Sorry We're Prosed: 25+ fresh writing opportunities
Where to send work about AI, vibrations, plants, and nostalgia
Hello again,
It has been another busy month. Perhaps my most memorable victory has been to finally conquer reading Wuthering Heights, a book that had evaded me on previous attempts but which I sped through this time around.
It reinforces my belief that books are not always wrong for you, they’re just waiting for the right time – in this case a time when I was walking across the moors and visiting the Brontë parsonage in Yorkshire, and if it wasn’t going to work there, i’m not sure it ever was.
Something else I’ve been doing that my past self might not have been able to comprehend is running. Not too far, not too fast, but it seems after about a year of progress, I can now go much further than I ever could before. I’ve been thinking about how running and writing have a lot in common, and how I wish I could approach the latter more like the former in some ways. Perhaps I’ll put my thoughts on that together at some stage.
Lastly a quick note to say I’m going on holiday next month to Canada, and don’t yet know if I’ll manage to schedule another one of these before I go. But fingers crossed.
Closing soon
A last-minute mention for the Surrey New Writers Festival short story competition. This closes 18 April, costs £6 and has the intriguing theme ‘People and Artificial Intelligence’. This one is only for UK residents.
The new issue of Wild Hunt Magazine will have the theme ‘Return’. Short stories are invited until 30 April.
One of the two annual reading windows for The Frogmore Papers is this month, closing on 30 April. If you live in the UK, you have to post your submission.
New Zealand journal Folly is running its competition again this year after a successful launch in 2023, asking for accessible, fun and well-written stories. It costs NZ$10 to enter and the top prize is $1,000. Closing end of April.
The deadline for the Desperate Literature Prize has been extended to 30 April. It costs €20 to enter and the top prize includes €2,000 cash, a residency in Italy, and a manuscript assessment.
The current theme at the Amsterdam Quarterly is ‘Vibration(s)’, with a closing date of 30 April.
A new free essay contest! The Fern Academy Prize is for non-fiction essays that speak to the human experience, and the prize is pretty stacked: £3,000, an agent and a five-day course are part of the winnings. I’ll be interested to see what kind of thing wins this one, as there’s not that much detail on what they’re looking for. Closing 30 April.
For works that resist classification, Dublin-based Gorse is open for new works until 3 May.
The current reading period for fiction submissions at Interpreter’s House is closing on 14 May.
There is a month left to submit to Lunate’s fifth volume on the theme ‘Bodies’. Contributors receive a copy and £100.
Horror publisher Third Estate is open for a month of open novel submissions.
Open now
The Manchester Review, which takes both fiction and non-fiction, is open for submissions at the moment.
Send work on the theme ‘Nostalgia’ to WayWords Literary Journal, a quarterly produced by The Writer’s Workout.
The next Scratch A4 Competition is open until 25 May. This is for short stories under 1,000 words, and though it has no specific geographical restriction you do need to get to central London for an event if your piece is shortlisted.
One of many novel prizes closing at the end of May is the Bath Novel Award. There’s a handy new Q&A here with one of the judges, Catherine Cho.
Submissions are open for various slots at The Metaworker right now.
‘Home’ is the theme of this year’s Fountain Magazine essay contest. The deadline is at the end of June and there’s a $1,000 top prize. Anyone can enter. As I pointed out last year, though, it’s worth being aware that by submitting you give the magazine the right to publish your work even if you don’t win.
The Novel Prize run by New Directions, Fitzcarraldo Editions, and Giramondo is now open. The deadline is 1 June.
I love the idea of this contest run by Uncharted Magazine, which invites your most cinematic stories. There is a $20 fee and a $2,000 top prize. The deadline is 16 June.
It’s the big one! Grist’s annual Imagine 2200 short story competition is open for entries. The climate-themed writing contest is free to enter and the winner gets $3,000. Submissions close 24 June.
Cunning Folk, a gorgeous indie magazine with a folklore focus, is accepting submissions to its online series Spiritus Mundi at the moment, on the theme ‘Talking with plants’. The first response has already gone up, but there’s still time until 1 July to submit.
Opening soon
From 1 May, the Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition is open for entries, with a deadline at the end of July. The entry fee is €19 and the top prize is €2,000.
If it is running this year then I would expect the Caledonia Novel Award to open in May. I’ll share details on here if I see any more, but last year’s are still visible for your perusal here.
Manuscript submissions to indie press Fly on the Wall will open in May, including for novels, novellas and short story collections. They ask you to read at least one book from their back catalog before sending something in.
Also expected to open in May is the CAS Short Story Competition, which usually has a reasonable entry fee. There is no restriction on theme or genre.
One to look out for later in the year, Hotel is launching a new series of collaborative pamphlets called Cordel. Look out for more details on submitting in the Autumn.
Alys, agree with you, books may just be waiting for a right time to read. I’ve tried Jennifer Egan’s “The Goon Squad” several times, never making beyond the first pages. On the other hand, there are books which don’t connect at all, so no sense in giving them a second chance. I’m writing a review on Hernan Diaz’s “Trust” as an example.