Our ‘Opportunities for Writers’ posts started back in April and they have proved to be some of the most popular articles on the site. Here is our final Opportunities post for 2013.

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NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, described as ‘the world’s largest writing event and nonprofit literary crusade’. Participants pledge to write 50,000 words in a month, starting from scratch and reaching ‘The End’ by November 30th. The NaNoWriMo website offers lots of tips and support, as well as links to local events around the globe.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading

is edited by a committee of high school students together with author and McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers. According to their blog the committee ‘meets nearly every week of the year to read, debate, and compile this offbeat but vital anthology. Want to say something to us? Contact the BANR committee at nonrequired [@] gmail [dot] com. We’ll read everything you send us.’

The Age Short Story Award

is one of Australia’s most prestigious short story prizes. Past winners include Elliot Perlman, Michelle de Kretser and Cate Kennedy. Entrants can submit up to three stories, each with a maximum length of 3000 words. The winning entrant receives AUD$2000 plus publication. Entries close 1 November and there are no entry fees.

The Amazon.ca First Novel Award

is a competition that recognises the outstanding achievement of a first-time Canadian novelist.The Award is for books published in English in 2013, and both professionally and self-published books are eligible to enter. There will be between 3 and 6 finalists who will each receive a CAD$750 Amazon.ca Gift Certificate. The overall winner will also receive CAD$7500 cash. Entries close 1 November.

The Many Voices Project by New Rivers Press

is a competition for book-length unpublished manuscripts by new or emerging writers.There is also a poetry prize and both this and the prose prize are open to anyone writing in English. The two winning titles will be published next October by New Rivers Press and distributed across the United States through Consortium Book Sales and Distribution. Each winning author will receive US$1000, ten complimentary copies of their published work, and a standard book contract. Entries close 1 November.

Creative Nonfiction

is seeking new essays about mistakes – major or minor, tragic or serendipitous, funny or painful. The editors will award US$1000 for the best essay and $500 for the runner-up. All essays will be considered for publication in a special ‘Mistakes’ issue of the magazine. Entries close 1 November.

The John Steinbeck Short Story Award

is offered by Reed Magazine. It is an award for a work of fiction up to 5000 words; a reading fee of US$15 is required. The winner of the John Steinbeck Award receives a cash prize of US$1000. Entries close 1 November.

The Paris Review Writer-In-Residence Program

is offered in partnership with The Standard Hotel, East Village, New York City. The residency offers one writer three weeks’ accommodation at the hotel to work on a book which must already be under contract. Applications will be judged by the editors of The Paris Review and Standard Culture. The residency is open to writers of prose or poetry, fiction or non-fiction. Applications close 1 November. Check out this list to discover more writers’ residencies.

Notes from the Field

is a non-fiction contest celebrating writing about experience. It is run by Flyway Journal of Writing and Environment. Essays can be up to 5000 words and the winner receives receives publication, US$500 and two copies of the Flyway 2012 anthology. Entries close 10 November.

Litro Magazine

is seeking submissions for its December 2013 print issue with the theme ‘Family Ties’. They accept short fiction, flash/micro fiction and non-fiction. Submissions close 11 November.

National Short Story Week

runs in the UK from 11th to 17th November. The week aims to get more people writing, reading and listening to short stories. Activities include a young writers competition for students in years 7 and 8.

Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition

is now in its 14th year and is for works up to 1500 words. The winner receives US$3000, publication in Writer’s Digest magazine, and a paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City. There are also many runners up prizes. The early bird submission date is 15 November.

Rocky Mountain National Park Artist-in-Residence Program

offers professional writers, as well as composers, and visual and performing artists, the opportunity to ‘pursue their artistic discipline while being surrounded by the park’s inspiring landscape’. Selected artists stay in a historic cabin for two-week periods from June through September. Applications for 2014 close on 15 November.

Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Annual Fiction Contest

is for writers who have not yet published a book of fiction. It is open to writers based anywhere in the world, though submissions must be in English and less than 7000 words. First prize is US$1500, a domestic airfare and accommodation to attend the next Festival in New Orleans, a VIP All-Access Festival pass for the next Festival ($500 value), a public reading at a literary panel at the next Festival and publication in Louisiana Literature. Entries close 15 November.

The BlueCat Screenplay Competition

for 2014 is now open for entries. The Best Feature Screenplay will receive a US $15,000 grand prize and four finalists each receiving $2500. The Best Short Screenplay will receive $10,000. There is also a special Joplin Award for the Best Feature Screenplay from outside the USA, Canada or the UK ($1500 prize). The final date for submissions is 15 November.

Yale University Press

is seeking one book-length poetry manuscript to be published in the Yale Series of Younger Poets. The competition is open to any American citizen under forty years of age who has not published a book of poetry. The winner receives royalties when the book is published. Submissions close on 15 November.

The Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize

of $US500 will be awarded to the best non-fiction essay which is set in Brooklyn and is about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. Five authors will be selected to read from their work and discuss their Brooklyn stories with the audience at a December 2013 event. Submissions should be no more than 2500 words and there are no entry fees. Closes 15 November.

The Gratitude Travel Writing Contest

is looking for looking for an article about a place you are grateful for or a memorable holiday that you shared with a special loved one or a place that is awe inspiring. First prize is US$500 cash and Travel Writing Road Map ($497 value), and there are cash prizes for second and third place. Stories should be between 500 and 800 words in length and entries close 28 November.

The Quaker

is an American undergraduate journal of literary art published by the Student Writers Guild and the Program in Creative Writing at Malone University in Ohio. They are seeking submissions of poetry, fiction and essays. Publication occurs on a rolling basis, and each semester one author is chosen to be honoured with a US$100 Editor’s Prize for an outstanding contribution to the journal. In addition, they are currently running a chapbook poetry competition; entries close 30 November.

The Telegraph Harvill Secker Crime Writing Competition

offers aspiring writers an opportunity to be published by one of the UK’s leading literary imprints and receive a £5000 advance for his or her novel. Would-be crime writers must submit the first 5000 words of their novel, along with a detailed, two-page synopsis of how the rest of the book unfolds, including the ending. Entrants can be from anywhere in the world but must be over 18 and submit their book in the English language. Entries close 30 November.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize

is an annual award for unpublished short fiction open to citizens of Commonwealth countries. The prize covers the five regions: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean and Pacific. The overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £5000 and the remaining four regional winners will receive £2500. Entries must be 2000 words minimum, 5000 words maximum. Entries close 30 November.

The Baltimore Review’s

winter contest is open to short stories, poems and creative non-fiction. The theme for the contest is ‘The Future’. Prizes of US$500, $200, and $100 will be awarded and there is an entry fee is $10. All entries will be considered for publication. Closes 30 November.

The Fish Publishing International Short Story Prize

is for stories up to 5000 words. First prize is €3000 (€1,000 of which is for travel expenses to the launch of the Anthology). Second prize is a week at the Anam Cara Writers’ & Artists’ Retreat and €300 travel expenses. Ten short stories will be published in the 2014 Fish Anthology. Entries close 30 November.

The Hackney Literary Awards’ Short Story Prize

is for stories up to 5000 words in length. There are national prizes, as well as state prizes for writers from Alabama. A prize for unpublished poetry will also awarded. Entries close 30 November.

The Florida Review

publishes fiction, literary non-fiction, poetry, graphic narrative, interviews, and book reviews. There is no word or page limit, though they prefer prose that is between 3 and 25 manuscript pages. They are also currently running a chapbook competition. First prize is US$1000 and publication. Entries close 1 December.

Viva la Novella

is an annual novella-writing competition run by Seizure. It is open to Australian and New Zealand writers and editors. In 2013 there will be four winning writers and four winning editors. For this competition a novella is defined as an original work of fiction between 20,000 and 50,000 words. The entry date for 2013 has been moved to 2 December so that writers completing NaNoWriMo in November can enter their work.

Heavy Feather Review

is a literary and arts quarterly dedicated to publishing fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, drama, or any hybrid thereof. Submissions are also open for Issue 3.2 – the deadline is 15 December. Each issue also features a chapbook, alternating each issue between fiction and poetry chapbooks. An entry fee does apply for the chapbook competition and the successful writer receives a $250 prize.

The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize

is one of the world’s richest poetry prizes for single, unpublished poem. The winner of the 2013 prize will receive €10,000. Entries close 31 December.

Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet

is an anthology (and potential series) of short fiction (short stories of any length, short shorts, and flash) set around the globe. Published by Press 53, the anthology will consist of 20 – 25 works, with no more than one story set in any one country. Included stories will be a mix of previously published and new work. The deadline for submissions is 31 December.

The Dark Crystal’s Author Quest

is being run by the Jim Henson Company. They are searching for an author to write a new novel set in the world of Henson’s The Dark Crystal. The winning author will receive a publishing contract with Penguin Group USA valued at US$10,000. Entries close 31 December.

Longreads

features new and classic stories (and story collections) from publishers and writers around the world. They are looking for great storytelling across a diverse range of topics and genres. All stories should be over 1500 words. They are currently looking for non-fiction, fiction, in-depth interviews, magazine features, ebooks and anthologies, book chapters or excerpts, and academic or professional research.

Milkweed Editions

is a nonprofit literary press, publishing between fifteen and twenty books each year. Milkweed Editions accepts unsolicited manuscripts from authors of all backgrounds (previously published or not). They are interested in novels, novella, short story collections, collections of poetry, literary non-fiction and books for young people (middle grades and YA).

The London Magazine

is England’s oldest literary periodical, with a history stretching back to 1732. They are particularly interested in writing that has a London focus, but not exclusively so. Non-fiction pieces should be between 800 and 2000 words and short stories can be up to 4000 words. Poetry should be no more than 40 lines.

Momentum Monday

Momentum, Australia’s first major digital imprint, is open to submissions. Momentum accepts submissions weekly on Mondays between 12.00 midnight and 11.59 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time via email only. Momentum is open to publishing fiction and non-fiction in most traditional and non-traditional genres. This includes new and previously published shorter length stories, essays and journalism between 15,000 to 50,000 words, genre novels and non-fiction between 50,000 to 100,000 words and longer and complex narratives of over 100,000 words. Writers can be based anywhere in the world.

Literary Agents Kimberley Cameron and Associates

are currently accepting submissions. All writers are welcome to send their work, though the agency has a particular focus on commercial and women’s fiction, mysteries and thrillers, and narrative non-fiction.

P.S. Literary Agency

is currently seeking both fiction and non-fiction titles including memoir, history, humour, mysteries, thrillers, commercial fiction and books for young adults. Writers are asked to send a one page query letter only.

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