Erica Verrillo's Blog, page 9

85 Writing Contests in February 2024 - No entry fees

Mt Blanc: Pickpik Despite being nasty, brutish, and short, February always hosts reams of writing contests. This February there are more than seven dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes this month range from $100,000 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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The Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award. Genre: Short story of no more than 8,000 words that shows the near future (no more than about 50-60 years out) of manned space exploration. Prize: Publication as the featured story on the Baen Books main website paid at the normal paying rates for professional story submissions. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

$1000 for 1000 Words Creative Writing Contest is sponsored by the Leyla Beban Young Authors Foundation. Restrictions: Students enrolled in grades 6-12. Genre: Short fiction of exactly 1000 words. Prize: Two $1,000 scholarship prizes will be awarded, one for grades 6-8 and one for grades 9-12. Seven $100 cash prizes will also be awarded for winning entries, one per grade level. Deadline:  February 1, 2024.  

Paterson Prize for Books for Young People. Genre: Most outstanding book for young people published in previous year. There is a $1000 award in each category: Pre-K - Grade 3;  Grades 4 - 6;  Grades 7 - 12. Prize: $1000. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

St. Gallen Symposium Global Essay Competition. Restrictions: Writers must be enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate programme (master level or higher) in any field of study at a regular university, and be born in 1993 or later. Genre: Essay on on the best or worst legacy from previous generations. Length: 2,100 words. Prize: CHF20,000, split between three winners; they’ll also cover travel, accommodation, and admission to the symposium in Switzerland. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Paterson Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry book published in 2021. Prize: $1000. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Gannon University Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Entrants must be a US high school student or a home-schooled student in grades nine through twelve. Genre: Poetry. Each student may enter 1 or 2 poems; each poem may be no longer than 50 lines. Prize: First Place: $100.00 Second Place: $75.00 Third Place: $50.00. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Narrative Magazine High School Contest. Restrictions: Open to high school students aged 15-18. Genre: Poetry on theme. Prize: Up to $500. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Wednesday Club Junior Poetry Prize. Restrictions: High School Students in Grades 9 through 12 in the St. Louis Area. Genre: Poetry. Two individual poems. Prizes: $200,  $150,  $100, $80, $50, and up to five $25 honorable mentions TEACHER AWARDS: $200, $150, $100. (Applies to teachers of first three student winners.) Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Wednesday Club Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Adults over 18; living within a 50-mile radius of St. Louis. Genre: Poetry. Two individual poems. Prizes: $500, $300, $150. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

The Write Track. Genre: Full-length historical romance. Prize: $1,000 and a publishing contract with Dragonblade Publishing. Deadline: February 1, 2024.  

United States/Japan Creative Artists Residencies. This is a 3-5 month residency in Japan. Grant: $24,000. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

North Carolina Student Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to student poets from 3rd grade to university undergraduates attending schools in North Carolina. Genres: Unpublished poems (submit one poem). Prizes: 1st Place winners will receive a $60 check, an NCPS award certificate, and a free copy of Pinesong. 2nd Place winners receive $40, an NCPS award certificate, and a free copy of Pinesong. 3rd Place winners receive $25, an NCPS award certificate, and a free copy of Pinesong. Deadline: February 2, 2024. 

The University of Chester Flash (Youth). Restrictions: Open to Scottish students aged 16-19 who are studying in the UK. Genre: flash fiction of up to 360 words. Prize: Up to £100. Deadline: February 2, 2024.

Bath Flash Fiction Award. Genre: Flash fiction, 300 words max. Prize: £1000 prize for the winner, £300 second and £100 third. Two commendations £30 each. Deadline: February 4, 2024.

The Golden Triangle Golden Haiku poetry contest. Genre: Haiku on theme “Transforming Paths.” Prize: Up to $500. Deadline: February 4, 2024.

Max Afford Playwrights' Award. Restrictions: Open to Australian playwrights aged 18-40. Genre: Full-length plays. Prize: A$15,000. Deadline: February 4, 2024.

Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. "On the first Friday of every month, a new set of story prompts will be revealed. You will have 55 hours to submit your best 500-word (or fewer) story." Prize: $500AUD. Deadline: February 4, 2024. Opens February 2.

Stop the Hate: Youth Speak Out Essay Contest Grades 6 - 12. Stop the Hate® is designed to create an appreciation and understanding among people of differing religions, races, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. Genre: Essay, 500 words. Restrictions: Northeast Ohio 6-12th Graders. Prize: $20,000 scholarship. Deadline: Grade 6-10: February 8, 2024.

Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant. Restrictions: Open to authors under 30 years of age who have not had a book published. Applicant must have been born in Ohio or have lived in Ohio for a minimum of five years. Genre: Short fiction and creative non-fiction. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: February 10, 2024.

Aniko Press Summer Flash Fiction Competition. Genre: Flash fiction (100 words max) on theme: Wave. Prize: Publication on their website and social media, a copy of Pulitzer Prize-winning Stay True by Hua Hsu plus a copy of the latest issue of Aniko Magazine. Deadline: February 11, 2024.

Writers' & Artists' Short Story Competition. Genre: Short story. All entries must be original unpublished prose of 2,000 words or fewer. Prize: A place on one of Arvon's residential writing courses and publication. Deadline: February 12, 2024.

The Tomorrow Prize & The Green Feather Award. Restrictions: Open to Los Angeles County high school students. Genre: Science fiction, and environmentally focused sci-fi story. Prize: Tomorrow Prize: $250, $150, and $100 USD. Green Feather Award: $250.00 & online publication by the Nature Nexus Institute. Deadline: February 13, 2024.

Charles Crupi Memorial Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to high school students in Michigan.  Genre: Poetry. Prize: 1st place - $250 and publication in The Albion Review, 2nd place - $150 and publication in The Albion Review; 3rd place - $100 and publication in The Albion Review. Deadline: February 14, 2024.

Tree2mydoor Valentines Day Poetry competition. Restrictions: Open to UK citizens. Genre: Witty or soppy, romantic or silly Valentines Day poems. Prize: £100 worth of Tree2mydoor gift vouchers. Deadline: February 14, 2024.


James Welch Prize for Indigenous Poets. Restrictions: The prize is open to new, emerging, and established poets who are community-recognized members of tribal nations within the United States and its trust territories (including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, and American Samoans). Only poets who have not published more than one book-length collection are eligible; however, previous publication is not a requirement. Eligible contestants must be community-recognized members of their tribal nation. Formal tribal enrollment is not the only way of acknowledging belonging, and this prize aims to recognize all Native writers who are in community. Previous first place winners of this prize are not eligible, but previous finalists are welcome to submit work. Prize: $1000. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Stop the Hate: Youth Speak Out Essay Contest Grades 6 - 12. Stop the Hate® is designed to create an appreciation and understanding among people of differing religions, races, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. Genre: Essay, 500 words. Restrictions: Northeast Ohio 6-12th Graders. Prize: $20,000 scholarship. Deadline: February 15, 2024. Grades 11-12:

Harold Morton Landon Translation Award. Genre: Poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the previous calendar year. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Governor General's Literary Awards. Restrictions: Books must have been written or translated 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 the best 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) and Translation (from French to English). Prize: $25,000. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Ambroggio Prize. Restrictions: Poet must be a U.S. Citizen; Resident of the United States for the ten-year period prior to the submission deadline, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Legal Permanent Status (LPS), or any subsequent categories designated by the U.S. authorities as conferring similar enhanced status upon non-citizens living in the United States. Genre: Book-length poetry manuscript originally written in Spanish and with an English translation. Prize: $1000 and publication. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Hub City Press. Restrictions: Open to writers of all levels who have lived in South Carolina for at least one year prior to submission of their manuscript. Genre: Novel. Prize: $1,500 and book publication, including marketing and tour support from Hub City Press and the series partners, as well as placement in all South Carolina state libraries and readings/events with presenting sponsors. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Hodson Trust–John Carter Brown Library Fellowship. Genre: Nonfiction (includes creative nonfiction). A book-in-process relating to the literature, history, culture, or art of the Americas before 1830. Award: $20,000. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

CAAPP Book Prize. Restrictions: Open to writers of African descent. Genre: First or second book by a writer of African descent and is open to the full range of writers embodying African and African diasporic experience. The book can be of any genre that is, or intersects with, poetry, including poetry, hybrid work, speculative prose, and/or translation. Prize: $3000 and publication. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards for Excellence in Published Haiku, Translation, and Criticism. Genre: Published book. Books must have been published in 2022 and must clearly contain a printed 2022 copyright. A member, author, or publisher may submit or nominate more than one title. At least 50 percent of the book must be haiku, senryu, or haibun, or prose about these subjects (books mostly of tanka, for example, are not eligible). Prize: $500. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Vermont Studio Center – Full Fellowship Awards. The Vermont Studio Center offers 54 fellowships; open to anyone in the world. Deadline: February 15, 2024. (There is now a $25 application fee)

Paul-Victor Winters Memorial Creative Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to NJ high school students in private or public schools, grades 9-12. Genre: Flash Fiction and Poetry. Prize: $500 top prize. Deadline: February 15, 2024.


Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award in Poetry (Kansas Book Award). Restrictions: Author must establish a connection to Kansas by birth, education, employment, residence or other significant claim. Genre: Novel or collection of short stories. The nominee's book must have a publication date of 2021, 2022, or 2023. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

53-Word Story Contest. Genre: 53-word story. Prize: Publication in Prime Number Magazine and  a free book from Press 53. Deadline: February 15, 2024.

Andres Montoya Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to Latino authors who are residents of the US. Genre: First book of poetry published by a Latino author. Prize: $1,000 and publication by the University of Notre Dame Press. Deadline: February 16, 2024. Biennial prize.

Iris N. Spencer Undergraduate Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Poetry composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme and received forms. Prize: First prize $1,500, and a runner-up prize $500. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Villanelle Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Villanelle. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Sonnet Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Sonnet. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Myong Cha Son Haiku Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Haiku. Prize: First prize $1,500, and a runner-up prize $500. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Rhina P. Espaillat Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to undergraduate poets who are enrolled in a United States college or university. Genre: Original poems written in Spanish and translations of English poems to Spanish. Prize: $1000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction. Restrictions: Open to a writer committed to nonfiction work that captures the depth and complexity of lesbian/queer life, culture, and/or history. The winner of the prize will have published at least one book and show promise in continuing to produce groundbreaking and challenging work. Prize: $2,500. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

The Denneny Award for Editorial Excellence. Restrictions: The award will go to an editor whose commitment to the publication of LGBTQ+  writers and literature contributes significantly to the advancement of the LGBTQ+  community. Candidates can work in any genre, be at any publication, and be at any stage of their career. For 35 years as an editor at Macmillan, St. Martin’s Press, and Crown Publishing, Michael Denneny championed LGBTQ writers and stories as one of the first openly gay editors working at major publishing houses. The Denneny Award for Editorial Excellence is the only editorial award that not only recognizes the support provided by editors to the literary community, but also the importance of editors in the advancement of a social movement. Prize: The winner will receive a cash prize of $2,500. Deadline: February 16, 2024. [On a personal note, Michael Denneny was my editor at St. Martin's, I'm sad to hear he has passed away.]

The Pat Holt Prize for Critical Arts Writing. Restrictions: The award will go an LGBTQ arts critic or literary reviewer committed to examining queer works of art and culture, as Holt ground-breakingly did for 16 years. This award is made possible by Lesbians for Good, a fund of the Horizons Foundation. Prize: $4,000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Dr. Jim Duggins Outstanding LGBTQ Mid-Career Novelist Prize. Restrictions: Open to LGBTQ mid-career novelists who have published at least three novels. or two novels and substantial additional literary work (including poems, stories, or essays). Genre: Published book. Prize: $5000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction. Restrictions: Open to a Black LGBTQ writer whose fiction explores themes of Black LGBTQ life, culture, and/or history. To be eligible, the winner of the prize must have published at least one book and show promise in continuing to produce groundbreaking work. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging LGBTQ Writers. Restrictions: The nominee must self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. The nominee must have written and published at least one but no more than two books of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Andres Montoya Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to Latino authors who are residents of the US. Genre: First book of poetry published by a Latino author. Prize: $1,000 and publication by the University of Notre Dame Press. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Scotiabank Giller Prize. Restrictions: Open to books published in Canada in English. Books must be published in Canada in English between October 1, 2023, and February 28, 2024 to be eligible for the 2023 Prize. Must  be nominated by publisher. Genre: Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize: $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. Genre: Adventure writing novel. Prize: £10,000. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

Luminarts Creative Writing Fellowship. The Creative Writing Fellowship awards two $7,500 grant Fellowships for excellence in creative writing in the categories of prose and poetry, in fiction and nonfiction. Applicants submit a two-page written piece (either a stand-alone piece or an excerpt of a larger piece such as a novel or short story). Open to writers between the ages of 18 and 30 years old at the time of application; be enrolled in, or have graduated from, a degree program; and live within 150 miles of the Union League Club of Chicago. Genre: Poetry or prose, fiction and nonfiction.  Prize: $7,500. Deadline: February 16, 2024.

J. Michael Samuel Prize for Emerging Writers Over 50. Restrictions: Open to unpublished LGBTQ writers over 50 working in any genre. Genre: All genres. Prize: $5000. Deadline: February 16, 2043.

Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction. Restrictions: Open to BIPOC writers. Genre: Short fiction. Prize: $1,500 top prize. Deadline: Deadline: February 17, 2024.

Gaithersburg Book Festival Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to high school students (grades 9-12) from across the Washington Metropolitan Area (Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC). Genre: Poetry. Prize: First, 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive $250, $100 and $50 gift certificates.  Deadline: February 22, 2024.
The Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award supports the work of a promising early-career nonfiction writer on a story that uncovers truths about the human condition. Genres: Nonfiction journalism works in progress with “strong, character-driven narratives with detailed scene writing and lyrical description.” Restrictions: The award will not fund proposals to report on armed conflicts where journalists are already imperiled, nor projects that are mainly investigatory. Prize: $6,000 upon announcement of the winning proposal; $3,000 upon evidence of substantial progress (usually a first draft); and $3,500 upon completion and acceptance by the Award committee.. Deadline: February 22, 2024.

Wiley-Silver Prize in Civil War History. Genre: First book or monograph in Civil War history published in the previous year. Books or monographs published by scholarly or popular presses are eligible. Prize: $2,000. Deadline: February 23, 2024.

Christopher Tower Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to UK students between 16-18 years of age. Genre: Poetry, one poem, maximum 48 lines. Theme is 'Mirror.' Prize: £5,000. Deadline: February 23, 2024.

Young Authors Sacred Essay Contest. Restrictions: Open to US students aged 13-18. Genre: Essay discussing the power of love to strengthen communities and transform lives. Explore themes such as compassion, mutual aid, tenderness, justice, reconciliation, and healing. Prize: $100 and publication. Deadline: February 23, 2024.

Harper’s Bazaar short-story competition. Restrictions: Open to UK residents or nationals, aged 18 or over. Genre: Original, unpublished short story, written in English on the subject of ‘The experiment’ up to 2,000 words. Prize: Two-night stay at Chewton Glen in Hampshire (UK). Deadline: February 25, 2024.

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to authors who either are citizens or permanent residents of Western Australia. Genre: Book published during the preceding calendar year in a variety of genres. Prize: Up to A$60,000. Deadline: February 26, 2024. 

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 October 1, 2023 and February 28, 2024. Prizes of $5,000 will be awarded to each of the finalists. Deadline: February 27, 2024.

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 October 1, 2023 and February 26, 2024. Deadline: February 27, 2024.

Writers' Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers. Restrictions: Open to Canadian LGBTQ+ writers. Genre: Debut book  published between October 1, 2023 and February 26, 2024. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: February 27, 2024.

Victor Howes Prize in Poetry. Restrictions: Undergraduate English majors currently enrolled at a New England college (2-year or 4-year). Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1000. Deadline: February 28, 2024.

Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction. Genre: Essay, maximum 5,000 words. Prize: $250 top prize. Deadline: February 28, 2024.


The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multi-Lingual Texts. Genre: Literary translations and multi-lingual texts. Prize: $200. Deadline: February 28, 2024.

Beatrice Medicine Award for Scholarship in American Indian Studies. Genre: Essay or monograph about Native American studies published in previous calendar year. Prize: $250. Deadline: February 28, 2024.

Electa Quinney Award for Published American Indian Stories. Genre: Story. "This award seeks to highlight the work of story creators who continue the tradition of teaching through narratives often crossing the boundaries of genres, formats and disciplines. To celebrate the dissemination of stories into spaces where they can be shared all published stories qualify including small press and fine arts printing." Prize: $250. Deadline: February 28, 2024.

Toronto Star Short Story Contest. Restrictions: Open to Ontario residents 16 years of age or older. Genre: Short story. Prize: 1st prize - $5000; 2nd prize - $2000, 3rd prize - $1000. Deadline: February 28, 2024.

The Orwell Society Dystopian Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Open to current students (both BA and MA) at British universities. Genre: Dystopian narratives of 3,000 words. Prize: £750. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

Black Caucus of the American Library Association Self-Published E-Book Literary Award. Restrictions: Open to African-Americans. Genre: Self-Published E-Book in fiction and poetry written by African-Americans that depict the "cultural, historical, or sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora." Prize: $2,500. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

The Kelpies Prize (Scotland). Restrictions: Open to Scottish authors. Genre: Children’s fiction and nonfiction, picture books. Prize: £1,000, a publishing contract, a writing retreat, and a year of mentoring by an editorial team. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

2024 Sijo Competition. Genre: A Sijo poem. Prize: Adult division: First ($1,000), Second ($750), Third ($500); Pre-college division: First ($500), Second ($400), Third ($300) Deadline: February 29, 2024.

Sejong Cultural Society Essay Competition. Restrictions: Open to writers ages 19-30. Also see youth and children's divisions. Genre: Essay responding to Topic: "I'm Waiting for You" by Kim Bo-young. Prizes: $1000, $750, $500, $50 for honorable mention, plus possible publication. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

Honest Holiday Haiku Contest. Genre: Haiku. "In the spirit of Scrooge, Santa, and everything in between, we invite you to write your most honest holiday haiku. Use this space to vent about the itchy socks your great aunt insists on gifting you each year or wax poetic about a Valentine's Day mishap." Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

Sejong Cultural Society Sijo Competition. Restrictions: Open to writers ages 19-30. Also see youth division. Genre: Sijo. Prizes: Adult: $1000, $750, $500, $50 for honorable mention, plus possible publication. Pre-college division: First ($500), Second ($400), Third ($300) Deadline: February 29, 2024.

The Canterbury Tales Writing Competition. Restrictions: Open to all students of school age including not only those in schools and college communities, but also students who are home educated and in any other young people’s community organisations. Genre: Poetry and fiction: See prompts. Prize: £300 top prize. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

Imagine Little Tokyo. Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) seeks fictional short stories in Japanese or English for its “Imagine Little Tokyo” writing contest. The setting of the story should be in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA– either past, present or future. Prize: $1000. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

The Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators. "The grant is intended to facilitate the completion of a substantial sample of a book-length work of prose translation suitable for submission to English-language publishers, and will be awarded to an individual translator who has not yet received a book-length contract for translation work. We particularly welcome submissions from translators from historically underrepresented cultures and backgrounds." Grant: $3,000. Deadline: February 29, 2024.

Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize. Restrictions: Open to US writers only. Genre: Full-length manuscript of creative nonfiction by a writer not yet established in the genre. Prize: $12,000 and publication. Deadline: February 29, 2024. Opens February 1.

Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge. Genre: Poem inspired by artwork. (See site for image.) Prize: $100. Deadline: February 29, 2024. This is a monthly contest.

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: February 29, 2024. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

#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: February 29, 2024.

15 Writing Conferences and Workshops in February 2024

Lightner Museum , St Augustine: Wikimedia This February there are more than a dozen writing conferences. Many conferences and workshops will be held online, but some will be held in person or use a hybrid format.These writing events 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. If you miss an application deadline, put it on your calendar for next year. Quite a few conferences offer scholarships, so apply early. Plan ahead!

Be sure to check out Highlights list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year.

(Image: St. Augustine, Florida: Wikimedia)

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Jaipur Literature Festival. February 1 - 5, 2024. Presentations, panels, readings, and music performances. In an uplifting celebration of the mind and heart, authors from the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe will take part in provocative conversations about life and society, economics and the arts, equity, freedom, and the care of our planet. In these critical times, the penetrating, intercultural dialogue exchanged speaks deeply to individuals and gives rise to the joy of community.
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Tinker Mountain Winter Recharge. February 2 - 4, 2024: Online. The weekend begins with a social session on Friday evening and continues with workshops Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m.  Just the right amount of time to affirm your writing and to reset for the balance of winter and spring. Manuscript workshops, limited to 8 participants, give you an opportunity to receive feedback on your work from peers and your faculty mentor and learn what other writers are working on. Write now workshops, limited to 10 participants, allow you to immerse yourself in the craft of writing and generate new work without the pressure of preparing or reading manuscripts.

On Memory and Metaphor: Bringing the Past to Life. February 3, 2024: Online. "How do we translate a vague memory in our thoughts into a vivid memory in an essay or memoir? Sensory knowledge, written descriptively, assists in memory, in recalling past events. From here, we metaphorically string memories together. By reflecting on our lives, we see truths not initially observed in the past. Memories are dynamic, not static. They change as we change. When we write our sensory memories, they present us with fresh perspectives. This second life doesn't just recapture past actions, it gives them depth and meaning." This presentation includes a writing prompt, space to read your work, as well as time for discussion and questions-and-answers.

Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference. February 7 - 10, 2024: Seattle, WA. "The AWP Conference & Bookfair is an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Each year more than 12,000 attendees join our community for four days of insightful dialogue, networking, and unrivaled access to the organizations and opinion-makers that matter most in contemporary literature. AWP’s is now the largest literary conference in North America." 

The 2024 Boston Writing Workshop. February 9-10, 2024. Online. "This 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). This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop on February 3-4, 2023. In other words, it’s two days 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."

SCBWI In-Person Winter Conference 2024. February 9-11, 2024: NY, NY. Come and be inspired by renowned authors and illustrators, learn about the state of the children's book publishing industry from panels of agents, editors and art directors, dive deep into your craft with TWO three-hour Creative Labs, and get your work in front of industry professionals!

San Francisco Writers Conference. February 15 - 18, 2024: San Francisco, CA. Attendees will join with 100+ presenters and fellow writers from across the country and around the world at this year’s event. The SFWC events are consistently rated among the top writer’s conferences anywhere. "Our goal is to help writers become published authors as we help them become better at the craft and business of writing. The SFWC is also one of the friendliest conferences. Presenters this year will include bestselling authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers from major publishing houses. There will be experts on self-publishing, book promotion, platform building, social media, and author websites. The San Francisco Writers Conference has one of the largest faculties of any writer’s conference to ensure the best networking with the people who can help you get published." 

Strategic Submission: An Online Workshop. February 15 – March 14, 2024, Each Thursday, 5:00-7:00pm EST/EDT: Online. "In this five-week online workshop, writers of all genres are invited to set excuses aside and learn proper submission etiquette and protocol. In a supportive environment, you’ll write cover letters and an author bio, create a submission strategy and research markets for publication, funding and conferences to identify which options best fit your work. You’ll have the opportunity to submit your writing to several markets as your workshop mates cheer you on. Bring a completed short story, a group of 3 to 5 poems, a novel excerpt, an essay or creative nonfiction piece that’s polished and ready to submit."

Southern California Writers’ Conference (and Retreat). February 16 - 18, 2024: San Diego, CA. Faculty: 60+ working, professional authors of fiction, nonfiction & screen, editors & agents. "Founded and run by professional writers the SCWC provides veteran and emerging talent with authoritative guidance to help distinguish those manuscripts that are ready for market consideration." Limited to 150 conferees.

The Art of Short Fiction: An Online Workshop. February 16 - March 15, 2024. Each Friday, 3:00-5:00pm EST/EDT: Online. "In this workshop, we will discuss the foundations of short fiction and what makes it so uniquely different from novel writing. We will examine a diversity of voices and styles from contemporary short story writers and consider key aspects of the genre—voice, plot, characterization and more. Through generative writing exercises, we will practice techniques to help you hone your skills using these craft elements. You are welcome to bring a piece you’re currently working on or to start something entirely new. After we spend time writing, we will share and discuss our work in a supportive and productive environment. Beginning and experienced writers are welcome."


Come Play(wright) with Me! A Playwriting Class for ALL Writers. February 17, 2024: Lincoln, Nebraska. "Class for all writers, whether writing for stage and screen or not. Participants will explore techniques for building an excellent playground (i.e. structuring a story) and inviting interesting people (i.e. complicated characters) to connect with audiences there. Topics and activities include tips for utilizing non-traditional story structures, infusing character backstory seamlessly into action, and writing compelling dialogue."

The Engine of Narratives: Openings, Metaphors, and Characters. February 21. 2024. Online. Join author Tommy Dean for a 2 hour generative writing session focused on The Engine of Narratives: Openings, Metaphors, and Characters. Make dreading the blank page a thing of the past!   There are many ways to write a story, but these three elements can make the writing easier and more dynamic.  We'll look at model texts and get inspired by the writing prompts! Past students have published stories inspired by my prompts in today's best literary magazines.

Wild Seeds Writers Retreat. February 22 - 25, 2024. The Wild Seeds Writers Retreat (formerly the North Country Institute & Retreat for Writers of Color), a collaboration with the Center for Black Literature, the English Department at SUNY, Plattsburgh, and the Paden Institute and Retreat for Writers, provides a writing community where established and newly discovered writers of color can focus on the craft of writing and create cross-cultural conversations around the literature created by writers of the African diaspora. Deadline: Friday, December 15, 2023.

St. Augustine Author-Mentor Novel Workshop. February 23 - 26, 2024: St. Augustine, Florida. "The St. Augustine Author-Mentor Novel Workshop creates an intimate and professional environment that combines private meetings with small-group workshops, thus enabling aspiring authors to wisely approach the writing and publication of their novel. At the St. Augustine event, aspiring authors will:
1) Work one-on-one with top authors and savvy market professionals.
2) Apply advanced story and narrative technique to their novel-in-progress.
3) Hone and improve their writer voice and style.
4) Learn the necessary inside mechanics of the publishing business.
5) Leave the workshop with a detailed plan to work towards publication of their novel.
Group workshop sessions will be interspersed with agent and author consultations, workshop assignments, as well as consults with workshop leaders."

The 2024 Indiana Writing Workshop. February 24, 2024: Indianapolis, IN. This is a full-day in-person “How to Get Published” writing conference. This 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 seats at the event (150 total). 

14 New Agents Seeking Genre Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, YA, LGBT, Children's Books and more

Hillary Fazzari Here are fourteen 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 all genres.

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. Hillary Fazzari of Bradford Literary Agency

Hillary Fazzari (she/her) joined the Bradford Literary Agency as the agency’s assistant in 2022 before moving into agenting in 2023. Prior to that, she had interned at Writers House and served as a long-term reader and editor for another literary agency. She is a highly editorial agent and is looking for high concept, high stakes stories with deep character development and gorgeous, commercial prose. 

What she is seeking: Overall, she acquires primarily Middle Grade and YA, and is open to any genre in those areas, including graphic novels. In New Adult and Adult, she acquires more selectively and is open to:

Rom-coms;Romantasy;SFF with strong romantic elements; important female, queer, and/or nonbinary characters; and emotive plotlines; andVery select narrative nonfiction that focuses on history.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
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Sobi-Dee Burbano of LCS Literary Services

Sobi-Dee Burbano earned her Associate’s Degree in Arts, but her true passion has always been reading. She discovered a love for books as a child and that has carried on through adulthood. When she is not caring for her young children, as a mother of two, the kindle is her best friend. She loves reading romance of all genres including fantasy and paranormal.  Sobi is excited to work with aspiring authors and is now actively building her list. She is looking for unputdownable stories with bold, courageous characters who take you down an emotional journey of perseverance. She enjoys getting lost in a great drama-filled fantasy and also hopes to escape into a romance that makes her fall in love with love again.

What she is seeking: 

Adult Fiction: Contemporary, Commercial, Fantasy, General, Historical, Horror, Humor, Literary, Mystery, New Adult, Paranormal, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Women’s FictionYoung Adult Fiction: Adventure, Contemporary, Dystopian, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Sci-Fi, ThrillerMiddle Grade: Adventure, Contemporary, Dystopian, Fantasy, Humor, Mystery, Paranormal, Sci-Fi How to submit: Use the agency's querymanager HERE.

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Michelle Jackson of LCS Literary Services

Originally from Jamaica, West Indies, Michelle is now a literary agent with LCS Literary. She began her agenting career as an intern and then a Literary Associate with Olswanger Literary.  She is also a published author and has earned educational degrees from New York University, SUNY at StonyBrook, Teachers College Columbia University and Argosy University. Michelle looks forward to bringing adult fiction and select young adult and non-fiction works of new authors to the masses, especially BIPOC and underrepresented authors. She is also a content editor and loves developing and working with new authors to help them hone their craft

What she is seeking: Michelle Jackson represents books that evoke heartfelt emotions and fervent conversations among readers. Her mission is to mentor and develop authors, particularly those from underrepresented communities, and help them build a brand of quality and authentic reads. Michelle has a soft spot for fellow educators who are writers and for stories featuring educators. She is also looking for those who want to write category romances–she also loves Amish romances!

Adult Fiction: Commercial, Historical, Humor, New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Women’s Fiction  Sub-genres: Contemporary Romance, Multicultural, Psychological Thrillers, Romantic Comedy, Romantic SuspenseYoung Adult Fiction: Contemporary, Historical, Christian, RomanceNonfiction: Biography, True Crime, Self-Help, Relationships, Cookbooks, Narrative, Spirituality, select Memoirs
How to submit: Use the agency's querymanager HERE.

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Jynastie Wilson of LCS Literary Services

During a childhood that was spent devouring the pages of both fantasy and contemporary novels alike, Jynastie Wilson discovered that there was magic within these pages, one that was much more complex than the fact that they happened to offer a place of escape and distraction. Instead, she found that these novels had the magic to make people feel a little less alone — specifically those that came from various marginalized communities, such as she did.
 
What she is seeking: Jynastie is looking for a variety of projects in both Adult and Children’s genres.

Adult: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.Young Adult: Contemporary, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Horror, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.Middle Grade: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Horror, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.Childrens: Picture Books, Chapter Books, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.​
How to submit: Use the agency's querymanager HERE.

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Ms. Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland of Odom Media Management

Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland (she/her) is an Associate Agent at Odom Media Management. Throughout her career, she has worked in independent media aimed at providing tools, resources, and frameworks that support movement-building. As an editor, she has worked with New York Times bestselling authors, speakers, and activists on books and digital training products on topics of intersectionality, racial and gender justice, decolonization, identity, and community organizing. She received her B.A. from University of California, Berkeley and M.A. from Columbia University in American Studies focusing her research on gender, race, and media. 

What she is seeking: Right now, she is most focused on non-fiction books about racial capitalism and closing the racial wealth gap, decolonization, and an intersectional, gender-inclusive approach to equity and equality.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
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Ms. Kate Rogers of KO Media Management

Kate Rogers is a University of Washington graduate with a double major in English and Cinema Media Studies. She has worked in customer service at Vroman's Bookstore in her hometown of Pasadena, California, and as the Assistant Director for Communications and Marketing for Stevens Court Community Council in Seattle.

What she is seeking: Kate loves MG, YA, and Adult graphic novels and prose, primarily contemporary realistic fiction, horror/thriller, romance, sci-fi, women’s fiction, and narrative non-fiction. She is interested in diverse, character-driven narratives that subvert familiar tropes or conventions. Kate is not currently seeking out anything younger than MG or fantasy-heavy stories.

How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.
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Ms. Tamanna Bhasin of The Rights Factory

Having realized her passion for literature far outweighed her childhood dream of fashion design, Tamanna earned her BA in English Literature and History from the University of Toronto. After honing her skills by working with various literary journals and editorial internships, Tamanna joined The Rights Factory as an Associate Editor in 2020. With a keen eye for detail cultivated through her prior editorial work, Tamanna seamlessly transitioned into publishing. Her dedication to diverse narratives shines through as a literary agent—where she now combines her love for reading with her expertise in spotting compelling manuscripts across genres.

What she is seeking: Adult: Fantasy, historical fiction, and romance. YA/MG: Fantasy and historical fiction.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
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Ms. Mara Hollander of FinePrint Literary Management

Mara joined FinePrint in 2023 and became an associate agent in 2024. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University (Hoya Saxa!) and a PhD at Pitt Public Health. She’s lived in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and now Charlotte, but calls DC and NYC home. In her free time, she writes fantasy novels, watches a shocking amount of figure skating, roots for the Washington Nationals, and daydreams about petting dogs.

What she is seeking: Mara is actively seeking to represent authors from communities traditionally underrepresented in publishing, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA, people  who are disabled, and people who are chronically ill.

In fiction, Mara is seeking accessibly-written genre novels for Adult and YA audiences that rip your heart out and make you forget the world around you. In particular, she’s looking to represent fantasy (including political and romantic/romantasy), light sci-fi, romance, thrillers/mysteries (including political), and women’s fiction. She is not the best fit for literary fiction, historical fiction (historical romance is okay), or work written for middle graders or younger audiences. 

Mara is also interested in narrative nonfiction for adult audiences about mental illness and/or substance use disorders and the American health care system.

How to submit: To query Mara, send an email to submissions@fineprintlit.com and write "Dear Mara" in the body of the email.
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Julie Gourinchas of Bell Lomax Moreton Agency (UK)

Julie Gourinchas (she/they) works across the agents’ various lists and provides editorial and administrative support where needed. Prior to her time at BLM, she was managing editor for a transcontinental literary consultancy, and later transferred into freelance editorial work where she worked closely with a number of agents and their clients. 

What they are seeking: Julie is drawn to uncommon voices and striking, intelligent writing—whether it be vibrant and floral or tense, quick, and sparse—as well as texture in both tone and setting, and she loves anything spiky, toothy, and dark. While the literary-speculative is her sweet spot, she considers herself genre agnostic within literary fiction, and remains open to compelling and well-executed genre overlap. These include:

historical fiction, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries (also including and indeed encouraging alternate history);gothic fiction (specifically regional gothic with a strong sense of place);dynamic-led (e.g. friendships, family, etc) dramas with high emotional stakes;searing contemporary fiction centred on themes of identity and belonging;speculative science fiction addressing the relationship between humanity and technology;dark westerns;magical realism;female-led horror, especially featuring mangled nature or cosmic, Lovecraftian vibes;dark academia;speculative “fantasy” with only drips of magic, preferably set in the real/human world.
She is keenly interested in hearing from authors traditionally underrepresented in the industry, including but not restricted to writers of colour; queer, trans, and nonbinary writers; working class writers; disabled writers; etc. 
Folkloric, literary, and mythological retellings are a special favourite, particularly when approached from a fresh, imaginative perspective; she’d also love to see a sharp, literary story exploring humanity’s relationship to technology in the vein of Black Mirror. Likewise, a New Weird story exploring the effects of climate change on humanity and society, in the vein of Jeff VanderMeer or China Miéville, would not go remiss. On rare occasion, a moody psychological suspense story, where a heady sense of atmosphere reigns, is welcome. Also, more terrible women please.
In non-fiction, Julie is keen to read in the narrative and “big ideas” spaces, particularly in the realms of politics, history, and the social sciences.

How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.
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Miriam Cortinovis of ArtHouse Literary Agency 

Born and raised in Italy, Miriam (they/she) moved to Chicago as a teenager and has since earned a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Writing & Publishing from DePaul University. After an excellent internship at Aevitas Creative Management, for which she also freelance read, she landed at ArtHouse Literary as an intern. They became Associate Agent through intense months of professional growth and supported learning. When not reading or writing SFF fiction of their own, Miriam enjoys playing videogames with their partner and scheming on Dungeons & Dragons with her friends. Their MSWL is inspired by all these speculative passions on top of their non-binary, bisexual, and chronically ill identity.

What she is seeking: Miriam is eagerly looking for everything and anything speculative across most age ranges (Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade). Miriam takes an interest in Young Adult Contemporary novels that draw on their fascination with American high school from immigrant perspectives and with summer camps/adventures, in the veins of YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. They’re also looking for queer YA Horror & Thriller the likes of HOW TO FIND A MISSING GIRL and HOLLOW.

Miriam is also on the lookout for selective works of literary fiction and creative nonfiction. For everything listed above, they’re also highly interested in novellas.

How to submit: Read submission guidelines HERE.
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Carleen Geisler of ArtHouse Literary Agency 

Carleen comes from a background in technical writing and content marketing. When she found the world of publishing, she fell in love and dove in head first: starting her own author career as well as an internship at ArtHouse. She works on both sides with equal passion, and loves to help authors discover their "why" and curate their careers.

What she is seeking: For fiction, Carleen is looking for adult contemporary stories across genres. She loves suspense, especially if it comes with a dose of weird (think GOOD RICH PEOPLE by Eliza Jane Brazier or BUNNY by Mona Awad), and dark stories are her typical go-to. She is okay with mild speculative elements if they are close to real-world or very grounded. She loves the strange and whimsical, as well as the dark and dreadful. She likes romance, but prefers it to be part of a "bigger picture" story (think THE ARC by Tory Henwood Hoen), or at least that it has a great b-plot. She is especially interested in stories told from the voices of women, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized communities. She loves morally grey characters, or stories where no one is really good in the end, and craves finding something that breaks the norm of a trope in a satisfying way. She prefers shorter stories over long ones (still within novel standards though, please!) and is happy to consider manuscripts that bend or combine genres.

How to submit: Read submission guidelines HERE.
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Esty Loveing-Downes of ArtHouse Literary Agency 

Esty holds a BFA in creative writing from Ringling College of Art + Design and is currently an MFA candidate in fiction at Queens University of Charlotte. Aside from serving as a daily editor for the Southern Review of Books, she joined the teams at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency and Tobias Literary Agency before joining the ArtHouse Literary Agency team and becoming an Associate Literary Agent. 

What she is seeking: Esty is looking for romance, upmarket fiction, YA, genre-blending sci-fi, picture books, and select nonfiction and literary fiction. She’s also looking for genre-blending sci-fi or speculative fiction like THE NIGHT CIRCUS, magical realism like Carmen Maria Machado’s HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES, or nonlinear, poetic work like THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR. She’d also love to see “romantasy” with strong leads like A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES and CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, fae stories with romance tropes like THE CRUEL PRINCE, character-driven journeys like THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE, or the fairy tale vibes of SPINNING SILVER.

How to submit: Read submission guidelines HERE.

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Ms. Rebecca Lawrence of The Booker Albert Literary Agency

After graduating with a B.A. in Professional Writing, Rebecca completed internships with Christian Indie Publishing Association and ArtHouse Literary Agency before moving to Booker Albert Literary Agency. 

​From a young age, she has been fascinated with epic worlds like LOTR and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Books with romantic elements like Ella Enchanted, The Goose Girl, and The Cruel Prince all have places in her top ten. She also adores historical fiction like The Wednesday Wars and iconic masterpieces like Monica Hesse's They Went Left, but her all-time favorite novel has to be the grounded fantasy The Scorpio Races. Her favorite troupes are houses-with-personality (think House of Leaves or The Haunting of Hill House), zombie apocalypses like in the book World War Z, and underwater worlds.

What she is seeking: Regardless of genre, Rebecca is looking for stories that have good pacing, grounded worlds, and believable characters. She is interested in fantasy of all kinds and anything that has a good hook. She would love to see more scary YA and MG historical fiction. 

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
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Ms. Gabriela Laracuente Sanchez of Howland Literary

Gabriela Laracuente Sanchez had the opportunity to join the Howland team as an intern while completing a BA in English: Editing, Writing, and Media with a minor in Women’s Studies from Florida State University. During this time, she was also the Editor in Chief of The Experience and Editorial Assistant of the Kudzu Review. These experiences led her to help authors navigate the publishing process as a Publications Project Manager. She lives in Dickinson, Texas. Gabriela has since rejoined the Howland team and represents adult fiction and nonfiction. 

What she is seeking: In adult fiction, she is looking for literary and upmarket works that have strong cultural influences—especially from Hispanic and Latine backgrounds. She wants to see works that explore topics of cultural identity, complex family dynamics, womanhood, and characters adapting to new spaces. She is also interested in projects that are multilingual and utilize code-switching, incorporate elements of magical realism and speculative fiction, and incorporate elements of food writing. In adult nonfiction, she is looking for cookbooks of Latin-American and Caribbean cuisine. 

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.

2024 New Year's Resolution: Revise Your Darlings

Lightspring William Faulkner is purported to have coined the phrase: "Kill all your darlings." (Although that phrase is attributed to Faulkner, Arthur Quiller-Couch had advised writers to "murder your darlings" decades earlier in 1914.) As a piece of writing advice, killing your darlings is simply a warning not to become too enamored with your lovingly created turns of phrase. Like Pygmalion, falling in love with own's own creation doesn't necessarily turn out well for the creator.

This year, in keeping with my tradition of making a New Year's writing resolution, I have resolved, not to kill my darlings, but to rephrase them. I have come to the realization that my work needs some rather drastic pruning. So, I am going to revise.

Writers tend to focus on composition. The act of creation is not only enjoyable, it provides an invigorating boost to the ego. Composition relies on talent, the innate ability to observe, and put those observations into words (or music, or any art form) in a way that is memorable. But while composition begins with talent, which I maintain can't be taught, it ends with revision, which is a skill that has to be learned. 

Revising your own work requires distance. You have to read it as if you didn't write it. That is not easy. Once you have expressed something with language, those words become imprinted in your mind. Not only are they hard to forget, it is very difficult to change those words in any major way. And, of course, there is the dilemma of not knowing if they even need changing.

The best way to revise is to put your work down for a long time, not just a few days, or even weeks, but months. Write something else. Populate your mind with other words, other observations, other stories. Then, once you are thoroughly distanced, go back to your previous work and read it, not as its creator, but as a reader does, with fresh eyes.
Then ask yourself a simple question: "Am I bored?"

Good writing is not boring. It engages the senses, and stimulates thought. Most of all, it produces an emotional response. If your writing doesn't make you feel as if you are there, it needs to be revised. Descriptions need to be more vivid, insights fully expressed, feelings generated. As a writer, your writing needs to make you, its creator, laugh, cry, shrink back in horror (but in a good way).

So, dear writers, come with me, on my 2024 quest to take a hacksaw to my writing and transform it into something more perfect, more genuine, more ... just more. 

86 Calls for Submissions in January 2024 - Paying markets

Wikimedia This January 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.

Happy submitting!

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Three Ravens Press. Genre: Cryptid horror. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Anterior Skies. Genre: Fiction (horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir—anything macabre and weird, preferably with cosmic horror undertones), non-fiction (based on true story, investigative journalism, true crime), poetry, flash fiction. Anything and everything, as long as it fits. Payment: One cent per word. $15 minimum (if you write a 200-word poem, you’ll get $15, not $2); max payment is $50 (if you write a 6,000-word short story, you’ll get $50, not $60). Deadline: January 1, 2024.

June Road Press. Genre: Poetry collection, full-length, 40 to 60 poems, preferably the author’s first or second book. "We’re particularly interested in work with strong ecological/environmental themes, or that engages in meaningful ways with nature or place, by writers who identify as women." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

All My Relations Volume 6 is an art and lit, online and printed magazine, exploring the theme of “resistance.” This volume is open to racially and ethnically marginalized, gender variant, and disabled creatives only, in consideration of the theme. Own voices only, please. Payment: $10. Deadline: Open until filled or until January 1, 2024, whichever comes first.

Wild Umbrella. Genre: Short stories, essays, and poems. Payment: €10 per poem and €25 per fiction story or non-fiction essay. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Cafe Irreal. Genre: Magical realism. Length: Up to 2,000 words. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Book Worms. Genre: Dark fiction, essays, poetry. Theme is My Bloody Valentine: dark love stories, Tinder dates gone horribly wrong, bitter romance, a lover’s revenge, tragic love, etc. Dark humor is okay, but it should fit the themes of horror and romance. Specifically looking for original poetry (any length). Payment: $0.08/word for prose. $25 – $50 per poem. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Cardinal Rule Press Genre: Children’s picture books that empower children through meaningful stories for readers, age 4-11. They also publish non-fiction books for parents (word count up to 70k). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: Opens January 1, 2024.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary flash fiction. Payment: $80. Deadline: Opens January 1, 2024.
 
The Body’s Experience of Religion. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Totally Entwined: Oh, Baby!. Genre: Novellas, 30,000 - 50,000 words. Theme: Surprise Babies. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Here There Be Dragons. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. "Dragons are icons of fantasy and legends about them abound. Found in novels, poetry, and art, they stir the imagination as helpers, heroes, villains, and symbols of love, fear, and wealth. We are looking for renderings of dragons in writing and art that capture the essence of these fascinating creatures." Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Reservoir Road Literary Review. Genre: Literary short stories, lyrical creative non-fiction, photography. Payment: $5. Deadline: Opens January 1, 2024. Note: Submission window closes when their cap is reached.

table/FEAST. Genre: Prose, poetry, CNF, art about food. Payment: $18 per poem, prose $35, art $20. Deadline: January 3, 2024.

The Feminist Press. Genre: Full-length manuscripts. "International literature, hybrid memoirs, and intersectional activist nonfiction, either single author or anthology. Our fiction projects range from hilarious to heartbreaking, from literary to playful. We especially encourage Black and Indigenous writers and other writers of color, queer and trans writers, and disabled and neuroatypical writers to submit." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 3, 2024.
 
Fourteen Poems Genre: Poems. "We want to represent all that's thrilling about the new wave of LGBT+ poets. If you’re a poet, even if you’ve never been published before, we want to read your work. Every issue we publish 14 of the best queer poems we’ve found, and we want to include you! We publish 4 times a year, but take submissions all year round. To be considered, email up to 5 poems, preferably in a pdf format, with a small paragraph about yourself to hello@14poems.com." Payment: £25 for each poem published. Deadline: January 4, 2024.

Invisible City. Genre: Art. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 5, 2024.

Poet Lore. Genre: Love poems by LGBTQ poets. Payment: $50. Deadline: January 5, 2024.

Room Magazine. Restrictions: Open to artists of marginalized genders. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, visual art, and poems. See theme. Payment: $50 per page. Deadline: January 5, 2024.

Bad Day Book. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for themes. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: January 5, 2024.

Hexagon. Genre: Speculative fiction short stories, flash fiction, poetry, graphic stories, and visual art, in English or French. Payment: $5 for accepted poetry and cartoons, 0.01$ per word for all short stories up to 7,500 words, $40/page for comics and $150 for cover art pieces. (Payment in CAD). Deadline: January 7, 2024.

Sine Theta Magazine. Restrictions: Open to people of Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, or Macau heritage, who live anywhere away from the original 'homeland' of that heritage. Genre: All genres of visual and literary work as long as they relate to the current theme. (See theme) Payment: $10. Deadline: January 7, 2024.

Only Poems. Genre: Poetry. "We love prose poems, traditional forms (ghazals, villanelles, sestinas), love poems, sex poems, and experimental questionnaires, but we are not married to a style or genre. We are welcoming of anything you think is your most exciting work. Ultimately, we want poems that move us or make us go: “God, I wish I had written this!” Payment: $55. Deadline: January 7, 2024.

Stone’s Throw. Genre: "We're looking for dark fiction, crime and noir, length between 1,000 and 2,000 words." Payment: $25. Deadline: January 7, 2024. Open to submissions the first week of every month.

Cosmic Horror Monthly. Genre: Cosmic Horror, Lovecraftian, Weird stories, art. Payment: 6 cents/word. 50 dollars for artwork chosen as interior content. 200 dollars for cover art. Negotiable. Deadline: January 7, 2024.

Flickers of Fear. Genre: Horror. See theme. Payment: $10 for poetry and flash fiction. $25 - $50 for art. Deadline: January 7, 2024.

Flame Tree: Myths, Gods & Immortals. Genre: Speculative fiction. "Myths, Gods & Immortals brings together the new and the ancient, familiar stories with a fresh and imaginative twist. Each book brings back to life a classic mythological or folkloric figure, with completely new stories alongside the original tales." Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: January 7, 2024. Accepts reprints.

Mslexia. Restrictions: Open to women. Genre: Fiction poetry, nonfiction. Payment: £25. Deadline: January 8, 2024.

Geist. Restrictions: Canadian connection required. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. Payment: $100 - $1000. Deadline: January 9, 2024. No-fee submissions for Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of color.

Full Bleed. Restrictions: Open to writers who are also parents. Genre: Criticism, belle lettres, visual art, illustration, fiction, poetry, and graphic essays. "We are always happy to feature collaborations between writers and artists; ekphrastic creations; and groundbreaking critical essays. For issue seven, we are especially, though not exclusively, interested in work that explores the meaning of home (or habitat), for human and non-human life, at a time of rapid ecological change, and in an era of acute, ongoing refugee and humanitarian crises. We’d also welcome work that considers the aesthetics of home, the discovery or creation of new homes, homesickness, working from home, chosen families, home-in-exile, housing insecurity, and any other angles on the theme that attract your curiosity." Payment: $50 - $100. Deadline: January 10, 2024.

Bell Press: Stasis. Restrictions: For this call, we are particularly interested in Canadian authors, though international submissions will be considered. Priority will be given to Canadian work to align with Canadian granting-body requirements. Genre: Science fiction, in particular, retrofuturistic short fiction with a modern lens. Stasis invites submissions that bend the rules of temporality: blending past, present, and future. Payment: $15 CAD plus royalties. Deadline: January 10, 2024.

Alien Magazine. Genre: All types of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual art. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 13, 2024.

Griffith Review: Attachment Styles. Genre: Non-fiction on theme: Attachment Styles. "The attachments we form in our lifetimes shape our experience of the world and our understanding of who we are. ‘Hell is other people,’ wrote Jean-Paul Sartre, his point being less about misanthropy and more about how entwined our self-perception is with the ways in which others perceive us. And alongside our personal relationships – from filial to friendship, from collegiate to romantic – sit the complex emotional connections we form with places, ideas and objects. How do we navigate these varying attachments, and what can they offer us when our lives are so mediated by technology?" Payment: Negotiated. Deadline: January 14, 2024.

Daikaijuzine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $10.00 for each short story, and $5.00 for each poem and flash fiction piece. Deadline: January 14, 2024. Opens January 1.

Seaside Gothic. G.enre: Seaside gothic fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or a collection of photographs or illustrations. Payment: £0.01 per word. Deadline: January 14, 2024.

Waystation. Genre: Space opera. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 14, 2024.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. Payment: $0.08/word for fiction, $40/poem, and $75/essay.  Deadline: January 14, 2024.

Yankee Scares. Restrictions: All stories must be set in Connecticut. Preference will be given to writers who: Live in Connecticut -- Have some connection to Connecticut -- Live in New England. Other writers may apply and will be offered space as available. Genre: 80s and 90s nostalgia horror. Length: 1000 - 8000 words. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Markaz Review. Genre: Various literary forms, including but not limited to short stories, essays, film, photography, art and music on theme: Love Sex Desire. Payment: Small honorarium. Deadline: January 15, 2024. 

Sunlight Press. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, photography, reviews. Payment: $15 - $40. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Women Artists Datebook. Restrictions: Open to women. Genre: Poems and art. Theme: Peace and Justice. Payment: $200 for art, $70 for poetry. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

34 Orchard. Genre: Fiction, poetry. "We like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad." Payment: $50. Deadline: January 14, 2024. Opens January 1.


just femme & dandy. Genre: Fashion for the LGBTQIA+ community. Theme: Time Travel. "We want to hear about the historical figures that informed your developing queer/trans styles, what you imagine for our queer future. Think Queerasures & Queertopias: Past, Present, and In Futurity! We’re particularly interested in receiving submissions that considers queer fashion, past, present, or future in terms of climate change and fashion’s role in (un)sustainability. We would love to hear from up and coming drag artists and independent fashion designers." Payment: 50 USD per text-based submission and 150 USD per multimedia submission (video, photography, image + text, fashion spread + interview, etc.). Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Bad Day Book. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for themes. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Great Weather for MEDIA: Annual Print Anthology. Genres: Poetry, flash fiction, short stories, dramatic monologues, and creative nonfiction. "Our focus is on the fearless, the unpredictable, and experimental but we do not have a set theme for our anthologies." Payment: $10. Deadline: January 15, 2024. Only pays US writers.

Rattle: Tribute to the Ghazal. Genre: Poetry. The poems may be any subject or length, but must be ghazals. Payment: $100. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Electric Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Hansen House. Genre: Hansen House is looking for anything with queer protagonists or by queer authors so long as the story does not fall into the “bury your gays” trope. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Cricket Media: ASK Magazine. Genre: Science articles for children 7–10 years old. Theme: Shipwrecked. Payment: Unspecified. Deadline: January 15, 2024. Queries only.

Muse Magazine. Genre: Nonfiction articles for children. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: January 15, 2024. See themes. Queries only.

Ploughshares. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Payment: $45/printed page, $90 minimum per title, $450 maximum per author. Deadline: January 15, 2024. (Charges for online submissions. No charge for snail mail.)

Ploughshares Solos. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction up to 20,000 words. Payment: $450 maximum per author. Deadline: January 15, 2024. (Charges for online submissions. No charge for snail mail.)

Apex: Strange Locations. Genre: Speculative microfiction in the form of tourist brochures, travel blogs, and travel guides to the strangest, darkest places you can imagine. Length: Up to 250 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 15, 2024. 

Philly Poetry Chapbook Review. Genre: Reviews of chapbooks coming soon or published in the past three years, essays on the crafts of poetry and chapbook making or publishing, and features about authors or publishers of chapbooks. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 15, 2024. 

Ploughshares Look2 Series. Genre: Essays about underappreciated or overlooked writers. The Look2 essay should take stock of a writer’s entire oeuvre with the goal of bringing critical attention to the neglected writer and his or her relevance to a contemporary audience. Payment: $45/printed page, $90 minimum per title, $450 maximum per author. Deadline: January 15, 2024. Queries only.

And One Day We Will Die. Genre: Short weird fiction between 2000 to 5000 words (firm limit) using a song from the Neutral Milk Hotel song catalog for inspiration. Payment: 5¢ per word, paid via PayPal, and an ebook copy of the anthology. Deadline: January 16, 2024. Extended submission window exclusively for writers from marginalized communities January 16, 2024 - January 23, 2024.

Faces. Genre: Nonfiction, activities for children 9 - 14. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: January 16, 2024. Queries only. See themes.

berlin lit. Genre: Poetry. Payment: 20 euros per poem. Deadline: January 16, 2024.

Off Topic Publishing: Poetry Box. Genre: Poetry. Payment $30 CAD. Deadline: January 25, 2024. This is a monthly call.

Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: January 25, 2024.

Every Day Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction on themes. Length: 1000 words max. Payment: $3. Deadline: January 27, 2024.

The Fairy Tale Magazine. Genre: Fairy-tale inspired stories/poems. Payment: $25. Deadline: January 29, 2024.

Corvid Queen Journal. Genre: Fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and pieces that are in-between up to 5,000 words. "Feminist tales, feminist retellings of traditional tales, and personal essays related to traditional tales." Payment: $5. Deadline: January 30, 2024.

Toxic Workplaces. Restrictions: Open to women writers. Genre: CNF up to 5,000 words on theme Toxic Workplaces. Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: January 30, 2024.

Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 30, 2024.

Paris Review. Genre: Poetry, prose. Payment: Unspecified. Deadline: January 31, 2024. Closes when they reach capacity, so submit early. 

Gwyllion. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: £10 per accepted story or poem. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Split Lip Magazine. Genre: Fiction (flash and short stories), memoirs, and poetry. with a pop-culture twist. Payment: $75 for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews web issues. Deadline: January 31, 2024. Closes when they reach capacity, so submit early. 

Mirrorball: How Taylor Swift Reflects the Loss, Hope & Love of Millions Around the World. Genre: Poems or prose up to 3500 words. See theme. Payment: $50/poet and $100/essay or prose. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Stonehouse Publishing. Restrictions: Open to Canadian writers. Genre: Full-length literary and trade fiction. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Augur Magazine. Genre: Speculative fiction short stories and poetry. Translations accepted.   Payment: $0.11 cents (CAD) per word for short fiction (1000+ words), and a flat fee of $110.00 per flash fiction piece (1000 words and under), $60 per poem. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Tales and Feathers. Genre: Cozy SFF fiction up to 2500 words. Payment: 11 cents CAD/word. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Heathen. Genre: Horror, dark fantasy. Payment: 5 cents/word. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Ampersand Review. Restrictions: Priority is given to Canadians. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews. Payment: Poetry: $50 per poem/page to a maximum of $100. Fiction: $100 per story. Non-fiction: $100 per piece. Reviews: $100 per piece. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

FIYAH. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to people of the African Diaspora. Genre: Speculative fiction, art, and poetry about African Diaspora. Length: Short fiction 2,000 – 7,000 words and novelettes up to 15,000 words. Payment: $150 per story. $50 per poem. $300 per novelette. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Dragon Soul Press: The Hunt. Genre: "All monster hunter stories. From dragons and dinosaurs, to Cthulhu and sirens, to the usual vampires and werewolves. Gore, horror, and originality are appreciated. All genres accepted." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 31, 2024.
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Alien Dimensions. Genre: Science Fiction, 5000-7000 words. Theme: Mars Colonization. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Belmont Story Review. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Payment: $100 for prose, $50 for poetry. Deadline: January 31, 2024. 

Event Magazine. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Payment: CAD $40/page for poetry and $35/page for prose, up to a maximum of $500. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Terrain.org. Genre: Poetry, nonfiction, fiction, artwork, videos, and other contributions on place, climate, and justice. Payment: $50. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Nightmares Before Bed  Genre: Horror. "No sexual violence, abuse of children, overly disturbing images and ideas, or gore will be published.  We want horror, we want to be scared, but let's do it in a way that is respectful. We'd love to see fantasy horror or sci-fi horror here. We are looking for polished manuscripts of about 3,500 - 12,000 words." Payment: 3 cents per word. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

The Cellar Door: Marshland Horrors. Genre: Creature feature, serial killer, undead/zombies, voodoo/witchcraft, suspense/thriller, cosmic horror. Looking for horror/suspense stories that take place in swamps, bayous, and marshlands. Special preference for stories with backwater cults/legends, cryptid monsters, and other slimy creatures lurking just below the water. Word Count: 2,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: $25.00 + digital & paperback copy. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Space and Time. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk, magical realism. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: January 31, 2024.
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Nonbinary Review. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. "We’re looking for speculative takes on old friends – the weird, the outrageous, the mysterious. Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry Payment: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry. $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

AND A FEW MORE...

Contested Landing Anthology. Genre: Military Science Fiction. Payment: "a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors." Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 15 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

The First Line. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction using the first line provided. (See site.) Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Bigfoot Country. Genre: Stories about Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti. The genre is open. Payment: $100 CAD. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

Bad Day Book. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for themes. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: February 1, 2024.

43 Writing Contests in January 2024 - No entry fees

Ralph This January there are more than three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $25,000 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! 

_________________


Defenestration Lengthy Poem Contest. Genre: Lengthy poem (at least 3 pages). Prize: $300. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Vermont Writers' Prize. Restrictions: Open to residents of Vermont. Genres: Short story, poem, play or essay on the theme of Vermont - its people, places, history or values. Entries must be unpublished and fewer than 1,500 words long. Writers may submit only one entry per year. Prize: $1,250 and publication in Vermont Magazine. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Electa Quinney Award for Published American Indian Stories. Genre: Story. "This award seeks to highlight the work of story creators who continue the tradition of teaching through narratives often crossing the boundaries of genres, formats and disciplines. To celebrate the dissemination of stories into spaces where they can be shared all published stories qualify including small press and fine arts printing." Prize: $250. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program. Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. The creative writing fellowship does not require that there be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck’s. The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University’s creative writing program. Prize: $15,000. Deadline: January 5, 2024.

Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. "On the first Friday of every month, a new set of story prompts will be revealed. You will have 55 hours to submit your best 500-word (or fewer) story." Prize: $500AUD. Deadline: January 7, 2024. Opens January 5.

Quantum Shorts Competition. Genre: Fiction stories, under 1,000 words, that are "clearly inspired by some aspect of quantum physics." Entries also must contain the phrase “Nobody said this was going to be easy” (“Constraint”) Prize: First prize $1,500 and online publication. Deadline: January 8, 2024.

Discoveries Prize. Restrictions: Open to female novelists of all ages and backgrounds, from across the UK and Ireland. Genre: Novel in progress. Prize: The winner will be offered representation by Curtis Brown Literary Agency and a cash prize of £5,000. Deadline: January 8, 2024.

Japan Center-Canon Essay Competition. The aim of the Japan Center Essay Competition is to promote awareness and understanding of Japan in the United States and to help young Americans broaden their international horizons. Genre: Essay. Contestants should write, in English, one or more aspects of Japan including art, culture, tradition, values, philosophy, history, society, politics, business, and technology in relation to their personal views, experiences, and/or future goals. (Contestants do not need to have any experience in visiting Japan or studying Japanese. Prize: Best Essay Award in the High School Division: 1st Place: $3,000 and a Canon camera, 2nd Place: $1,500 and a Canon camera, 3rd Place: $750 and a Canon camera; Best Essay Award in the College Division: $3,000 and a Canon camera; Uchida Memorial Award: $1,000 and a Canon camera; Merit Award: $200 (each) for up to five awards. Deadline: January 8, 2024.

Dr. Paul Kalanithi Writing Award. Restrictions: Open to medical students, residents, fellows. Genre: Short stories, essays or poetry addressing patients and providers facing chronic or life limiting illness. Fiction and non-fiction submissions are welcome. Prize: $300. Deadline: January 10, 2024.

Northern California Book Awards. Restrictions: Books written by authors based in northern California and published for the first time the previous calendar year are eligible for nomination. Genre: Published book. Prize: $1000. Deadline: January 12, 2024.

The Lancaster Playwriting Prize. Restrictions: The competition is open to applicants living or learning in Lancashire and who must have reached their 12th birthday/must not have reached their 19th Birthday by the date of the submission deadline on Friday, January 12, 2024. Genre: Script (for a play). Scripts must be 15 to 30 minutes long. Prize: There will be two winners – one from each age group - who will each receive a prize cash and vouchers worth up to £750. Deadline: January 12, 2024.

International Booker Prize. The International Booker Prize for fiction translated into English is awarded annually by the Booker Prize Foundation to the author of the best (in the opinion of the judges) eligible novel or collection of short stories. The work must be published by a UK or Ireland publishing house. Authors are not permitted to enter their own works. Prize: £50,000 divided equally between the author and the translator. There will be a prize of £2,000 each of the shortlisted titles divided equally between the author and the translator. Deadline: January 12, 2024 for works published between December 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024.

The Bechtel Prize. Genre: Essays essays describing a creative writing teaching experience, project, or activity that demonstrates innovation in creative writing instruction. "We are looking for essays that describe a project or activity that got students excited about writing and fostered a vibrant and dynamic culture of literacy in the classroom." Prize: $1000 and publication. Deadline: January 12, 2024.

John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest is sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Restrictions: The contest is open to United States high school students in grades nine through twelve attending public, private, parochial, or home schools; US students under the age of twenty enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program; and US citizens attending schools overseas. Genre: Essay on an act of political courage by a US elected official who served during or after 1956. Prize: The first-place winner receives $10,000 comprised of a $5,000 cash award and $5,000 from John Hancock. The second-place winner receives $1,000. Up to five finalists receive $500 each. Deadline: January 12, 2024.

French-American Foundation Translation Prizes. Genre: Book. Best English translation of French in both fiction and non-fiction. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: January 12, 2024.

Encore Award. Restrictions: Open to British or Commonwealth citizens. Genre: Second published novel. Book must have been first published in the UK. Prize: 10,000 pounds. Deadline: January 12, 2024.

The Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award seeks to elevate the written arts in Indiana. Restrictions: Any living published writer who was born in Indiana or has lived in Indiana for at least five years will be eligible. Authors who have published works of fiction, prose, poetry and/or non-fiction are eligible; reference works, scholarly monographs and books of photography will not be considered. Self-published authors are considered. Prize: $5000. Deadline: January 12, 2024.

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: Candidates must be: A Canadian citizen or permanent resident; Under the age of 35; Unpublished in book form and without a book contract. Genre: Poetry and fiction. Prizes: Up to C$10,000. Deadline: January 14, 2024.

Apparition Lit. Genre: Flash fiction up to 1000 words on theme. Prize: $30. Deadline: January 14, 2024. See themes.

The Levis Reading Prize is sponsored by the Department of English and its MFA in Creative Writing program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Restrictions: The prize is given annually for the best first or second book of poetry published in the previous calendar year. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $5000. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Stephen A DiBiase Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $600. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Ballard Spahr Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to residents of MN, IA, ND, SD, WI, or MI. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $10,000 & book publication with Milkweed Editions. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Walter Muir Whitehill Prize in Early American History. Genre: Essay on early American history (up to 1825), not previously published, with preference being given to New England subjects. Prize: $2,500. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize. Restrictions: Open to women, US citizens only. Genre: Prose fiction. All entries must be submitted by publishers who wish to have the work of their authors that were published in the previous year considered. No self-published works or works from vanity presses will be accepted. Prize: $15,000. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

Stacy Doris Memorial Poetry Award. Genre: Poem, 3-10 pages long, that demonstrates a "truly inventive spirit." Prize: $500 and publication. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

53-Word Story Contest. Genre: Flash fiction of exactly 53 words based on monthly theme. Prize: Publication and a free book. Deadline: January 15, 2024. This is a monthly contest.

Bethesda Urban Partnership Essay Contest. Restrictions: Open to residents of Washington, DC and select counties in Maryland and Virginia. Genre: Essays. Length: 500 words maximum. Prize: $500 in adult category (age 18+) and $250 in high school category (ages 14-17). Deadline: January 16, 2024.

Bethesda Magazine Short Story Contest. Restrictions: Open to residents of Washington, DC and select counties in Maryland and Virginia. Genre: Short stories. Length: 4000 words maximum. Prize: $500 in adult category (age 18+) and $250 in high school category (ages 14-17). Deadline: January 16, 2024.

Moving Words Poetry Competition for Adults. Genre: Poems of 10 lines or less that will be displayed inside Arlington Transit buses. Prize: $250. Deadline: January 17, 2024.

Washington State Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Washington State writers. Genre: Published book: fiction, nonfiction, poetry for adults or children. Prize: Recognition (?) Deadline: January 19, 2024 (For books published Oct. 16-Dec. 31, 2023.)

Poetry Society of Virginia - Student Contest. Restrictions: Open to students in Virginia, grades 3 - 12. Prize: $10 - $25. Deadline: January 19, 2024.

The Fantastic Other. Genre: Flash fiction of theme of Hope. Prize: 35 USD, for second place is 25 USD, and for third place is 15 USD. Deadline: January 21, 2024.

Zocalo Public Square Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to US poets only. Genre: Poetry that evokes a connection to place. Prize: $1000. Deadline: January 22, 2024. 

Bethesda Poetry Contest. Genres: Poetry. Adult and high school student categories. Restrictions: Residents of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia are eligible. Prizes: First place: $350, published on The Writer's Center's blog and magazine, and a free class and membership to The Writer's Center. Second Place: $250. Third Place: $150. Honorable Mention: $75. Prize for high school students, $75. All winners will be published on the Bethesda Urban Partnership website and honored at a special event during the Local Writer's Showcase. Deadline: January 22, 2024.

The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. Restrictions: The Orwell Prize for Political Writing is open to nonfiction first published in the UK or Ireland. (See publication deadlines.) Genre: Nonfiction, including entries addressing political, social, cultural, moral and historical subjects. Prize: £3,000.00. Deadline: January 24, 2024.

The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. Restrictions: The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction is open to novels and short story collections first published in the UK or Ireland. (See publication deadlines.) Genre: Fiction that explores ideas and issues, political themes, dilemmas and injustices through imagined narratives. Prize: £3,000.00. Deadline: January 24, 2024.

Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship. Restrictions: Open to a high school freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior or a current or entering college or graduate school student of any level. Home schooled students are also eligible. There is no age limit. You must also be a U.S. citizen or legal resident. Genre: 500- to 1,000-word essay about technology addiction. Prize: $1000 scholarship.  Deadline: January 30, 2024.

Scottish Book Trust: Monthly Competition. Restrictions: Open to four categories: adult writers, all-age Gaelic writers, young writers 5-11 and young writers 12-18. Genre: Short story based on prompts. (See site for prompt) Prize: Various items. Deadline: January 30, 2024.

The Hillman Prize for Journalism. Genre: Journalism. "Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honored journalists, writers and public figures that pursue investigative journalism and public policy in service of the common good." Prize: $5,000. Deadline: January 30, 2024.

Story Unlikely Short Story Contest. Genre: Short story. Length: 2,250 words max. Prize: First prize $750. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge. Genre: Poem inspired by artwork. (See site for image.) Prize: $100. Deadline: January 31, 2024. This is a monthly contest.

Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing. Restrictions: Titles must be published in Canada. Self-published books are not eligible. Genre: A book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence thinking on contemporary Canadian political life. Prize: Winner: $25,000; Finalists: $2,500. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

A. C. Bose Grant for South Asian Speculative Literature. Restrictions: Open to South Asian or South Asian diaspora writers. Genre: Speculative fiction. Prize: $1000. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Cheshire Prize for Literature. Restrictions: The writer must have been born, live or have lived, study or have studied, work or have worked, in Cheshire, UK. Age ranges from 4 to adult. Genre: Short story, piece of poetry, script or children’s literature piece (this can be a script, story or poem, for children ages seven to 14) on the theme of Sustainability. Prize: Cash prizes. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Dandelion Cottage Short Story Contest for Michigan Students. Restrictions: Open to students attending or being home-schooled in an Upper Peninsula School District. Genre: Short story, 5,000 words max. Prize: Up to $250. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

The Danuta Gleed Literary Award for best first collection of short fiction in the English language was initiated by John Gleed in honour of his late wife to promote and celebrate the genre of short fiction, which she loved. Restrictions: Canadian residents only. Prize: A $10,000 prize will be awarded for the best first collection of published short fiction in the English language. Two finalist will also be awarded $500 each. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

The Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award. Genre: Any published book, whether fiction or nonfiction, that promotes public understanding of Chicago; titles must be available for purchase by the general public in either hardcover or bound paperback form; All subject areas, disciplines, and genres are eligible, including but not limited to: history, biography, the social sciences, art, architecture, poetry, drama, graphic novels, or fiction; Translations, textbooks, anthologies, reprints or new editions of previously published works, pamphlets, digital publications, travel guides, children’s books, or self-published works are not eligible. Prize: $25,000. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Jerry Jazz Musician Fiction Contest. "The Jerry Jazz Musician reader has interests in music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America." Genre: previously unpublished work of short fiction. Prize: $150. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

Laureate Prize. Genre: Full-length poetry book. Prize: $500 and publication. Deadline: January 31, 2024. No entry fee for BIPOC writers. 

Iridescence Award. Restrictions: Open to literary or visual artists of the Black, Indigenous, or People of Color Community. Genre: Fantasy, folk mythology, science fiction, and the paranormal. Short fiction, poetry. Prize: Up to $500. Deadline: January 31, 2024. (Deadline extended)

Highlights Foundation Scholarships. Prize: 25 full tuition scholarships and 20 partial tuition scholarships for workshops that take place at the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center. 30 full tuition scholarships for online courses through the Highlights Foundation. 15 scholarships for personal retreats at the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

The Drabble Harvest Contest. Genre: Drabble on theme of "Alien Fetishes." A "drabble" is defined as a short story containing exactly precisely no more and no fewer than 100 words. It has a title, which can be from 1 to 15 words-- but no more than 15. Prize: $5. Deadline: January 31, 2024.

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: January 31, 2024. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

11 (Warm) Writing Conferences and Workshops in January 2024

Key West: Picryl We all dream of sunshine during the cold, dark days of winter. Fortunately for writers, there are eleven delightful conferences this January held in places we would rather be. 

If you miss your ideal conference this year, don't worry. Many of these are annual events, and quite a few offer scholarships. (Apply early!) 
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For a month-by-month list of conferences throughout the year see: Writing Conferences. (You will also find links to resources that can help you find conferences in your area on that page.)

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Pacific University Master of Fine Arts in Writing Residency Writers Conference. January 4 - 14, 2024: Seaside, 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. Application deadline: November 21, 2023.

Key West Literary Seminar. January 11–14, 2024: Key West, Florida. Each year, the Key West Literary Seminar explores a particular literary theme. In January 2024, we’ll turn our attention to this weird, wild, always-going-underwater bellwether of a state that (for better and for worse) we call home — FLORIDA.

Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway. January 12 - 15, 2024, Atlantic City, New Jersey. A participant-focused writers’ conference. Advance your craft and energize your writing at the 30th annual Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway. Enjoy challenging and supportive workshops, insightful feedback and an encouraging community. Choose from workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoir, songwriting, playwriting and more.

Colrain Classic. January 12 - 15, 2024: Online. "The Colrain Manuscript Classic is a highly focused, 3.5 day conference designed for poets with manuscripts in progress. The Classic features in-depth pre-conference work and candid, realistic evaluation and feedback from nationally-known poets, editors and publishers. In preparation, participants work at home on pre-conference assignments and then, in the workshop, review, arrange, and winnow their work based on the pre-conference work. In addition to the manuscript preparation workshop and editor sessions, there will be an editorial Q&A, and an after-conference strategy session." Will be conducted online.

TMW January Jumpstart. January 13 - 14, 2024: Oak Ridge, TN. “We will have a “Meet and Greet” session Friday from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern. On Saturday there will be concurrent Poetry and Fiction morning sessions from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Eastern, and afternoon sessions from 1:30 – 4:30 Eastern." Registration $150. Application deadline December 29.

Eckerd College Writers in Paradise Conference. January 13 -20, 2024, St. Petersburg, FL. Workshops, roundtables, panel discussions, Q&As, readings book signings, and receptions. Emmy-award winning journalist and NYT best-selling author of the memoir, Between Two Kingdoms, Suleika Jaouad, will kick off the week as our Keynote Speaker.Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer-prize finalist and “literary badass” (NPR), joins the Workshop Faculty at Writers in Paradise for the first time.Newly minted St. Petersburg Poet Laureate and winner of the Poetry Gold Medal Florida Book Awards, Gloria Muñoz, returns to Eckerd College as this year’s Emerging Artist in Poetry. NYT Editor’s Choice and “Best Books to Read in 2023” by Today, author of the short story collection, When Trying to Return Home, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, will read and lecture at Writers in Paradise as this year’s Emerging Artist in Fiction.Writers in Paradise welcomes back Poet, Collaborator, Professor and National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist (Blowout), Denise Duhamel, as Faculty to lead the Poetry Workshop.Mitchell Kaplan, Founder and Owner of Books & Books, co-founder of the Miami Book Fair, Podcast host of The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan, and Producer (The Mazur Kaplan Company), joins the publishing panel at Writers in Paradise.International best-selling debut sensation whose short story collection, If I Survive You, who has garnered countless accolades including the PEN/Faulkner Award and National Book Award short lists, Jonathan Escoffery, will close the 2024 conference.
Digital Book World Conference. January 15 - 17, 2024: NYC. This is the premier event for digital publishers and content providers of all sizes and business models. 

Writing By Writers GET THE LEAD OUT! January 19 - 21, 2024: Online. This workshop brings all levels of writers together for a weekend of inspiration, craft and the generation of new work. Faculty: Pam Houston, Keenan Norris and Lidia Yuknavitch. Tuition: $750 includes one three-day workshop, admittance to all craft talks and readings.

St. George Island Writers’ Retreat for Women. Jan 21 - 28, 2024: St. George, FL. Program Focus: Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction. Contact Perky Granger at PersisGranger@aol.com for further information and/or to have a registration form emailed to you.

Sunshine State Book Festival. January 26 - 27, 2024: Gainesville, Florida. "Authors from around Florida and the nation will gather at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center on January 27th, from 10 am to 5 pm to sell books and talk about their work. Festivities include guest speakers, giveaways, storytelling, and more." Admission is free.

Northeast Texas Writers Organization. January 27, 2024: Mt Pleasant, TX. Children's Book Writing Workshop, 

5 New Agents and a New Agency Seeking Literary and Commercial Fiction, Poetry, Short Stories, Nonfiction, Memoirs and more

Pieter Swinkels Here are five new literary agents and a new agency 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 all genres.

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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Mr. Pieter Swinkels of Transatlantic Literary Agency

Pieter Swinkels worked as Chief Content Officer at Rakuten Kobo for the past twelve years, leading Kobo’s global publisher relations, the self-publishing platform Kobo Writing Life, the Kobo Originals publishing program, and the launch of Audiobooks and Kobo Plus subscriptions. Before that, Pieter was Publisher at the premiere Dutch publishing houses De Bezige Bij and Meulenhoff Publishers in Amsterdam, where he published bestselling and critically-acclaimed authors such as Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Aravind Adiga, Damon Galgut, Sebastian Barry, Jhumpa Lahiri, Mohsin Hamid, Rachel Cusk, Paolo Giordano, Robert Harris and Karin Slaughter.

Pieter holds a Cum Laude MA degree in English Language & Literature from the University of Amsterdam, and a MPhil in Irish Literature from Trinity College Dublin. He lives and works in Toronto.

What he is seeking: He represents literary fiction and nonfiction authors, as well as corporate publishing clients from around the world.

How to submit: Submit queries to querypieter@transatlanticagency.com
Authors are encouraged to email a cover letter with a sample/excerpt of the book in question. Please submit a maximum of 20 pages. Embed the sample/excerpt into the body of the email after the cover letter. Submit an author bio/publishing history and a synopsis. Please note if other agents are also considering the project and do not submit to Pieter if you have already submitted to another Transatlantic Agent.
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Mark Tavani of David Black Literary Agency

Mark Tavani has a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He circumnavigated the globe as a student on Semester at Sea and later worked as a forestry aid in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He is an adjunct professor with NYU's School of Professional Studies and lives with his wife, his daughters, and a headstrong dog in Rutherford, New Jersey. 

Mark started his publishing career in 2000 with Ballantine Books and spent over 23 years with Penguin Random House, Bantam, Del Rey, and G.P. Putnam's Sons. He edited bestsellers and award-winners across numerous categories of fiction and nonfiction, including books by Jim Abbott, Steve Berry, C.J. Box, Robert Crais, Justin Cronin, Clive and Dirk Cussler, Jeffery Deaver, George Dohrmann, Lisa Gardner, Jack McCallum, Lisa Scottoline, Bill Simmons, and R.L. Stine. He is now thrilled to have joined the David Black Literary Agency, where he represents both fiction and nonfiction. 

What he is seeking: Mark is interested in a wide range of literary and commercial fiction, including book club novels, thrillers, mysteries, speculative fiction, and historical fiction. He is looking for fiction that entertains and enriches the lives of readers. 

He is keen to discover nonfiction that illuminates or inspires. He looks forward to working with experts, journalists, and memoirists, especially those in the spaces of sports, history, wellness, narrative nonfiction, and big ideas. Mark also represents collaborative writers who partner with authors in such spaces. 

How to submit: For fiction, he asks for the first 50 pages of a manuscript pasted into the body of an email; for nonfiction, he asks for a pitch by way of email. He cannot respond to every submission he receives, but will respond to any that he is interested in. Send material to: mtavani@dblackagency.com
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Ms. Angelique Tran Van Sang of Felicity Bryan Literary Agency (UK)

I joined Felicity Bryan Associates as an agent after seven years as an editor at Bloomsbury, where I worked with authors such as Reni Eddo-Lodge and Kamila Shamsie, and published Jenny Zhang, Olivia Sudjic and Saba Sams amongst others.

What she is seeking: At FBA I am building a list of writers of fiction, non-fiction and select poetry, with a particular openness to authors who can work across these forms. As a former editor, I enjoy working with writers to develop their work at both structure and line level for submission to publishers.

In fiction I am looking for novels, short story collections and novellas that strike the heart and intellect in equal measure, that feature protagonists on the margins, and the full and complex lives of those not often represented in literature. I’m drawn to fresh and unexpected subversions of known narratives, the subtleties of class conflict, and writing that challenges, whether in form or content. Examples of novels I’ve admired recently: Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton and Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis.

In non-fiction, I’m interested in oral and narrative histories, explorations of contemporary political and philosophical issues, gripping investigative journalism, as well as literary and cultural criticism and biography. Works I’ve admired recently range from The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan and The Years by Annie Ernaux, to Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe and the work of Janet Malcolm and Helen Garner.

How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.
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Ms. Donya Dickerson of Aevitas Creative Management

Donya Dickerson has edited multiple award-winning and bestselling titles, including New York Times bestselling author Joseph Michelli; The Wall Street Journal bestseller Work Better Together by Jen Fisher and Anh Phillips; and The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestseller Arrive & Thrive by Susan Brady, Janet Foutty, and Lynn Perry Wooten.

Before joining Aevitas, Donya was the Associate Publisher for the Business Trade list at McGraw Hill, where she acquired books by CEOs, highly respected thought leaders, and top industry experts, and built multiple partnerships with global training companies. She’s worked with Crucial Learning, Keller Williams, Deloitte, Zenger Folkman, and other renowned organizations. Prior to McGraw Hill, Donya acquired books for Writer’s Digest on the craft of writing and the business of publishing. She has a BA in English and Philosophy from William Jewell College and a Master’s in Comparative Literature with an emphasis in Fiction Writing from the University of Cincinnati.

What she is seeking: Donya focuses primarily on nonfiction in the categories of business, personal development, self-help, pop culture, science, technology, history, and parenting.  She is looking for breakthrough thinking, experts with a fresh voice, and new approaches to solving the problems people face daily. She is especially drawn to books that help others be their best self and succeed in both their professional and personal lives. 

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
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Mr. Eloy Bleifuss Prados of Janklow & Nesbit Associates

After studying journalism, Eloy’s first job in publishing was at Simon & Schuster editorial. He switched to the agency side when he joined Janklow & Nesbit Associates in 2019. In addition to working alongside Kirby Kim and Paul Lucas, Eloy is cultivating a growing list of fiction and nonfiction clients.

What he is seeking: Eloy is drawn to genre-blurring fiction and writers with a clear point-of-view. He’s looking for atmospheric horror, thrillers set in an under-explored time or setting, and character-driven speculative fiction. When it comes to nonfiction, he enjoys reading a broad sweep of categories from science writing and forgotten histories to pop culture and relatable self-help. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, he is a fan of writing that is dark, strange, funny, and queer.

How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.
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In addition to the above agents, here is a new Canadian literary agency.

The Ballpoint Agency is a new, artist-centred literary agency with many enthusiasms, but mostly books. They currently serve a small roster of writers with focused attention, creativity and care.  The three founders have 75 years of professional experience between them: 

Dave Bidini has spent 25 years writing books, earning valuable insight into the industry from an artist’s perspective. 

Warren Sheffer has 20 years as a lawyer, representing authors and performers and specializing in intellectual property law. 

Janet Morassutti has 30 years of publishing industry experience, most recently as a founder and  managing editor of a non-profit newspaper.
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Read submission guidelines HERE.

96 Calls for Submissions in December 2023 - No submission fees

Pickpik This December there are 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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Eternal Haunted Summer. Genre: Poetry, short fiction. Theme: Horror. Payment: $5. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Sundog. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art. Payment: $25. Deadline: December 1, 2023. Submit early in month to avoid submission fee.

Death in the Mouth Anthology. Restrictions: Authors who identify as BIPOC or, outside of US-American context, anyone who is from a marginalized ethnicity (eg. Roma, Sámi, Nenets would also fall under this umbrella etc)”. Genre: Horror short fiction and art. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Red Cape Publishing: A - Z of Horror: W is for Witchcraft. Genre: Horror on theme. Payment: £10. Deadline: Opens December 1, 2023. Open until full.

Big Wing. Genre: Poetry, prose, spoken word, and visual art works. Theme: Nature. Payment: $25. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

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

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: December 1, 2023. Charges for online submission. No charge via snail mail.

Assault Team Anthology. Genre: Military Science Fiction. Payment: "a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors." Deadline: December 1, 2023.

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

Northern Lights Anthology. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: Horror and horror-adjacent dark weird fiction, ideally set in Canada and incorporating a motif of night / nighttime/ dusk/ darkness. Stories should be between 500 and 5,000 words. Payment: 10 cents CAD/word. Deadline: December 1, 2023. 

What If...Walls Could Talk. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Air/Light. Genre: New and innovative works of literary arts across all mediums and genres including cross genre work. Length: Up to 4,000 words for prose, and up to 10 pages for poetry. Payment: Poetry: $50; Responses and department pieces: $100; Fiction and essays/nonfiction: $200; Visual art, music, and multimedia: $200. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories, poetry, nonfiction. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. $1 a line for poetry. 2 - 8 cents/word for nonfiction. Deadline: December 2, 2023. Accepts reprints.

Invisible City. Genre: Nonfiction up to 5,000 words. Payment: $20. Deadline: December 5, 2023.

Bad Day Book. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for themes. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: December 5, 2023.

Stone’s Throw. Genre: "We're looking for dark fiction, crime and noir, length between 1,000 and 2,000 words." Payment: $25. Deadline: December 7, 2023. Open to submissions the first week of every month.

A Coup of Owls. Restrictions: Only submit if you are aged 18 or over and belong to an underrepresented or marginalised community. These include, but are not limited to: LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and disabled people. Genre: Fiction, all genres. Payment: £5 - 15. Deadline: December 7, 2023. Closes when they reach their cap.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: December 9, 2023. See themes.

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: December 10, 2023.

Hippocampus Magazine. Genre: Memoir Excerpts, Personal Essays, and Flash Nonfiction. Payment: $40. Deadline: Fee free from December 1 - December 14, 2023.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Cat Stories. Genre: True stories and poems. "We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words that highlight the unique personalities that dogs have. Celebrate your dog, or a dog you know, with a wonderful story about what he or she does. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both." Payment: $200. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dog Stories. Genre: True stories and poems. "We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words that highlight the unique personalities that cats have. Celebrate your cat, or a cat you know, with a wonderful story about what he or she does. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both." Payment: $200. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Eye to the Telescope. Genre: Speculative poetry. Payment: $0.04/word, up to $25. Deadline: December 15, 2023. See theme.

On Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: $100CAD. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Propagule. Genre: Short stories that are intrepid with regard to experimentation and oddity; the strange, the surreal, the atypical, the unexpected. Payment: Up to $20. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Copper Nickel. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and translation folios. Payment: $30 per printed page + two copies of the issue in which the author’s work appears + a one-year subscription. Deadline: December 15, 2023. Submit early in the month to avoid submission fees.

Baffling Magazine. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Lost Boys Press: Romantasy. Genre: Romance set in a fantasy world. Word count should be between 60,000 and 120,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Brazenhead Review. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $200. Deadline: December 15, 2023. Note: Closes when cap is reached.

Eavesdrop Magazine. Restrictions: Canadian writers (anyone living in Canada for work, school, asylum, etc, as well as artists living on traditional, unceded territories, is welcome to submit). Genre: Fiction, poetry, comics, plays, CNF, art. Payment: $30 per poem, $70 per short fiction, CNF piece, and short play, $70 per visual art piece, $30 per comic. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Midstory Magazine. Genre: Personal essays about love, loss, and friendship at midlife. We are looking for a strong, clear writing voice and raw, honest storytelling, in keeping with our mission to elevate the voices of midlife women. Preferred word count: 750-2000 words. Payment: $50 for accepted essays. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, "and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way.” Payment: $50. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Archive of the Odd. Genre: Speculative fiction, horror preferred. “Archive of the Odd is a zine of uncanny occurrences, told in even stranger ways.” They’d like a variety of time periods. Stories can be in any format, except traditional prose. Some of the suggested formats are: academic papers; technical writing; medication warning sheets; sales papers; newspaper articles; recipes; knitting/crochet/weaving/what-have-you guides; care guides (plant, animal, rock garden, etc); or any other unusual format. Submissions do not have to be entirely in text. Payment: $15-25 for fiction of 500-5,000+ words. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Samjoko Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, play, screenplay. Payment: $20. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Muse Magazine. Genre: Nonfiction articles for children. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: December 15, 2023. See themes. Queries only.

Eastover Press: Rural Writers of Color. Restrictions: Open to BIPOC writers who live in or hail from rural or semi-rural locales in the U.S. and whose short stories feature characters living or working in rural or semi-rural spaces. Genre: Short stories. Payment: $100-$300. Deadline: December 15, 2023. Previously published stories in 2021 and 2022 only.

Rebel Satori Press. Genre: Full-length LGBTQ+ speculative fiction, Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Borne in the Blood. Genre: "WolfSinger Publications is seeking stories about things that are carried in the blood. Be it magic, disease or something else – it must be Borne in the Blood. We will be donating proceeds from Borne in the Blood to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. All genres will be considered with the exception of erotica." Length:1000-7000 words. Payment: $20. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Yule: a collection of Yule Time Tales. Genre: "We are looking for submissions of Pagan Yule stories, not Christmas stories. All genres are welcome, as long as it is Yule and Solstice centered. The winter solstice is the longest night of the year, but the light will return by degrees after that December night. We want stories about what happens in those dark and still winter months. Stories of transformation and growth. Stories of the winter witch, cold forests, elves and magical places. Old ghost stories.” Word count 2,500 to 8,000. Payment: $10. Deadline: December 16, 2023.

The Offing. Genre: Creative nonfiction (usually personal essay) that centers one’s personal experience against the backdrop of art, literature, and culture.. Length: 7,500 words max. Payment: $25 - $100. Deadline: December 16, 2023.

Humour Me. Genre: Humor. "We want your festive stories for our Christmas special, fiction and non fiction! Min 1k words, Max 3k. These can be any sub-genre. Western Santa Claus? Zombie reindeer? Go for it as long as they have a humour/satirical element! We will also accept cartoons/comic strips as long as they meet the Christmas/humour theme." Payment: £25 (GBP) - £40 (GBP). Deadline: December 16, 2023.

I Want That Twink OBLITERATED! Anthology. Genre: Classic pulp adventures centering non-traditionally masculine queer heroes and villains. "We’re taking the classic tropes of pulp science-fiction, fantasy, and horror, recast through a radical queer lens." Payment: $0.08 /word. Deadline: December 17, 2023. 

Island. Restrictions: Open to Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents only. Genre: Fiction Nonfiction. Payment: 40 cents per word, with a minimum of $700 and a maximum of $1500. Poetry for print - $175 per poem. Island Online - $450 for short-form fiction and nonfiction. Deadline: December 17, 2023. 

Fanatical. Genre: Sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories between 2,000 and 6,000 words. Payment: £20. Deadline: December 17, 2023. 

Funemployment Quarterly. Genre: Science-fiction/fantasy. See theme. Payment: $20 CAD. Deadline: December 18, 2023.  

Folk Horror Anthology. Genre: Folk Horror and Weird Fiction. Payment: £100. Deadline: December 20, 2023.  

The Ex-Puritan. Genres: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, hybrid work. Payment: $150 -$200. Deadline: December 25, 2023.

Off Topic Publishing: Poetry Box. Genre: Poetry. Payment $30 CAD. Deadline: December 25, 2023. This is a monthly call.

Nightmare Diaries. Genre: Dark fiction short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas of 500-10,000 words. Payment: $0.10 per word. Deadline: December 27, 2023. 

Extrasensory Overload: an anthology of speculative excess. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. "We are seeking submissions that actively engage readers with multi-sensory (more than one sense), supra (beyond the five senses), super or extra sensory experience (including paranormal, ESP, etc.) as part of speculative fiction and poetry." Payment: $5 per poem and $10 for each short story. Deadline: December 29, 2023. 

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: December 29, 2023.

JackLeg Press. Genre: Poetry and short story collections. They also consider select literary novels and creative nonfiction. JackLeg only publishes U.S.-based writers. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 30, 2023.

Workers Write! Tales from the Cubicle. Genre: Fiction and poetry that contain stories and poems from the office worker's point of view. "we're especially interested to see how the home office has taken on a new meaning because of Covid and what it's been like for those of us who have returned to the annoying commutes and communal bathrooms." Payment: $5 - $50. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Theatre Phantasmagoria. Genre: Horror flash fiction up to 2,000 words. Payment: £10. Deadline: December 31, 2023. This is a monthly call. See themes.

Islandia. Restrictions: Preference is given to residents of Florida & the Caribbean but Islandia considers written work and visual art with strong ties to the region. Genre: Poetry, art, and prose. Payment: Pay for poetry and visual art begins at $50 and for prose submissions $100 - $150. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Meadowlark Reader. Genre: Personal essays, interviews, journalistic pieces. “True stories about Kansas written by Kansans." Payment: $10 plus one contributor copy. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

In the Eyes of the Hungry. Genre: Short horror stories, 2500 to 6000 words, in the style of Steinbeck. Payment: $50. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Zombies Need Brains: Three Anthologies. Genre: Speculative fiction. See themes. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Food Blog Horror Anthology: Necroyummycon. Genre: Horror stories in the form of food blogs, including recipes. Payment: $25. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Interstellar Flight Press. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.
Spooky. Genre: Horror. "Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror?" Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Thinking Ink Press: The Neurodiversiverse Anthology. Genre: Speculative short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and art exploring encounters between neurodivergent people and neurodivergent aliens. They are looking for:⁠ Short stories up to 6k words⁠, Flash fiction up to 1k words⁠, Poetry up to 100 lines⁠, Black-and-white line art illustrations. Payment: $100 per short story, $50 for flash fiction, $50 for poems, and $50-100 for illustrations. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Black Beacon Book of Pirate Tales. Genre: Fiction on theme: Pirate tales. Payment: 20€ for original stories and 5€ for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Preferred word count between 5,000 and 10,000 words. Deadline: December 31, 2023. Accepts reprints.

Ninth Letter. Genre: Poems, nonfiction, and short fiction. Payment: $25 for poetry, $100 for prose. Deadline: December 31, 2023. Fee-free until they hit 300 submissions, so submit early in the month.

The Map of Lost Places Anthology. Genre: Stories about places where weird things happen. "Places that have strange histories, their own traditions and customs, their own dangers. These can be based off real folk tales or old wives tales - think the Mothman in Point Pleasant, WV - or ones that you come up with all on your own. But your story should tell of someone going to one of these places - either intentionally or they just stumble across it - and what happens when they encounter the frightening/strange thing that is in or occurs in that location." Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Margins. Genre: Poetry by emerging and established Asian American and diasporic poets. Payment: $50 – $90 for a single poem. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Rattus Futura. Genre: Short stories, poetry, art about the future which feature rodents. Payment: $10 per accepted poem, 1c/word ($5 minimum.) for accepted fiction ($15 per page for graphic narrative fiction), $20 per accepted piece of non-narrative internal visual art, Half of above for reprints, $100 (negotiable) for the cover illustration. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Allegory. Genre: Speculative Fiction. Payment: $15. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Dracula Beyond Stoker. Genre: Fiction based on Stoker’s characters. See theme. Payment: 5 cents/word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

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. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Air and Nothingness Press: We Are All Thieves of Somebody's Future. Genre: We are seeking stories for an anthology to be titled We Are All Thieves of Somebody's Future which will collect stories with the theme: Resource Scarcity - using up the last of a critical resource and dealing with the aftermath. While stories could be dystopic (ex. the last tree), authors could also explore hopepunk (losing a resource leads to something unforeseen and positive), solarpunk (a pollution laden resource leads to a better solution), fantasy (the last dragon). We are open to all genres. All stories are requested to be between 1000 and 3000 words in length. Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Freeze Frame Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. "Any genre, no content restrictions. We want your science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, drama, literary works, satire, bizarre fiction, or anything else you can come up with or mix together. The more original, the better. The weirder, the better.” Payment: $10. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Dancing Star Press. Genre: Speculative fiction novellas. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2023. Genre: Queer Speculative Fiction. Submissions are open for all speculative work published in 2023 under 17,500 words that deals either implicitly or explicitly with queerness. Editors and authors may submit. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Chestnut Review. Genre: Poetry, flash fiction, short fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, visual media (art/photography). Payment: $120. Deadline: December 31, 2023. Submit early in the month to avoid submission fee.

Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 1 cent/word for fiction and $5 - $10 for poetry. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Eerie River. Genre: Horror inspired by Tarot: 1500 - 7000 firm. Payment: ¢1 per word CAD. Deadline: December 31, 2023. 

Dragon Soul Press: Across Time. Genre: "All time travel romance stories. Happily Ever After not required. All genres accepted." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Dragon Soul Press: Fallen. Genre: "All stories involving angels who have fallen from grace. Examples include it being a misunderstanding or they are purposely wreaking havoc. The darker, the better. All genres accepted." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Way of Worlds Genre: Speculative fiction. "We want aliens, solar systems, spaceships, alternate universes, and to go somewhere beyond imagination. We are looking for polished manuscripts of about 3,500 - 12,000 words." Payment: 3 cents per word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Grendel Press: Uncanny & Unearthly Tales (Vol 2) – The Midnight Labyrinth. Genre: “Each story should feature a tale delivered from a character who stepped through a door and found themselves someplace unexpected. On their journey, they will notice a book called Midnight Labyrinth. No requirement to read or interact with it; it just needs to appear. Genre-bending is welcome! Sci-fi, steampunk, horror, fantasy, etc. … This anthology is an exploration of PLACE and FANTASY, so the MC in the story needs to actually find themselves in a new world/city/place that they’ve either never been before or haven’t been for a long time.” Payment: 5 cents per word. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Arc Poetry Magazine. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $50 per page. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Best American. Genre: Published short stories, essays, food writing, mystery and suspense, nature writing, science fiction and fantasy. Payment: ? Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Nine Pens. Restrictions: Open to poets in UK and Ireland. Genre: Poetry pamphlets. See theme, Payment: Royalties? Deadline: December 31, 2023. 

Channel. Genre: Fiction, art, creative non-fiction, and poetry that engages with the natural world, and have a particular interest in work which encourages reflection on human interaction with plant and animal life, landscape and the self. Payment: €40/poem, and €50/page of prose up to €150. Deadline:  December 31, 2023. 

Book XI. Genre: Personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry with philosophical themes. Payment: $200 for prose; $50 for poetry. Deadline: December 31, 2023. Closes after 200 submissions.


AND A FEW MORE...

Three Ravens Press. Genre: Cryptid horror. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Wild Umbrella. Genre: Short stories, essays, and poems. Payment: €10 per poem and €25 per fiction story or non-fiction essay. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Cafe Irreal. Genre: Magical realism. Length: Up to 2,000 words. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Book Worms. Genre: Dark fiction, essays, poetry. Theme is My Bloody Valentine: dark love stories, Tinder dates gone horribly wrong, bitter romance, a lover’s revenge, tragic love, etc. Dark humor is okay, but it should fit the themes of horror and romance. Specifically looking for original poetry (any length). Payment: $0.08/word for prose. $25 – $50 per poem. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Cardinal Rule Press Genre: Children’s picture books that empower children through meaningful stories for readers, age 4-11. They also publish non-fiction books for parents (word count up to 70k). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: Opens January 1, 2024.

The Body’s Experience of Religion. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Totally Entwined: Oh, Baby!. Genre: Novellas, 30,000 - 50,000 words. Theme: Surprise Babies. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Here There Be Dragons. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. "Dragons are icons of fantasy and legends about them abound. Found in novels, poetry, and art, they stir the imagination as helpers, heroes, villains, and symbols of love, fear, and wealth. We are looking for renderings of dragons in writing and art that capture the essence of these fascinating creatures." Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Reservoir Road Literary Review. Genre: Literary short stories, lyrical creative non-fiction, photography. Payment: $5. Deadline: Opens January 1, 2024. Note: Submission window closes when their cap is reached.

57 Writing Contests in December 2023 - No entry fees

Pickpik This December there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range from $40,000 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! 

_________________


Otherwise Award. Genre: Work that is changing the way we think about gender through speculative narrative. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2023. (Deadline unclear)

Scriptlab. Genre: TV script or short screenplay. Prize: Up to $500. Deadline: December 1, 2023.


The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry. Restrictions: Open to African poets who have not yet published a collection of poetry. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

The Watchword Prize. Genre: Poetry on theme: Surveillance. Prize: $2000. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing. Restrictions: Open to published writers who are writing from the region. Genres: All. Prize: $1000. Deadline: December 1, 2023. 

The Association of Jewish Libraries Jewish Fiction Award. Genre: All works of fiction with significant Jewish thematic content written in English–novels, short story and flash fiction collections–by a single author published and available for purchase in the United States during 2022 are eligible for the award. Jewish thematic content means an extended grappling with Jewish themes throughout the book, including Judaism, Jewish history and culture, Jewish identity, etc. Prize: The award will include a $1,000 cash prize as well as support to attend the AJL conference to receive the award. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Tony Quagliano Poetry Fund, International Poetry Award. Restrictions: Open to poets who have a published body of work over a period of years. Poems must be in English. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 1, 2023. (Biennial award) 

The David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction is offered annually to the best book in American historical fiction that is both excellent fiction and excellent history. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Love Letters to London Writing Competition. Genre: Poetry and "open." The theme this year is Love Letters to London of the Future. What does your London of the future look like – what are your passions, hopes Prize: £150 - £500. Deadline: December 1, 2023. Open to all ages. Some reprints accepted.

Watchword Prize. Genre: Poetry. Theme: Surveillance ("any aspect of the phenomenon of watching and being watched, in both the intimate and public spheres of our lives"). Prize: $2,000 prize, online publication, and a public reading. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

The Pushcart Prize honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in small presses and literary magazines. Magazine and small press editors may nominate up to six works. Pushcart Press publishes yearly anthologies of the winning submissions. Prize: Publication and enormous prestige. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

The Schneider Family Book Award is sponsored by the American Library Association. The award honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Prize: Three annual awards each consisting of $5000 and a framed plaque, will be given annually in each of the following categories: birth through grade school (age 0-10), middle school (age 11-13) and teens (age 13-18). (Age groupings are approximations).  Genre: May be fiction, biography, or other form of nonfiction. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Poetry Center at Smith College Prize. Restrictions: Open to sophomore or junior high school girls in New England. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

RSL Christopher Bland Prize. Restrictions: Writers must be a citizen of, or resident in, the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. Books must have been published for the first time in the UK or RoI within the 2023 calendar year. Books must be entered by trade publishers or agents based in the UK or RoI; each publisher, imprint of a publisher, or agent may enter two books only. Genre: Debut novel or non-fiction book first published by a writer aged 50 or over. Prize: £10,000. Deadline: December 1, 2023. 

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry. Restrictions: Open to African poets who have not yet published a collection of poetry. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal. Deadline: December 1, 2023.

Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction, 500 words max. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 3, 2023. Opens December 1.

Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing. Genre: Book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence thinking on contemporary Canadian political life. Book must be published in Canada. Prize: CAN $25,000.  Deadline: December 6, 2023. (For books published between October 4, 2023 and December 5, 2023)

J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. Genre: Nonfiction book. Applicants for the award must already have a contract with a U.S.-based publisher to write a nonfiction book. Award: $25,000. Deadline: December 7, 2023.

Prism: Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,500 grand prize, $600 runner-up, $400 2nd runner-up. Deadline: December 7, 2023. No entry fee for BIPOC and low income writers.

Women's Prize for Fiction. Genre: Published novel by a woman. Entrants must be writing in English and must be published in the UK between 1 December 2023 and 31 March 2024. All subject matters and women of any age, from any nationality or country of residence are eligible. Prize: £30,000.00. Deadline: December 8, 2023.

Friends of American Writers. Restrictions: The author must be a resident (or previously have been a resident for approximately five years) of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota or Wisconsin; or the locale of the book must be in a region identified above. The author must not have published more than three books under his/her own pen name. Genres: Books can be fiction or creative non-fiction and published in 2023. Self-published and e-Books are not eligible. Prize: $500 - $2000. Deadline: December 10, 2023.

NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships are awarded in fifteen different disciplines over a three-year period. Prize: $8,000 cash awards are made to individual originating artists living and working in the state of New York for unrestricted use. These fellowships are not project grants but are intended to fund an artist’s vision or voice, regardless of the level of his or her artistic development. Deadline: December 13, 2023.

Apparition Lit. Genre: Flash fiction up to 1000 words on theme. Prize: $30. Deadline: December 14, 2023. See themes.

Subnivean New Writers Award: CNY High School Writing Scholarship Competition. Restrictions: Open to high-school-aged writers in Oswego County, Onondaga County, Oneida County, Herkimer County, Madison County, Cayuga County and Cortland County. Genre: Short stories and poetry. Prize: $100 bookstore gift certificate, $1,000 scholarship to attend SUNY Oswego as a creative writing or English major. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Ezra Jack Keats Children's Book Award. Genre: Published or self-published picture books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world. Prize: $3,000. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel Competition. Restrictions: The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, aged 18 or older, who has never been the author of any published novel (except that authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work) and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a novel. Genre: Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

The Arts South Australia Wakefield Press Unpublished Manuscript Award. Restrictions: The competition is open to South Australian writers. Genre: Book-length manuscripts of non-fiction, fiction and poetry. Prize: $10,000 and publication by Wakefield Press. Deadline: December 15, 2023.

Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) provides direct support to individual Bronx artists who create literary, media, visual, and performing works of art. Prize: 25 BRIO grants of $3,000 each are awarded to Bronx artists. BRIO award winners complete a one-time public service activity. Deadline: December 18, 2023.

The Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award. Restrictions: Open to Australian women. Genre: Collection of poems by an Australian woman poet. Prize: $40,000. Deadline: December 18, 2023. Biennial award.

Rider University Annual High School Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to high school students. Genres: Essays, poetry, fiction. Prizes: 1st-$100, 2nd-$50, 3rd-$25. Deadline: December 20, 2023.

Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest. Restrictions: Registered undergraduate full-time Juniors or Seniors at accredited four-year colleges or universities in the United States. Genre: Essay Topic: What challenges awaken your conscience? Is it the conflicts in American society? An international crisis? Maybe a difficult choice you face or a hard decision you had to make? Engage us. Enlighten us. Explore the ethics of any problem, question, or issue, whether close to home or in the world at large. We are eager to learn from you. Prize: First Prize $10,000, 2nd Prize $5,000, 3rd Prize $3,000, two Honorable Mentions $1,000 each. Deadline: December 29, 2023. 

VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Genre: First novel published in 2023. No self-published books.  Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 30, 2023.

Shady Grove Literary. Genre: Any style, genre, tone of flash fiction. Length: 300 words max. Prize: $100. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

PEN Prison Writing Contest. Restrictions: Anyone incarcerated in a federal, state, or county prison is eligible to enter. Genres: Poetry, fiction, drama, creative nonfiction. Prize: $25 - $250. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is held four times a year. Restrictions: The Contest is open only to those who have not professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium. Professional publication is deemed to be payment of at least six cents per word, and at least 5,000 copies, or 5,000 hits. Genre: Short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. Prizes: $1,000, $750, $500, Annual Grand Prize: $5,000. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Restrictions: Emerging African American writers. Genres: Short story collection or novel published in the current year. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Lilith Magazine Fiction Competition. Genre: Fiction. Short story of interest to Jewish women. Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Writers College: My Writing Journey Competition. Genre: Essay  on the theme: The best writing tip I’ve ever received. 600 words. Prize: $200 (R2 000 or £100).  Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The AIIRA Writing Contest. Restrictions: Open to all high school students. Genre: This season, we're asking you to think about a career you'd like to have in the future. How will AI affect your role in that job within the next decade? How will AI benefit your career, and what responsibilities will become redundant due to AI? You can submit an essay exploring this topic and write a fictional scene depicting how your intended career may look ten years from now. Prize: First Place: $500 USD; Second Place: $400 USD; Third Place: $250 USD. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Iridescence Award. Restrictions: Open to literary or visual artists of the Black, Indigenous, or People of Color Community. Genre: Fantasy, folk mythology, science fiction, and the paranormal. Short fiction, poetry. Prize: Up to $500. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. Awards are given for both fiction and nonfiction. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Griffin Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry. To be eligible for the prize, a book of poetry must be a published first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English, or translated into English, by a poet/translator from any part of the world, including Canada. Entries must come from publishers only. Inquiries about entries must also come from publishers only. Prize: The winner will receive C$130,000 and the other shortlisted poets will each receive C$10,000. Deadline: December 31, 2023 for books published between July 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023.

The Lyric College Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to undergraduates enrolled full time in an American or Canadian college or university. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. Sponsored by Rattle. Genre: Poetry. All published submissions during the year are considered for the prize. Follow their regular submission guidelines. Prize: $2,000. Deadline: December 31, 2023. Read more about the award HERE.

The Caribbean Writer Prizes. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays or one act plays which explore the ideas resonating within the region and its diaspora, written by a US or UK Virgin Islands resident accepted for publication by The Caribbean Writer during the deadline year. 2023. See theme. Prize: $300 - $600. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Prize: $500 and publication in Meridians Journal: feminism, race, transnationalism. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

William Carlos Williams Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to students enrolled in programs leading to the Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy degree. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $300. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Four Quartets Prize. Genre: unified and complete sequence of poems published in America in a print or online journal, chapbook. Poems in the sequence may have been published in different journals provided that they were brought together and they form a complete sequence. Prize: Three finalists will receive $1,000 each. The winner will receive an additional $20,000. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Hooks Institute National Book Award. Genre: Nonfiction book that best furthers understanding of the American Civil Rights Movement and its legacy. Prize: $1000. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Dolors Alberola Poetry Prize. Genre: Full-Length poetry collection. Prize: Winner receives translation to another European language; publication of the collection (bilingual edition); 50 copies; and royalties. Finalists receive publication of the collection (Spanish edition), 10 copies of the book, and royalties on Publisher’s edition and subsidiary rights. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. It recognizes the service of American veterans and military personnel and encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding war-related fiction. Genre: Military fiction. Prize: $5000. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Tartts Fiction Award. Restrictions: Open to Americans. Genre: Short story collection. Prize: Winning short story collection will be published by Livingston Press at the University of West Alabama, in simultaneous library binding and trade paper editions. Winning entry will receive $1000, plus their standard royalty contract, which includes 60 copies of the book. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

#GWstorieseverywhere. Genre: Micro fiction or essay on theme of Instability. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

The Drabble Harvest Contest. Genre: Drabble on theme of "Alien Fetishes." A "drabble" is defined as a short story containing exactly precisely no more and no fewer than 100 words. It has a title, which can be from 1 to 15 words-- but no more than 15. Prize: $5. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Black Caucus of the American Library Association. BCALA presents four awards to an African American writer published in the United States during the previous year: one for adult fiction, one for nonfiction, one for a first novelist and one for poetry. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora. Prize: Four $500.00 awards. Deadline: December 31, 2023.

Lex:lead Essay Competition. Restrictions: Candidates must show citizenship in an eligible country and be enrolled in studies with at least one law class in an eligible country at the time of the award. Genre: Essay: How effective have laws protecting the rights of children been to reduce poverty and support economic development?  How could they be improved? Prize: $500 scholarship. Deadline: December 31, 2023 (Must have registered by October 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: December 31, 2023. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.