll House is an imprint of Agape Editions that publishes full-length novels and memoirs in print. "As our name suggests, we aren’t afraid of the dark: we live there. We want your horror stories, your mystery novels, your dark sf/f, your genre-resistant writing about the ecstasies, traumas, and terrors that took you to the very edges of yourself."  Please read full guidelines here. 

The Parliament House publishes Urban fantasy, Supernatural thriller, Paranormal romance, Dark fantasy, Horror and paranormal fiction with an emphasis on uplifting marginalized voices and unconventional narratives. "We strive to inscribe magic onto every page and to capture our passionate readership with the enduring power of storytelling. Our mission is not only to offer readers fantastical escapes, to make the impossible possible, but to share stories that are thought-provoking, evocative, and speak to the complexities of our lived reality."  Read their submission guidelines here.

Android Press is a small press that publishes science fiction, fantasy, and the various -punk subgenres. "We love stories that are full of hope and optimism. We also love stories that hold up a mirror to our society and force us reexamine our past and our values in order to move forward and build a better future." Accepts novels, graphic novels, and novellas. Read submission guidelines here.

Starry Eyed Press: 224-Verse and Galactic Treks is seeking space opera, 2,000 words to novel length. Payment: Royalty split.  Read guidelines here.

Red Dog Press is accepting crime, thriller, noir, cozy and mystery. "If you write thrillers, crime stories or mysteries with a unique voice, we want to hear from you. We'd love to find characters we haven't seen before and new angles on traditional crimes. Our small team are passionate about bringing the best stories to market, and our personal touch is aimed at bringing new voices to the crime and mystery world. We accept submissions from authors with or without agents, whether you're new to writing or already published. No standalone novels under 70,000 words, please."  Read guidelines here.


Publishers With Regional Restrictions

Penguin Random House SEA was launched in October 2018 to bring local writing from the South East Asian region to a wider audience, breaking barriers of language and geographies. "As one of the world’s premier English-language publishers, we publish across a whole range of genres and are home to some of today’s most revered names in fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose. We are publishing and discovering new and established, local and international voices in English for adults and children primarily for Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. We have a strong fiction and non-fiction list across every genre including biography, travel, business, politics, history, religion and philosophy, lifestyle and self-help."

Text Publishing Australia accepts non-fiction and fiction manuscripts, including middle grade and young adult, from Australian or New Zealand residents.
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Hachette Australia accepts work from Australian or New Zealand residents. They do not accept science fiction/fantasy, illustrated children’s books, illustrated books, cookbooks, poetry, self-help, screenplays or academic submissions.

Allen & Unwin accepts pitches for fiction and nonfiction manuscripts on Fridays. Please only apply to the Friday Pitch if you are currently living in Australia or New Zealand.

Lucent Dreaming is open to any genre, but has a preference for accessible literary, fantasy, sci-fi, speculative and/or surreal fiction. Word Limit: 40,000-80,000+ words, Pay Rate: Advance fee of £500, 20% royalties. You must be a UK resident for your work to be considered. They are especially looking for novel submissions from writers who are under-represented in UK publishing.

22 Literary Magazines Open NOW for Poetry, Short Fiction, Essays, CNF, Speculative Fiction and more — Paying markets

Lady Writing a Letter: Albert Edelfelt Here are 22 publications open for submissions now (no deadlines). All are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. Quite a few accept reprints.

You can find also upcoming calls for submissions with deadlines on my page: Calls for Submissions. Get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically. (I only post paying markets.)

Don't forget to check out Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

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The SFWA Blog is open to pitches for original nonfiction articles on topics that might be of interest to new and/or established creators of science fiction and fantasy. SFWA welcomes pitches from both members and nonmembers; Black, Indigenous, and other writers of color, as well as writers of other under-represented identities, are encouraged to submit article pitches. Payment: 10 cents/word.

Electric Literature's essays examine books and culture through a personal and critical lens. "We prefer full submissions on spec but accept detailed pitches as well. Instead, email a detailed pitch to editors@electricliterature.com with the subject line [ESSAY PITCH]. Pitches should describe the subject matter of the essay (which must be about books, writing, storytelling or narrative media like movies, games, and TV) and give a sense of the argument you plan to make or the story you plan to tell. We welcome thoughtful considerations of new releases, overlooked classics, childhood favorites—anything that can illuminate or be illuminated by the human experience. Requests for Electric Literature to cover your book or your client's book are not considered pitches. If your story is immediately time-sensitive or news-responsive, indicate this in your subject line; otherwise, please wait at least a week to follow up." Payment: $100.

Alien Dimensions. Genre: Science Fiction, 5000-7000 words. Theme: First Contact. "Set the meetings in space in a hyperfuturistic space ship or bio-ball or space station or in a rift outside space and time, etc – whatever you think will shock your protagonists." Payment: $20.


Armoured Fox Press: Indecent Exposure. Genre: Fiction. “The story MUST contain erotic content centered around public locations. This can be beaches, public parks, office buildings… wherever you might attract an audience of shocked passersby doing things you shouldn’t be doing in public... and some element must be furry (anthropomorphic animals). Length: 5,00-20,000 words, Payment: 1/2 cent/word. Deadline: Open until filled.

Bards and Sages Quarterly. Genre: All speculative genres (horror, fantasy, science fiction, slipstream, steampunk, magical realism, etc) up to 5,000 words in length. Payment: $30 for original fiction; $15 for reprints.

Goatshed Press. Genre: Short stories, flash fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Payment: £60 for stories and essays (over 1000 words) and £25 for poems and flash fiction. They are also looking to publish longer form work in 2023, including novels, novellas, graphic novels, non fiction books and short story collections. They are happy to consider any genre except children’s fiction.

Backyard Earth is a "round the world" series of books. The idea is that they will make five books - one for each continent (more or less). Each book will contain one story for every country on that continent. Submissions will stay open until they have a full complement. Short fiction only. Payment: $25.

Starry Eyed Press: 224-Verse and Galactic Treks. Genre: Space opera, 2,000 words to novel length. Payment: Royalty split. Read guidelines here.

Psychopomp. Genre: Nonfiction essays on art, short fiction, novels, movies, music, fashion, culture, entertainment, science, and more, that fall under the umbrella of goth, death, funerary, grief, loss, alternative, otherworldly themes. Payment: $50.

The International Human Rights Festival (IHRAF). Genre: Poem, short story, or essay (2500 words or less) Payment: $50.

Et Sequitur. "We are open to all genres, from literary to speculative and everything in between. Our only requirement is that your submission in some way connect with the latest Et Sequitur story, be that in character (minor, major, protagonist, antagonist), setting (neighborhood, world, workplace, house -- even a certain object could work, if it's featured prominently), or theme. Be creative! Continue the story, tell a side-character's story, take the theme and twist it in a new way. In the submission form, you'll be asked to identify which element of the previous story you've chosen to incorporate in your own." Submissions for the next issue will open once the previous issue is published (expected to be the first day of every-other month). They will temporarily close when a story has been chosen for the next issue. Payment: $25.

Assemble Artifacts is looking for stories of wonder and suspense. "We prefer stories of at least 5,000 words, but are open to longer and shorter works. Please include a one to three sentence pitch of your story, and an author bio with your submission. We are open to writers of all levels of experience." Payment: 8-10 cents per word for short fiction.

Jay Henge: The Back Forty. Genre: Speculative fiction. "In The Back Forty, we are looking for your stories that explore new, lawless frontiers, backwater towns, self-appointed sheriffs, lonesome explorers, bounty hunters, and other Wild West in Outer Space kinds of themes." Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words. Length: Up to 15k words. Open until filled.

Jay Henge: Sunshine Superhighway. Genre: Speculative fiction. "Solarpunk, cyberpunk, other planets, alternate worlds that might be nearly lost through our own hubris; futuristic fantasy and speculative-fiction stories of all kinds that are hopeful and leave us with the idea that despite the doom and gloom in the universe, things can possibly work out if we strive to make life better, even if in a small way." Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words. Length: Up to 15k words. Open until filled.

Jay Henge: The Kafka Protocol & the Burden of Compliance. Genre: Speculative fiction. "Do you have a story to tell about the struggles of navigating an endless sea of paperwork, the tedium and surrealism of bureaucratic procedures, the tyranny of faceless institutions, or some other aspect of the absurdity of Kafka-esque politics? We are excited to read your speculative fiction (SFF+) submissions and to bring together a collection of stories that will transport readers to a world that is both bizarre and thought-provoking." Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words. Length: Up to 15k words. Open until filled.

Radon. Genre: Short stories and poetry containing elements of anarchism, transhumanism, dystopia, and/or science fiction. Payment: 1 cent per word for original work, half a cent per word for reprints.

The Hungur Chronicles. Genre: Horror. Vampires or creatures with vampiric themes. Payment: The pay for original stories is $25.00; for reprints, $12.00. Payment for poems is $5. The pay for illustrations is $8.00. The payment for articles is $10. The pay for cover art is $25.00.

The Were-Traveler: Curst & Twysted Tarot. Genre: Short fiction. Choose an image you would like to write a story about. Payment: $10 for flash, $15 for short stories. Open until filled.

Fantasy Magazine. Restrictions: Open to BIPOC authors. Genre: Fantasy short stories, flash fiction, poetry. Payment: 8 cents per word; $40 per poem. 

Through the Gate: Fantastical poetry "We are looking for fantastical poetry of literary and emotional depth from a diversity of voices and perspectives. Our definition of fantastical is quite fluid, encompassing fantasy, magic realism, myth, folklore, surrealism and slipstream. We desire poetry that is atypically beautiful, unconventionally imaginative, and boundary-crossing. We are not interested in work that is strictly science fiction or mainstream, but poetry that blurs the lines between such genres and the fantastical is welcome." Length: Up to three poems. Payment: $20 per poem. Deadline: Open now.

Three-lobed Burning Eye. "Original speculative fiction: horror, fantasy, and science fiction. We're looking for short stories from across the big classifications and those shadowy places between: magical realism, fantastique, slipstream, interstitial, and the Weird. We will consider suspense or western, though we prefer it contain some speculative element. We like voices that are full of feeling, from literary to pulpy, with styles unique and flowing, but not too experimental. All labels aside, we want tales that expand genre, that value imagination in character, narrative, and plot. We want to see something new and different." Length: Short fiction 1000–7000 words, Flash fiction 500–1000 words, (2000–5000 preferred). Payment: $100 for short fiction, $30 for flash fiction; + 1 print annual. Deadline: Open now.

The Dark The Dark publishes dark fantasy and horror. "Don’t be afraid to experiment or to deviate from the ordinary; be different—try us with fiction that may fall out of “regular” categories. However, it is also important to understand that despite the name, The Dark is not a market for graphic, violent horror." Length: 2,000 – 6,000 words. Payment: 6 cents/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words on publication for first world rights; and 1 cent/word for reprint fiction up to 6,000 words on publication for nonexclusive reprint rights. Deadline: Open now.

6 New Agents Seeking Literary Fiction, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Nonfiction, Kidlit, YA and more

Here are six new literary agents actively seeking clients. New agents are a boon to writers. They are actively building their lists, and will go the extra mile for their clients.

All of these agents work for established agencies with good track records. They are looking for everything from pop culture to fantasy. 

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change. 

NOTE: Don't submit to several agents at the same agency simultaneously. If one rejects you, you may then submit to another. (Some small agencies share. Be alert to a notice that "a no from one is a no from all.")
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You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients. 

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Ms. Daisy Chandley of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (UK) 

Daisy Chandley is an Associate Agent and assistant to Head of Books Tim Bates and Senior Agent Annabel Merullo. After graduating from the University of Oxford with a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, she joined Peters, Fraser & Dunlop. She works alongside Tim Bates as the UK sub-agent for New Directions Publishing in the US.

What she is seeking: I’m actively building a list of both fiction and non-fiction authors across a range of genres.

On the non-fiction side, I’m looking for bold new insights and underrepresented voices on popular science, nature writing, relationships, social issues and politics, and am always especially interested in fresh, playful and exciting writing on pop culture, love and the internet. I’d also love to see illuminating narrative non-fiction, whether a beautiful and lyrical exploration, or an enthralling and explosive deep-dive.

With fiction, my reading broadly falls into two main categories: sharp, witty and clever novels across a range of genres with just the right balance of emotion and edge, and things with a darker side, be it unputdownable thrillers, mysteries, or even a good old-fashioned ghost story. Whether it’s a delightfully fun and scandalous page-turner, or something more literary and experimental, if it’s stylish and smart, I’d love to see it. And I must admit – I’m an absolute sucker for a really good twist.

I’m also definitely interested in literary speculative fiction, though I’m not generally looking for SFF. Across the board, I’m always looking for stories that explore sexuality, race, gender, and disability, and would love to hear from writers whose voices and experiences aren’t given enough space in publishing.

Just a few(ish) of the writers whose work I love include Patricia Lockwood, Raven Leilani, Torrey Peters, Gillian Flynn, Shirley Jackson, Max Porter, Carmen Maria Machado, Virginia Woolf, Sayaka Murata, Kiley Reid, Laurie Colwin, Sally Rooney (sorry), George Saunders, Joan Didion, Amy Liptrot, Elif Batuman, Sarah Waters, Ottessa Moshfegh, Donna Tartt, Tana French, & Fernanda Melchor.

I’m also very keen to see anything that shares themes or style with wonderful shows like Succession, The White Lotus, I May Destroy You, or Severance – anything that has you on the edge of your seat one minute (even if just from the world’s most awkward conversation), laughing the next, and feeling punched in the chest by the time the credits roll.


How to submit: Please send the first three chapters (or around fifty pages) of your novel, as well as a full synopsis and a covering letter, with a brief CV of your writing career, if appropriate. For non-fiction projects, please send a detailed proposal, alongside the covering letter and CV to dchandley@pfd.co.uk

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Roma Panganiban of Janklow & Nesbit 

Roma Panganiban graduated from Allegheny College with a degree in English and Psychology before taking on graduate studies in Modern and Contemporary Literature & Culture at the University of York (UK), a writing internship in Nicaragua, academic tutoring in the suburbs of New Jersey, and office management for a theatrical costume studio in Manhattan. She began her publishing career at The Gernert Company before joining Janklow & Nesbit, where she now assists Chris Clemans and Chad Luibl and works with writers across the adult and children’s markets.

What she is seeking: Roma's taste leans literary, but she is open to a broad range of fiction, including novels and collections that embrace genre elements—speculative, historical, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy—as well as those that defy categorization altogether. She values prose that is thoughtful, clear, clever, and beautiful; compelling, idiosyncratic voices; and fresh, unexpected perspectives, particularly those of writers from underrepresented communities.

Roma is also interested in narrative nonfiction that reorients our understanding of history, culture, science, society, education, and ourselves, whether by established experts or fiercely curious upstarts, as well as creative nonfiction that appeals equally to the heart, mind, and sense of humor.

In children’s fiction, Roma prefers more high-concept, plot-driven MG and more introspective, character- and voice-driven YA, especially featuring protagonists who don’t often see themselves as the main character. In children’s nonfiction, she looks for books that help young readers better understand each other, themselves, and the universe around them.


How to submit: Read submission guidelines HERE.

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Chandler Wickers of Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency 

Chandler Wickers joined Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency in 2021 after an early career working in tech. She graduated from Washington and Lee University, where she played Division III soccer and earned a degree in English and Film, then going on to complete the Columbia University Publishing Course. 


What she is seeking: She is interested in representing adult fiction and non-fiction. In fiction, she is drawn to voice-driven literary fiction with a strong sense of place, and novels featuring coming of age stories, family sagas, and dark humor. In non-fiction, she is interested in journalism that flows like a good novel, comprehensive histories, war reporting, and adventure stories. As a San Francisco native and Brooklyn transplant, she is keen on stories that intersect tech and pop culture, and narratives that demystify a subculture or reveal an underbelly.

How to submit: Please send a query letter and the first few (up to 10) pages of your manuscript or proposal in the body of an email (not an attachment) to cw@skagency.com

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Ms. Kiya Evans of Mushens Entertainment

Kiya Evans has been working as Juliet Mushens' assistant since 2021. After graduating with a BA in History and English from Oxford University, she completed two internships at Mushens Entertainment, and joined as a full-time member of the team in February 2021.

What she is seeking: For fiction, Kiya is looking for: historical, reading group, literary, upmarket millennial, romcoms, and thrillers/psychological fiction. For non-fiction, Kiya is looking for: Narrative non-fiction that explores psychology, popular history or science. Kiya would love to see… a fresh take on the classic love story, something steeped in gothic tones or dark academia, and queer stories in all their forms.

How to submit: Please follow the agency's guidelines HERE. 
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Ms. Jess Hoare of The Zoe Pagnamenta Agency 

Jess Hoare joined the Zoë Pagnamenta Agency after internships at W.W. Norton and the Maria Carvainis Agency. Originally from Australia, she has a degree in English Literature with a minor in Gender Studies and Social Analysis from the University of Adelaide. 
What she is seeking: Jess is looking to represent both fiction and non-fiction, she’s interested in literary fiction, voice-driven upmarket fiction, food writing, narrative non-fiction, journalism, and cultural criticism.
How to submit: Please send a query letter to submissions@zpagency.com with a brief synopsis of your work and a short bio, along with up to 25 pages of sample material in the body of the email (no attachments will be opened)
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Caroline Miranda of Don Congdon Associates 

After graduating from New York University with a B.A. in English & American Literature in 2018, Caroline interned with Don Congdon Associates and the Lotts Agency before rejoining DCA as their assistant in 2019. Caroline is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents’ DEI committee. She also serves on the Literary Agents of Change’s Board of Directors and co-directs its Fellowship Program. 

What she is seeking: Caroline is looking to represent diverse voices in speculative fiction, in both the children’s and adult markets, as well as select nonfiction. In fiction, Caroline is interested in representing gothic horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Within those genres, she particularly enjoys high-concept, plot-driven work with strong world-building, character development, and compelling emotional stakes. Caroline is also seeking short stories in any speculative genre collected around a theme and with a strong sense of purpose. 

As for Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction, Caroline gravitates to lovable casts of characters, coming-of-age stories, and adventure plots. 

In nonfiction, Caroline is looking for engrossing narrative nonfiction with an intersectional perspective that guides readers through history or science in an approachable and deeply personal way.

How to submit: Use her query manager HERE.

85 Calls for Submissions in April 2023 - Paying markets

Odessa, Wikimedia This April there are more than seven dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.
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Happy submitting!

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Totally Entwined: All Hallow's Harem/Paranormal. Genre: Novellas, 30,000 - 50,000 words. Theme: Harem with paranormal characters. LGBTQ focus. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 1, 2023.

Riddlebird. Genre: Literary fiction, personal essays, genre fiction. "For our summer issue, we will specifically be looking for humorous work, lighthearted pieces, or works that explore the humor woven through struggles." Payment: $100. Deadline: April 1, 2023.

Clinch. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. “Submissions do not have to mention the martial arts—though we prefer those that do. Instead, all submissions must share in the virtues of martial arts, those of patience, meditation, and surprise, whether that be in their technique or in their content.” Payment: $15 honorarium per accepted work, payable via Venmo on the day of publication. Deadline: April 1, 2023.

Reservoir Road Literary Review. Genre: Literary short stories, lyrical creative non-fiction, photography. Payment: $5. Deadline: Opens April 1, 2023. Note: Submission window closes when their cap is reached.


Toronto Journal. Genre: Short stories from anywhere in the world. "We will also consider non-fiction pieces about local history (Toronto, GTA, and surrounding)." No word limit. Payment: $50 CAD per piece. All published writers will also receive two printed copies of the issue in which they appear. Deadline: April 1, 2023. 

Ninth Letter. Genre: Poems, nonfiction, and short fiction. Payment: $25 for poetry, $75 for prose. Deadline: April 1, 2023. See theme.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: April 1, 2023. See themes.

Salamander. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: April 1, 2023.

The Woodward Review. Genre: Poetry, prose, art, and digital media from anyone, anywhere. Payment: $25. Deadline: April 1, 2023.

Violent Delights & Midsummer Dreams: An Anthology of Shakespeare Retellings. Genre: Dark/Gothic Shakespeare retellings (5,000 - 8,000 words) "We want stories that bring fresh new perspectives on the classic stories, bonus points for providing a Gothic twist. Give us Romeo & Juliet with Zombies or the real story of the Wayward Sisters. Deconstruct tropes and bring unique voices to life." Payment: US: $40 + author copy/non-US: $45 + ebook author copy). Deadline: April 1, 2023.

West Branch. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation. Payment: $50 per submission of poetry, and $.05/word for prose with a maximum payment of $100. Deadline: April 1, 2023.

Gordon Square Review. Genre: Poetry, short stories, personal essays, and hybrid prose works.  Payment: $25 per prose piece and $10 per poem. Deadline: April 1, 2023.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction on theme of Sky's the Limit. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: April 2, 2023.

Witness. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction. Payment: $50. Deadline: April 2, 2023. Free submissions for Black and Indigenous writers only. May close early.


Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: April 2, 2023. Opens April 1.

Arkana: Micro Issue. Genre: Poetry, flash fiction, short CNF (500 words max). "We want work that celebrates its smallness, amplifies the tiniest voices with the most to say, and challenges society’s perceptions of the marginal, modest, and miniscule." Payment: All entries will be considered for an editor's choice payment of $50. Deadline: April 2, 2023.

Shoreline of Infinity. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, 6000 words max. Payment: £20/1000 words. Deadline: April 2, 2023. Accepts translations of stories originally published in another language.

Voices from the Mausoleum. Genre: Horror short story that tells a complete story in a bathroom scene. Length: 1,500-4,000 words. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: April 3, 2023.

Bright Wall/Dark Room. Genre: Essay on theme: Katharine Hepburn. "We're looking for thoughtful, engaging pieces that offer fresh or unique perspectives on Hepburn and the artistry she brought to the screen.” Payment: $50. Deadline: April 6, 2023.

Poetry Wales. Genre: Poetry, reviews, articles. See theme. Payment: Poems £20/page. Reviews £67.50/1500-word review. Articles £200/3000 word, or in that proportion, depending on number of published words. Deadline: April 7, 2023.

Lightspeed. Genre: Science fiction. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: April 7, 2023. 

The Fabulist. Genre: Fantastical and genre fiction. Payment: $25. Deadline: April 8, 2023. See theme.

Griffith Review: The Leisure Principle. Genre: Nonfiction and fiction. "The leisure principle is one of work hard to play hard, a rigorous pursuit of monetarised hedonism: YOLO, live your best life, have a good time all the time. It has rendered the world a pleasure garden – for those who can afford it – of interminable excess and consumption without end. From the ecstasy of the digital to the monied spectacle that is sport, the gamification of everyday life to the flourishing hierarchy of influencers, new codes and disciplines have emerged from this regimentation of recreation." Payment: Negotiated. Deadline: April 10, 2023.

Mslexia. Restrictions: Open to women. Genre: Fiction poetry, nonfiction. Payment: £25. Deadline: April 10, 2023.

So to Speak. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art. "We are looking for work that matches our intersectional feminist viewpoint." Payment: $100 per contributor. Deadline: April 10, 2023. No submission fee for Black/Indigenous writers.

Samjoko Magazine is devoted to publishing "exemplary work from content creators around the world. Focusing mainly upon the written word, we hope to create an immersive digital and print platform that stands out for its honesty and desire to take risks for the sake of artistic expression. We have no set aesthetic, though different themes will be focused upon periodically. We aim to publish seasonally, with our inaugural issue expected to be released early 2022. Response times vary  between 1 day to 4 months. Apologies in advance for form rejections. Our goal is to publish 15 pieces per issue." Payment: $20. Deadline: April 10, 2023.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. Payment: $0.08/word for fiction, $40/poem, and $75/essay.  Deadline: April 14, 2023.

Narrative. Genre: Short story, novel excerpt, novella, poem, or literary nonfiction. Payment: Up to $1000. Deadline: April 14, 2023. (Narrative does not charge submission fees during the first two weeks of April.)


Cast of Wonders. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. Theme: Banned Books Week. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: April 14, 2023. 

All Women are Werewolves: An Anthology of Womanhood. Restrictions: Open to women, inclusive of those who identify as non-binary and trans women. Genre: Short stories. "This anthology is a collection of stories about the transformative experiences that shape womanhood; dark, uncanny, curious and captured by vivid, varied feminine voices." Payment: £100 plus author copies of the book. Deadline: April 14, 2023. 

Translunar Travelers Lounge. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20. Deadline: April 15, 2023. (Note: April 15-21 is reserved for writers of color)

Gallery of Curiosities. Genre: Speculative fiction up to 7,500 words. See themes. Payment:1 cent/word for reprints, 5 cents/word for original stories. Podcast. Print anthology is not paying at this time. Deadline: April 15, 2023. Accepts reprints.


Room Magazine. Restrictions: Room publishes fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and art by folks of marginalized genders, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. See theme. Genre: Original short stories, poems, creative non-fiction, or art. Payment: $50 (CAD) for one page 60 for two pages, $90 for three pages, $120 for four pages, $150 for five or more pages. Deadline: April 15, 2023.

House of Zolo’s Journal of Speculative Literature. Genre: Short stories and poetry that explore possibilities for the future. Theme: Artificial Intelligence. Word count: up to 5,000 words. Payment: $25 CND for poems and between $50 and $75 CND per short story. Deadline: April 15, 2023. Reprints accepted, provided they are not currently available for free online.


Over/Exposed. Restrictions: "We prioritize the work of graduate students, so please indicate in your submission if you are a graduate student, including your university, and department." Open internationally. Genre: Flash, short fiction, and non-fiction personal essays/memoir, poetry, reviews, experimental, art. "We are focused on the publication of works that are vulnerable, experimental, a little bit weird and sexy." Payment: CAD $15, Deadline: April 15, 2023.

FlowerSong Press. Restrictions: Open to Latinx authors. Genre: Horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Length: 75,000 to 150,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 15, 2023.

Bull City Press: Inch. Genre: Small collections—a minimum of three stories or essays, or a constellation of poems, between 10-16 pages in length. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 15, 2023.

Consequence Magazine: The Culture of War. Genre: Short fiction, poetry, nonfiction, interviews, reviews, and visual art mainly focused on the culture of war. Payment: $20 - $60 for prose and poetry, $150 for art. Deadline: April 15, 2023.

The Devil Take You: Tales of Medieval Horror. Genre: Weird tales set in the medieval period that explore the human (and inhuman) experience through the lens of horror. Payment: $125 - $200. Deadline: April 15, 2023.

Gival Press, LLC. Genre: Full-length fiction, non-fiction (essays / educational texts), and poetry. Publications are in English, French, and Spanish. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 15, 2023. Queries only.

Dose of Dread. Genre: Horror flash fiction. Length: 500 – 1,000 words. Payment: 2c/word. Deadline: April 15, 2023.

Invisible City. Genre: Prose up to 5,000 words, all genres. Payment: $20. Deadline: April 16, 2023.

Daikaijuzine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $10.00 for each short story, and $5.00 for each poem and flash fiction piece. Deadline: April 16, 2023.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary flash fiction. Length: 500- to 1000-words. Payment: $80. Deadline: April 21, 2023.

Hoax. Genre: "Creative work that incorporates text." Payment: £50. Deadline: April 23, 2023.

Voiceworks. Restrictions: Open to Australians under the age of 25. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art and comics. See theme. Payment: $100 for written work and art, $150 for multi-page comics or suites of art. Deadline: April 23, 2023. Nonfiction pitches.
Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: April 25, 2023.

Off Topic Publishing: Poetry Box. Genre: Poetry. Payment $40 CAD. Deadline: April 25, 2023.


Strange Horizons. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: 10¢/word USD. Deadline: Opens on April 26, 2023. Submissions capped at 1,000.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: April 29, 2023. See themes.

Ofic. Genre: Short fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, art. "Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work." (Up to 12,000 words). Payment: Small honorarium. Deadline: April 30, 2023.


Strange Machines: An Anthology of Dark User Manuals. Genre: "We are looking for your darkest, strangest microfiction in the form of user manuals, FAQs, and how-to guides for the use of (or by) robots!" Length: 250 words max. Payment: $10. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Boulevard. Genre: Poems up to 200 lines. Send up to five poems. Also fiction and nonfiction. Payment: $50-$250 for poetry, and $100-300 for prose. Deadline: April 30, 2023. No submission fee for mailed submissions.


Massachusetts Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, hybrid, translations. Payment: $100. Deadline: April 30, 2023. Fee for online submissions. No fee for USPS.


Shoreline of Infinity. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, 6000 words max. Theme: Climate Change. Payment: £20/1000 words. Deadline: April 30, 2023. Accepts translations of stories originally published in another language.

After Happy Hour. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, comics. Payment: $10. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

The Haunted Zone. Restrictions: Open to those who identify as a woman and have served in the military. Genre: Horror. THEME: Hauntings/to be haunted/to haunt. Payment: 3 cents/word. $10 minimum. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Voiceworks. Restrictions: Open to Australians under the age of 25. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art and comics. See theme. Payment: $100 for written work and art, $150 for multi-page comics or suites of art. Deadline: April 30, 2023. Fiction, completed nonfiction and poetry.

Inklings Press. Genre: Fantasy, sci fi and horror with a strong mystery or investigation theme. Length: around 5,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Otoroshi Journal. Genre: Horrorku, horror tanka, and horror haibun, art. Payment: Poetry, $1. Art, $10. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Read on the Run. Genre: Short fiction. Word count: 1,200 to 7,000 words. Theme: Weather. Payment: $20. Deadline: April 30, 2023. Accepts reprints.

Planisphere Quarterly. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $25. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Nine Arches. Genre: Poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Plenitude Magazine "Plenitude Magazine aims to promote the growth and development of LGBTTQI literature through an online publication of literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic narrative, book reviews and short film by both emerging and established LGBTTQI writers. We define queer literature and arts as works created by LGBTTQI people, rather than works which feature queer content alone." Payment: $50 - $100. Deadline: April 30, 2023 for international writers. Rolling submissions for Canadians.

Mythic. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy short stories. Length: 2,000-5,000 words. Payment: 1 cent/word for original fiction, $25 for reprints. Deadline: April 30, 2023.


Hub City Press. Genre: Books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. "We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2023. Note: Submit nonfiction only.

Strange Aeon. Genre: Stories in a cosmic horror/Lovecraftian vein. Payment: $20 - $35. Deadline: April 30, 2023, or until filled. See theme,


Variant Lit. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction Payment: $10. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 1 cent/word for fiction and $5 - $10 for poetry. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Terrain.org. Genre: Poetry, nonfiction, fiction, artwork, videos, and other contributions on place, climate, and justice. Payment: $50. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

The Threepenny Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Payment: $400 per story or article, $200 per poem or Table Talk piece. Deadline: April 30, 2023. (Nonreading period: May 1 through December 31.)

Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

The Rabbit Hole. Genre: Weird stories and poems. Theme: “Destination: Journey”. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Soul Ink: Volume 1. Genre: Poetry. 1,000 word count minimum (not line count) Payment: Royalties (?). Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Dark Recesses Press. Genre: Horror/dark fiction pieces 500-5000 words. Payment: 5 cents/word. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Brick. Genre: Nonfiction. Payment: $55–660, depending on the length of accepted work, plus two copies of the issue the work appears in and a one-year subscription to the magazine. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Dragon Soul Press: Pirate Gold. Genre: "All stories featuring pirates are welcome. From Pirates of the Caribbean to Treasure Planet and everything in between." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Mud Season Review. Genre: Poetry, Fiction, CNF, Art. Payment: $50. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Harbor Review. Genre: Poetry, art. Payment: $10. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Psychopomp. Genre: Speculative fiction or literary novellas between 20,000 to 40,000 words. See themes. Payment: advance against royalties of $750, as well as 25% of net net receipts. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Martian: The Magazine of Science Fiction Drabbles. Genre: Science fiction of exactly 100 words. Payment: Original fiction, 8 cents/word. Reprints, 4 cents/word. Deadline: April 30, 2023. Reprints accepted.

khōréō. Restrictions: Open to writers who identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. "This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, transnational/transracial adoptees, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. We especially encourage BIPOC creators who identify as the above to submit their work." Genre: Stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Payment: 0.08/word for fiction, $100 for nonfiction, and $40-300 for art. Deadline: April 30, 2023.

Lightspeed. Restrictions: Open to BIPOC writers only. Genre: Fantasy short fiction. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: April 30, 2023.


And a few more...

Cemetery Gates. Genre: Horror novels and novellas. Payment: Novel: $500-2,000 advance, 60% royalties to author. Novella: $500-1,000 advance, 60% royalties to author. Deadline: Opens May 1, 2023. 

Struggle Magazine. Genre: Poetry, short stories (1000-7500 words), personal essays (1000-4500 words), art criticism (1000-4500), short plays, and play excerpts. "We are not genre specific, just looking for good and honest writing. We highlight writers who have some kind of a connection to the DC, Maryland, Virginia area." Payment: $75 per contributor. Deadline: May 1, 2023
The First Line. Genres: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction using the first line provided. (See site.) Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Nonbinary Review: Epic Fail. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and art around the theme of Epic Fail. Payment: 1 cent per word for prose, and a flat fee of $10 for poetry. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.01 USD per word/$25 USD and copy of magazine; Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.01 USD per word/$10 USD; Poems-less than 200 words $10 upon acceptance and a PDF of the magazine. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of  queer and trans writing. 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 we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it." Payment: $25. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Tales of the Apocalypse. Genre: Post-Apocalyptic. Length: 5,000 to 10,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Rich People Being Shitty: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved. Genre: Fictional short stories ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 words examining the ways in which the most affluent among us commit wrongs. Payment: Either $25 or $35, Deadline: May 1, 2023.

Grumpy Old Gods Anthology. Genre: Speculative fiction stories about retired gods. Theme: "Grumpy Gods, particularly those who might be using their abilities in a post-internet environment.  Maybe Mercury is heavily invested in Google.  Janus might be the reason for crypto.  Heck, I bet that Aphrodite owns 90% of every single florist in the country.  Do your gods still have the juice, or have their powers gotten a little wonky as they have gotten older?  Make it Grumpy.  Make it funny." Length: 3,000-4,000 words. Payment: A percentage of the profits. Deadline: May 1, 2023.