108 Calls for Submissions in July 2024 - Paying markets

This July there are more than eight 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: Flickr)

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The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words but will consider up to 5,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached. 

Thema: A New Routine. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: A New Routine. Payment:  $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: July 1, 2024. Accepts reprints.

The Paris Review. Genres: Poetry. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2024, and closes when they reach capacity.

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

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Flash fiction. Payment: $100. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2024.

Affirm Press. Restrictions: They only accept Australian authors or authors based in Australia, and only manuscripts that haven’t been previously published. Genre: Affirm Press accepts all literary and genre fiction. For non-fiction, they are interested in most subjects that have a market as long as the manuscript is entertaining, engaging and likely to leave readers better off. Read their submission guidelines here. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Okay Donkey. Genre: Flash fiction and poetry. Payment: Revenue sharing. Deadline: July 1, 2024. May close early if cap is reached.

Harbor Editions: Hybrid Chapbook Reading Period. Genre: Hybrid chapbook. Chapbooks should be around 20-50 pages. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 1, 2024. No submission fee for BIPOC writers.

It Came from the Trailer Park. Genre: Horror-comedy with the same feel as The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Shaun of the Dead, or Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Shenandoah. Genre: Creative Nonfiction. Payment: $80 per 1000 words of prose up to $400. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2024, and closes when they reach capacity. 

The Garden! Genre: Short stories. "We are looking for stories of any genre that respond to our title and/or cover art." Payment: €175. Deadline: July 2, 2024.  

Stone's Throw. Genre: Short stories abuot sex. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 4, 2024. 

Fraidy Cat Quarterly. Genre: Horror, dark fantasy. Payment: Flash fiction (400-1,500 words long, $10 per accepted piece); Short stories (1,501-8,000 words long, $20 per accepted piece); Black and white artwork ($10 per accepted piece). Deadline: July 5, 2024. May close early if cap is reached.

Bright Wall/Dark Room. Genre: Essay on theme: "Heartbreak." Payment: $100. Deadline: July 5, 2024.

Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 7, 2024. 

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: July 7, 2024.

Daikaijuzine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $10.00 for each short story, and $5.00 for each poem and flash fiction piece. Deadline: July 7, 2024.

Diet Milk: Gothic. Genre: Gothic fiction, poetry, and art (drawings, paintings, comics, collages). Payment: $0.01/word for fiction (minimum $40); $15/poem; $50/art piece. Deadline: July 8, 2024.

Mslexia. Restrictions: Open to women. Genre: Fiction poetry, nonfiction. Payment: £30. Deadline: July 8, 2024.

Timber Ghost Press. Genre: Novels and novellas, including cosmic horror, weird horror, sci-fi/horror, gothic, and contemporary. "We especially love Old West mixed with horror." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 10, 2024. 

 

Intergalactic Rejects. Genre: Speculative short stories (science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, cosmic horror, etc.) that have been rejected from multiple markets. Length: Limit 5,000 words. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: July 12, 2024.

Empyreal Tree Magazine. Genre: Speculative Fiction. Payment $25. Deadline: July 12, 2024. See themes.

Spooky Magazine. Genre: Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. 5000 words max. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: July 13, 2024. 

Bramble. Restrictions: Open to disabled writers and artists based in Australia. Genre: Fiction, CNF, poetry. Payment: $200 (in total). Deadline: July 13, 2024.

Seaside Gothic. Genre: Seaside gothic fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or a collection of photographs or illustrations. Payment: £0.01 per word. Deadline: July 14, 2024.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: July 14, 2024, for members of marginalised groups only.

Violet Lichen Books. Genre: Weird Fiction, New Weird, Eco-Speculative Fiction, Folk Horror, Surreal Fiction, and Literary Speculative Fiction novellas. Length: 20,000 to 40,000 words. Payment: Advance and royalties. Deadline: July 14, 2024.

The Fantastic Other. Genre: Mainstream and surrealist short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, and art. Payment: $5. Deadline: July 14, 2024.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. Payment: $0.08/word for fiction, $40/poem, and $75/essay.  Deadline: July 14, 2024.

The Rumpus. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $400 divided among all contributors. Deadline: July 14, 2024.

BOA Editions — Blessing the Boats Selections. Genre: Book of poetry by Women of Color. Payment: $5,000 + Publication. Deadline: July 14, 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: July 15, 2024. 

Twisted Laughs. Genre: Dark humor. Payment: $15. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Bad Day Book - Teaching Edition. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for theme. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Bad Day Book - Parenting Edition. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for theme. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Able Muse Press. Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 15, 2024. 

If There's Anyone Left. Restrictions: Open to people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, members of marginalized genders, and disabled people. Genre: Speculative fiction. Length: 1000 words max. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Ursa Podcast. Genre: Literary fiction and satire, "but we will happily make exceptions if you have a character-driven genre story. We are looking for stories that take risks, that are provocative and demonstrate a unique voice. We like stories that thrill." Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: July 15, 2024. Reprints accepted.

Black Cat Publishing: Black Cat Tales. Genre: Dark fiction and poetry on theme: Black cats. "Horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, erotica, weird westerns, cyberpunk, steampunk…we’re open to all." Payment: $50 for fiction, $25 for poetry. Deadline: July 15, 2024. 

The Ex-Puritan. Genre: Poetry, fiction, reviews, interviews, essays, and experimental work. Payment: $100 - $200 (CAD). Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Midnight Meadow Publishing's goal is to publish engaging and unique LGBTQ+ stories while elevating marginalized voices. They are interested in a wide variety of genres. Read submission guidelines HERE. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Electric Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Cosmic Horror Monthly. Genre: Cosmic Horror, Lovecraftian, Weird stories, art. Payment: 6 cents/word. 50 dollars for artwork chosen as interior content. 200 dollars for cover art. Negotiable. Deadline: July 17, 2024.

Blanket Gravity Magazine. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art. "We are interested in moments of emotional intensity, and how their effects ring out in the bigger picture of our identities. We are looking for writing and art that explore mental health or emotional life. By "mental health," we mean art that tries to make sense of emotional struggle or uncertainty, as well as our thoughts about who we are, what other people mean to us, and the nature of the world." Payment: $40. Deadline: July 19, 2024. 

Uncanny Magazine. Genre: Speculative poetry. Payment: $40. Deadline: July 19, 2024. 

WordWorks. Restrictions: Open to BC and Yukon writers. Genre: CNF and memoir. "In this issue, we’ll explore how point of view, setting, description, dialogue, and other narrative techniques can be used to tell the truth in new and engaging ways. Whether your subject is history, science, nature, travel, or your own life, we would love to hear from you if you work in creative nonfiction." Payment: $125 for articles of 400–550 words and $250 for articles of 800–1,050 words. $50 for selected reprints.$100 for cover art and $25 for other interior illustrations. Deadline July 19, 2024. Accepts reprints.

Astrolabe. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography & art. Payment: $50. Deadline: July 20, 2024.

Bright Wall/Dark Room. Genre: Essay on theme: Spike Lee. "For our month of Lee, we’re seeking essays and voices tackling any and all of his films, his performances, his writings, his impact on cinema and culture.” Payment: $100. Deadline: July 20, 2024. 

Witch House. Genre: Cosmic horror. Payment: Token honorarium. Deadline: July 21, 2024.

Diabolical Plots. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy and horror up to 3,500 words. Payment: 10 cents/word. Deadline: July 22, 2024.

Splinter. Genre: Memoir, poetry and fiction, profiles, reportage, writing about writing, and criticism. Payment: Profiles - $900; Reportage essays - $900; Memoir - $600; Criticism - $700; Fiction - $900; Poetry - $250/poem; Poetry collection - $450/collection; Writing about writing - $500. Deadline: July 22, 2024.

Asian American Writers’ Workshop: The Margins. Restrictions: Open to Asian, Asian American, and Asian diasporic writers. Genre: Flash fiction. Payment: $150 for works of 500-1,000 words. Deadline: July 22, 2024.

Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology. Genre: science fiction, fantasy, horror, YA, romance inspired by Tanith Lee. Payment: 10 cents'word. Deadline: July 16-22, open to underrepresented and historically marginalized voices including BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, disabled, and neurodiverse writers. July 23-29, open to all.

Rough Cut Press. Restrictions: Open to LGBT writers. Genre: Fiction on theme: Gasp. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 27, 2024.

Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 30, 2024.

Bad Day Book - College Life Edition. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for theme. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: July 30, 2024.

Bad Day Book - Special Needs Edition. Genre: Poetry and prose. See site for theme. Payment: $40 - $75, depending on length. Deadline: July 30, 2024.

Atlas of Deep Ones. Genre: Weird fiction and nonfiction, poetry, art. See theme. Payment: Story: $25; Poems: $15; Non-fiction: $15. Deadline: July 30, 2024.

Madame, Don’t Forget Your Sword. Genre: Speculative fiction. "This anthology is dedicated to all the minions, sidekicks, and henchpeople: the ones responsible for getting the takeout, picking up the kids, and making sure that the evil plan actually works. The ones dedicated to showing how the monster works before the hero comes to save the day!" Payment: $5 plus royalties. Deadline: July 30, 2024.

Memezine. Genre: "We like stuff that blurs the lines between art, literature, and content. Send any work (traditional or hybrid) that engages with our participation in the digital landscape. Send us your best…oh screw it, send us your worst too. We encourage you to read our “About” page if this is your first time submitting, thank yewww <3" Payment: $4.20. Deadline: July 30, 2024.

Dragon Soul Press: Beautiful Darkness2. Genre: " In a world where so many dark things go bump in the night, terror awaits around every corner as these authors take horror stories to the next level." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Inkd Publishing: Yay! All Queer. Genre: LGBTQ+ fiction, all genres. Payment: Royalty share of D2D sales, or $20.00. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Mud Season Review. Genre: Poetry, Fiction, CNF, Art. Payment: $50. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Writing Class Radio (Podcast). Genre: Personal essays. Theme: Abortion. Length: 1000 words max. Payment: $100. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

AM Ink. Genre: Horror novels. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

berlin lit. Genre: Poetry. Payment: 20 euros per poem. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Baubles From Bones. Genre: Science fiction and fantasy. Length: All stories must be between 1,000 to 8,000 words. Payment: $.01/word. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Black Hare Press: Dark Moments. Genre: Drabbles on theme of Phobias. Payment: 4 cents/word. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery. Genre: Mystery stories. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Bannister Press: Other. Restictions: Open to women writers. Genre: Fantasy short stories. Payment: 3 cents/word. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

GabaGhoul - A Mafia Horror Anthology. Genre: Mafia-themed horror. Payment: 3¢ per word payment up to 5,000 words. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

FIYAH. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to people of the African Diaspora. Genre: Speculative fiction, art, and poetry about African Diaspora. Length: Short fiction 2,000 – 7,000 words and novelettes up to 15,000 words. See theme. Payment: $150 per story. $50 per poem. $300 per novelette. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Silver Blade. Genre: Science Fiction, Slipstream, Classic and Modern Fantasy; short fiction, flash fiction, novellas, and poetry. Payment: $15 for novellas, $3 for flash fiction, $8 for short stories, $8 for single poems and $15 for Featured Poets (by invitation only). Silver Pen will pay half of these rates for previously published works. Deadline: July 31, 2024. Reprints accepted.

Anstruther Books. Genre: Poetry "that takes risks and represents a diverse cross-section of the Canadian literary community." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Spoon Knife Anthology. Genre: Genre-bending short fiction, short literary memoir, and poetry. Payment: $20 plus 1 cent per word. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Litmosphere. Genre: Art, flash (fiction and nonfiction), poetry, and short prose (fiction and literary nonfiction). Payment: $50 per accepted poem, flash fiction and nonfiction; $100 per short fiction and literary nonfiction; $250 for non-exclusive online use of 15-30 images. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Flux is an imprint of North Star Editions, a Minnesota-based house specializing in trade fiction. Genre: YA fiction manuscripts. Flux specializes in "alternative voices." The editors believe that young adult novels are a "point of view," not a reading level. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

UWA Publishing (University of Western Australia). Genre: Fiction and poetry. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Jolly Fish is an imprint of North Star Editions, a Minnesota-based house specializing in trade fiction. Genre: MG and YA fiction. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The London Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Mayday. Genre: Short fiction, CNF, Poetry, Art, Interviews, Nonfiction. Payment: $20 - $50. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Cast of Wonders. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. See theme. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Three Cousins Publishing: The Trouble With Time. Genre: Time travel stories. Stories must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: July 31, 2024. Email the submission to westmesapress@gmail.com. Put “Submission, your story title, and your name in the subject line.

Quarter Press: Quarter(ly). Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. See themes. Payment: $5. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Space and Time. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk, magical realism. See theme. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Arc Poetry Magazine. Genre: Poetry. "Arc Poetry Magazine invites artists who live with disability/chronic illness/mental illness and other forms of existence that are impacted by ableism to send us poems exploring what it means to be in the world, or your topic of choice." Payment: $50 per page. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Nonbinary Review. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Theme: False Memories. Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry Payment: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry. $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Spooky. Genre: Horror. "Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror?" Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Podcastle. Genre: Fantasy podcast. Length: Up to 6,000 words. Payment: $0.06/word for original; $100 for reprints, $20 for flash fiction reprints. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

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: July 31, 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: July 31, 2024.

Kaleidotrope. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry—science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but also compelling work that blurs the lines between these and falls outside of neat genre categories. Payment: For fiction, $0.01/word (1 cent a word) USD. For poetry, a flat rate of $5 USD per accepted piece. For artwork, a flat rat of $60 for cover art. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Gwyllion. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: £10 per accepted story or poem. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Brink. Genre: Hybrid, cross-genre fiction, nonfiction poetry. Payment: $25 Poem; $50 Work (less than 1500 words); $50 Art (1-3 Images); $100 Art (4+ Images); $100 Work (more than 1501 words). Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Tupelo Press. Genre: Book-length poetry collections (48-90 pages) and chapbook-length poetry collections (28-47 pages). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

New Myths. Genre: Speculative fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $30 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry; $50 for book reviews; $80 for art. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Bad Betty. Genre: Full-length poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Pseudopod. Genre: Horror Anthologies and Collections of stories that have been published by Pseudopod. Payment: USD $0.08 per word for original fiction. USD $100 per story for reprint fiction. Deadline: July 31, 2024. 

Cowboy Up. Genre: "We are looking for stories up to 7500 words in length that feature the sport of Rodeo. They can be in any genre as long as the sport of Rodeo is a key part of the story." Payment: $20. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Spoon Knife Anthology. Genre: Genre- bending short fiction, short literary memoir, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $20 plus 1 cent per word. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Lycan Valley Publications. Genre: Horror, thriller and pulp novellas with some type of paranormal, supernatural, occult or psychological aspect. Own Voices and BIPOC are strongly encouraged to submit. Adult and YA novellas considered. Submit your complete novella (17,000 to 28,000 words) in rtf or pages format. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Die Laughing Literary Magazine. Genre: Horror comedy. Payment: $10 for flash, $25 for shorts. Deadline: July 31, 2024. 

Flash Point Science Fiction. Genre: Speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 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: July 31, 2024.

AM Ink. Genre: Horror. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Flash Frog. Genre: Flash fiction ghost stories. 1,000 words max. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The Marrow. Genre: poetry written in, or translated into, English, from Australian and international poets. Payment: AU$40. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Four Palaces Publishing: Solastalgia - 2024 Nonfiction Anthology. Genre: Creative nonfiction essays between 2,000 and 6,000 words. "Solastalgia is the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment." Payment: $100 for selected work.The author with the winning creative nonfiction essay will receive $1000 and mentorship in either craft or professional development from our guest judge, Erica Hoffmeister. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The Pig’s Back. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. Payment: €300. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

AND A FEW MORE...

The Rumpus. Genre: Essays. Payment: $400 divided among all contributors. Deadline: August 1, 2024.

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

Zombies in the New Normal. Genre: Zombie stories. Payment: $100. Deadline: August 1, 2024.

Broken Highways. Genre: Car Wars GameLit Fiction. "Theme: Have you ever looked at someone, and just know that they have one hell of a tale to tell? First-hand accounts from the road, told by the bounty hunters, highwaymen, and Federal Marshals out there in the mix." Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000.  Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 1, 2024.

Face the Storm. Genre: Speculative Fiction. Theme: A collection of stories dealing with Space Coasties! Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 1, 2024.

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

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: August 1, 2024.

The Offing: Back of the Envelope. Genre: Back of the Envelope seeks writing of any length and genre which relates to, or draws on, science and the natural world. Sharing its wonder or its horrors, relating the untold stories of discovery, or toying with everyday curiosities, we're interested in hearing from those inside and outside the scientific community. Payment: $25–$100. Deadline: August 1, 2024.

62 Writing Contests in July 2024 - No entry fees

This July there are more than five dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes this month range from $100,000 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: Flickr)

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PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative. Restrictions: Applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. Prize: Grant, amount not specified. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Sponsored by Claremont Graduate University. Restrictions: Poets must be citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States. Genre: Poetry. Book must be author's first full-length book of poetry, published between between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. Self-published books are accepted. Prize: $10,000. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Sponsored by Claremont Graduate University. Restrictions: Poets must be citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States. Genre: Poetry. The work submitted must be a first book of poetry published between between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. Manuscripts, CDs, and chapbooks are not accepted. Prize: $100,000. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Langdon Review Writer-in-Residence Program. This is a two-week residency at Texas-based Tarleton State University, providing an opportunity to present at the Langdon Review Weekend festival, and publication in the school's Langdon Review journal. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 1, 204.

The AutoEthnographer Student Scholarships. Restrictions: Open to creatives anywhere in the world who identify as active students at any age or level. Works must be nominated by an instructor, professor, tutor, or other educator; the author/artist must have been an enrolled student in the 2022-2023 school year. Genre: Works of literary and artistic autoethnography. Prize: $250 and publication. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

ALCS Award for Educational Writers. Genre: Nonfiction book (with or without illustrations) that stimulates and enhances learning for either 5-11 year olds (in odd-numbered years) or 11-18 year olds (in even-numbered years). For 2023, titles must be for ages 5-11. Books must have been first published in the UK within the previous two calendar years (2021 or 2022 of the current deadline year). Prize: £2,000.00. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Richard J. Margolis Award. Genre: Journalism. Prize is awarded annually to a promising new journalist or essayist whose work combines warmth, humor, wisdom and concern with social justice. Prize: $5,000 and one month of residency at Blue Mountain Center. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Local Word Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Entries are welcome from living poets anywhere in Australia 16 years or older. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $2,000 AUD top prize. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest (BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize and BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean). Restrictions: All entrants must be of Caribbean heritage/of Caribbean descent or writers who were born/raised and holding nationality in the Caribbean. Genre: Unpublished short fiction (3000 words max). Prize: US$1750 for each contest. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards. Genre: Poetry. "The awards contest is an annual series of awards to encourage poets to explore and illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit." Prize: $200. Deadline: July 1, 2024. Free entry for poets age 12 and under.

Forum Prize. Genre: Essay on the subject of: ‘The Art(s) of Delight’ "We are looking for bold, visionary and persuasive essays that use academic research to pursue innovative questions. The topic may be addressed from the perspective of any of the literatures (including literary linguistics, translation and comparative literature approaches) normally covered by the journal: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish." Prize: £500 and publication. Deadline: July 1, 2024. 

Maine Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowships. Restrictions: Open to writers who have lived in the state of Maine for at least one year. Genre: Fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: July 3, 2024.

The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: Open to unpublished Australian residents aged 18 years or older. Genre: Fiction and narrative non-fiction, the first three chapters plus synopsis (max 20,000 words). Prize: $10,000 and a year’s mentorship with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers. The Guardian Australia will publish an extract of the first chapter of the winning work on its website. Deadline: July 7, 2024.

Furious Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction. "On the first Friday of every month, a new set of story prompts will be revealed. You will have 55 hours to submit your best 500-word (or fewer) story." Prize:  $500AUD. Deadline: July 7, 2024. Opens July 5.

Wingate Literary Prize. Genre: Published book that explores Jewish themes. Book must be published between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024, must be published, distributed or easily available in the UK and Ireland, and must be published in English, whether originally or in translation. Prize: £4,000. Deadline: July 7, 2024.

Conversation Piece. Genre: Stories, poems, dialogues, screenplays, etc made up of 100% dialogue/speech. No word limit. Prize: "Modest" Deadline: July 7, 2024.

HG Wells Short Story Competition. Genre: Short story on theme. See site. Length: 1,500 to 5,000 words. Prize: £1,000 and publication in the annual HG Wells Short Story Competition Anthology.  Deadline: July 8, 2024. No fee for writers under the age of 21. Those over 21 can enter for a fee.

Diversity in Beer Writing Grant 2024. Genre: Nonfiction article about beer that explores areas of diversity and inclusion in beer. Prize: Chosen writers will receive payment of 50 cents per word for their work, up to $1,000. Deadline: July 8, 2024. 

Sine Theta Prize. Restrictions: Open to  members of the Sino diaspora. Genre: Fiction (prose) and poetry. See theme. Prize: All authors published in sinθ receive a $10 USD honorarium. For the two contest winners, there is an additional $200 USD prize, amounting to a total of $210 USD. Deadline: July 10, 2024.

Stony Brook Short Fiction Prize. Restrictions: Only undergraduates enrolled full time in United States and Canadian universities and colleges are eligible. Genre: Fiction of no more than 7,500 words. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: July 14, 2024. 

Blessing the Boats. Restrictions: Open to all women poets of color in the U.S., including poets who identify as cis, trans, and non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers on women’s experiences, regardless of citizenship and publication history. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscript. Prize: $5,000 honorarium and book publication by BOA Editions, Ltd. Deadline: July 14, 2024. 

Apparition Lit. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Prize: $30. Deadline: July 14, 2024.

Donn Goodwin and Joseph Gahagen Poetry Prizes: Milwaukee Irish Fest. Genre: Poetry. Entries should have a culture/literary relation to either Ireland, Irish-America, or to Irish poetry. Prize: $100. Deadline: July 14, 2024.

The Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism. Restrictions: Open to women and nonbinary journalists. Genre: Narrative Journalism. Prize: $5,000. Deadline: July 14, 2024.

The Governor General’s Literary Awards. Restrictions: Books must have been written, translated or illustrated by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Genre: Best English-language and the best French-language book will be chosen in each of the seven categories of Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Children’s Literature (text), Children’s Literature (illustrated books) and Translation (from French to English). Prize: $25,000. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

The UNLEASH  WIP Prize. Genre: Book-length work in progress of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or hybrid. Prize: Writers will receive editorial feedback, a coaching call, $500 US, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit. 

Singapore Unbound. Restrictions: Open to undergraduates. Genre: Critical essays on topics in Singapore literature. Prize: $250. Deadline: 

Iron Horse Prize. Genre: First book of collected prose. Prize: $1000, and the collection will be published in the summer of 2024 by Texas Tech University Press. Deadline: July 15, 2024 (extended through July 16). (Free day)

International Fiction Festival. Genre: Short Story (10,000 words maximum), Novella (10,000-40,000 words), and Novel (40,000 words minimum). Prize: $1000. Deadline: July 18, 2024. 

Boardman Tasker Prize. Restrictions: The prize will be awarded for a work first published or distributed in the United Kingdom between July 15, 2023 and July 15, 2024. Genre: Books with a mountain, not necessarily mountaineering, theme whether fiction, non-fiction, drama or poetry, written in the English language. Prize: £3,000.00. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Swamp Pink Prize for Indigenous Writers. Restrictions: Open to indigenous writers in the United States. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Prize: Winners in each genre will receive $500 and publication. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Iron Horse Photofinish. Genre: Brief ekphrastic work that pushes beyond an absolute literal read of a photo prompt. "We're looking for work that recognizes what's hidden in the world we see, responding to the physical details that the picture offers or what emotion it conveys or both. We provide the photo on our website and social media platforms every mid-May. Responses should be no longer than 500 words for prose or 15 lines for poetry. Prize:  Winner receives $250. The finalists receive: $50. Deadline: July 15, 2024. Free submissions on July 15 only.

Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest. Genre: Poetry. Categories: #1 Traditional Sonnet – Shakespearean or Petrarchan; #2 Modern Sonnet. Prize: $50, 2nd Prize $30, 3rd Prize $20, three Honorable Mentions, three Special Recognitions. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

LSU Alexandria English & Humanities Department. Genre: Flash Fiction. Tell a short-story with a title. In a minimum of 6 words and a maximum of 1,500 words, tell a story about what happened, who it happened to, and why. Prizes: First, second, and third place finishers will be awarded $250, $150, and $100 respectively, and the stories will be published on the LSUA website. Deadline: July 15, 2024.

Stone Canoe. Restrictions: Open to people who live or have lived in Upstate New York (not New York City). Genres: Drama, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. Prize: $250 and publication. Deadline: July 15, 2024 for fiction and poetry. (It is difficult to find this information on their website.) 

Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. Restrictions: Books must be first edition English-language books written by a Canadian or American citizen or permanent resident of either country. Works written by women or non-binary authors are eligible for submission. The Prize welcomes and encourages submissions by transgender woman authors. Genre: Published novel, short story collection or graphic novel. Prize: $150,000 Canadian dollars. Deadline: Entries for books published between January 1, 2024 – July 31, 2024, must be received on or before July 15, 2024.

The Burlington Contemporary Art Writing Prize. Restrictions: Entrants must have published no more than six pieces of writing in print or online prior to their submission. Genre: Review of a contemporary art exhibition. Prize: £1,000. Deadline: July 15, 2024. 

Ibby Rivers Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to Oregon and SW Washington residents only. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $300. Deadline: July 15, 2024. 

Write the World: Journalism Competition. Restrictions: Young writers ages 13-19.5. Genre: News article: Global correspondents. Prize: Best Entry: $100; Runner up: $50. Deadline: July 22, 2024.

Black Voices in Children's Literature Writing Contest. Restrictions: The contest is open to Black authors who at the time of entry are at least 18 years of age and residing anywhere in the United States. Genre: Original children’s books for ages 0–4 (50–125 words) or for ages 4–8 (300–800 words) featuring authentic, realistic Black characters and culture and focusing on one or more of the following topics: character development, self-esteem, identity, diversity, getting along with others, engaging with family and community, or other topics related to positive childhood development. Religious and fantasy themes will not be considered. Prize: First Place: $1000. Second Place: $500 cash prize. Third Place: $250 cash prize. Deadline: July 22, 2024.

Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize for Young Indigenous Writers. Restrictions: The prize is open to Indigenous Australian writers who are 35 years or younger at the closing date of the competition. Genre: Poetry. Prize: First prize includes $5000, an optional writing residency at Trinity College, and publication of the successful piece in Overland. Deadline: July 27, 2024.

SLF Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants. Restrictions: Open to writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, etc. -- those whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing / publishing process. Genres: Book-length works (novels, collections of short stories) of speculative fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Apex Flash Fiction Contest. Genre: Speculative fiction, 1000 words max. Prize: 8 cents/word or $10, which ever is greater. Deadline: June 30, 2024. Note: Apex Magazine’s Flash Fiction Contest is open from the 7th until the final day of each month. The contest is themed.

Eucalyptus Lit. Genre: Poetry and prose. Prize: Winner will receive a prize of $75, and the runner-up will receive $25. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. Restrictions: Open to young poets age 11 - 17. Genre: Poetry. Prize: Publication. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Landfall Essay Competition. Restrictions: Open to New Zealand writers. Genre: Essay about New Zealand. Prize: The winner will receive $3000 and a year’s subscription to Landfall. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Polar Expressions Publications Short Story and Poetry Competition. Restrictions: Open to Canadians only. Genre: Short story, poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Pride Award for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers. Genre: An unpublished work of crime fiction, aimed at readers from children’s chapter books through adults. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress of 2,500 to 5,000 words. Prize: $2,000. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The Stephen Spender Prize. Restrictions: Open to UK or Irish citizens, or pupils at a British School overseas. Genre: Translated poetry from Portuguese to English. Prize: £50-£100. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Briefly Write. Genre: Poetry up to 10 lines. Prize: Total prize fund - £75. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Mustapha Matura Award. Restrictions: The competition is open to any playwright of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the UK. Entrants must be 25 years or under at the time of submission. Genre: Stage play in English. Television, radio plays and film scripts will not be considered. Prize: £3,000 top prize. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

What’s Your Story? Restrictions: Open to Victorian residents. (Australia) Genre: Poetry, short stories, CNF. Prize: $500. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

James Berry Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to poets of colour, who are UK residents (permanently reside in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man) who have not yet published a book-length collection, with special consideration given to LGBTQ+/disabled poets and poets from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Genre: Poetry. Prize: 3 equal winners each receive £1,000 prize, expert mentoring & debut collection published with Bloodaxe Books. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Surging Tide. Genre: Poetry, prose. Prize: The winner of each category will be awarded $100 and each runner-up will also be awarded $25. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Arablit Story Prize. Genre: Flash fiction in Arabic. Prize: 1st prize: £300 2nd prize: £200 3rd prize: £100. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awards. Restrictions: Scottish writers over 18 years of age. Genres: The awards are divided into three different categories.: Fiction and Narrative Non-fiction in English and Scots, Poetry in English and Scots, Children’s and Young Adult Fiction in English and Scots. Prize: £2,000 and personal development opportunities, which can include mentoring from writers and industry professionals. Training in PR, performance and presentation training, and the opportunity to showcase work to publishers and agents. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The Lehrhaus Short Story Contest. Genre: Short stories that explore the depth and diversity of Jewish ideas. The story should be between 1,000 and 5,000 words. Prize: $100 and publication. Deadline: July 31, 2024. 

Four Palaces Publishing: Solastalgia - 2024 Nonfiction Anthology. Genre: Creative nonfiction essays between 2,000 and 6,000 words. "Solastalgia is the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment." Payment: $100 for selected work.The author with the winning creative nonfiction essay will receive $1000 and mentorship in either craft or professional development from our guest judge, Erica Hoffmeister. Deadline: July 31, 2024.

The Washburn Chapbook Prize. Restrictions: Open to women or non-binary writers. Genre: Chapbook exactly 10 poems long. Prize: $200 and publication of their micro chapbook online at Harbor Review. Deadline: July 31, 2024. Fees are waived for BIPOC identifying writers only.

Shenandoah Literary Review

Read more at: http://www.freelancewriting.com/freewritingcontests/FWC-bevel-summers-prize.php
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Biopage. Genre: "Inspiring, uplifting, and heartwarming stories." Prizes: Up to $300. Deadline: July 31, 2024. Registration required.

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: July 31, 2024. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.

Hachette UK: The Future Bookshelf – The Robinson New Voices Award. Restrictions: Open to unpublished psychology writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and multiple ethnic backgrounds, as well as those who are disabled, gender diverse, part of the LGBTQIA+ community or from cultural or religious minorities. Genre: Works of commercial non-fiction, aimed at general readers, on any topic within any branch of psychology. Prize: £5000 advance. Deadline: July 31, 2024. 

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26 Glorious Writing Conferences and Workshops in July 2024

This July there are more than two 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: Wallowa Lake, Oregon: Robert Shea: Flickr)

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Young Writers Workshop. July 7 - 27, 2024: Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Restrictions: For students completing grades 9, 10, 11. Three 90-minute workshop sessions daily, including imaginative writing activities and discussion of readings. Weekly individual meetings with workshop instructor. Focus is on using various forms of creative writing to develop language and thinking skills. 

Hurston/Wright Summer Writers Week. July 8 - July 12, 2024: Rutgers. For more than 20 years, the Hurston/Wright Summer Writers Workshop has offered a safe space for Black writers in intensive workshop sessions and master classes. Workshops are led by award-winning writers who are influencing today’s literature. The program features critiques, craft talks, writing time and public readings. Hurston/Wright workshops serve emerging and experienced writers who are starting projects, developing projects or seeking to polish projects. More than a thousand writers have participated in workshops since the first session in 1996. See website for individual workshops.

Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers. July 8 - 14, 2024: Wallowa Lake, Oregon. Take a weeklong writing workshop in your favorite genre: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, or short story. Each workshop is limited to no more than 13 participants, giving you the opportunity to build connections with a world-class instructor and your fellow writers. Throughout the week, we’ll bring the best of Summer Fishtrap to you through craft talks, discussions, open mics, readings, and a special 35th Anniversary Celebration.

Community of Writers Workshop in Fiction. July 8 - 15, 2024: Olympic Valley, California. These workshops assist serious writers by exploring the art and craft as well as the business of writing. The week offers daily morning workshops, craft lectures, panel discussions on editing and publishing, staff readings, as well as brief individual conferences. The morning workshops are led by staff writer-teachers, editors, or agents. There are separate morning workshops for Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction/ Memoir. In addition to their workshop manuscript, participants may have a second manuscript read by a staff member who meets with them in an individual conference. During the week, a portion of our workshops is devoted exclusively to nonfiction. Memoir, narrative nonfiction, and essays are invited. Literary criticism and scholarly work will not be considered. Nonfiction applicants can use the same general form for submission. Application deadline March 5. (Put this on your calendar for next year)

Summer Camp in Illustration: Intensive Artistic Inspiration. July 10 -13, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. At the Highlights Foundation, “summer camp” is different than s’mores by the fire and hiking in the woods. (Though we do that, too.) Get away for four days at our Summer Camp in Illustration for inspiration, guidance, support, community, fun, creativity, and growth. Waitlisted.

Southampton Writers Conference. July 10 - 14, 2024: Long Island, NY. The conference features workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and publishing, as well as readings, lectures, and a master class series. Creative writing workshops are the heart and soul of the summer experience, meeting four afternoons or mornings throughout the session. Enrollment is limited to 13 lucky writers who have applied with writing samples. Those accepted have the privilege of sharing their work in an intimate, rigorous and friendly setting. 

Midwest Writers Workshop. July 11 - 13, 2024: Muncie, Indiana. Craft and business sessions, agent pitches, manuscript evaluations. MWW includes quality instruction by a faculty of authors, agents, editors, and specialists. Will be held online and in person.

Cascade Three-day Critique Workshop. July 12 – 14, 2024: Bremerton, WA. "Our Three-Day Critique Workshop is an opportunity for you to submit the first 4000 words of your novel, short story, or whatever project you are working on, for critique in a group of up to 8 peers led by an industry professional. This is a great way to polish up those first pages and first chapter. Submissions are due six weeks before the event via our Discord Channel. Registrants will receive login information a few weeks before submissions are due. There will also be one-hour workshops and panel presentations on craft, querying, the publishing industry, and more. Optional casual gatherings provide opportunities to get to know other writers as well as authors, editors, and agents." Proof of vaccination required.

Summer Camp in Writing: Create and Dream! July 14 -18, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Our Summer Camp in Writing is a time to find the kind of encouragement for your stories that only a generous mentor can provide. To find inspiration and support. To be with a community that understands the long process of turning dreams into books for children. To work 1:1 and fine-tune your words and pitches while you have some fun. Waitlisted.

Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. July 14 - 20, 2024: Port Townsend, Washington. workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as craft lectures, readings, open mics, and time to write. "The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference has been since 1974 at the wild heart of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene. With a focus on community and rigorous attention to craft, the Conference offers morning workshops, afternoon workshops, residencies, guided freewrites, and a vibrant readings and lectures series presented by vital, contemporary writers." 

Sewanee Writers’ Conference. July 16 -  28, 2024: Sewanee, TN. Faculty will give readings and provide instruction and criticism through workshops and craft lectures, as well as meet individually with participants to discuss their manuscripts. The Conference will offer five fiction workshops, four poetry workshops, and a playwriting workshop supported by two professional actors. In addition, a substantial number of literary agents will attend.

Writercon Retreat. July 17 - 21, 2024: Wagoner, OK. Join us for a five-day, small-group writing retreat at the 300-acre Canebrake Resort in Wagoner, OK, on Ft. Gibson lake. Our retreat group will have the resort to ourselves with paths to hike, a pool to enjoy, bikes to ride and much more! 

Saskatchewan Festival of Words. July 18 - 21, 2024: Moose Jaw, Canada. Workshops for all ages, reading sessions, concerts, film, panel discussions, interviews, music, theatre, a slam poetry competition as well as workshops and author readings.

Writing Heights Writers Conference. July 19 - 20, 2024: Fort Collins, CO. Workshops, seminars, speakers, entertainment, agent roundtables, pitch sessions, networking with authors and industry professionals. Will be held online and in person.

Northwestern University Summer Writers’ Conference. July 19 - 20, 2024: Chicago, Illinois. The conference is hosted by the Northwestern University School of Professional Studies MA in Writing and MFA in Prose and Poetry programs. Will be held online.

Imaginarium. July 19 - 21, 2024: Louisville KY. A three day annual event held in Louisville, Kentucky centered entirely around creative writing, including the worlds of books, movies, gaming, music, and comics/graphic novels. Imaginarium Convention features extensive programming content, with panels and workshops presented by over 150 professional guests covering everything from the craft of writing to various genres, industry-specific topics, publishing, and social media/publicity. The convention features a film festival with a full array of awards, a masquerade/costume contest, live music, gaming, an expo open to the general public, an awards banquet, a series of literary awards called the Imadjinns, and many more activities, creating a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere that is content-rich and ideal for networking, promotion and personal development. 

Mystery Writers Conference.  July 19 - 21, 2023: Corte Madera, CA. In this conference, mystery writers learn the clues to a successful writing career. Editors, agents, and publishers tell participants what they need to know to get published. Authors offer classes on setting, dialogue, suspense, point of view, and openings. They tell how to write about private eyes, amateur sleuths, and police protagonists, and how to create thrillers and historical mysteries. Panels of detectives, forensic experts, police, and other crime-fighting professionals provide information that allows crime fiction writers to put realism in their work. 

The Cambridge Writers’ Workshop Summer Writing Retreat. July 19 - 27, 2024: Budapest & Prague. The retreat offers participating writers of all genres and levels to work alongside award-winning authors and editors. Participating writers will hone their craft and expand their writing skills, while working on new or existing projects. Tuition is $3,875, which includes lodging in central Paris, creative writing workshops and writing seminars with our supportive and award-winning faculty8of writers and editors, and daily breakfast. Register by June 1, 2024. (Put this on your calendar for next year)

Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. July 21 - 26, 2024: Napa, California. While conference lectures and readings are open to the public, the heart of the experience — the daily workshop, with the opportunity to give and receive feedback on work in progress — is available only to participants. It’s through this intense process that new and established writers interact most meaningfully and forge the bonds that give the conference community life beyond the annual conference week.

North Carolina Writers' Network Squire Summer Writing Workshops. July 25 - 23, 2024: Greenville, North Carolina. The 2024 Squire Summer Writing Workshops (SW24) are three intensive workshops with accomplished instructors, a chance to share your work with other dedicated writers, and a unique opportunity to bond with writers from across the state and beyond.

Taylor's Professional Writers Conference. July 26 - 27, 2024: Upland, Indiana. Sponsored by Taylor University's nationally recognized Professional Writing major, this conference stresses tools and tips for getting your writing into print. You'll learn from professional writers and network with agents and editors who can take you to the next level in your writing.

Confluence-SFF. July 26 - 28, 2024: Coraopolis, PA. Located at the birthplace of the Ohio River, Confluence is Pittsburgh’s longest-running literary conference with a strong focus on science fiction, fantasy and horror. Award-winning authors, editors, artists and song-writers gather for three full days.

The Creativity Workshop in New York. July 26 - 29, 2024: New York, New York. "The Creativity Workshops take away the fear of writing and open the way to new ideas. They are especially helpful for writers in fiction, poetry, memoir, theatre and film to get over writing blocks. In our Creativity Workshop Retreats you will generate both new work and ideas for the work you are in the midst of creating. We use many different techniques to help you find your way through the novel, essay, poem, memoir, or script you are writing or hope to write. In The Creativity Workshop you will be doing free writing, writing from guided visualizations, collaborative writing, journaling and memoir work and even some rudimentary drawing, collage and photography."

Willamette Writers Conference. July 31 - August 1, 2024: Portland, Oregon. Three full days of classes, workshops, keynotes, critiques, and events. There are also Master Classes with industry professionals in which you can learn from top instructors in a small group setting and many options for one on one critique, including On the Spot Critiques and Advance Manuscript Critique. As always, they will have a roster of agents, editors and film executives ready to hear about your project. Hybrid format.

Romance Writers of America. July 31 - August 3, 2024: Austin, TX. At the RWA Annual Conference, you’ll experience three days filled with education, career enhancement, and networking with your peers and industry professionals.

Whole Novel Workshop: An In-Person Retreat for Novelists (October). Apply by July 31. October 17 - 22, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. This intensive, transformative Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 80,000 words) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided. Attention in an intimate setting makes this program one that guarantees significant progress in preparation for submission. 

9 New Agents Seeking Memoirs, Kidlit, Romance, SFF, Nonfiction and more

Here are nine new literary agents actively seeking clients. New agents are a boon to writers. They are actively building their lists, and will go the extra mile for their clients.

All of these agents work for established agencies with good track records. They are looking for all genres.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change. 

NOTE: Don't submit to several agents at the same agency simultaneously. If one rejects you, you may then submit to another. (Some small agencies share. Be alert to a notice that "a no from one is a no from all.")

You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients. 

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Laurie-Maude Chenard of United Talent Agency

Born in China and raised in Québec and Massachusetts, Laurie-Maude studied Culture and Politics and Global Business at Georgetown University. After graduating, she worked briefly in advertising before joining UTA in 2021. She now lives in New York. In her free time, you can find her getting into street photography, roaming Prospect Park for the perfect sunny spot, and trying to turn any day into one spent by the ocean.

What she is seeking: Laurie-Maude Chenard represents clients in both fiction and nonfiction. She gravitates toward unique, voice-driven stories by writers from historically underrepresented communities, exploring themes of identity (and its fluidity), race, culture, gender, and sexuality. She’s drawn to contemporary literary and upmarket fiction with multifaceted characters navigating strong internal conflicts and complex relationships. She has a particular interest in coming-of-age stories, as well as psychological and speculative novels that blend wit and humor with emotional depth. Books she loves include AMERICANAH by Chimimanda Ngozie Adichie, TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin, MARTYR! by Kaveh Akbar, and THE IDIOT by Elif Batuman.

For nonfiction, Laurie-Maude is interested in deeply personal memoirs that grapple with larger issues such as CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner, KNOW MY NAME by Chanel Miller, IN THE DREAM HOUSE by Carmen María Machado, and THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion. She’s also looking for narrative nonfiction and big idea books that get to the root of human behavior and help explain sociological trends and cultural phenomena in the realm of art, fashion, technology, health, work, and urbanism. One of her recent favorites is MONSTERS by Claire Dederer.

How to submit: Submissions should be emailed to laurie-maude.chenard@unitedtalent.com

Please include:

– The word “Query” in the subject line along with your the title of the book and your name

– A brief synopsis

– Your bio

– The first fifteen (15) pages from your novel or book proposal

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Francesca Riccardi of Kate Nash Literary Agency (UK)

Francesca has over fifteen years of experience in the publishing industry, starting at RNIB where she transcribed books into accessible formats for blind and partially sighted readers. She has since worked in sales and marketing roles at publishers Canelo, Atlantic Books, Constable & Robinson and HarperCollins.

What she is seeking: Francesca reads widely, especially across popular commercial genres, but is a particular fan of crime and thrillers, and loves a dogged detective or unusual sleuth. She also enjoys books about unusual family dynamics, toxic friendships and people keeping secrets.

How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.

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Priscilla Posada of Regal Hoffmann

Priscilla Posada joined Regal Hoffmann in 2024. She holds a BBA in Marketing from the Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York and is pursuing an MFA in Writing and Literature from Bennington College. She brings fifteen years of interdisciplinary experience ranging from editing to publicity to her work as an agent. Priscilla enjoys reading literature from around the world and has translated two novels by the Argentine writer Pablo Katchadjian for Dalkey Archive Press. She spent 2013 and 2014 in Berlin studying under the writer Samanta Schweblin and happily reading books at the Ibero-American Institute. A native New Yorker, Priscilla enjoys the city’s arthouse theaters and, after working for the local distributor Icarus Films, remains devoted to documentaries where “nothing happens.”

What she is seeking: Priscilla is interested in literary fiction, lyrical nonfiction, anthropology, anything with an international bent, alternative medicine, and all things related to a spiritual practice. 

How to submit: To submit to Priscilla, please email priscilla@rhaliterary.com or submissions@rhaliterary.com.

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Bianca Gillam of Zeno Agency (UK)

I joined Zeno in 2024, driven by my passion for the expanding market for zeitgeist-y, compelling and addictive fiction — books and authors with an electric feel that cause ripples across social media and beyond. I formerly worked in Editorial, acquiring and publishing books across the spectrum of commercial fiction for Aria at Head of Zeus. I have also worked in sales at Simon and Schuster UK.

What she is seeking: Romantasy, Rom-coms with an edge, women’s fiction with a strong hook and deep emotional narrative (think Taylor Jenkins-Reid), atmospheric thrillers with a strong sense of place (think In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead). My primary focus is fiction, but I am open to a select number of narrative non-fiction projects, with a focus on stories that have particular relevance for young women (think I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy), or are so gripping they read like fiction (think Educated by Tara Westover).

How to submit: Read submission guidelines HERE. 

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Rory Clarke of Andrew Nurnberg Associates Ltd

Rory studied English Literature at Birmingham City University before going on to gain his Masters degree in English and Comparative Literature from the University of Warwick. He joined Andrew Nurnberg Associates in 2017 and assisted the Foreign Rights Agents for France, Germany, the Netherlands and Nordic territories. In 2021, Rory joined the UK department. Now an Agent, Rory is actively building his own list of fiction and non-fiction, which began with the sale of the debut book by Nadeem Perera and Ollie Olanipekun of Flock Together in a pre-empt to Gaia Books (Octopus).

What he is seeking: He is interested in a wide range of non-fiction from popular science, history, literary and cultural criticism, current affairs and nature writing. He is primarily looking for compelling, original stories from emerging experts with surprising and new takes on a subject. In fiction, he is drawn to voice-driven and story-led literary writing powered by strong ideas, evocative settings and a command of form.

How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.

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Ms. Gyamfia Osei of Andrew Nurnberg Associates Ltd

Gyamfia Osei joined ANA in 2023 as a Literary Agent in the UK department. She was previously an agent at The Good Literary Agency, where she began building her list of authors. Recent successes include a ‘significant’ 6-figure pre-empt for Busayo Matuluko’s YA debut ‘Til Death, a 5-way auction for Quiet Storm by Kimberly Whittam and the shortlisting of Ebinehita Iyere’s Girlhood, Unfiltered at the 2023 British Book Awards.

What she is seeking: At ANA, Gyamfia will focus on developing the agency’s list of children’s authors, including the representation of ANA’s international children’s authors into the English language, while also representing a bespoke list of commercial fiction and narrative non-fiction.

In the Children’s space, Gyamfia would love to find contemporary stories that are full of heart and joy-driven books that celebrate kids from underrepresented backgrounds (think Clare Weze, Kimberly Whittam and Elle McNicoll). Funny middle-grade and YA horror are currently at the top of her list and she is also keen to read more teen projects (think Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Glow Up Lara Bloom) this year. She is very interested in finding a graphic novel or illustrated project for either MG or YA readers.

In the adult fiction space, Gyamfia enjoys well-plotted, fast-paced narratives with authentic characters who lodge themselves in her mind long after she’s finished reading (think Big Little Lies, Verity and Girl A). She’s open to a broad range of genres, but would be particularly keen to see cosy crime, contemporary romance and tightly plotted domestic noir. Please note that Gyamfia doesn’t consider literary fiction and, in the commercial space, she is not hugely interested in high fantasy, trauma-focused stories or particularly gruesome horror.

In the adult non-fiction space, she would be happy to consider commercial narrative non-fiction and cultural history projects (think Brit(ish), It’s Not That Radical and Everything I Know About Love). She is very open when it comes to Children’s non-fiction but would be particularly interested to consider unique cookbooks aimed at young chefs, books exploring mental health/wellness and projects that bring the experiences of marginalised children to the forefront.

How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.

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Ms. Heather Osborn of Spencerhill Associates

Before joining Spencerhill Associates, Heather Osborn spent many years editing romance, science fiction, fantasy, cozy mystery, and women’s fiction for various publishers. The experience of working with both well-established, bestselling authors, as well as those just embarking on their careers has helped shape her skills working with authors at every stage in their publishing journey. One of Heather’s greatest joys in life is discovering an amazing new author, whether that be in a slush pile, or on a bookstore shelf, and she looks forward to building long-lasting relationships built on clear and open communication with her clients.

What she is seeking: Heather is interested in representing works of popular fiction, mainly concentrated on romance of all genres and sub-genres other than inspirational—with a particular interest in romantasy (and if there are dragons, all the better!), humorous contemporary romance, and paranormal romance—as well as fantasy (particularly cozy fantasy), urban fantasy, and science fiction with strong romantic elements.

How to submit: Please follow submission guidelines HERE.

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Ms. Gwen Beal of United Talent Agency

Gwen Beal began her career as a floating assistant in WME’s mailroom in 2016. She is now an agent in the UTA publishing group with a specialty in children’s literature, and represents a growing list of talent. She has omnivorous tastes and cherishes honest, collaborative working relationships with each of her clients. Gwen graduated from Trinity College in Hartford and lives in Manhattan.

What she is seeking: Gwen is actively signing authors and artists of books for young readers from preschool to young adult with an eye towards unforgettable voice and perspective.

How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.

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Jamilah Ahmed of Barbara Levy Literary Agency (UK)

Jamilah Ahmed has worked in publishing for over fifteen years, as a Development Editor, Commissioning Editor, and most recently Literary Agent. Jamilah has had her own fiction and non-fiction published, as well as winning The Asian Writers Short Story Award in 2016, and the SI Leeds Readers Choice Award, 2016. She is also a Prize administrator for the Jhalak Prize 2019.

What she is seeking: Her remit at the Barbara Levy Literary Agency is to find new writers of fiction and non-fiction. 

How to submit: Submissions should be sent to submissions@barbaralevyagency.com

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