For as long as I’ve been writing and submitting work, there’s always been the idea that summer is a dead period, and there’s no use in sending out work. It seems like that couldn’t be less true. Here are a dozen calls and opportunities for writers, and I hope you’ll take advantage of them and get your words out there. Good luck!
Assistant Director for Baltic Writing Residency
The Baltic Writing Residency, an international residency program for writers, with locations in the UK, Sweden, and the U.S, seeks an Assistant Director. In consultation with the Director, the Assistant Director will help oversee operations including the planning of readings, securing of lodgings, updating social media posts, sending out announcements, responding to general emails, communications with readers/screeners, as well as with judges, and universities, as well as offering input on applications, website, and general workings of BWR (we welcome innovation and change!). The position is volunteer, and the number of hours per week worked by the Assistant Director depends on the residency application cycle. The hours are not enormous, but the work substantive and important. In turn, the Assistant Director will have immense control over when they work, and will work entirely from where they reside, by accessing the BWR email and online submission manager, etc. In turn, the readers/screeners will receive comprehensive exposure to the workings and business of writing residencies in a friendly, congenial atmosphere, leaving with job experience, a deepened literary education, and an excellent reference for his or her resume. Qualifications: Applicants for this position should have experience working with a literary organization (residency, literary journal, writing program, etc.). Any graphic design experience is highly appreciated, but not necessary. If interested please email: balticresidency (at) gmail (dot) com.
Cobalt Review/Cobalt Press Fiction Editor
Cobalt Review/Cobalt Press is seeking a new fiction editor to help us reimagine how we publish our literary journal this summer. The position is unpaid/volunteer, but will have full autonomy over content selected and published. A new website and a new publishing schedule are in development, and the fiction editor would determine their own time commitment. If you are interested in joining this scrappy team of misfits, shoot an email to Publisher/Chief Baseball Officer Andrew Keating: ak (at) cobaltreview (dot) com.
Creative Nonfiction Seeks Submissions on “Power”
Deadline: June 10, 2019. Creative Nonfiction is looking for new work about power. For this issue, we are seeking true stories that explore the dynamics within groups and systems, however big or small—for example, family units, schools, sports, churches, and government. Share your stories about power lunches, power grabs, power suits, powerlifting, people power (and/or power to the people), or willpower. Above all, we are seeking vivid narratives, sourced from true events, that demonstrate strong storytelling, voice, and grasp of detail. Essays must be previously unpublished and no longer than 4,000 words.
www.creativenonfiction.org/submissions/power
Prairie Ronde Invites Applications for Artists Residencies
The Prairie Ronde Residency is looking for individuals who are highly independent, engaged and curious. We do not limit our residency to any specific medium but, rather, are looking for people who can creatively interact with the space we have to offer and the community of historic Vicksburg, Michigan. Through the program, visual artists, writers, and musicians will receive a $2,000 stipend, a $500 travel grant, and the private use of a car for a residency of between four and seven weeks. Residencies will occur October 1, 2019, through December 15, 2019. Application deadline: June 15, 2019.
prairierondeartistresidency.com
Orison Books Anthology about Eve
Orison Books invites submissions of poems on the subject of the Biblical character Eve for a forthcoming anthology, to be edited by Luke Hankins and Nomi Stone. Send up to 4 poems in Word or RTF format for consideration to editor (at) orisonbooks (dot) com, along with a biographical note of 50 words or less. Use “Eve Anthology” as the subject line. Poems may be new or previously published; if previously published, please include information about where they originally appeared. Contributors will receive a complimentary copy of the anthology and a discount on any additional copies. Deadline: July 1, 2019.
http://orisonbooks.com/submission-guidelines
The Familiar Wild: On Dogs and Poetry
Sundress Publications announces an open submission call for The Familiar Wild: On Dogs and Poetry, an anthology that centers the storied, yet perpetually mystifying connection that dogs and humans share with a new focus: the historical and contemporary relationships between poets and dogs. Reaching beyond a generic celebration of the “dog-owner bond,” The Familiar Wild: On Dogs and Poetry will also interrogate and focus it: why (and how) do dogs appear in poets’ poems, and what does it mean to have a dog beside a poet at their writing desk? Why might poets in particular be drawn to dog companionship? This collection will examine both the routine and the unexpected lives we’ve built with our dogs, exploring wildness and domestication, boundaries and freedom, rescue, and grief through poetry centered on the complicated, expansive dog-poet connection. This call takes particular interest in voices and histories not usually centered in this conversation, particularly those that consider the role of the dog-poet bond in relation to disability, queerness, race, gender, age, and more. Interested poets should submit a cover letter, 3-5 poems, and an optional short (max.. 500 words) essay that considers their personal relationship to the anthology’s subject matter. We intend to include these essays alongside chosen poems for each author. Please feel free to interpret the themes of the anthology widely: however best fits you, your work, and your relationship to dogs. We want to be surprised! That said, poems must engage with dogs or dog companionship/ownership in some way (we’re not looking for poems not about dogs). The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2019. To submit, attach your manuscript as a single DOCX or PDF file to thefamiliarwild (AT) gmail (DOT) com. If the poems have been previously published elsewhere and/or simultaneously submitted, please indicate this in your cover letter. We will happily consider previously published poems so long as the poet retains the rights to reprint them. The poets Ruth Awad and Rachel Mennies will serve as co-editors for this anthology.
Charlotte Mew Contest
Headmistress Press announces our 5th annual Charlotte Mew Chapbook Contest. Winner receives $300 plus 20 copies of the winning book. All entries will be considered for publication. Contest closes on July 4, 2019. There is a sliding scale reading fee, with fee waived upon request. Our judge for this year is Robin Becker.
https://headmistresspress.submittable.com/submit
Sand
We are open to submissions through July 6, 2019. We are looking for writing and art that catches us by surprise. We accept previously unpublished short stories, poetry, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and many forms of visual art. We’re particularly interested in work by women, people from the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and people from marginalized locations. Aside from submissions for our print journal, we are always looking for guest website posts that relate to literature, art, and Berlin.
sandjournal.com/submit-your-work
Poetry South
Poetry South is reading for issue 11. Send 1-4 poems by July 15, 2019. Published by the low-residency MFA program at Mississippi University for Women, Poetry South is an international journal, open to a diverse range of poets from all backgrounds, nationalities, and styles. Back issues are available to read on our website. There is no fee to submit; payment in copies.
https://www.poetrysouth.com/submit
The Tishman Review
Please send at least three (3) poems and up to four (4) poems, with each new poem beginning on a fresh page. We prefer the concrete over the abstract. We are open to the possibilities an author may present and are not expecting a particular kind of story. With that in mind, please submit your very best work, the work you are most proud of, the work that best represents your voice in the world. Micro-fiction: up to 300 words. You may include up to 3 pieces of micro-fiction in one submission. Flash fiction: up to 1,000 words. Short Story: up to 6,000 words. We are also looking for personal essays, memoir, lyric essays and literary journalism up to 5,000 words. Submit by July 15, 2019.
thetishmanreview.com/2019/01/submit
The Collagist
The Collagist will consider short fictions of up to 8000 words, though much of the work we publish is considerably shorter. Our tastes are idiosyncratic, but a look at work we’ve published recently may help. If sending very short fiction (less than 1000 words), you may submit up to three such very short fictions as a single file. We’ll also consider submissions of up to 6 poems and no more than 8 pages. We enjoy reading a broad range of styles, from formal to free to experimental, and are looking to publish work that feels urgent and finely tuned. Essays and nonfiction of up to 8000 words are also accepted. Simultaneous submissions are fine; multiple submissions are not. Submit by July 31, 2019.
https://thecollagist.submittable.com/submit
Gay is a new publication partnership between Roxane Gay and Medium. Laura June Topolsky is the Deputy Editor and Kaitlyn Adams serves as Managing Editor. We will be publishing work weekly, covering a wide variety of topics. We will also assemble ambitious, compelling quarterly themed issues. We are now accepting submissions, on a rolling basis, and look forward to hearing from new and established writers who possess original voices. The PITCH DEADLINE for the second quarterly issue: August 17th: Pain. What hurts you? How do you deal with hurt and suffering? How have you hurt others or yourself? How do you negotiate the suffering of others?
Denton Loving 