For your perusal: freelance writing jobs, competitions, and places to publish.
Each month we scour the myriad opportunites out there and come up with a carefully selected list of competitions, fellowships, grants and jobs for you to browse. But --t his is just a slice of what's out there. Want more? Sign up to our Bloc Boost service, and have a personal, curated list of opportunities delivered to you.
Otherwise, you can also check out writing jobs or writing opportunities pages which are updated daily.
Writing Awards and Competitions
14th Ashurst Business Literature Prize
The State Library of NSW is calling for entries in the 14th Ashurst Business Literature Prize, Australia’s richest and most prestigious literary award for business writing. Eligible books must have been first published between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017, and be commercially available in Australia within this period.
The $30,000 Prize was established by Ashurst to reward exceptional literary works in the fields of finance and business and, importantly, to promote awareness about Australia’s commercial life among the general community.
CLOSING 10/11/17
Bath Children's Novel Award
The Bath Children’s Novel Award was created in 2015 to support and spotlight unsigned children’s novelists around the world. Entries are shortlisted by a panel of Junior Judges aged from 7 to 17 years, with the winner chosen by a leading children’s literary agent. Submissions are OPEN and invited for middle grade and young adult novels in all genres. From funny to dark; fantastic to futuristic; fashionable to forever, our Junior Judges would love the chance to read your book!
CLOSING 19/11/17
The Hope Prize short story competition
Australia is the proverbial ‘lucky country’, yet amid our remarkable prosperity too many pockets of poverty and disadvantage persist in our cities, regions and remote areas. This narrative deserves to be explored through evocative writing.
The Hope Prize encourages writers to explore people's resilience in the face of poverty and disadvantage, to look beyond all too common stereotypes to depict the strengths that people and communities show in dealing with hardship.
Short stories entered for The Hope Prize can be fiction or fact. Whatever the genre, the story submitted must convey the experience of people facing hardship in their lives.
The total prize pool is $17,500, while two Women’s Writing Career Development Scholarships — of $5,000 each — will also be awarded. Authors must be Australian residents and entries must be between 2000 and 5000 words. The closing date for entries is January 31, 2018.
CLOSING 31/01/18
International Radio Playwriting Competition 2018 (BBC)
Writers from around the world are invited to submit scripts for the International Radio Playwriting Competition 2018. The global competition hosted by BBC World Service and the British Council, in partnership with co-producers The Open University, offers the unique opportunity for playwrights to have their radio play heard across the globe by the BBC World Service's millions of listeners.
Whether you're an established or a completely new writer, the International Radio Playwriting Competition welcomes scripts from anyone outside of the UK. The radio dramas can be on any subject you like, as long as they are 53 minutes long.
This year the two first prizes can come from either the English as a First Language or the English as a Second Language category. Both winners will travel to London, attend an award ceremony and see their plays recorded before they're broadcast on the BBC World Service.
There is also a third award — the Georgi Markov prize — which celebrates the most promising script from the shortlist, in honour of BBC World Service Journalist and writer Georgi Markov (1929—1978). The winner of this prize will also travel to London for the award ceremony and spend two weeks being mentored by BBC Radio Drama and BBC World Service.
CLOSING 31/01/18
Judith Wright Poetry Prize
Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets seeks outstanding poetry by writers who have published no more than one collection of poems under their own name (i.e. writers who’ve had zero collections published, or one solo collection published). It remains one of the richest prizes for emerging poets, and is open to poets anywhere in the world.
In 2017, the major prize is $6000, with a second prize of $2000 and a third prize of $1000. All three winners will be published in the first issue of Overland’s print magazine of 2018.
CLOSING 19/11/17
Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel
The Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel is an exciting new award for writers holding New Zealand citizenship or who are permanent residents of New Zealand.
The prize is in memory of Michael Gifkins, much-loved author, editor and literary agent. Thanks to a generous financial commitment from his partner Ann Hatherly and his son André Gifkins, and Text Publishing, the winner will receive a contract for world rights with Text and an advance to the value of NZ$10,000.
CLOSING 20/11/17
Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize
Supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, and named after the late Neilma Gantner, this prize seeks excellent short fiction of up to 3000 words themed around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. This competition is open to all writers, nationally and internationally, at any stage of their writing career.
The winning story will receive a $4000 first prize and be published in Overland’s first print issue for 2018. Two runners-up will each receive $500 and be published at Overland online to coincide with the release of the print magazine.
CLOSING 19/11/17
The Plough International Poetry Prize
For previously unpublished poems on any subject. An Open Competition for a poem up to 40 lines plus, new this year, The Ronald Duncan Short Poem Competition – maximum length 10 lines. Both competitions will be judged by Michael Symmons Roberts. The prizes in each category: 1st prize £1,000 – 2nd prize £500 - 3rd prize £250
CLOSING 31/01/18
The Shared Dream Capbook Contest
In times of anti-immigrant sentiment and racial intolerance, Backbone Press is pleased to announce The Shared Dream Chapbook Contest for immigrant poets. The winning manuscript with be published by Backbone Press, and the author will receive a prize of $250. Submit chapbook-length manuscripts, 18-30 pages.
CLOSING 30/11/17
The Stringybark Malicious Mysteries Short Story Award 2018
In 2013 we ran the first Stringybark Malicious Mysteries Award and it was a great success. We published wonderful tales of mystery and imagination and this time around we want to repeat the process. Any tale with a mysterious element and perhaps a sting-in-the-tail is wanted for this intriguing short story competition.
The prize value for this competition is over $1000 in cash and books. International entries are most welcome. The story must:
1. Address the theme;
2. Be written for an adult audience (that is, we aren't after children's stories); and
3. Be 1500 words or fewer in length.
CLOSING 05/11/17
Strokestown Poetry Competition 2018
Strokestown is Ireland’s longest-running poetry festival, and has established a reputation for friendly informality twinned with deep respect for poetry, poets and poetry lovers. Here’s your chance to take part in it. 1st Prize € 2,000, plus a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat. 2nd Prize € 700. 3rd Prize € 500. Reading fees of € 300 for 5 shortlisted poets. The 8 shortlisted poems will be printed in the Strokestown Anthology 2018. Judges Moya Cannon & Harry Clifton. Prize winner announced in Strokestown 6th May 2018.
CLOSING 01/12/17
The Two Sylvias Press 2017 Wilder Series Poetry Book Prize
The Wilder Series Book Prize is open to women over 50 years of age (established or emerging poets) and includes a $1,000 prize, publication by Two Sylvias Press, 20 copies of the winning book, and a vintage, art nouveau pendant. Women submitting manuscripts may be poets with one or more previously published chapbooks/books or poets without any prior chapbook/book publications. Length: 60-100 pages of poems.
CLOSING 30/11/17
Residencies, Festivals, Fellowships and Funds
Playwriting Australia – Seeking Stageplays
Playwriting Australia is seeking original plays. They approach the selection of plays with care and precision. It is a multi-stage process that involves a number of different readers assessing plays across a detailed list of criteria. It is a process that also allows for readers to be in conversation with them and with each other, ensuring quality control of readers' responses.
They believe terrific new writing must be produced and they do this reading to give playwrights opportunities to develop and/or showcase their best new plays in order to see the work reach production.
All plays submitted to Playwriting Australia are read in their entirety.
Submissions are ongoing.
2018 Hazel Rowley Fellowship
Now in its seventh year, the Fellowship commemorates the life, ideas and writing of Hazel Rowley (1951–2011) and awards $15,000 to an emerging or established Australian writer to support research and development of a new biographical work.
The Fellowship encourages writers to immerse themselves in their subject’s lives and culture.
Hazel’s own career received a boost when receiving a fellowship enabled her to travel to the USA while researching ‘Richard Wright: The Life and Times.’
The Fellowship is open to Australian writers of biography but can also extend to include a writer working on an aspect of cultural or social history. It may be used to fund research or travel, to develop a new proposal, or to progress a manuscript for submission to potential publishers.
Judges will be looking for applicants who demonstrate excellence in the quality of their work, courage in their choice of project, and a passionate engagement with the world of ideas and the way that people live their lives. The subject of the biography needs to be someone who made a demonstrable contribution to society.
CLOSING 16/11/17
The Lighthouse Works’ Fellowship
The program accepts artists working in a wide range of disciplines, but we are best able to accommodate visual artists and writers. Fellowships are six weeks in length, occur year-round and provide fellows with housing, food, studio space, a $250 travel allowance and a $1,500 stipend. Artistic excellence is the primary criteria for acceptance as a Lighthouse Works fellow. We are located in the Annex Building on Fishers Island, NY.
CLOSING 15/02/18
Publications Seeking Submissions
Allen & Unwin Friday Pitch
Allen & Unwin know how difficult it can be for writers to get their work in front of publishers, which is why we’ve created our innovative and pioneering submissions system – The Friday Pitch.
The Friday Pitch allows for writers of all genres to have their work considered by one of our in-house Submission Editors.
Please select the genre of your work, and follow the links to the appropriate submissions page for more details.
CLOSING 31/12/17
Write for Archer
Archer publishes articles and images about sexuality, gender and identity from a diverse range of writers/artists, from all levels of experience.Archer is aimed at all individuals interested in sexuality, gender and equality. Archer promotes inclusivity, regardless of gender identity, geographical location, ethnic identity, sexual orientation or level of education.
We accept pitches for the Archer website all year round. We often source writers from our website. If our editor thinks a piece may be suitable for the print edition, you will be contacted.
CLOSING 31/12/17
Creative Non Fiction True Story Magazine
The Creative Nonfiction Foundation is pleased to announce that, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, we’ve started a new monthly magazine. Each issue of True Story will features one exceptional work of creative nonfiction, and is distributed in print and digitally (though not available online). Submissions should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words long, on any subject, in any style.* Surprise us! The only rules are that all work submitted must be nonfiction and original to the author, and we will not consider previously published work. We’ll pay $300 on publication and give you 10 free copies of “your” issue.
CLOSING 31/12/17
Forever Yours: Now Accepting Book Submissions
Forever is the romance imprint of Grand Central Publishing. Grand Central Publishing is an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, one of the big five publishers. Forever Yours is the digital sister of Forever, they focus on publishing unagented authors, and often publish authors without a publication history. They publish eBooks, but they an option to print on demand any book over 50,000 words in length.
CLOSING 31/12/17
Monthly Catch at Penguin
Do you have a manuscript you would like Penguin to consider? Penguin Group have what’s known as the ‘Monthly Catch’. During the first week of every month, you can submit unsolicited manuscripts for their consideration.
CLOSING 31/12/17
Manuscript Monday - Pan Macmillan
On the first Monday of every month only, between 10am and 4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, we accept electronic submissions that comply with the guidelines set out below.
Manuscript submissions sent on any other Mondays or day of the month will not be read so we advise you to wait until the next month if you miss the deadline.
We are looking for:
Commercial fiction – women’s fiction, romance, thriller, crime, historical, humour, paranormal, fantasy
Literary fiction and non-fiction – novels, short stories, and narrative non-fiction only
Children’s books and young adult – junior and middle grade fiction, young adult/crossover fiction; we are not accepting picture book submissions
Commercial non-fiction – history, memoir, mind body spirit, travel, health, diet, biography
Please familiarise yourself with what we publish. We do not publish scripts, plays or poetry in Australia and will not assess them.
Academic submissions are not accepted during Manuscript Monday.
CLOSING 31/12/17
Right Now
Right Now is committed to covering human rights issues in Australia through free, accessible, creative and engaging online, print and radio media. Creative writing is a great way to explore human rights in Australia: from poetry to flash fiction to long and short pieces. Ongoing.
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.
Seizure - Flashers
At Seizure, short-form work is living large. Flashers is the online home of Australian flash fiction.
Each week we publish work between 50 and 500 words that could be written in an hour and read in a minute. We are looking for short, sharp snippets of prose. But flash fiction is so much more than a quick-fix for the time-hungry wordaholic. Flash fiction attracts writers and readers for its peculiar challenges – and authors have to make every word count.
Accepted pieces will have an accompanying illustration by a volunteer artist that matches and complements the writing. Thanks to the Australia Council, we are able to pay our Flasher contributors $50 for each published piece.
CLOSING 31/12/17
Slice Magazine is open for submissions
SLICE magazine welcomes submissions for short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We’re looking for anyone with a fresh voice and a compelling story to share—basically any work that really knocks our socks off. We’re not drawn to experimental or heavy-handed genre fiction. The best way to get a sense of Slice’s content is to read the magazine. You can subscribe here. At the core, Slice aims to bridge the gap between emerging and established authors by offering a space where both are published side-by-side. In each issue, a specific cultural theme becomes the catalyst for articles, interviews, stories, and poetry from renowned writers and lesser known voices alike. We offer all contributors of Slice a monetary award for their work ($250 for stories and essays and $75 for poems).
CLOSING 01/12/17
Tincture Open Submissions
We are seeking fiction, poetry, scripts and creative non-fiction for our e-book literary journal. Please provide a short single-paragraph bio with your work and read the category guidelines carefully along with the general guidelines at our website: http://tincture-journal.com/submissions/.
CLOSING 04/11/17
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