February Roundup: Competitions, prizes and more!

Lots of opportunities for short story writers, essayists and poets 🌟 | You have absolutely nothing to lose when you put yourself and your work out there.

Feb 23, 2024

Hello and Salams friends,

I pray you’ve had a great week, and your writing is going smoother than mine is. I’m still struggling with starting or finding momentum for my novel-length project. I recently bought a notebook to revert to handwriting, and some days have been better than others. But I’m trying hard to stick to my promise of kindness to myself this year. I’m working on a thesis, I have to spend time on research for my critical essay, I keep having deadlines, so it’s okay that writing another thing isn’t easy. I started the year with a few writing projects in mind, but I’m pleased to report that I’m not feeling disappointed that they’re slow going or not moving at all.

While my writing isn’t going at the pace I would like, my reading is going well. During my two-week placement at Pan Macmillan, I amassed at least fifty free books, including already and soon-to-be published books(they kept asking me to take more, every day I wished I brought a suitcase). From that stack, I’m currently enjoying a short story collection, ‘Green Frog’ by Gina Chung centred around Korean American characters, exploring themes of womanhood, bodies, animals and transformation as a means of survival. It’s out next month in the US and in July in the UK. Some of her stories are reminiscent of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s.

If like me, you sometimes have doubts about being a writer, I would love to leave you with this newsletter which delves into Octavia E Butler’s notes/journals featuring her writing process, affirmations to herself and her ‘essentials of success’. I came away from this feeling motivated, unstoppable and ready to take on the world.

⚡️Opportunities to apply for:

This week’s opportunities mainly focus on journal/magazine submissions. Short fiction and non-fiction are a great way to get your work out into the world, obtain feedback and sometimes experience working with an editor. Also, most of the journals below pay the writers they publish.

Short works and Poetry:

Lolwe: Literary magazine publishing work by Black (African, Caribbean, Diaspora) artists and are open to submission for their ninth Issue. They welcome: fiction, essays, poetry and photography. There’s no theme for this one, so don’t hesitate to send any work of short fiction, non-fiction and poetry to have sitting in folders on your laptop. | Deadline: 29th February 2024
Isele Magazine: Another magazine seeking submissions for their next issue, on the theme of grief. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, visual art, and hybrid works. In their words: ‘Grief from losing a loved one. Grief from giving up on your dreams and aspirations. Grief from living in a broken world. Grief from losing your health and bodily functions. Grief from losing your job. Grief from losing an animal companion. | Deadline: 29th February 2024
Sans Press: Accepting short stories submissions for their new collection, on the theme Stranger. In their words: Stranger is an anthology for stories that look into unexpected places. We want real or magical, lyrical or experimental, as long as it finds that truth wasn't as simple as once thought.| Deadline: 12th March 2024
The Rumpus: One of the many magazines whose newsletter I’m subscribed to. They publish really good work, and the editors work with the authors they publish to get their piece to the best it can be. | Deadline: 15th March 2024
Gutter: Open to submissions for Issue #30 for poetry, fiction and essays in Scotland and beyond. Love this about them: We believe great fiction and poetry transcends boundaries, and reject any distinction between literary and genre, high art and popular culture. | Deadline: 16th March 2024
The Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize: The competition is for original short fiction between 1000 and 5000 words. There are cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners, as well as editorial feedback and access to several courses and workshops. | Deadline: 7th April 2024, 5pm
the other side of hope: A UK-based literary magazine edited by immigrants & refugees, creating a home for migrant writers and poets of the world. | Deadline: 30th April 2024
Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize: This is a prestigious prize (with £1,000 to be won), and shortlisted authors will be published in Wasafiri magazine, online or in print, with the possibility of being included in an anthology. | Deadline: 1st July 2024
CRAFT: They accept fiction and non-fiction, but they also have a submission form specifically for BIPOC and other underrepresented writers where they provide a response within four weeks of submission. | Deadline: Open all year round

Book Prizes:

Chicken House Books: Are you working on a children’s novel (age 7 up to and including YA)? This publishing house is opening submissions for only 24 hours on the 29th February 2024, for an opportunity to receive feedback and mentoring from their editorial team. You need a cover letter, a one-page synopsis and the first 1,500 words or first three chapters of your novel. | Deadline: 29th February 2024
Chapter One Prize for Novelists: Are you confident that the first chapter of your novel-in-progress is super amazing, attention-grabbing (and all of the things a first chapter is meant to do)? There’s prize money up for grabs for the novelist with the best first chapter. | Deadline: 1st March 2024
Screen Door Press Imprint: Seeking to ‘thought-provoking books that use relatable characters, strong narratives, and beautiful language to champion diverse views from throughout the Black diaspora.’ | Deadline: 15th March 2024
Masobe Books: This publishing house based in Nigeria is open to submissions to works of all genre in literary fiction and non-fiction. They are particularly on the lookout for romance (as are several other publishing houses at the moment) | Deadline: 31st March 2024
Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant: If you already have a publishing contract (with a UK, US or Canadian publisher) to write a non-fiction book for a general adult readership, this one’s for you. There’s $40,000 on offer to be awarded to as many as ten writers. | Deadline: 23rd April 2024
Daybreak Press: This publisher is seeking clean (inspirational) romance stories for a target audience of YA to adult. In their words: ‘we are looking for stories that are driven by the characters faith, exclude intimate details and foul language, and end happily ever after!’ | Deadline: Ongoing submissions

Miscellaneous

Scott Trust Bursary: Calling all budding and aspiring journalists, this is a bursary to study an MA in Journalism. The bursary includes tuition, at least £6,749 towards living expenses, paid work placements at the Guardian during your Masters, a mentor, and an opportunity for a 9-month fixed term contract at the Guardian after graduation. | Deadline: 25th March 2024, 5pm

✍🏾Writing Prompt

Here’s the opening few sentences from the short story ‘Windfalls’ by one of my favourite authors, Lesley Nneka Arimah (read the full story, here):

The first time you fell, you were six. Before then you were too young to fall and had to be dropped, pushed, made to slip for the sake of authenticity. You learned to fall out of self-preservation as your mother pushed too hard, dropped from too high a height…

Feel free to share your writing in the comments:

Qalb Writers Collective

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