Sorry We're Prosed: Writing opportunities for August
Summer subbin' had me a blast
Hello again,
It’s been feeling a little quieter on the submissions front lately, both in terms of opportunities floating around and my personal efforts. The summer lull is upon us, and it’s making me want to retreat a little bit. I’ll be writing more about that later this month. But despite the slowdown, there’s still a good range of open calls this month.
A small note for this month’s listings: where possible I do include paying opportunities, and I have a general rule against ones which charge submissions fees. However, many don’t pay, and I was finding it repetitive to keep adding this fact to each listing.
So for now, I am only going to note where calls have explicit mention of pay. If no pay is mentioned, it’s either because there is none or because the publication hasn’t made it very clear.
OK, let’s get stuck in.
Closing soon
If you happen to have a story that features a lighthouse, Eibonvale Press is putting together an anthology of stories called At the Lighthouse. It closes on 7 August.
Short stories and non-fiction can be sent to The Swamp magazine, until 15 August or until they hit their submissions cap. They favour work with a sense of place, especially the southern gothic.
Essays and fiction are open until 15 August at The Boiler Journal.
Anyone who has a personal story with universal appeal can send their non-fiction to Months to Years until 15 August.
Applications for residencies at Derek Jarman’s former home Prospect Cottage in Kent are open until 26 August.
The Rumpus is in one of its open reading periods for original fiction, up until 31 August.
All through 2023, Rooster Republic Press will be publishing weekly short horror stories on its website, under a new column called ‘Two-thousand Word Terrors’. Pay is 1 cent a word, and submissions are open now until 31 August.
Split Rock Review will be open until the end of the month for fiction of various lengths.
The free-to-enter Val Wood Prize is open to short stories until 31 August. They have a £100 prize, and there is both an international category and one just for people who live in Yorkshire.
Fiction, non-fiction, and translation all welcome at Defunct Magazine until 1 September.
Bridge Eight was would like to read your essays on the topic of Better Call Saul. Deadline on 1 September.
The PG Wodehouse Society essay prize closes on 1 September. They are looking for essays about the author’s work, and it’s free to enter with a £1,000 prize.
Up until 1 September, the reading period for the spring issue of Sidereal Magazine. They take essays and hybrid work.
Open now
The Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize is open again. Entries cost £10, top prize is £2,500. They tend to favour work that is experimental in form - read the whole archive of past winners on their website. Deadline 16 October.
Guernica Magazine has reopened for fiction submissions, and is also open for non-fiction including memoir, reportage, and essays. Pay is between $100 and $150.
For UK residents without an agent or previously published book, the Daily Mail is running a competition with a top prize of a £20,000 advance on a publishing contact. Read the full terms and conditions carefully before submitting.
Brigids Gate Press is accepting submissions for a gothic romance anthology, with professional pay rates. The reading period lasts until the end of September.
Opening soon
Horror and weird fiction audio magazine PsuedoPod will be open for general submissions on 12 August, for a very short reading period which closes 22 August. They pay professional rates.
Submissions for the theme ‘Nostalgia’ will open at speculative magazine Apparition Lit on 15 August. They pay 5 cents a word.
The 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize will open for submissions on 1 September. This one is free to enter so always worth a punt if you’re from a Commonwealth country.
Opening on 1 September, the New England Review will be looking at several categories including fiction, non-fiction, and translation. Pay is $20 a page.
One of my favourites, Weird Horror, opens for issue 6 submissions in September. I had a story in issue 2 and had a fantastic experience with this magazine - and they pay.
A new food-themed zine called Scran has said it will open for submissions soon. Follow their Twitter to keep on top of updates.
Always open
Verso Books editor John Merrick has noted that the publisher’s blog is always open for short essay ideas, and they pay £125. See his Twitter thread for more on what they are looking for.
An update to the opportunity I mentioned a few months ago at British women’s magazine Stylist: they have quietly updated the terms so that they no longer restrict submissions by gender, leaving them open to everyone (though nominally you must reside in the UK/Ireland). They are looking for short stories of 1,000 words and will pay £200.
Salò Press has a chapbook imprint called Flirtations that has fairly open criteria, looking at short stories, essays, and experiments. Have a look at their previous publications to get a sense of what they like.
Crowdfunding publisher Unbound is always open to pitches from new authors. Head of publishing Mathew Clayton recently posted about what non-fiction subjects he’s interested in.
That’s all for now. As ever, please let me know if you have any newly published work (especially if you found the opportunity through this newsletter) that I can signal-boost with a mention in the next email.