We've read the Internet cover to cover to bring you these opportunities.

For your perusal: jobs, competitions, and places to publish. If you'd like us to add an opportunity to this list, let us know.

Otherwise find something in this list to help bring you inspiration, fame and $$$.

COMPETITIONS

Writers Bloc Workshop Competition

We think it’s important to invest in literature, and in the future of Australian writers in particular. To that end, each month, we curate, edit, illustrate and publish a selection of original creative writing— and pay the writer professional publishing rates. Each month, we choose one short story, poem, or otherwise brilliant piece of writing to be our Bloc Feature

Each month, we will choose one short story, poem, or otherwise brilliant piece of writing to be our Bloc Feature. The Writers Bloc team of professional editors, teachers and award-winning creative writers will then work with you to polish the piece and publish it along with specially commissioned cover art. A little like this.

Best of all, we’ll pay you $100 for the story, and include you in our end-of year anthology of creative writing.

​In January,  it was our pleasure to publish the very excellent short story  My Brother, The Horsehead, by Rafael Ward as our first Feature

If you’re interested, all you have to do is upload a completed draft of your story to our Workshop section, and join in our community of creative writers.

The Griffith University Josephine Ulrick Literature Prize 2016

For a short story up to 2000 words, with a first prize of $10,000 and a second prize of $5,000. The prizes are funded by Griffith University and administered by the School of Humanities in agreement with the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Foundation for the Arts, and are amongst the richest short story competitions in the world. Closing date: Friday 12 February, 2016

The Griffith University Josephine Ulrick Poetry Prize 2016

For a short story up to 100 lines, with a first prize of $10,000 and a second prize of $5,000. The prizes are funded by Griffith University and administered by the School of Humanities in agreement with the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Foundation for the Arts, and are amongst the richest short story competitions in the world.Closing date: Friday 12 February, 2016

THE WHITE REVIEW SHORT STORY PRIZE 2016 (UK)

The White Review Short Story Prize is an annual short story competition for emerging writers. Made possible by the generous support of the Jerwood Charitable Foundation in 2013, the prize awards £2,500 to the best piece of short fiction by a writer resident in the UK and Ireland who has yet to secure a publishing deal. In addition to the £2,500 prize, the winner will be published in a quarterly print issue of THE WHITE REVIEW. Submissions will close on 1 March 2016.

Ubud Writers Festival AAWP Short Story Competition.

The winner of this Prize will receive a ticket to Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF), accommodation for the duration of the festival and $500 towards economy airfares. In addition, you will receive a one-year annual membership to the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) and fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP, where you are invited to read from your work. In addition, the editors at Meniscus will consider your work for publication. 

The Prize opens on the 21st January 2016 and closes at midnight on 15th May 2016. Late submissions will not be accepted. 

GAT Literary Prize (Canada)

The GAT Literary Prize is an international prize established by Toronto-based Global Asian Times to promote the finest in short fiction by rewarding the most outstanding and compelling short stories of the year from across the world. We honor talented writers by bringing their work to wide international readership. Top 5 contestants will win cash prizes totaling $2000. A video of their story being read by an acclaimed Canadian writer will be shared separately for each winner on multiple platforms for optimum exposure. The winning stories, along with a personalized interview with the winner, will also appear in print in Global Asian Times and GAT Literary Prize.

Aerogramme Writer's Studio— 23 Short Story Competitions

A comprehensive list of 23 American Short Story Compeitions in 2016.

Thee Ginosko Flash Fiction Award is for an unpublished work of flash fiction of up to $800 words.  $500 Award, $10 entry fee.

Deadline for Contest March 1, 2016.

Griffith Review The Novella Project IV

Submissions are now open for Griffith Review’s The Novella Project IV competition. Winning novellas will share in a $25,000 prize pool and will be published in Griffith Review 54: The Novella Project IV (26 October 2016). Each entrant will receive a free one-year digital subscription to Griffith Review. Submissions close 13 May 2016. Early submissions are encouraged.

Jobs and Internships 

Electric Literature Internship Spring 2016 (USA)

Do you love literature and writing? Are you looking for an entry into the New York literary world? Consider joining the Electric Literature team! Electric Literature’s volunteer internships introduce undergraduate and graduate students and emerging writers to digital publishing and the New York literary scene.

To apply, please send the sample post, cover letter, and resume to [email protected] by February 5th.

Express Media — Voiceworks Editor

Express Media currently seeking an inspiring creative leader with a passion for language, an eye for detail and excellent editing skills. The Voiceworks Editor works within the Express Media team and is primarily responsible for the artistic direction and production of four issues of Voiceworks per year, as well as managing an Editorial Committee of up to 20 volunteers to undertake production tasks including selecting content, editing and providing feedback and support for young writers.

The Voiceworks Editor is paid for four working days per week and is a two-year contract position based at the Express Media office, Level 3, The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Applicants must be 25 years or under at the time of commencing employment.

Applications close at 9am on Monday February 15, 2016. Interviews for the position will take place in the week commencing Monday February 22. The successful candidate is expected to begin in the role on Monday March 7.

We are currently seeking a Finance & Administration Coordinator with an interest in writing and literature to join our small but busy team. The Finance & Administration Coordinator is responsible for the organisation’s financial processes, including the handling of accounts payable and receivable, financial data entry, payroll and the preparation of budget reporting. Administration responsibilities include email and written correspondence, managing memberships, subscriptions and contacts databases, and ensuring a high level of administrative support for the CEO.

The Finance & Administration Coordinator is paid for one working day per week and is based at the Express Media office, Level 3, The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne.

Applications close at 9am on Monday February 15, 2016. Interviews for the position will take place in the week commencing Monday February 22. The successful candidate is expected to begin in the role on Monday March 7.

Express Media — Communications Intern (Volunteer Aged 18-24)

We are currently seeking an intern who is enthusiastic about writing and professional communications to join our small but busy team. Focussed on assisting the CEO and marketing staff to engage new and existing members and promote the work of the organisation, this is a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience and expand on skills in marketing, media and communications.

This voluntary position is for the equivalent of one day per week, 10am-3.30pm from March to December 2016, and may fit with the internship project requirements of arts management, communications or professional writing students. The position is located at the Express Media office, Level 3, The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Applicants must be under 25 at the time of commencing the internship.

Applications close at 9am on Monday February 15, 2016. Interviews for the position will take place in the week commencing Monday February 22. The successful candidate is expected to begin in the role on Monday March 7.

Click here for further information on how to apply.

If you would like to make an enquiry about the position please call Express Media on (03) 9094 7886 and speak to Pippa Bainbridge, General Manager / CEO.

Black Inc. Publishing Assistant

Melbourne-based publisher Black Inc. are recruiting for a publishing assistant. The role is full-time, and is an incredible opportunity for anyone looking to break into publishing. Click here for the position description.

Applications close Feb 5.

Scholarships, Residencies and Agencies. 

The 2016 black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowships 

The black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowships are open to all writers (published and unpublished) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent currently living in Australia. The Fellowships are open to adult fiction, young adult fiction, short story collection, poetry collection and children’s book manuscripts. Entries must include a Confirmation of Aboriginality Form/ Letter of Confirmation with a common seal from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander incorporated community organisation. There is no entry fee. Two winners will each recieve $10,000 prize money, Manuscript development with black&write and a publication opportunity with Hachette Australia. Entries must be submitted before 5pm on Friday 26 February 2016.

PitchLab

PitchLab is an innovative new approach to selling long-form feature articles to magazines, radio programs, websites, and newspapers. It follows the same successful business model that works in the book publishing industry. Their team of mentors will take your idea out to the market and find it the best possible home. They oversee the business side of the publishing process, negotiate the contracts, and process the billing so that you can focus on what is really important. PitchLab aims to develop new and established writers into world-class journalists. PitchLab charges an industry standard 15% commission for the pieces that we agree to work on, and our experience suggests that writers who use agents generally make more than they would if they negotiated on their own. 

Publications Seeking Submissions

Scum Mag

Scum is interested in publishing feminist-friendly work of any variety, but as a general rule your piece should be under 1000 words (50 lines for poetry) and able to be classified as “fiction”, “culture”, “memoir”, “column”, “poetry”, and/or “review”. They tend not to publish traditional reviews of books and films—to get a feel for the reviews they do publish, check the review tag. Feel free to pitch to them if you’re not sure if your piece is a good fit. (Please note that they don’t accept pitches for fiction or poetry.) 

Submissions to Scum are open the first week (from the 1st to the 7th) of every month. The rest of the month, submissions are closed. They pay $60 per piece of writing. 

Alien She Zine

Alien She publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art and review. They are looking for work that doesn’t fit neatly into the above categories. They want you to show us things we don’t even know about – to take them out into the night, point to the stars and show us something we’d never seen before. They are excited by the diverse, original, subversive, pioneering, political, open-minded, sexual, intellectual, confronting, perverse, heartfelt and hateful. 

Alien She Zine encourage previously unpublished submissions from all voices of every background, nationality, race, sexuality, and gender.

Pilcrow & Dagger

We accept short stories, essays and poetry. We are looking for original works that are thought-provoking and creative with literary merit and interest for a wide audience. We encourage simultaneous submissions but please let us know if your work has been accepted for publication with another periodical. If you’d like to attach a photo or an original piece of artwork that compliments your submission that would be awesome.

One Teen Story

One Teen Story publishes Young Adult writing, providing opportunities to established adult authors and emerging teen authors of YA. Offering $500 (US) to twelve accepted submissions, rights revert to the author upon publication.

Uneven Floor (poetry)

Uneven Floor, an independent poetry publication based in Perth, Western Australia, is seeking poetry submissions for its online magazine.

Unpaid, editors ask that writers read their website thoroughly to get a feel for their tone before submitting. Ongoing.

Stereo Stories

Stereo Stories is a Melbourne-based website that publishes well-written, evocative, concise stories. About songs.

You’re welcome to write about all sorts of songs, including songs that are already on the site.

You can send us a story or you can send us an idea, just a few sentences. Either way, we’ll get back to you.

Please include song title, a place and a time at the top of the story and, if possible, a link to a film clip of the song at the end of the story.

Word length for stories? Up to 800 words, thanks.

The Wrong Quarterly

We accept fiction of under 6,000 words, fully edited, and previously unpublished. We also accept non-fiction, life-writing, and essays of under 5,000 words.

The Pear Drop

We want to tell stories that document and explore the human condition from all perspectives. We are curious about how local culture blends with international identity to transcend the personal and achieve a greater resonance. We believe arts, culture and information should be open and free for all.

Byte Stories

A place to share stories around a digital fireplace, and a publisher of very short fiction. 

Make sure you stay up to date with the best writing opportunities and more by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

Have you got something the community should know about? A job vacancy, competition or call for submissions? Write to us [email protected] or let us know on Twitter and we'll include it in our next month's list of wonderful opportunities.