94 Calls for Submissions in November 2024 - Paying markets

This November there are more than seven dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

Happy submitting!

Note: I update this list continually throughout the month, so check back frequently for new submission calls.

 (Image: Pxhere)

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The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Fiction, flash fiction, micro-fiction. Length: Under 3,000 words preferred. Payment: $75. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2024. They open to fee-free submissions on the first of each month and close when they reach their quota.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 15 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Broken Tribe Press. Genre: Poetry books 60 pages +, short fiction collections 90 pages+, novellas 90+ pages, and novels under 100,000 words, all excluding front and back matter. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Ninth Letter Web Edition. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $25 per poem and $75 for prose. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of  queer and trans writing. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. "Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it." Payment: $25. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Olit. Restrictions: Strong preference for Orlando based writers/submissions about Orlando and surrounding areas. Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Artwork, Photography. "Send us all kinds of stuff. We love the artfully weird." Payment: $10. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Poetry Ireland Review. Genre: Poetry. Payment: €50, or a year's subscription to the review. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Antiphony Press. Genre: Poetry collection. Payment: $500 plus 10 copies of your book. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: November 1, 2024. See themes.

Cutleaf. Genre: Poetry Payment: $50 to $100. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Iron Horse. Genre: Poems, stories, and essays that center around deception: false pretenses, fraud, sleight-of-hand tricks, the Big Lie, poker faces, academic dishonesty, infidelity, AI, spin jobs, any type of monkey business. "We'll be especially happy to receive manuscripts about the lies that save people."

Payment: $100 per essay or story, and $50 per poem or flash piece. Deadline: Free day November 1, 2024.

Wyld Magick. Genre: Fantasy. Theme: Forest Fae. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Thema. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: Maybe Next Time. Payment:  $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: November 1, 2024. Accepts reprints.

The First Line. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction using the first line provided. (See site.) Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Skull and Laurel. Genre: Weird Horror, Dark Fantasy, Dark Science Fiction. Short Fiction, Narrative Poetry. They also encourage things like comic strips, mixed media, found footage, puzzles, games, experiments, and other weird forms, as long as they tell a story. Translations welcome. Word count: 100 to 4999 words. Payment: 3c/word (USD) originals; $25 (USD) reprints. Deadline: November 1, 2024. Accepts reprints.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: November 2, 2024. Opens November 1. This is a monthly call.

Adroit Journal. Genre: Fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $50 - $100. Deadline: November 2, 2024. 

Griffith Review. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Payment: AUD $200. Deadline: November 3, 2024.

Saros Speculative Fiction. Genre: Speculative fiction between 1,500 and 5,000 words, and drabbles of exactly 100 words. Payment: CAD36 for short stories, and CAD4 for drabbles. Deadline: November 4, 2024. 

Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: November 4, 2024. 

Mukoli. Genre: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and multimedia art creations that engage with peacebuilding. Payment: $75. Deadline: November 5, 2024. 

Asterix. Genre: Short stories and novel chapters. Payment: $100 - $250. Deadline: November 6, 2024. 

Write or Die. Genre: Short fiction. Length: Up to 4000 words. Payment: $200. Deadline: November 7,  2024. No fee to submit the first week of the month.

Skull and Laurel. Genre: Weird Horror, Dark Fantasy, Dark Science Fiction. Short Fiction, Narrative Poetry. They also encourage things like comic strips, mixed media, found footage, puzzles, games, experiments, and other weird forms, as long as they tell a story. Translations welcome. Word count: 100 to 4999 words. Payment: 3c/word (USD) originals; $25 (USD) reprints. Deadline: Extended window for marginalized writers: October 15th to November 7th 2024. Accepts reprints.

Typehouse. Restrictions: November 1-7: In honor of Native American Heritage Month, no-fee submissions are open for all Native/Indigenous/First Nations creators, not limited to those from the US. Genre: Poetry, prose, art. Payment: $5. Deadline: November 7, 2024. 

Black Ink Books. Restrictions: Open to Australian writers. Genre: Full-length general, literary and commercial non-fiction – including history, current affairs, memoir and biography. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 7, 2024. Note: Open to submissions the first week of every month.

Hexagon. Genre: Speculative fiction short stories, flash fiction, poetry, graphic stories, and visual art, in English or French. Payment: $5 for accepted poetry and cartoons, 0.01$ per word for all short stories up to 7,500 words, $40/page for comics and $150 for cover art pieces. (Payment in CAD). Deadline: November 7, 2024. Open to submissions the first week of every second month.

Sad Ghost Ink: Solarpunk Conflicts Anthology. Genre: Solarpunk. "Stories should explore a solarpunk conflict, either one manufactured entirely for the story, or one based in a real-world point of contention you feel currently divides solarpunks, or that has done so in the past." Payment: CAD0.05/word for fiction, CAD0.25/word for the first two hundred words of poetry, and CAD0.10/word after. Deadline: November 8, 2024.

Ornithopter Press. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 12, 2024.

Afar. Genre: Nonfiction pieces on "quiet travel." Pitches only. Payment: $0.50/word. Deadline: November 13, 2024. Read guidelines HERE.

Flame Tree: Fever Dreams. Genre: Horror. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: November 14, 2024.

Orange & Bee. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, experimental and hybrid work. Payment: Poetry: flat rate $US50.00 per poem. Flash: flat rate $US80.00 per story (max 1000 words) Short fiction/non-fiction: $US0.08 per word (max 4000 words) Deadline: November 15, 2024. 

Emerge Literary Journal. Genre: Free verse and flash fiction. "We will consider most genres, except horror and erotica, so long as the piece has literary undertones." Payment: $15. Deadline: November 15, 2024. 

The Blue Route. Restrictions: Only the work of current undergraduate writers will be considered. Genres: Fiction, or creative nonfiction totaling no more than 3000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Graywolf Press. Genre: Contemporary poetry in translations. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 15, 2024. Opens November 11. Only the first 500 submissions will be considered, after which the submission period will close.

Weird Horror Magazine. Genre: Horror. Payment: 2 cents a word. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

ellipsis… literature & art. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, drama, and creative non-fiction. Payment: $3 per page for prose. $10 for poetry. Deadline: November 15, 2024. (Only pays American writers.)

Crimson Quill Quarterly. Genre: Sword & sorcery, dark fantasy, and grimdark subgenres of fantasy fiction. Length: Up to 10,000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: November 15, 2024. 

Full Bleed. Genre: Criticism, belle lettres, visual art, illustration, fiction, poetry, and graphic essays. "In this year marking the hundredth anniversary of the Manifesto of Surrealism, we look forward to featuring in our next issue a selection of new manifestos for our own time and poetry in the ars poetica vein. A separate section of Full Bleed 8 will explore the topic of censorship." Payment: Modest honorarium. Deadline: November 15, 2024. 

Philly Poetry Chapbook Review. Genre: Reviews of chapbooks coming soon or published in the past three years, essays on the crafts of poetry and chapbook making or publishing, and features about authors or publishers of chapbooks. Payment: $10. Deadline: November 15, 2024. 

Unréal. Genre: Stories and poems in FRENCH or ENGLISH with fantastical or speculative elements set on the island of Montreal. Submissions may be science fiction, fantasy, horror or any adjacent genre. Word Count: Between 1000 and 5000 words for stories. No minimum length for poems. Payment: 0.12 CAD per word or 50 CAD per poem. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Augur Magazine. Restrictions: Open to creators who are Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, Disabled, and/or Trans, who are also Canadian citizens/permanent residents and/or who are living within the settler-defined borders of the land colonially known as Canada. Genre: Speculative fiction short stories and poetry. Translations accepted. Payment: $0.14 cents (CAD) per word for short fiction (1000+ words), and a flat fee of $112.00 per flash fiction piece (1000 words and under). Deadline: November 15, 2024. Opens November 1.

Tales and Feathers.. Genre: Cozy SFF fiction up to 2500 words. Payment: 14 cents CAD/word. Deadline: Deadline: November 15, 2024. Opens November 1.

The Lorelei Signal. Genre: Fantasy short stories, flash fiction, and poetry with strong female characters. Payment: $15 for short stories, $5 for poems and flash (<1000 wds) fiction pieces, $5 for reprints. Deadline: November 15, 2024. Accepts reprints.

Tyche Books: Starship Librarians. Genre: Speculative fiction on theme: Librarians of tomorrow. Payment: CAD $50. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Nonlinear Love. Genre: First-person essays about “nonlinear love”–divorces and remarriages; dating horrors or delights; lovers who cropped back up years later; or even an unexpected thing you learned from your partner within a traditional marriage or relationship structure. Length: 800-1,000 words. Payment: $150. Deadline: November 15, 2024. Read announcement HERE.

Frost Zone. Genre: Dark literary fiction, 1800 - 3800 words. Payment: $15 CAD. Deadline: November 16, 2024.

Tolka. Genre: Non-fiction: personal essay, memoir, reportage, travel writing, auto-fiction, and the writing that falls in between. Length: 2,000 - 4,000 words. Payment: €500. Deadline: November 17, 2024.

Islandia Vice. Genre: Fiction, poems, essays, art inspired by Miami Vice. Payment: For essays and criticism that require reporting and research payment is 25 cents/word up to 1500 words; $50/poem;  $100 for reviews, essay, hidden histories, $100 for short stories; $100 - $500 for art. Deadline: November 18, 2024.

berlin lit. Genre: Poetry. Payment: 20 euros per poem. Deadline: November 20, 2024.

Solarpunk Micro Mini. Genre: Solarpunk micro fiction, 250 words max. Payment: $25. Deadline: November 21, 2024.

Out There. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: €200. Deadline: November 21, 2024.

The Deadlands. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. "The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve." Payment: $100 per essay, 10 cents/word for fiction. $50 for poetry. Deadline: November 21, 2024. Accepts reprints. 

Flame Tree: Aphrodite. Genre: Short fiction on theme: Aphrodite. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: November 24, 2024.

Flame Tree: Loki. Genre: Short fiction on theme: Loki. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: November 24, 2024.

The Stinging Fly. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Payment: Fiction and nonfiction: €30 per magazine page; Poetry: €50 per poem; Featured Poet: €250. Deadline: November 27, 2024.

Contemporary Verse 2. Genre: Poetry and critical writing about poetry, including interviews, articles, essays, and reviews. Payment: $30 - $150. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Cutleaf. Genre: Literary nonfiction. Payment: $100 to $300. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Renaissance: Choices – An Anthology of Reproductive Horror. Genre: Horror. "We are looking for stories of up to 6000 words about the horrors that occur when reproductive choices are threatened or taken away, written by people of marginalized genders." Payment: 8 cents/word CAD. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Dread Mondays. Genre: Workplace horror. Payment: 6 cents/word. Deadline: November 30, 2024. Extended deadline for historically marginalized groups (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc.)

Dragon Soul Press: Be Mine. Genre: Romance. Theme – All love stories with a happily ever after. Valentine-themed preferred, but not required. All genres accepted. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Farenheit Books. Genre: Speculative short stories and poetry. Farenheit Books. Genre: Speculative stories. Length: Up to 7,500 words for fiction; up to 50 lines for poetry. See themes. Payment: $0.10/word for fiction, $2/line for poetry. Deadline: November 30, 2024. Accepts reprints.

Detectives, Sleuths, and Nosy Neighbors: Dying for an Answer. Genre: Murder mysteries, detectives noir, cozy, or humorous. Payment: Royalty share of D2D sales, or $20.00. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Quarter Press: Quarter(ly). Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. See themes. Payment: $5. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Nimrod. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Payment: $10 per page, with a $200 maximum. Deadline: November 30, 2024. Fee to submit online; no fee for postal submissions.

Pogue One. Genre: Speculative fiction. "Throughout human space, grunts in power armor get all the glory. Even in conventional armed forces, however, only 15% or so of those are infantry. We want stories about the other 85%. What are their adventures? The truck drivers, the bulk fuelers, supply sergeants, pay clerks, airframe mechanics, the guy who fixed the soft-serve ice cream machine on Seti-Alpha-Five (God bless that guy). Welcome to Pogue One." Payment: Royalty share. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

OwlCrate Press: Future States of Stars. Genre: Speculative fiction. "We are specifically seeking stories in the dystopian sci-fi genre with a Black Mirror or Twilight Zone vibe. Authors are encouraged to explore themes of the near-to-far future of states, whether set here on Earth, in space, or in other dimensions. Consider exploring dystopian themes such as authoritarian regimes, environmental collapse, surveillance societies, loss of individual freedoms, or the impact of advanced technology on humanity.” Payment: $0.10/word. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Cat Stories. Genre: True stories and poems. "We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words that highlight the unique personalities that cats have. Celebrate your cat, or a cat you know, with a wonderful story about what he or she does. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both." Payment: $200. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Baltimore Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, videos (including poetry), and cross-genre work. Payment: $50. Deadline: November 30, 2024. May close early if they reach their cap.

Flash Point Science Fiction. Genre: Speculative fiction drabbles, 100 words in length. "Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short." Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

The Iowa Review. Genre: Nonfiction. Payment: $1.50 per line for poetry ($100 minimum) and $0.08 per word for prose ($100 minimum). Deadline: November 1, 2024. No fee for snail mail submissions. $4 fee for online submissions.

Broken Sleep Books. (UK) Genre: Poetry pamphlets (up to 40 pages). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Change your habits & attitudes / change your life Genre: True stories and poems. "Habits. Attitudes. Breaking bad habits and replacing them with good habits play an important role in self-care. Change your attitude and you can change your life. And self-care - including mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing - is vital to ensuring that your needs are met. It's probably what we neglect the most." Payment: $200. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Poet Lore. Genre: Poetry translations. Payment: $50. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

The Hudson Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, essays, book reviews; criticism of literature, art, theatre, dance, film, and music; and articles on contemporary cultural developments. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: November 30, 2024. (Fiction only)

parABnormal. Genre: Nonfiction, poetry on the paranormal. "For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores." Payment: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints.$6.00 for each poem. $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Haven Speculative. Restrictions: Open to submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

The Marrow. Genre: poetry written in, or translated into, English, from Australian and international poets. Payment: AU$40. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

The Fiddlehead. Genre: Fiction, including excerpts from novels, creative nonfiction, art, poetry. Payment: $60 CAD per published page. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

New Orleans Review. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: $300 for prose, $100 for poetry. Deadline: November 30, 2024. In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, there are no submission fees during the month of November for all Indigenous writers, not limited to those living in/born the US.

Fahmidan Publishing is a publisher for all POC & Women ardent in battle against subjugation. Genre: Poetry or fiction chapbook. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Typehouse. Genre: Poetry, prose, art. Payment: $5. Deadline: November 30, 2024. (No fee period: last week of November)

Split Lip Magazine. Genre: Fiction (flash and short stories), memoirs, and poetry. with a pop-culture twist. Payment: $75 for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews web issues. Deadline: November 30, 2024. Closes when they reach capacity, so submit early. 

Train Stories and Aliens Among Us. Genre: All genres of fiction and poetry on two themes: Trains and Aliens Among Us. Payment: 10 cents/word. $2/line of poetry. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Galactic Mindsea Empire Anthology. Genre: Stories set in the Galactic Mindsea Empire up to 10,000 words in length. "The Empire has already suffered one war over the status of bioids, but will the matter ever truly be settled? Bioids mimic living beings so perfectly that, if their warning marks are removed, no one except a mindsea can spot one without sophisticated scientific testing. Bioids are designed to be without self-will, but a mutation or a shifty bioid-maker could change that..." Payment: 4 cents/word. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

khōréō. Restrictions: Open to writers who identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. "This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, transnational/transracial adoptees, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. We especially encourage BIPOC creators who identify as the above to submit their work." Genre: Stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. See theme. Payment: 0.10/word for fiction. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Black Fox Literary Magazine. Genre: Fiction, CNF, poetry, art. Payment: $20. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Colp. Genre: Fiction on theme: On the Farm. Word count: 1,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2,500 words; AU$10.00 for anything above 2,500 words. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

QUEER JOY Quadrangle Collection. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: Stories featuring LGBTQI2S+ characters with positive representation in a wide variety of genres and styles, including General Fiction, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, and most other genres imaginable. Length: Up to 7,500 words. Payment: $0.01 CAD per word. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Mayday. Genre: Translations. "Poetry and prose from any language translated to English will be considered. We are also interested in book reviews and essays relevant to the art of literary translation." Payment: $20 - $50. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Flux is an imprint of North Star Editions, a Minnesota-based house specializing in trade fiction. Flux specializes in "alternative voices." The editors believe that young adult novels are a "point of view," not a reading level. Submissions: In addition to a query, and three chapters, Flux requires 3-5 comparative books published within the last 5 years with an explanation of how your book both ties into a trend in the Young Adult genre and offers something unique. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2024. Read their submission guidelines here.

Jolly Fish Press is an imprint of North Star Editions, Inc., based in Minnesota. They publish trade fiction and select nonfiction books in the national and international market. Right now they are seeking middle grade and young adult titles in science fiction and fantasy with an epic and visual scope; thrillers with strong, carefully crafted characters and a unique voice; and unconventional love stories. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 30, 2024. See their submission guidelines here.

Graveside Press: Monster Romance. Genre: Horror on theme: Monster Romance. 2,000 – 6,000 words in length. Payment: $0.02/word. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Stories To Take To Your Grave #3 High Seas Edition. Genre: Horror. "We’re looking for stories of pirates, sea monsters, deserted islands, the Bermuda Triangle, and anything else taking place on or in the world’s oceans." Payment: $25. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

AND A FEW MORE...

Tales from the Nightside. Genre: Car Wars GameLit Fiction. Theme: Ride along with illegal street teams and see the criminal underbelly of the Autoduelling world. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 1, 2024.

Burial Books: Inanimate Things – Volume Two. Genre: Horror about inanimate things that are living. It could be a doll, the dead flesh of zombies, or your Ford F-150. Payment: $10. Deadline: December 1, 2024.

Ninth Letter. Genre: Fiction, CNF, Poetry. Payment: $25 per poem and $100 for prose. Deadline: Opens December 1, 2024. Closes when they reach cap.

Eternal Haunted Summer. Genre: Poetry, short fiction. Theme: Fortune and Luck. Payment: $5. Deadline: December 1, 2024.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: December 1, 2024. See themes.

54 Writing Contests in November 2024 - No entry fees

This November there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes this month range from $10,000 to publication. None charge entry fees.

Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.

If you want to get a jump on next month's contests go to Free Contests. Many of these contests are offered annually, so even if the deadline has passed, you can prepare for next year.

Good luck! 

Note: I update this list continually throughout the month, so check back frequently for new contests.

(Image: Peakpx)

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Otherwise Award. Genre: Work that is changing the way we think about gender through speculative narrative. (Works can be books, stories, music, video, fanfic, social-media posts, or any other form of speculative fiction.) Prize: $500. Deadline: Recommendations for this year’s award close in November, 2024.

Diann Blakely National Poetry Competition. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500 and 25 broadsides of their poem, which will also be archived on the University of Georgia English Department website. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2024.

On The Premises Mini-Contest. "For this mini-contest, tell, show, or evoke a complete story between 25 and 50 words long in which a large group of people all experience a specific feeling. The goal of the mini-contest is to evoke the same feeling in the reader." Prize: First place pays $35, second pays $25, and third pays $15, all in US dollars. Honorable mentions get published, but make no money. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: PEN America will only accept submissions from editors of eligible publications. Authors may not submit their own short story for this award. Genre: First published short story. Prize: $2000 and publication in The PEN America Best Debut Short Stories. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

The Fresh Voices Fellowship supports one emerging Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or other writer of color who does not have an MFA in creative writing nor an advanced English degree (MA, PhD), and is not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program. Prize: $2000. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Restrictions: Open to citizens of the British Commonwealth. Genre: Unpublished short fiction (2,000-5,000 words) in English. Short stories translated into English from other languages are also eligible. Prize: Regional winners receive £2,500 (US$3,835) and the overall winner will receive £5,000 (US$7,670). Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize. Restrictions: Open to US poets for previously unpublished poems of any length that "help make real for readers the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment at present." Genre: Poetry. Prize: Up to $1,000. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Quarterly West.  Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: November 1, 2024. No fee for writers of color.

ILA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction English-language books for children in grades pre-K to 12 and published for the first time during the year preceding the deadline year. Must be the author's first or second book. Prize: $800. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

International Booker Prize. The International Booker Prize for fiction translated into English is awarded annually by the Booker Prize Foundation to the author of the best (in the opinion of the judges) eligible novel or collection of short stories. The work must be published by a UK or Ireland publishing house. Authors are not permitted to enter their own works. Prize: £50,000 divided equally between the author and the translator. There will be a prize of £2,000 each of the shortlisted titles divided equally between the author and the translator. Deadline: Any imprints that have more than six books to submit to the prize, may nominate the additional titles as call ins. All call-in nomination forms, justification letters, first chapters and full PDFs must be submitted by Friday, 1 November 2024. If no text is available at the time of call-in, it should be sent as soon as it is available. 

William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grants Program for Unpublished Writers. Restrictions: Writers must not have published a book, short story, or dramatic work in the mystery field, either in print, electronic, or audio form. Genre: Mystery stories of the Agatha Christie type—i.e., “traditional mysteries.” These works usually feature no excessive gore, gratuitous violence, or explicit sex. Prize: Each grant may be used to offset registration, travel, or other expenses related to attendance at a writers' conference or workshop within a year of the date of the award. In the case of nonfiction, the grant may be used to offset research expenses. Each grant currently includes a $1,500 award plus a comprehensive registration for the following year's convention and two nights' lodging at the convention hotel, but does not include travel to the convention or meals. Deadline: November 1, 2024. 

Evaristo Prize for African Poetry. Restrictions: The Prize is open to poets who were born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African. It is for ten poems exactly in order to encourage serious poets. These poems may, however, have already been published. Only poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published are eligible. Poets who have self-published poetry books or had chapbooks and pamphlets published are allowed to submit for this prize. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1500. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Stowe Prize. Restrictions: US authors only. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction or body of work that "makes a tangible impact on a social justice issue critical to contemporary society." Prize: $10,000. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

PJ Library Sephardic Stories Initiative. Restrictions: Applicants must have no more than one published children’s book, should identify as Sephardic or Mizrahi, and should be able to articulate a potential children's book project (picture book or middle grade chapter book/graphic novel) they would like to work on. Fellows can be based anywhere globally, however they must be writing in English. Genre: Children's book. Prize: Fellowship. This year-long, all-expenses paid fellowship (January – December, 2025) will include monthly virtual workshops with Sephardic experts, established authors, and publishing professionals; individual mentorship; a special in-person writing retreat; and regular editorial feedback. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Bennington Young Writers Awards. Restrictions: Open to students in the 9th-12th grades. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Prize: First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000; second-place winners receive $500; third-place winners receive $250. Deadline: November 1, 2024.

Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction, 500 words max. "On each competition weekend, we’ll reveal a set of story prompts and you’ll have 55 hours to submit your best story of 500-words (or fewer)." Theme: Being Late. Prize: $500AUD. Deadline: November 3, 2024.

Disabled Poets Prize. Restrictions: Open to deaf and disabled poets aged 18+ currently living full-time in the UK. Genre: Poetry. Deaf and disabled poets will be able to submit to three categories – best single poem, best unpublished pamphlet, and best poem performed in British Sign Language. Prize: In each category, there will be a first place prize (£500), second prize (£250), third place prize (£100), and three highly commended entries, (£50). Deadline: November 4, 2024.

Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing. Genre: Book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence thinking on contemporary Canadian political life. Book must be published in Canada. Prize: CAN $25,000. Deadline: November 5, 2024. (For books published between April 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024)

Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize. Restrictions: Open to Black poets. Genre: Chapbook-length poetry manuscript. Prize: $500 and publication. Deadline: November 6, 2024.

Dylan Thomas Prize. Restrictions: Authors must be aged 39 or under. Eligible books must have been commercially published for the first time in the English language between January 1 and December 31 of the year in which the deadline falls. Genre: Published books of poetry, fiction (novel, novella, or short story collection), radio scripts, or screenplays. Prize: 30,000 pounds, plus 1,000 pounds for shortlisted authors. Deadline: November 8, 2024.

Bronx Council on the Arts Community Engagement Grants. Restrictions: Open to residents of Bronx County. Genre: All art forms, including writing. Grant: $1000 - $5000. Deadline: November 8, 2024.

Universe of Threats – Essay Contest. Genre: Essay. "We invite you to submit your story and a one page ground truth document describing a threat scenario related to artificial intelligence. Judges will be looking for unique but plausible threat scenarios, as well as clearly defined and complex cascading impacts of the threat." Prize: $5000 first place; Second place – $2,500 (up to 2 winners); Third place – $1,000 (up to 5 winners). Deadline: November 9, 2024.

Leonard L. Milberg '53 High School Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Student writers in the 11th grade. Prizes: First Prize – $1500, Second Prize – $750, Third Prize – $500. Deadline: November 10, 2024.

Defenestration Flash Suite Contest. Genre: Flash suite. "A series of at least three flash fiction works that correlate, and build to something greater. Recurring characters, extended motifs, harmonious subject matters, and/or sustained narrative are such correlations– but we encourage innovation and new ideas." Prize: $75. Deadline: November 10, 2024.

Apparition Lit. Genre: Speculative fiction; under 1,000 words. See theme. Prize: $30. Deadline: November 14, 2024. Opens November 1.

Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize is sponsored by the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival. Genre: Non-fiction essay between 4 to 10 pages, set in Brooklyn about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. (Up to 2500 words). Prize: $500. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Gotham Book Prize. Genre: Book. "The Gotham Book Prize is awarded once a year to the best book (works of fiction and nonfiction are eligible) published that calendar year that either is about New York City or takes place in New York City." Prize: $50,000. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Weird Little Guys. Genre: Weird short fiction. Prize: 1st place: $69, 2nd place: $21, 3rd place: $10, Runner-ups: $4.20. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to residents of California. Genre: Book of poetry, fiction or nonfiction. Prize: Gold medal. Deadline: November 15, 2024.

Perugia Press Prize. Restrictions: Poets must be women with more than one previously published full-length book. Genre: Poetry. Prize: Book publication and $1,000. Deadline: November 15, 2024. No fee for poets who are Black, Indigenous, and women of color.

Washington State Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Washington State writers. Genre: Published book, fiction, nonfiction, poetry: adults or children. Prize: Recognition (?) Deadline: November 15, 2024. (For books published Aug. 16 - Oct. 15, 2024.)

Prism: Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $1,500 grand prize, $600 runner-up, $400 2nd runner-up. Deadline: November 16, 2024. No entry fee for BIPOC and low income writers.

Happiful Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to writers based in the UK or Northern Ireland. Genre: Poems that explore the topic of mental health and wellbeing in unique, engaging, and empowering ways. Prize: £100. Deadline: November 18, 2024.

Arts & Letters Awards. Restrictions: Open to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Genres: poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, dramatic script, art, music, and French language. Entries must be unpublished and completed during the previous 12 months. Prizes: C$1,000 and C$250. Deadline: November 20, 2024.

Polar Expressions Publications Competition. Restrictions: Open to Canadian students in kindergarten through grade twelve. Genre: Short Story. Prize: $300, $200, $100. Deadline: November 23, 2024.

Jewish Children’s Book Awards. Restrictions: Open to Jewish children’s book authors and illustrators living in Europe and the UK. Genre: Jewish children's book. Submissions are accepted in English, French, German, Italian, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish and Yiddish. Prize: £1,000 to the winners of the story and illustration categories. All entries will be considered for publication by Green Bean Books. Deadline: November 29, 2024. 

Polar Expressions Publications Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to Canadian students in kindergarten through grade twelve. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $300, $200, $100. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

T Paulo Urcanse Prize For Literary Excellence. Genre: Poetry and prose. " Whether you be a lonely writer looking for community and wanting to make your literary debut, or a similarly eggheaded and celebrated writer in the vein of the namesake of this prize, we welcome your submissions with open arms, without fees or prerequisites, without ever having known you or met you at a cocktail party where we discussed the terror of contemporary history and post-structuralist theory or the pitfalls of the first person perspective in a short story or weird childhood stories that involve stray cats and the throwing of tennis balls at moving vehicles from behind bushes at night in the summer on the Main Street of the provincial town where we were raised." Prize: $50 - $250. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Renee Duke Youth Award Poetry Contest. Restrictions: Open to poets 19 years old and younger. Prize: $100. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

The Gulliver Travel Grant. The Gulliver Travel Grant is awarded annually to assist writers of speculative literature in their non-academic research. These funds are used to cover airfare, lodging, and other travel expenses. Travel may be domestic or international. You may apply for travel to take place at any point in the following year. Grant: $1000. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Servicescape. Genre: Short story or nonfiction up to 5,000 words. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Betty Trask Prize. Restrictions: Author must be a Commonwealth citizen. Genre: First novels, published or unpublished, written by authors under the age of 35 in a "traditional or romantic, but not experimental, style." Prize: Awards totaling 20,000 pounds. Top prize 10,000 pounds. The prize money must be used for foreign travel. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Somerset Maugham Awards. Restrictions: Open to UK writers under the age of 35. Genre: Published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Prize: 2,500 pounds apiece to four winners. Prize money must be used for travel. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

The Queen’s Knickers Award. Genre: Children’s illustrated book for ages 0-7. "It will recognise books that strike a quirky, new note and grab the attention of a child, whether this be in the form of curiosity, amusement, horror or excitement." Prize: £5,000, as well as a golden Queen’s Knickers badge. The runner-up will receive £1,000 and a silver badge. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

UNT Rilke Prize. Restrictions: US citizens or residents. Open to authors with at least two prior published books of poetry. Genre: Book of poetry published between November 2022 and October 2023. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

AVBOB Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to any citizen of South Africa. Genre: Poetry. Prize: R10,000. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Spark Award: Held by SCBWI. Restrictions: Open to members of SCBWI who have self-published. Genres: Fiction and nonfiction. Prize: Envy. The SCBWI is our most prestigious national organization (US) for children's book and YA writers. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

J. F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction. Genre: Short fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: November 30, 2024. 

2025 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition. Restrictions: Open to writers who have never been the author of any published mystery novel. Genre: Mystery novel. Prize: $10,000 advance against royalties, Deadline: November 30, 2024.

The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize. Restrictions: Entrants must be aged 18-25 years and living in the UK. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. Each year a question or quote exploring Franklin’s relevance in our time is open for interpretation in 1000-1500 words. (See website for quote.) Prize: First prize of £750, second prize of £500. Winning entries will be posted on the website and also published online by The Telegraph. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Crossroads Contest. Genre: Short fiction on theme: Crossroads. Entry must consist of no more than 50 words. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer Award. Restrictions: Open to unpublished prose writers (fiction) living and working in the UK with a collection of short stories or novel in development. Writers can be writing for any age group (including children and young adults) and may have had excerpts or articles published in the past, but have not yet published any major body of work. Genre: Fiction. Prize: “a tailor-made package worth up to £2,000 including tuition via open courses, retreat time and/or mentoring at Moniack Mhor. One highly commended applicant will also receive a course or retreat.” Deadline: November 30, 2024.

#GWstorieseverywhere. Genre: Micro fiction or essay on theme of Scrap Paper. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag. Prize: Free Gotham class. Deadline: November 30, 2024.

Substack runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." Genre: Short story. Length: 6000- 10,000 words. Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Deadline: November 30, 2024. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

18 Notable Writing Conferences and Workshops in November 2024

This November there are more than a dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most will be held in person or use a hybrid format.

These writing events offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, to how to market yourself and your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.

For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences. If you miss an application deadline, put it on your calendar for next year. Quite a few conferences offer scholarships, so apply early. Plan ahead!

Be sure to check out Highlights list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year. 

(Image: Sanibel Island: Flickr)

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Eckerd College Writers in Paradise Conference. Application deadline: November 1, 2024. January 18 -25, 2025: St. Petersburg, FL. Workshops, roundtables, panel discussions, manuscript consultation, Q&As, readings book signings, and receptions. 

The 2024 Online Seattle Writing Workshop. November 1-2, 2024: Online. This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop, November 1-2, 2024. In other words, it’s two days full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome. And even though this is the “Seattle” Writing Workshop, make no mistake — writers from everywhere are welcome to attend virtually. Our WDW writers conferences have helped dozens of writers find literary agent representation.

Jackson Hole Writers Conference. November 1 -3, 2024: Jackson Hole, WY. You will have ample opportunity to share your work with a distinguished faculty as well as writers from Massachusetts to Florida, from Texas to Washington. Serious writers pour into Jackson Hole each June looking for a fresh, but critical eye on their work. This event usually has at least 4 agents to pitch. 

North Carolina Writers’ Network Fall Conference. November 1 - 3, 2024: Asheville, NC. The WSOC will feature classes and conversations on the craft and business of writing, as well as a keynote address by Jason Mott, a Pre-Conference Tailgate and a Prompt Party to get creative juices flowing, online Open Mic readings and Happy Hour gatherings, and an Agents & Editors panel discussion. 

Monterey Writer Retreat. November 6 - 10, 2024: Pacific Grove, CA. "Join us on the wondrously scenic Monterey Peninsula for a writer retreat like no other. Know that writers of every kind have journeyed for over a century to this same location on the California west coast. They've come in search of inspiration, individuality, purpose and vision, but more importantly, to share an understanding that art has preceded their arrival in the form of a brutally beautiful sea and windswept shore."

All Write, Columbia – Writers Conference. November 7 - 10, 2024: Spencertown, NY. A five day intensive writing conference focused on nonfiction and memoir. The conference is open to all levels of writers, from beginners to more advanced writers with a manuscript or publications. Open to writers who are at least 18 years old. Just 20 writers will be accepted.

Chapter by Chapter: An Online Program for Chapter Book Writers. November 7 - December 5: Online. Chapter books engage young minds like no other stories can. Readers start a journey with your character in Chapter One, and then yearn for more with each page turn until they finish your entire book! (And maybe even your entire series!) Join Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen to build your knowledge about the beloved genre of chapter books and make progress on your story in this hands-on course that covers everything from character and plot to submission packets.

Sanibel Island Writers Conference. November 8 - 9, 2024: Sanibel Island, Florida. Participants at all stages of development — from notebook scribblers to published novelists — are invited to view a variety of discussions and panels on fiction, poetry, songwriting, YA literature, screenwriting, creative nonfiction, and publishing and editing. 

Working Retreat: Picture Book Authors and Illustrators. November 10 - 13, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Picture book writers and illustrators: set aside time to focus on your picture book project! Here is a special retreat just for you. Join fiction and nonfiction author Darcy Pattison, author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski, and their guest Sara Gomez Woolley to immerse yourself in all things picture books.

2024 Kauai Writers Festival. November 11 – 17, 2024, Master Classes: November 11th-14th, 2024. Conference: November 15th-17th, 2024. Kalapaki Bay, Lihue, Kauai, HI. Join bestselling authors and agents in an intimate, oceanfront setting, with an emphasis on fiction, memoir, thrillers, and screenwriting. Includes in-depth sessions on craft, publishing, and the writing life, with opportunities for agent/editor feedback. 

Stuck in the Middle: A Two-Night Mini for Picture Book Writers. November 12 - November 14, 2024: Online. Picture books can follow a plot that depends heavily on the emotional shift from the beginning to the end of the story.  That leaves writers with a lot of work to do on the middle!  Join award-winning author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow to unpack ways to develop the middle of your picture book so that it serves the perfect emotional bridge between the beginning and the end.

Marketing Opportunities for Storytellers: A Two Night Mini. November 12 - November 14, 2024: Online. The story is at the heart of all we do, even when we switch from crafting the story to getting the story to readers.  Join award-winning writers Valerie Bolling and Janae Marks to engage and build your knowledge of marketing and promotional opportunities that you can do as a book creator in order to get your book to kids.

Space Adventure: Playing with the Page. November 13th, 2024: Online. In this generative workshop, we will challenge the term “blank page” through play and prompts. We will explore the possibilities of the page, whether paper, digital, etc. We will discuss examples and draw wisdom from writers such as Tyehimba Jess, Alicia Mountain, M. NourbeSePhilip, and more.

Working Retreat: Revision. November 14 - 17, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Join celebrated editors Harold Underdown, Eileen Robinson, and Emma Dryden for time to revise and connect during this "Working Retreat" for writers looking to reimagine, enliven, and rebuild their picture books, novels, or nonfiction. Waitlisted.

Colrain Classic. November 15 - 18, 2024: Online. "The Colrain Manuscript Classic is a highly focused, 3.5 day conference designed for poets with manuscripts in progress. The Classic features in-depth pre-conference work and candid, realistic evaluation and feedback from nationally-known poets, editors and publishers. In preparation, participants work at home on pre-conference assignments and then, in the workshop, review, arrange, and winnow their work based on the pre-conference work. In addition to the manuscript preparation workshop and editor sessions, there will be an editorial Q&A, and an after-conference strategy session." Will be conducted online.

Clearwater Writers Women's Writing Retreat. November 18 - 23, 2024: Clottonwood, Idaho. Retreats are facilitated by Paula Coomer, poet and author of such books as Jagged Edge of the Sky, Dove Creek, Nurses Who Love English, and Blue Moon Vegetarian. With more than 20 years of experience as a teacher of creative writing, Ms. Coomer offers creative inspiration and support for writers at all levels of achievement and ability. The 2024 Fall Women’s Retreat: Balancing Writing with Yoga, will be hosted by the magnificent Monastery of St. Gertrude outside Cottonwood, Idaho, on the rolling hills of the Camas Prairie to the south, in their Spirit Center, a contemporary facility with private suites, several kitchens, and meeting rooms large enough to accommodate our daily yoga classes.

Cleveland Writing Workshop. November 23, 2024: Cleveland, Ohio. This is a special one-day in-person “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at the Wyndham Cleveland Airport. In other words, it’s one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome.

Writers Conference of Dallas. November 23, 2024: Dallas, Texas. This is a special one-day in-person “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at the Wyndham Cleveland Airport. In other words, it’s one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome.

Love and Russian Literature and Somerset Maugham

The story "Love and Russian Literature" by Somerset Maugham is based on Maugham's own experience as a secret agent for Britain, as indeed are all the stories in his novel Ashenden: Or the Secret Agent, published in 1929.

Maugham's dry, satirical style is appropriate for a book about spies who range from incompetent to completely clueless. (This was indeed the state of affairs for British military intelligence during WWI.)

The character of Anastasia Alexandrovna Leonidov was based on Alexandra Kropotkin, daughter of the famous Russian anarchist, Pyotr Kropotkin. Maugham knew her in London, and even had a brief affair with her. And, in line with the story, Maugham did indeed travel to Petrograd just prior to the Russian Revolution. 

Other than changing the names, I have to wonder how much in this story is actually fiction. Or is it simply a memoir, recorded through the eyes of someone whose self-mockery extends to all human endeavors? 

(This story contains a line that makes me laugh out loud every time I read it. See if you can spot it.)

Photo: Afisha, London/Midjourney

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"Love and Russian Literature" from Ashenden: Or the Secret Agent, by Somerset Maugham

* * *

When Ashenden found himself in his bedroom at the hotel and, for the first time for it seemed an age, alone, he sat down and looked about him. He had not the energy to start immediately to unpack. How many of these hotel bedrooms had he known since the beginning of the war, grand or shabby, in one place and one land after another! It seemed to him that he had been living in his luggage for as long as he could remember. He was weary. He asked himself how he was going to set about the work that he had been sent to do. He felt lost in the immensity of Russia and very solitary. He had protested when he was chosen for this mission, it looked too large an order, but his protests were ignored. He was chosen not because those in authority thought him particularly suited for the job, but because there was no one to be found who was more suited. There was a knock at the door and Ashenden, pleased to make use of the few words of the language he knew, called out in Russian. The door was opened. He sprang to his feet.

"Come in, come in," he cried. "I'm awfully glad to see you."

Three men entered. He knew them by sight, since they had travelled on the same boat with him from San Francisco to Yokohama, but following their instructions no communications had passed between them and Ashenden. They were Czechs, exiled from their country for their revolutionary activity and long settled in America, who had been sent over to Russia to help Ashenden in his mission and put him in touch with Professor Z., whose authority over the Czechs in Russia was absolute. Their chief was a certain Dr. Egon Orth, a tall thin man, with a little grey head; he was minister to some church in the Middle West and a doctor of divinity; but he had abandoned his cure to work for the liberation of his country. Ashenden had the impression that he was an intelligent fellow who would not put too fine a point on matters of conscience. A parson with a fixed idea has this advantage over common men that he can persuade himself of the Almighty's approval for almost any goings on. Dr. Orth had a merry twinkle in his eye and a dry humour.

Ashenden had had two secret interviews with him in Yokohama and had learnt that Professor Z., though eager to free his country from the Austrian rule and since he knew that this could only come about by the downfall of the Central Powers with the allies body and soul, yet had scruples; he would not do things that outraged his conscience, all must be straightforward and aboveboard, and so some things that it was necessary to do had to be done without his knowledge. His influence was so great that his wishes could not be disregarded, but on occasion it was felt better not to let him know too much of what was going on.

Dr. Orth had arrived in Petrograd a week before Ashenden and now put before him what he had learned of the situation. It seemed to Ashenden that it was critical and if anything was to be done it must be done quickly. The army was dissatisfied and mutinous, the Government under the weak Kerensky was tottering and held power only because no one else had the courage to seize it, famine was staring the country in the face and already the possibility had to be considered that the Germans would march on Petrograd. The ambassadors of Great Britain and the United States had been apprised of Ashenden's coming, but his mission was secret even from them, and there were particular reasons why he could demand no assistance from them. He arranged with Dr. Orth to make an appointment with Professor Z. so that he could learn his views and explain to him that he had the financial means to support any scheme that seemed likely to prevent the catastrophe that the Allied governments foresaw of Russia's making a separate peace. But he had to get in touch with influential persons in all classes. Mr. Harrington, with his business proposition and his letters to Ministers of State, would be thrown in contact with members of the Government and Mr. Harrington wanted an interpreter. Dr. Orth spoke Russian almost as well as his own language and it struck Ashenden that he would be admirably suited to the post. He explained the circumstances to him and it was arranged that while Ashenden and Mr. Harrington were at luncheon Dr. Orth should come in, greeting Ashenden as though he had not seen him before, and be introduced to Mr. Harrington; then Ashenden, guiding the conversation, would suggest to Mr. Harrington that the heavens had sent in Dr. Orth the ideal man for his purpose.

But there was another person on whom Ashenden had fixed as possibly useful to him and now he said:

"Have you ever heard of a woman called Anastasia Alexandrovna Leonidov? She's the daughter of Alexander Denisiev."

"I know all about him of course."

"I have reason to believe she's in Petrograd. Will you find out where she lives and what she's doing?"

"Certainly."

Dr. Orth spoke in Czech to one of the two men who accompanied him. They were sharp-looking fellows, both of them, one was tall and fair and the other was short and dark, but they were younger than Dr. Orth and Ashenden understood that they were there to do as he bade them. The man nodded, got up, shook hands with Ashenden and went out.

"You shall have all the information possible this afternoon."

"Well, I think there's nothing more we can do for the present," said Ashenden. "To tell you the truth I haven't had a bath for eleven days and I badly want one."

Ashenden had never quite made up his mind whether the pleasure of reflection was better pursued in a railway carriage or in a bath. So far as the act of invention was concerned he was inclined to prefer a train that went smoothly and not too fast, and many of his best ideas had come to him when he was thus traversing the plains of France; but for the delight of reminiscence or the entertainment of embroidery upon a theme already in his head he had no doubt that nothing could compare with a hot bath. He considered now, wallowing in soapy water like a water-buffalo in a muddy pond, the grim pleasantry of his relations with Anastasia Alexandrovna Leonidov.

In these stories no more than the barest suggestion has been made that Ashenden was capable on occasions of the passion ironically called tender. The specialists in this matter, those charming creatures who make a business of what philosophers know is but a diversion, assert that writers, painters and musicians, all in short who are connected with the arts, in the relation of love cut no very conspicuous figure. There is much cry but little wool. They rave or sigh, make phrases and strike many a romantic attitude, but in the end, loving art or themselves (which with them is one and the same thing) better than the object of their emotion offer a shadow when the said object, with the practical common sense of the sex, demands a substance. It may be so and this may be the reason (never before suggested) why women in their souls look upon art with such a virulent hatred. Be this as it may, Ashenden in the last twenty years had felt his heart go pit-a-pat because of one charming person after another. He had had a good deal of fun and had paid for it with a great deal of misery, but even when suffering most acutely from the pangs of unrequited love he had been able to say to himself, albeit with a wry face, after all, it's grist to the mill.

Anastasia Alexandrovna Leonidov was the daughter of a revolutionary who had escaped from Siberia after being sentenced to penal servitude for life and had settled in England. He was an able man and had supported himself for thirty years by the activity of a restless pen and had even made himself a distinguished position in English letters. When Anastasia Alexandrovna reached a suitable age she married Vladimir Semenovich Leonidov, also an exile from his native country, and it was after she had been married to him for some years that Ashenden made her acquaintance. It was at the time when Europe discovered Russia. Everyone was reading the Russian novelists, the Russian dancers captivated the civilized world, and the Russian composers set shivering the sensibility of persons who were beginning to want a change from Wagner. Russian art seized upon Europe with the virulence of an epidemic of influenza. New phrases became the fashion, new colours, new emotions, and the highbrows described themselves without a moment's hesitation as members of the intelligentsia. It was a difficult word to spell but an easy one to say. Ashenden fell like the rest, changed the cushions of his sitting-room, hung an eikon on the wall, read Chekhov and went to the ballet.

Anastasia Alexandrovna was by birth, circumstances and education very much a member of the intelligentsia. She lived with her husband in a tiny house near Regent's Park and here all the literary folk in London might gaze with humble reverence at pale-faced bearded giants who leaned against the wall like caryatids taking a day off; they were revolutionaries to a man and it was a miracle that they were not in the mines of Siberia. Women of letters tremulously put their lips to a glass of vodka. If you were lucky and greatly favoured you might shake hands there with Diaghileff and now and again, like a peach-blossom wafted by the breeze, Pavlova herself hovered in and out. At this time Ashenden's success had not been so great as to affront the highbrows; he had very distinctly been one of them in his youth, and though some already looked askance, others (optimistic creatures with a faith in human nature) still had hopes of him. Anastasia Alexandrovna told him to his face that he was a member of the intelligentsia. Ashenden was quite ready to believe it. He was in a state when he was ready to believe anything. He was thrilled and excited. It seemed to him that at last he was about to capture that illusive spirit of romance that he had so long been chasing. Anastasia Alexandrovna had fine eyes, and a good, though for these days, too voluptuous figure, high cheek bones and a snub nose (this was very Tartar), a wide mouth full of large square teeth, and a pale skin. She dressed somewhat flamboyantly. In her dark melancholy eyes Ashenden saw the boundless steppes of Russia, and the Kremlin with its pealing bells, and the solemn ceremonies of Easter at St. Isaac's, and forests of silver beeches and the Nevsky Prospekt; it was astonishing how much he saw in her eyes. They were round and shining and slightly protuberant like those of a Pekinese. They talked together of Alyosha in the Brothers Karamazov, of Natasha in War and Peace, of Anna Karenina and of Fathers and Sons.

Ashenden soon discovered that her husband was quite unworthy of her and presently learned that she shared his opinion. Vladimir Semenovich was a little man with a large, long head that looked as though it had been pulled like a piece of liquorice, and he had a great shock of unruly Russian hair. He was a gentle, unobtrusive creature and it was hard to believe that the Czarist government had really feared his revolutionary activities. He taught Russian and wrote for papers in Moscow. He was amiable and obliging. He needed these qualities, for Anastasia Alexandrovna was a woman of character; when she had a toothache Vladimir Semenovich suffered the agonies of the damned and when her heart was wrung by the suffering of her unhappy country Vladimir Semenovich might well have wished he had never been born. Ashenden could not help admitting that he was a poor thing, but he was so harmless that he conceived quite a liking for him, and when in due course he had disclosed his passion to Anastasia Alexandrovna and to his joy found it was returned he was puzzled to know what to do about Vladimir Semenovich. Neither Anastasia Alexandrovna nor he felt that they could live another minute out of one another's pockets, and Ashenden feared that, with her revolutionary views and all that, she would never consent to marry him; but somewhat to his surprise, and very much to his relief, she accepted the suggestion with alacrity.

"Would Vladimir Semenovich let himself be divorced, do you think?" he asked, as he sat on the sofa, leaning against cushions the colour of which reminded him of raw meat just gone bad, and held her hand.

"Vladimir adores me," she answered. "It'll break his heart."

"He's a nice fellow, I shouldn't like him to be very unhappy. I hope he'll get over it."

"He'll never get over it. That is the Russian spirit. I know that when I leave him he'll feel that he has lost everything that made life worth living for him. I've never known anyone so wrapped up in a woman as he is in me. But of course he wouldn't want to stand in the way of my happiness. He's far too great for that. He'll see that when it's a question of my own self-development I haven't the right to hesitate. Vladimir will give me my freedom without question."

At that time the divorce law in England was even more complicated and absurd than it is now and in case she was not acquainted with its peculiarities Ashenden explained to Anastasia Alexandrovna the difficulties of the case. She put her hand gently on his.

"Vladimir would never expose me to the vulgar notoriety of the divorce court. When I tell him that I have decided to marry you he will commit suicide."

"That would be terrible," said Ashenden.

He was startled, but thrilled. It was really very much like a Russian novel and he saw the moving and terrible pages, pages and pages, in which Dostoievsky would have described the situation. He knew the lacerations his characters would have suffered, the broken bottles of champagne, the visits to the gypsies, the vodka, the swoonings, the catalepsy and the long, long speeches everyone would have made. It was all very dreadful and wonderful and shattering.

"It would make us horribly unhappy," said Anastasia Alexandrovna, "but I don't know what else he could do. I couldn't ask him to live without me. He would be like a ship without a rudder or a car without a carburettor. I know Vladimir so well. He will commit suicide."

"How?" asked Ashenden, who had the realist's passion for the exact detail.

"He will blow his brains out."

Ashenden remembered Rosmerholm. In his day he had been an ardent Ibsenite and had even flirted with the notion of learning Norwegian so that he might, by reading the master in the original, get at the secret essence of his thought. He had once seen Ibsen in the flesh drink a glass of Munich beer.

"But do you think we could ever pass another easy hour if we had the death of that man on our conscience?" he asked. "I have a feeling that he would always be between us."

"I know we shall suffer, we shall suffer dreadfully," said Anastasia Alexandrovna, "but how can we help it? Life is like that. We must think of Vladimir. There is his happiness to be considered too. He will prefer to commit suicide."

She turned her face away and Ashenden saw that the heavy tears were coming down her cheeks. He was much moved. For he had a soft heart and it was dreadful to think of poor Vladimir lying there with a bullet in his brain.

These Russians, what fun they have!

But when Anastasia Alexandrovna had mastered her emotion she turned to him gravely. She looked at him with her humid, round and slightly protuberant eyes.

"We must be quite sure that we're doing the right thing," she said. "I should never forgive myself if I'd allowed Vladimir to commit suicide and then found I'd made a mistake. I think we ought to make sure that we really love one another."

"But don't you know?" exclaimed Ashenden in a low, tense voice. "I know."

"Let's go over to Paris for a week and see how we get on. Then we shall know."

Ashenden was a trifle conventional and the suggestion took him by surprise. But only for a moment. Anastasia was wonderful. She was very quick and she saw the hesitation that for an instant troubled him.

"Surely you have no bourgeois prejudices?" she said.

"Of course not," he assured her hurriedly, for he would much sooner have been thought knavish than bourgeois, "I think it's a splendid idea."

"Why should a woman hazard her whole life on a throw? It's impossible to know what a man is really like till you've lived with him. It's only fair to give her the opportunity to change her mind before it's too late."

"Quite so," said Ashenden.

Anastasia Alexandrovna was not a woman to let the grass grow under her feet and so, having made their arrangements forthwith, on the following Saturday they started for Paris.

"I shall not tell Vladimir that I am going with you," she said. "It would only distress him."

"It would be a pity to do that," said Ashenden.

"And if at the end of the week I come to the conclusion that we've made a mistake he need never know anything about it."

"Quite so," said Ashenden.

They met at Victoria station.

"What class have you got?" she asked him.

"First."

"I'm glad of that. Father and Vladimir travel third on account of their principles, but I always feel sick on a train and I like to be able to lean my head on somebody's shoulder. It's easier in a first-class carriage."

When the train started Anastasia Alexandrovna said she felt dizzy, so she took off her hat and leaned her head on Ashenden's shoulder. He put his arm round her waist.

"Keep quite still, won't you?" she said.

When they got on the boat she went down to the ladies' cabin, and at Calais was able to eat a very hearty meal, but when they got into the train she took off her hat again and rested her head on Ashenden's shoulder. He thought he would like to read and took up a book.

"Do you mind not reading?" she said. "I have to be held and when you turn the pages it makes me feel all funny."

Finally they reached Paris and went to a little hotel on the Left Bank that Anastasia Alexandrovna knew of. She said it had atmosphere. She could not bear those great big grand hotels on the other side; they were hopelessly vulgar and bourgeois.

"I'll go anywhere you like," said Ashenden, "as long as there's a bathroom."

She smiled and pinched his cheek.

"How adorably English you are. Can't you do without a bathroom for a week? My dear, my dear, you have so much to learn."

They talked far into the night about Maxim Gorki and Karl Marx, human destiny, love and the brotherhood of man; and drank innumerable cups of Russian tea, so that in the morning Ashenden would willingly have breakfasted in bed and got up for luncheon; but Anastasia Alexandrovna was an early riser. When life was so short and there was so much to do it was a sinful thing to have breakfast a minute after half-past eight. They sat down in a dingy little dining-room the windows of which showed no signs of having been opened for a month. It was full of atmosphere. Ashenden asked Anastasia Alexandrovna what she would have for breakfast.

"Scrambled eggs," she said.

She ate heartily. Ashenden had already noticed that she had a healthy appetite. He supposed it was a Russian trait: you could not picture Anna Karenina making her midday meal off a bath-bun and a cup of coffee, could you?

After breakfast they went to the Louvre and in the afternoon they went to the Luxembourg. They dined early in order to go to the Comédie Française; then they went to a Russian cabaret where they danced. When next morning at eight-thirty they took their places in the dining-room and Ashenden asked Anastasia Alexandrovna what she fancied, her reply was:

"Scrambled eggs."

"But we had scrambled eggs yesterday," he expostulated.

"Let's have them again to-day," she smiled.

"All right."

They spent the day in the same manner except that they went to the Carnavalet instead of the Louvre and the Musée Guimet instead of the Luxembourg. But when the morning after in answer to Ashenden's enquiry Anastasia Alexandrovna again asked for scrambled eggs, his heart sank.

"But we had scrambled eggs yesterday and the day before," he said.

"Don't you think that's a very good reason to have them again to-day?"

"No, I don't."

"Is it possible that your sense of humour is a little deficient this morning?" she asked. "I eat scrambled eggs every day. It's the only way I like them."

"Oh, very well. In that case of course we'll have scrambled eggs."

But the following morning he could not face them.

"Will you have scrambled eggs as usual?" he asked her.

"Of course," she smiled affectionately, showing him two rows of large square teeth.

"All right, I'll order them for you, I shall have mine fried."

The smile vanished from her lips.

"Oh?" She paused a moment. "Don't you think that's rather inconsiderate? Do you think it's fair to give the cook unnecessary work? You English, you're all the same, you look upon servants as machines. Does it occur to you that they have hearts like yours, the same feelings and the same emotions? How can you be surprised that the proletariat are seething with discontent when the bourgeoisie like you are so monstrously selfish?"

"Do you really think that there'll be a revolution in England if I have my eggs in Paris fried rather than scrambled?"

She tossed her pretty head in indignation.

"You don't understand. It's the principle of the thing. You think it's a jest, of course I know you're being funny, I can laugh at a joke as well as anyone, Chekhov was well-known in Russia as a humourist; but don't you see what is involved? Your whole attitude is wrong. It's a lack of feeling. You wouldn't talk like that if you had been through the events of 1905 in Petersburg. When I think of the crowds in front of the Winter Palace kneeling in the snow while the Cossacks charged them, women and children! No, no, no."

Her eyes filled with tears and her face was all twisted with pain. She took Ashenden's hand.

"I know you have a good heart. It was just thoughtless on your part and we won't say anything more about it. You have imagination. You're very sensitive. I know. You'll have your eggs done in the same way as mine, won't you?"

"Of course," said Ashenden.

He ate scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning after that. The waiter said: "Monsieur aime les œufs brouillés." At the end of the week they returned to London. He held Anastasia Alexandrovna in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, from Paris to Calais and again from Dover to London. He reflected that the journey from New York to San Francisco took five days. When they arrived at Victoria and stood on the platform waiting for a cab she looked at him with her round, shining and slightly protuberant eyes.

"We've had a wonderful time, haven't we?" she said.

"Wonderful."

"I've quite made up my mind. The experiment has justified itself. I'm willing to marry you whenever you like."

But Ashenden saw himself eating scrambled eggs every morning for the rest of his life. When he had put her in a cab, he called another for himself, went to the Cunard office and took a berth on the first ship that was going to America. No immigrant, eager for freedom and a new life, ever looked upon the Statue of Liberty with more heartfelt thankfulness than did Ashenden, when on that bright and sunny morning his ship steamed into the harbour of New York. 

END

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