On officially becoming "old" this week (aka 56)
Authortunities #89 │November 23—December 21
I celebrated my 56th birthday this Thursday! Last year I gave ALL subscribers paid subscriptions until the new year so everyone could take advantage of any holiday time and get some extra submissions in. Let’s do it again! 😂 What did I get for my birthday this year? Coffee, a torso and the Age of Aquarius. You can see the birthday torso here.
🌳What’s in this issue of the newsletter?
Happy official Age of Aquarius (yes, just like in the rock musical Hair). Nikki DeKeuster of
commemorates the dawn of a new age and what it means for writers in “The Rebel Yell,” her Substack post you can read here.When I coach someone through a book, the first thing we try to nail down is what Publishing Quest they are on. Once we know if they are publishing for Craft, Credibility, Fortune or Fame the rest falls into place. I was reminded of how important this is yesterday with a client, so I wrote a reminder post about it on Ko-fi. You can read that here.
For all your art and editing needs… Sarah Walker is taking commissions! She’s making me custom blown glass dip pens and designing the Linzner Awards (postponed until April 2025) She’s also a kick-ass editor and artist. How to contact here and commission her here.
New Substack discovery! Auraist is teeming with authory goodness from literary Prize lists and Author Masterclasses to Subscribers' submissions. Thank you to Sean McNulty for sharing it with me. When I give my talk about the Four Publishing Motivations, the Auraist is definitely where I would look to connect on Craft. Check them out here.
Congratulations to David Gianatasio on his new release, The World Ends Every Day. The creator of Mindgames and Swift Kicks returns with a fresh collection of mirth and mayhem. Tales range from wacky apocalyptic visions and experimental hyper-shorts to funny, frightening treks across a supremely surreal here and now. You can find it on Amazon here.
HarperCollins has sent out requests to thousands of authors for the inclusion of their nonfiction books in an AI license. The Authors Guild broke down the offer and what it means for authors. Read about the “HarperCollins AI Licensing Deal” here.
Authortunities may contain affiliate links that might earn a small fee for Authortunities at no extra cost to you. Comments, questions, compliments or concerns?
My authortunities are organized by emoji! Use your “Ctrl+F” keys to find what you want fast. Video tutorial on how to do this.
🟢 opening subs
🔴 closing subs
⭐ networking
💼 conference
🎤 open mics
🎓 education
♻️ reprints
🏆 awards
💰 grants
🟢 BookLife runs the Indie Spotlight feature, a thematic roundup of self-published books from a broad range of genres and topics, both online and in print in Publishers Weekly magazine. Each Indie Spotlight is open to all types of books as long as they match the month's topic. Submit your works of ART/PHOTOGRAPHY/INSPIRATIONAL until December 1.
https://booklife.com/about-us/booklife-s-indie-spotlight.html
🟢 NOV 23 · Reedsy Prompts is open until the following Friday for short fiction between 1,000 - 3,000 words based on one of five prompts. Writers have until the following Friday at 11.59 pm EST to enter. No fee to enter and have work posted. $5 fee to be eligible for the $250 cash prize. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyOctober to share your creepy tales (and potentially be featured on on Reedsy social accounts)! This week’s prompt is: All Apologies 🙏.
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
🟢 NOV 23 · Longleaf Press opens until January 15 for submissions for a poetry collection with a $1,000 prize, publication, and 25 author copies. Submit a manuscript of at least 50 pages with a $27 entry fee using the online submission system.
🟢 NOV 23 · Philadelphia Stories Fiction Contest is open until December 1 for “previously unpublished works of fiction up to 8,000 words.” A national short fiction contest that features a first place $1,000 cash award and three $250 runner-up cash awards. The winner stories will be published in the print issue of the Winter/Spring 2025 issue of Philadelphia Stories. They especially encourage writers from underrepresented groups and backgrounds to send their work. Reading fee of $20.
https://philadelphiastories.org/fiction-contest/
🟢 NOV 23 · Aminah Robinson Writer/Scholar/Researcher Residency, sponsored by the Columbus Museum, offers a three-month residency from May through July to a poet, fiction writer, or nonfiction writer at the Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson home studio in the Shepard neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The resident is provided with a $15,000 stipend; a private room, studio, and bathroom; and access to Robinson’s art, archive, and library. African American poets, fiction writers, or nonfiction writers (including creative nonfiction writers) who are “interested in topics like those central to the work of MacArthur fellow Robinson” are eligible. To apply, submit up to 20 pages of poetry or prose, a bio, and a list of publications with a $15 entry fee. Accessibility accommodations include an accessible bathroom as well as ASL interpretation, assistive listening devices, transcriptions of talks, and closed captioning. Open for applications until December 9.
https://www.gcac.org/grant/2025-aminah-robinson-writer-scholar-researcher-residency/
🟢 NOV 23 · Narratively 2024 Memoir Prize is accepting entries until December 19 for “revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view.” The top three writers will win cash prizes, as well as publication on Narratively.com and inclusion in a special Narratively 2024 Memoir Prize Digital Collection with a Grand Prize of $3,000 USD. Further, Narratively editors will work with the finalists to potentially adapt their stories into larger projects in different mediums (TV, film, podcasts, etc.).
https://narratively.submittable.com/submit/310077/narratively-2024-memoir-prize
🎓 NOV 23 · Celebrating Authors Summit: Creative Ways to Monetize Your Book You've worked hard to organize the concepts in your book into a logical order. You've massaged the language, and you've created a visual representation of your book. Now what?! If you want to serve your audience in expanded ways beyond just reading your book, what are your options? Check out our speakers as they share their experience, positive and negative, of options they've explored. Free to attend live.
https://go.eventraptor.com/summit/copy-of-celebrating-summit-2411-3/angelayurikosmith
⭐🎤 NOV 24 · Rattlecast livestreams, is part interview and open mic with a prompt-based open mic. Hangout with Rattle editor Timothy Green and Katie Dozier. Each Rattlecast begins with an interview, a writing prompt, and poets reading from the last week’s prompt. | Rattlecast at 8 pm EST.
⭐ NOV 24 · GoIndieNow presents This Week In Indies for 2024 a weekly Sunday chat show that covers issues relevant for Indie artists and the scoop on who is publishing what and where you can get it. Broadcasting every Sunday at Noon ET/11a CT/10a MT/9a PT.
🔴 NOV 25 · Off Topic Publishing’s Poetry Box closes to submissions of poetry to be sent out as a physical card with tea and chocolate to subscribers. Payment is for $30 CAD.
https://offtopicpublishing.com/opencalls/
🔴 NOV 26 · Every Day Fiction closes for winter and holiday stories up to 1000 words. Payment is $3 USD. “All fiction genres are acceptable, and stories that don’t fit neatly into any genre are welcome too.”
https://everydayfiction.submittable.com/submit
🔴 NOV 29 · Rattle Magazine’s “Poets Respond” challenge calls for poems inspired by “a news story or public event from the previous week, and has been written in the time since.” Selected poems will appear as the Sunday poem at Rattle.com which appear to over 10,000 people via RSS feed and daily email service. Poets will receive $100 and a free print magazine subscription. Each week's deadline is Friday midnight PST.
https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/30232/poets-respond-online
⭐🎓 NOV 29 · Rattle Magazine’s livestream Poetry Critique of the Week Rattle's editor hosts a livestreamed poetry critique on YouTube and Facebook, offering suggestions and feedback. The viewing audience is encouraged to participate. The goal is to help us all become better poets through the honest sharing of our reactions, similar to the experience of an MFA roundtable workshop. Critique of the Week at 4 pm EST.
https://www.youtube.com/@RattlePoetry/featured
🟢 NOV 29 · Reedsy Prompts calls for short fiction between 1,000 - 3,000 words based on one of five prompts. Writers have until the following Friday at 11.59pm EST to enter. No fee to enter and have work posted. $5 fee to be eligible for the $250 cash prize. New prompt every Friday.
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
🔴 NOV 30 · The Other Stories Podcast closes for 2,000 word speculative fiction on the theme of BLEEDING HEARTS. “Profound love, romance, sacrifice, and the most cutting of heartbreaks.” Payment is $15 GBP.
https://theotherstories.net/submissions/
🔴 NOV 30 · Dread Mondays: A Whisper House Press Anthology of Workplace Horror from Whisper House Press closes their extended deadline for historically marginalized voices of submissions of short stories up to 4k on the theme of workplace horror. Payment is 6 cents per word. Special extended deadline of November 30 for historically marginalized voices
🔴 NOV 30 · Chicken Soup for the Soul seeks stories or poems on the theme “cat stories” for $250 paid “one month after publication of the book and you will receive ten free copies of the book your story or poem appears in.”
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/submit-your-story/
🏆🔴 DEC 1 · The W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections by Regal House Publishing closes. This prestigious award celebrates a masterfully crafted short story collection. The winning manuscript will be published in 2026/7, and the author will receive a $1,000 prize. Submissions must be between 100-350 pages and submitted via Submittable. A $25 entry fee applies.
https://regalhousepublishing.com/the-w-s-porter-prize/
🔴 DEC 1 · Philadelphia Stories Fiction Contest is open until December 1 for “previously unpublished works of fiction up to 8,000 words.” A national short fiction contest that features a first place $1,000 cash award and three $250 runner-up cash awards. The winning stories will be published in the print issue of the Winter/Spring 2025 issue of Philadelphia Stories. They especially encourage writers from underrepresented groups and backgrounds to send their work. Reading fee of $20.
https://philadelphiastories.org/fiction-contest/
🟢 DEC 1 · Rattle Magazine’s Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge opens until the last day of the month for ekphrastic poetry in response to selected visual art posted on their page. Two winners receive $100 and publication online.
https://www.rattle.com/ekphrastic/
🟢 DEC 1 - JAN 31 · EVENT Magazine is open for submissions of fiction and poetry. Known for publishing compelling, lyrical, and profound works, they welcome submissions from new and established writers alike. Non-fiction submissions are accepted via their annual contest only. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but only one submission at a time per genre. Payment is $40/page, up to a maximum of $500 for poetry, $35/page, up to a maximum of $500 for prose and $200 along with two copies of the issue for cover art.
https://eventmagazine.submittable.com/submit
🟢 DEC 1 · Apparition Lit’s 2024 Flash Fiction Contest opens until December 14 for submissions of speculative flash fiction (under 1k words) prompted by “Fast or Feast.” The writer of the selected story will be notified and their story published the following month. The prize is $30 USD.
https://apparitionlit.com/submissions/
🟢 DEC 1 · The Forge Literary Magazine calls for fiction and nonfiction under 3,000 words including flash and micro fiction for $100 flat rate until the free submissions quota is full. “If there is no free link, we’ve hit our quota.”
https://forgelitmag.com/submit/
🟢 DEC 1 · Diet Milk Magazine, a “biannual literary magazine devoted to Gothic” opens until January 8, 2025 for submissions of “poetry, prose, and visual art of all kinds.” Payment is $15 per poem, $0.01 per word ($40 minimum) for short stories, and $50 per art piece.
https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/diet-milk-magazine-rv29z
🟢 DEC 1 · Event Magazine opens for poetry until January 31 or “when our allowable unpaid submission limit is reached (whichever comes first).” Payment is $40 (CAD) per page.
https://eventmagazine.submittable.com/submit
✅🟢 DEC 1 · Off Topic Publishing’s Poetry Box opens to submissions of poetry until the 25th of the month. Selected poems to be sent as a physical card with tea and chocolate to subscribers. Payment is for $30 CAD.
https://offtopicpublishing.com/opencalls/
🟢 DEC 1 · Strange Horizons opens for speculative poetry submissions year-round, including at times when Strange Horizons is closed to fiction submissions. The editors operate on a rotation system, so the person who reads and replies to your poem will depend on when you send it. Payment is $50 USD per poem, regardless of length or complexity.
http://strangehorizons.com/submit/poetry-submission-guidelines/
🟢 DEC 1 · Bourbon Penn opens now for 2000-7500 word “highly imaginative stories with a healthy dose of the odd… looking for genre / speculative stories and are quite partial to slipstream, cross-genre, magic realism, absurdist, and the surreal." Payment is .04 cents per word.
https://www.bourbonpenn.com/submissions
🟢 DEC 1 · Event Poetry and Prose opens free submissions for poetry and prose. Payment is $40/page for poetry and $35/page for prose, up to a maximum of $500.
https://www.eventmagazine.ca/submit/
🟢 DEC 1 · The Cincinnati Review opens to submissions of miCRo, poetry, fiction, fiction translations, literary nonfiction, poetry translations, and drama until they hit the submissions cap for that period. Payment of $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry in the print journal and $25 for miCRo posts or special features.
https://www.cincinnatireview.com/submission-guidelines-2021/
🟢 DEC 1 · The Other Stories Podcast opens until December 31 for 2,000 word speculative fiction on the theme of FOUND FOOTAGE. Bring us stories from lost tapes, forgotten diaries, old film, banned video games, or wherever else you might find strange echoes in lost media.” Payment is $15 GBP.
https://theotherstories.net/submissions/
🟢 DEC 1 · Split Lip Magazine opens tip jar submissions until December 15 for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, art, interviews/reviews, and mini-reviews until December 15. Payment is $75 per author for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews.
https://splitlipthemag.com/submit
🟢 DEC 1 · Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter calls for monthly themed submissions from newsletter subscribers only (free to subscribe) up to 1k words for $0.08 per word USD for original fiction.
https://www.flametreepress.com/submissions/
🟢 DEC 1 · Cincinnati Review seeks prose, poetry, and art. Opens December 1 deadline when submissions cap is filled. Payment is $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry in the journal.
https://www.cincinnatireview.com/submission-guidelines-2021-2/
🟢♻️ DEC 1 · Short Story on Substack opens for short stories from 6-10,000 words in any genre. Payment is $100 + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Selected story to be announced on the 15th. Reprints welcome.
https://shortstory.substack.com/
🟢♻️ DEC 1-2 · Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores opens for new work, reprints, poetry (up to 40 lines) and prose from 1,000 words and up. Payment is .08 per word for new fiction, .02 per word for reprints, .02-.08 for new fact based work, .01-.04 for reprinted fact based work, $1 per line for original poetry, .50 per line for reprinted poetry. No simultaneous or multiple submissions.
https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/
🟢 DEC 1 - DEC 7 · A Coup of Owls is open for submissions for its Spring Issue! They seek stories from underrepresented and marginalized communities across genres and styles, with a preference for unique storytelling approaches, including non-linear narratives and ambiguous endings. Accepted pieces range from 100-word drabbles to 8,000-word short stories. Payment rates are £5 for drabbles, £10 for flash fiction (up to 1,000 words), and £15 for short stories over 4,000 words.
https://acoupofowls.com/submissions/
🟢 DEC 1 - 4 · Stone’s Throw by Rock and a Hard Place Press is open for submissions! This monthly publication seeks dark fiction, crime, and noir stories of 1,000-2,000 words that align with their monthly theme prompt. Each accepted story is published online and receives a payment of $25, with annual print anthology inclusion. Check the website for the latest prompt and theme details.
https://www.rockandahardplacemag.com/stones-throw-submissions
🔴 DEC 1 · African Poetry Book Fund Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry closes for entries. An African poet is awarded a prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press annually for a debut poetry collection. Writers who were born in Africa, are African nationals or residents, or whose parents are African are eligible. The African Poetry Book Fund editorial board will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 50 pages. There is no entry fee.
http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu
🔴 DEC 1 · Slipstream Press Poetry Chapbook Contest closes for submissions. A prize of $1,000, publication by Slipstream Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of up to 40 pages with a $20 entry fee, which includes a copy of the winning chapbook and an issue of Slipstream.
✅🔴 DEC 1 · Pushcart Press Pushcart Prizes closes for nominations. Publication in The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses is awarded annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published by literary magazines or small presses during the current year. Editors may nominate up to six poems, short stories, novel chapters, or essays published, or scheduled to be published, in 2024. There is no entry fee.
🔴 DEC 1 · Parabola, a quarterly journal, is exploring the theme “THE MYSTERY OF TIME” for its Spring 2025 issue. They welcome submissions in various categories, including articles, translations, retellings, and poetry. Payment details are unspecified. Submit your work at
https://parabola.org/submissions/
🔴 DEC 1 · Eternal Haunted Summer is reading work on the 'Fortune and Luck' theme for its publication. “Improbable events. Random associations, positive and negative. Is it by chance or is it divine intervention?” They seek fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and reviews. Payment is $5.
https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/about/
⭐🎤 DEC 1 · Rattlecast livestreams, is part interview and open mic with a prompt-based open mic. Hangout with Rattle editor Timothy Green and Katie Dozier. Each Rattlecast begins with an interview, a writing prompt, and poets reading from the last week’s prompt. | Rattlecast at 8 pm EST.
⭐ DEC 1 · GoIndieNow presents This Week In Indies for 2024 a weekly Sunday chat show that covers issues relevant for Indie artists and the scoop on who is publishing what and where you can get it. Broadcasting every Sunday at Noon ET/11a CT/10a MT/9a PT.
🟢 DEC 2 · Rattle Magazine’s Ekphrastic Poetry challenge calls for poems inspired by a visual art prompt posted on their site. Poets have until the end of the month to write. Two winners will receive online publication and $100 each.
https://www.rattle.com/ekphrastic/
🟢 DEC 2 · Cincinnati Review seeks prose, poetry, and art. Opens December 1 deadline when submissions cap is filled. Payment is $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry in the journal.
https://www.cincinnatireview.com/submission-guidelines-2021-2/
🟢♻️ DEC 2 · Short Story on Substack opens for short stories from 6-10,000 words in any genre. Payment is $100 + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Selected story to be announced on the 15th. Reprints welcome.
https://shortstory.substack.com/
🎓 DEC 3 · Marketing: Your Online Presence and Other Marketing Strategies—John/Shannon Raab is the latest offering from the Outliers Online Ongoing Writers Conference where all classes are taught by working, best-selling authors with two classes per month, every month on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 4 pm PST. “Writing the book is the easy part, getting people to buy it is the hard part." That's the issue with almost every author in the business, how to get new fans. We will give you tips and ideas on how to make yourself a brand and gain new followers.” Costs $45.
https://www.outlierswritinguniversity.com/ongoingconference
🔴 DEC 4 · Stone’s Throw by Rock and a Hard Place Press is closed for submissions. This monthly publication seeks dark fiction, crime, and noir stories of 1,000-2,000 words that align with their monthly theme prompt. Each accepted story is published online and receives a payment of $25, with annual print anthology inclusion. Check the website for the latest prompt and theme details.
https://www.rockandahardplacemag.com/stones-throw-submissions
🔴 DEC 5 · The J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project closes for submissions. NO ENTRY FEE. Two J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards, each $25,000, to aid in completing significant works of nonfiction on American political or social topics. Applicants must have a U.S.-based publisher contract. Judges consider impact on the book project and financial need of the author.
https://journalism.columbia.edu/lukas
🔴🏆 DEC 6 · The Edgar® Awards, sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America, honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theater. Submissions close for books published in October thru December. Books must be submitted during the month of publication. In addition, the book MUST arrive to the judges within 30 days of sending the submission form to the national office.
https://mysterywriters.org/edgars/edgar-submission-information/
🔴 DEC 6 · Rattle Magazine’s “Poets Respond” challenge calls for poems inspired by “a news story or public event from the previous week, and has been written in the time since.” Selected poems will appear as the Sunday poem at Rattle.com which appear to over 10,000 people via RSS feed and daily email service. Poets will receive $100 and a free print magazine subscription. Each week's deadline is Friday midnight PST.
https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/30232/poets-respond-online
🟢 DEC 6 · Reedsy Prompts calls for short fiction between 1,000 - 3,000 words based on one of five prompts. Writers have until the following Friday at 11.59pm EST to enter. No fee to enter and have work posted. $5 fee to be eligible for the $250 cash prize. New prompt every Friday.
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
⭐🎓 DEC 6 · Rattle Magazine’s livestream Poetry Critique of the Week Rattle's editor hosts a livestreamed poetry critique on YouTube and Facebook, offering suggestions and feedback. The viewing audience is encouraged to participate. The goal is to help us all become better poets through the honest sharing of our reactions, similar to the experience of an MFA roundtable workshop. Critique of the Week at 4 pm EST.
https://www.youtube.com/@RattlePoetry/featured
🔴 DEC 7 · A Coup of Owls closes for submissions for its Spring Issue. They seek stories from underrepresented and marginalized communities across genres and styles, with a preference for unique storytelling approaches, including non-linear narratives and ambiguous endings. Accepted pieces range from 100-word drabbles to 8,000-word short stories. Payment rates are £5 for drabbles, £10 for flash fiction (up to 1,000 words), and £15 for short stories over 4,000 words.
https://acoupofowls.com/submissions/
⭐🎤 DEC 8 · Rattlecast livestreams, is part interview and open mic with a prompt-based open mic. Hangout with Rattle editor Timothy Green and Katie Dozier. Each Rattlecast begins with an interview, a writing prompt, and poets reading from the last week’s prompt. | Rattlecast at 8 pm EST.
⭐ DEC 8 · GoIndieNow presents This Week In Indies for 2024 a weekly Sunday chat show that covers issues relevant for Indie artists and the scoop on who is publishing what and where you can get it. Broadcasting every Sunday at Noon ET/11a CT/10a MT/9a PT.
🔴 DEC 9 · Aminah Robinson Writer/Scholar/Researcher Residency, sponsored by the Columbus Museum, offers a three-month residency from May through July to a poet, fiction writer, or nonfiction writer at the Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson home studio in the Shepard neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The resident is provided with a $15,000 stipend; a private room, studio, and bathroom; and access to Robinson’s art, archive, and library. African American poets, fiction writers, or nonfiction writers (including creative nonfiction writers) who are “interested in topics like those central to the work of MacArthur fellow Robinson” are eligible. To apply, submit up to 20 pages of poetry or prose, a bio, and a list of publications with a $15 entry fee. Accessibility accommodations include an accessible bathroom as well as ASL interpretation, assistive listening devices, transcriptions of talks, and closed captioning.
https://www.gcac.org/grant/2025-aminah-robinson-writer-scholar-researcher-residency/
⭐🎓 DEC 10 · Black Lawrence Press presents Allison Joseph – One Inspiration, Three Forms, Three Poems at 8 pm EST. Attendance is free. Zoom registration required.
https://blacklawrencepress.com/events/
🔴 DEC 13 · Rattle Magazine’s “Poets Respond” challenge calls for poems inspired by “a news story or public event from the previous week, and has been written in the time since.” Selected poems will appear as the Sunday poem at Rattle.com which appear to over 10,000 people via RSS feed and daily email service. Poets will receive $100 and a free print magazine subscription. Each week's deadline is Friday midnight PST.
https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/30232/poets-respond-online
⭐🎓 DEC 13 · Rattle Magazine’s livestream Poetry Critique of the Week Rattle's editor hosts a livestreamed poetry critique on YouTube and Facebook, offering suggestions and feedback. The viewing audience is encouraged to participate. The goal is to help us all become better poets through the honest sharing of our reactions, similar to the experience of an MFA roundtable workshop. Critique of the Week at 4 pm EST.
https://www.youtube.com/@RattlePoetry/featured
🟢 DEC 13 · Reedsy Prompts calls for short fiction between 1,000 - 3,000 words based on one of five prompts. Writers have until the following Friday at 11.59pm EST to enter. No fee to enter and have work posted. $5 fee to be eligible for the $250 cash prize. New prompt every Friday.
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
🔴 DEC 14 · Apparition Lit’s 2024 Flash Fiction Contest closes for submissions of speculative flash fiction (under 1k words) prompted by “Fast or Feast.” The writer of the selected story will be notified and their story published the following month. The prize is $30 USD.
https://apparitionlit.com/submissions/
⭐ DEC 14 · First Friday - Third Thursday Quick Read annual Year End Party Featuring Party Games, Readings, Gifts, and All Manner of Fun! Appearances by a wide array of SW-SW authors from our past 3 years of QuickReads! This free event is hosted by Strong Women - Strange Worlds. Pre-register.
https://strongwomenstrangeworlds.weebly.com/
🔴 DEC 15 · Pretend You Don’t See Her, a Women of Horror Anthology from Kandisha Press, closes for stories from 3000-5000 words about “ordinary, often forgotten ladies with dark secrets.” Payment: Royalties will be paid through Pubshare.
https://kandishapress.com/submissions/
🟢 DEC 15 · Furious Flower Poetry Prize for emerging writers is open until February 15 for submissions from poets with no more than one published book. Eligible poets are invited to submit up to three poems (no more than a total of 6 pages) for consideration. The winner and honorable mention receive $1500 and $750 respectively and will be invited to read James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va in April 2025. The winner, honorable mention, and select finalists will also be published in Obsidian. $15 submission fee.
https://www.jmu.edu/furiousflower/poetryprize/index.shtml
🟢 DEC 15 · penumbric opens until March 15 for submissions of prose and poetry up to 10k words that “constitutes the ever moving edge of its kind, a place between light and dark, consciousness and un…” Payment is $10 USD.
https://www.penumbric.com/subs.html
⭐🎤 DEC 15 · Rattlecast livestreams, is part interview and open mic with a prompt-based open mic. Hangout with Rattle editor Timothy Green and Katie Dozier. Each Rattlecast begins with an interview, a writing prompt, and poets reading from the last week’s prompt. | Rattlecast at 8 pm EST.
⭐ DEC 15 · GoIndieNow presents This Week In Indies for 2024 a weekly Sunday chat show that covers issues relevant for Indie artists and the scoop on who is publishing what and where you can get it. Broadcasting every Sunday at Noon ET/11a CT/10a MT/9a PT.
🎓 DEC 15 · The Arcane University offers valuable video game development skills, including game writing, from experienced modders and industry professionals. In collaboration with TESRenewal, the AU aims to provide teaching and support to any and all members and applicants to help them to acquire, expand, or improve the skill set needed to contribute to Beyond Skyrim and/or their partnered modding projects. In addition, it serves as the primary location for learning or enhancing existing skills for the wider modding community, becoming the go-to place for anyone looking to learn. Free.
🟢 DEC 15 · Star*Line, the official print journal of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA), is a literary venue for speculative (including science-fiction, fantasy, and horror) poets and poetry enthusiasts. The site features interviews, articles, reviews, member news and letters, association business, and poetry. Star*Line is open for submissions year-round. Payment for poetry: 4¢/word rounded to next dollar, minimum $4. Nonfiction, 1¢/word rounded to the next dollar. Reviews pay a flat fee of $4.
https://www.sfpoetry.com/starline.html
🔴 DEC 15 · Fahmidan Journal closes for “your thought-provoking existentialism, your phobias, your darkest moments” as short stories, poetry and flash. Payment is $25 per piece.
https://www.fahmidan.net/journal-submissions
🔴 DEC 15 · Radon closes to short stories and poetry containing elements of anarchism, transhumanism, dystopia, and/or science fiction for their January issue. Payment: 1 cent per word for original work, half a cent per word for reprints.
https://www.radonjournal.com/submit
🔴 DEC 15 · Propagule is currently accepting short stories that embrace experimentation and oddity, exploring the strange, surreal, atypical, and unexpected. “We are excited about stories that have traditionally not been considered literary, such as science fiction and fantasy.” Payment is up to $20.
🔴 DEC 15 · Split Lip Magazine closes tip jar submissions for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, art, interviews/reviews, and mini-reviews. Payment is $75 per author for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews.
https://splitlipthemag.com/submit
🟢♻️ DEC 15 · Luna Station Quarterly opens until February 15 for “speculative fiction written by women-identified authors” from 500 to 7000 words. Reprints considered at least 3 years past their initial publication date. No poetry. $10 USD plus a lifetime digital subscription to the magazine.
https://submissions.lunastationpress.com/
🟢🎓 DEC 17 · The Scholarship From Hell is open until March 1, 2025 for applications for the only scholarship offered by Horror Writers Association. Provides one winner access to the intensive, hands-on workshop environment of Horror University during HWA’s annual StokerCon. The winner of the Scholarship From Hell will receive domestic coach airfare (contiguous 48 states) to and from the StokerCon venue, $50 for luggage reimbursement, a 4 night stay at the convention, free registration to StokerCon, and HU Workshops.
http://horrorscholarships.com/the-scholarship-from-hell/
🎓 DEC 17 · It’s Not Enough To Write A Good Story—Joseph Badal is the latest offering from the Outliers Online Ongoing Writers Conference where all classes are taught by working, best-selling authors with two classes per month, every month on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 4 pm PST. “It's not enough to write a good story. There are rules that must be followed for your writing to be accepted. Joseph Badal, the author of 19 award-winning suspense novels will share with you a list of writing rules he uses as a template to take his manuscripts from rough drafts to publishable works.” Costs $45.
https://www.outlierswritinguniversity.com/ongoingconference
🔴 DEC 19 · Narratively 2024 Memoir Prize is no longer accepting entries for “revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view.” The top three writers will win cash prizes, as well as publication on Narratively.com and inclusion in a special Narratively 2024 Memoir Prize Digital Collection with a Grand Prize of $3,000 USD. Further, Narratively editors will work with the finalists to potentially adapt their stories into larger projects in different mediums (TV, film, podcasts, etc.).
https://narratively.submittable.com/submit/310077/narratively-2024-memoir-prize
🔴 DEC 20 · Rattle Magazine’s “Poets Respond” challenge calls for poems inspired by “a news story or public event from the previous week, and has been written in the time since.” Selected poems will appear as the Sunday poem at Rattle.com which appear to over 10,000 people via RSS feed and daily email service. Poets will receive $100 and a free print magazine subscription. Each week's deadline is Friday midnight PST.
https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/30232/poets-respond-online
⭐🎓 DEC 20 · Rattle Magazine’s livestream Poetry Critique of the Week Rattle's editor hosts a livestreamed poetry critique on YouTube and Facebook, offering suggestions and feedback. The viewing audience is encouraged to participate. The goal is to help us all become better poets through the honest sharing of our reactions, similar to the experience of an MFA roundtable workshop. Critique of the Week at 4 pm EST.
https://www.youtube.com/@RattlePoetry/featured
🟢 DEC 20 · Reedsy Prompts calls for short fiction between 1,000 - 3,000 words based on one of five prompts. Writers have until the following Friday at 11.59pm EST to enter. No fee to enter and have work posted. $5 fee to be eligible for the $250 cash prize. New prompt every Friday.
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
🟢 DEC 21 · Astrolabe is open for submissions until January 21 for fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography/art that explores themes of connection across boundaries, from the mystical to the imaginative. Submissions should total no more than 3,000 words for written pieces or up to five images for art. Payment is $50 per published piece.
https://www.astrolabe.ooo/submissions
⭐🎤 DEC 22 · Rattlecast livestreams, is part interview and open mic with a prompt-based open mic. Hangout with Rattle editor Timothy Green and Katie Dozier. Each Rattlecast begins with an interview, a writing prompt, and poets reading from the last week’s prompt. | Rattlecast at 8 pm EST.
⭐ DEC 22 · GoIndieNow presents This Week In Indies for 2024 a weekly Sunday chat show that covers issues relevant for Indie artists and the scoop on who is publishing what and where you can get it. Broadcasting every Sunday at Noon ET/11a CT/10a MT/9a PT.
🟢 DEC 16 · Radon opens to short stories and poetry containing elements of anarchism, transhumanism, dystopia, and/or science fiction until April 15 for their May issue. Payment: 1 cent per word for original work, half a cent per word for reprints.
https://www.radonjournal.com/submit
🟢 DEC 16 · Fahmidan Journal opens until March 15 for “your thought-provoking existentialism, your phobias, your darkest moments” as short stories, poetry and flash. Payment is $25 per piece.
https://www.fahmidan.net/journal-submissions
⭐🎓 DEC 21 · PARSEC, Pittsburgh’s premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Organization, welcomes the public to their monthly meetings held the third Saturday of each month beginning at 12:30 pm EST. Virtual Zoom meetings are available for those unable to attend in person.
https://parsec-sff.org/monthly-meetings/
🟢 DEC 21 · Astrolabe opens to fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography/art for $50 USD flat rate with free submissions until January 22, 2025.
https://www.astrolabe.ooo/submissions
Always Open ♾️
🟢♾️ · Bad Day Book is currently accepting poetry and prose submissions with themes specified on their site. They offer payment ranging from $40 to $75, depending on length.
https://thebaddaybook.com/faq/
🟢♾️ · New Orleans Review is always open for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submissions. Payment is $300 for nonfiction and fiction prose and $100 for poetry regardless of word counts.
https://www.neworleansreview.org/submit/
🟢♾️ · Griffith Review is always open for nonfiction and fiction submissions on the theme "No Place Like Home," what it means to us, why it matters and how it shapes our sense of self. Payment is $0.75 AUD per word for fiction and nonfiction, $200 AUD per poem and $500 per piece AUD per work commissioned for GR Online.
https://www.griffithreview.com/submit-to-griffith-review/
🟢♾️ · Breath & Shadow is always open for submissions from people with disabilities, broadly defined, encompassing physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, or sensory impairments that significantly affect major life functions. They welcome poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama on any topic, with a focus on disability-related academic or article-type nonfiction. Payment is $20 for poetry and $30 for prose.
https://www.abilitymaine.org/submission-guidelines
🟢♾️ · Craft is always open for “fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as craft essays and interviews.” They offer free submissions with fast response times for BIPOC and other mis- and underrepresented writers. Craft pays $100 for flash and $200 for short fiction and creative nonfiction.
https://craft.submittable.com/submit
🟢 ♾️ · Every Day Fiction is always open for flash fiction up to 1000 words. Payment $3 USD. “All fiction genres are acceptable, and stories that don’t fit neatly into any genre are welcome too.”
https://everydayfiction.submittable.com/submit
🟢♾️ · The Gay & Lesbian Review is always open for “unsolicited manuscripts and proposals on all LGBT-related topics.” Payment is $250 for features.
https://glreview.org/writers-guidelines-for-submission/
🟢♾️ · Reappropriate, an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) race advocacy and feminism blog is always open for pitches on topics such as race, gender, identity, Asian American history, and current events. They pay $75-150 for 800 to 2,500 words.
http://reappropriate.co/submit-writing/
🟢♾️ · Tagg Magazine, a US-based queer women's publication, is always open for pitches on various themes, including personal essays, listicles, dating advice, and fashion-related content. Articles are 350-1,000 words long and pay $75-175. They also welcome pitches for article ideas.
https://taggmagazine.com/contribute/
🟢♾️ · Torch Literary Arts is always open for creative writing by Black women for their Friday Features. “We are interested in work that challenges and disrupts preconceived notions of what contemporary writing by Black women should be” in fiction, hybrid works, poetry, and drama, including pieces accompanied by video or dramatic audio. Payment is $150.
https://torchliteraryarts.submittable.com/submit
🟢♾️ · Solarpunk Magazine is always open for nonfiction that will “stir readers with themes of defiance, change, and achievement.” Payment is $75 for nonfiction.
https://solarpunkmagazine.com/submissions/
🟢♾️ · Bourbon Penn seeks “highly imaginative stories with a healthy dose of the odd” from 2000 - 7500 words for 4¢ / word.
https://www.bourbonpenn.com/submissions
🟢♾️ · Orion's Beau is open until September 10 for LGBTQ science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, and dark fantasy in fiction, poetry, and art. Payment is $3.
https://www.orionsbeau.com/arts-and-literary-submissions
🟢♾️ · Electric Spec closes to speculative fiction stories of “science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre” between 250 and 7000 words for their next issue. Payment is $20 per piece.
http://www.electricspec.com/Submissions.html
🟢♾️ · Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern is open to unpublished fiction up to 10k words. Snail mail submissions. Payment is $400.
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/pages/guidelines-for-quarterly-submissions
🟢♾️ · Star*Line, the official print journal of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA), is a literary venue for speculative (including science-fiction, fantasy, and horror) poets and poetry enthusiasts, and features interviews, articles, reviews, member news and letters, association business, and poetry. Star*Line is open for submissions year-round. Payment for poetry: 4¢/word rounded to next dollar, minimum $4. Nonfiction, 1¢/word rounded to the next dollar. Reviews pay a flat fee of $4.
https://www.sfpoetry.com/starline.html
🟢♻️♾️ · Samovar, published by Strange Horizons, seeks speculative fiction, review-essays, poetry, interview/conversations, and reprints in translation. Payment for fiction is 8 US cents per word to the author, and 8 US cents per word to the translator. Payment for reprints is a flat $100 USD to the author and $100 USD to the translator. Payments for poetry is $40 USD to the author and $40 USD to the translator. Payment for interview/conversations is $40 USD to each participant. Payment for review-essays is $40 USD.
http://samovar.strangehorizons.com/submit/
🟢♾️ · Strange Horizons is open for speculative poetry submissions year-round, including at times when Strange Horizons is closed to fiction submissions. The editors operate on a rotation system, so the person who reads and replies to your poem will depend on when you send it. Payment is $50 USD per poem, regardless of length or complexity.
http://strangehorizons.com/submit/poetry-submission-guidelines/
🟢♾️ The SFWA Blog is open to pitches for original nonfiction articles on topics that might be of interest to new and/or established creators of science fiction and fantasy. SFWA welcomes pitches from both members and nonmembers. Black, Indigenous, and other writers of color, and writers of other under-represented identities, are encouraged to submit article pitches. Payment is 10 cents per word.
https://www.sfwa.org/sfwa-publications/sfwa-blog-guidelines/
🟢♻️♾️ Fusion Fragments is open for unpublished science fiction or SF-tinged literary fiction stories and novelettes ranging anywhere from 2,000 to 15,000 words. Their “tastes lean towards slipstream, cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, and anything with a little taste of the bizarre. FF prefers character-driven stories, and often skews towards quiet, reflective pieces.” Payment is “unpublished work and reprints pay 4 cents (CAD) per word, up to a maximum of $400 (CAD) per story.”
https://www.fusionfragment.com/submissions/
Happy Birthday! Hitting 70 next May, annual exam indicates no immediate problems, so may the Force (or spirits?) be with us!
From my perspective (I have just turned 75) you are a very young woman! You still have the best years of your life ahead of you. Best wishes and Happy Birthday!