Sorry We're Prosed: Writing opportunities for June
This month's prizes and reading windows
Hello again,
The writing opportunities are having what I believe the kids call a vibe shift this month. So much closed on 31 May, and so much opened on 1 June. Get ready for a fresh batch of openings.
You may notice that this is coming to your inbox on a different day than usual. My schedule has changed recently, and I’m trying to figure out the best time to send these monthly listings. If you have any thoughts on when would be the most useful time for it to come through, do let me know.
And now on with the listings.
Closing soon
Up until 12 June, Melbourne-based journal Antithesis is looking for writing on the theme ‘Tender’.
Awesome Scottish indie magazine Extra Teeth is open until 14 June. They pay and also have a mentorship scheme which you can apply to alongside submitting.
Ongoing, a journal which invites either writing or music submissions in response to a prompt, and then selects one of those to be the next prompt, is open until 26 June for its latest cycle.
A nice little regular contest here: Beagle North Publishing has regular story competition with a gift voucher prize. Its current theme ‘Connections’ closes 30 June but there are new ones each quarter.
There’s a few contests closing at the end of the month. The Moth Short Story Prize, which is judged by Sarah Hall this year, closes on 30 June.
The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize is also open until 30 June.
And the deadline for the V.S. Pritchett short story competition is coming up on 1 July.
Fiction and non-fiction submissions are still open at Alien Magazine until 2 July.
Open now
Here’s an opportunity I’ve been waiting to see reopen for a while: indie magazine Cunning Folk is taking submissions for its online series, Spiritus Mundi, until 10 July. This time the theme is ‘Speaking with Plants’. There’s no pay but it’s a great fit for anyone whose writing touches on folklore, the occult, and magic.
Gothic lit mag Diet Milk is seeking submissions including short stories for its Fall/Winter issue until 8 July.
Got something futuristic, dark, cyberpunk, all of the above? The Dread Machine is now open for submissions.
Until 31 July, submissions for Superlative Literary Journal are open on the theme of ‘Futures’. There’s a token payment available.
Big yes to a reasonably-priced competition, especially one run by such a respected magazine as Joyland. Their Open Borders contest will take works from anywhere, so long as they’re in English (including translations) and it only costs $5 to enter! Closes 31 July.
If you’re looking for an interesting theme to inspire you, try this one on for size: Grimoire is looking for submissions on ‘The Goth Narcissus’ until 1 August.
Defunkt is looking for fiction and non-fiction on the theme of ‘Anatomy’. Contributors get a small fee based on the magazine’s Patreon subscriptions.
I feel like it should be on my literary bucket list to submit something to Taco Bell Quarterly. Anyway, now’s my chance because they’re open until 6 September. They pay!
Opening Soon
Digital magazine The Hellebore will open again on 10 June, taking short fiction and non-fiction.
The Costa Short Story Award should be opening in July. This is a big one for UK and Ireland-based writers because there’s usually a big prize and it’s free to enter.
Update 10/06/22: Costa has announced that it is ending its book awards, which presumably means the Short Story award is over too. Sad times.
Fairytale magazine Enchanted Conversation has short, sharp submission windows and the next one starts on 1 July. The theme for this year is ‘Weather’.
Briefly Write’s zine is set to reopen next month - this one is for very short pieces under 600 words.
The reading period for the Virginia Quarterly Review is just around the corner.
Speculative fiction magazine Mythaxis has a reading period for a week starting 23 July.