Welcome to the sparkly-shiny first edition of Keep Writing, a monthly newsletter for writers.
Ordinarily, each month will begin with a letter intended to encourage and motivate (and you can learn a bit more about my long-term goals and visions for the newsletter here).
But since we’re all so very new here, I thought an introductory Q&A would do everyone more good on this first go-round.
So! Without further ado:
Who the heck are you, anyway?
Hello! I’m Nicki Porter, former editor of The Writer and current editrix of this newsletter you’re reading.
If you’d like to read my very fancy professional bio, you can do so at my website. If you’d prefer the short, unfancy version I’d probably give you in real life: I’m a writer and editor who loves talking about writing. I like tomatoes too much for someone who lives in Alaska. I am a weirdly big fan of Muppets and movie musicals and dried beans. I find sunflowers creepy, and I get extremely nervous when I have to make small talk at parties or say things about myself on the Internet.
What is this thing you’re sending me?
This is my newsletter for writers, which will generally contain one (1) letter of encouragement written by yours truly and one (1) list of themed calls for submissions from publications and presses around the Internet. The hope is that one or more calls will catch your fancy and provide an external sense of motivation to get some writing done this month. If not, you’ll still have the letter, encouraging and informing your creative process for the month to come.
How often are you gonna send it?
Just once a month. Though it will arrive near the beginning of each month, it will contain deadlines for the next month so you have enough time to write the damn thing. For example, a newsletter sent in early January will contain submission deadlines occurring in the month of February.
How much does it cost?
This newsletter is free. It costs nothing but your time and attention, which are very precious resources in their own right.
Why don’t you include non-themed or rolling submissions?
Perhaps we will in the future. But there are gracious plenties of resources containing calls for submissions already on the wild west of the Internet. I find myself most excited by specificity, both on the page and in calls for submissions, so we will only feature targeted calls for the time being. I will include both calls for specific writers (those writing from a particular geographic region, for example, or works from teen authors) as well as specific topics or genres (horror under 1,000 words, for example, or stories set on a train).
Suffice to say I aim to include calls that say “send us this particular thing” versus “send us anything.”
What’s this “Spotlight Pick” I see?
Long lists can make busy writers feel very itchy-panicky under our collars. Each month, I will highlight one particular call that I think may have the most possibility for submissions from a wide audience. Perhaps that’s a call with no submission fees (or an option to waive the fee), a call that’s open to all genres, a call with a very wide-reaching theme, etc. If you love an assignment – or would revel in having just one item to focus on each month – the Spotlight Pick may provide sweet relief and clarity.
Can I send calls for submissions I find?
Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes! (Just know that I may not publish every call due to space, time, editorial discretion, and my wildly disconcerting ability to forget an email the minute I finish reading it.)
Can I email you whenever I find a typo?
I mean. That is certainly a choice you could make. This newsletter is currently a one-person affair, and I know my own shortcomings – and my extremely wonky keyboard – too well to pretend mistakes won’t occur. I will simply ask for your grace and patience until I can bring a proofreader on board or teach my resident neighborhood moose how to copy edit.
What should I do if I get published in one of the calls for submissions I see here?
Screech! Dance around the house! Call your mom! Text the group chat! Yell it from the social media rafters!
And if and only if you’d feel comfortable doing so, feel free to tell me all about it so I can link to your work in the next edition of the newsletter. I want this space to feel like a cozy treehouse for subscribers, where we can not only dream of our future bylines but toast to our past and current ones, too. Because writing is hard enough, you know? Let’s all celebrate our wins where we can find them.
January 2023 calls for submissions
Note: Because this is our very first edition, and because there are so many deadlines happening at the end of the year, I’ve also included a list of Dec. 31 deadlines in this particular round-up. Happy submitting, you bold, brave first readers! I can’t wait to hear about all the delightful things you craft this month.
This month’s listings in brief
SPOTLIGHT: Exposition Review: Work with a “lines” theme
Appalachia Book Company: Stories based in central Appalachia
Girls Right the World: Submissions from young female-identified writers
The Other Stories: Stories about strange weather or imaginary friends
Black Sunflowers Poetry Press: “Dear Mx Lonelyhearts” submissions
Spotlight Pick
Exposition Review: Work with a “lines” theme
For Exposition Review’s eighth issue, editors say they’re “looking for work that explores lines: The line of reality that constantly unfurls in front of us. The lines that connect us, whether the ties that bind us to our familial lineage or the bonds we choose to create between each other – friends, claimed family, lovers. The lines that we draw – boundaries of safety to protect our hearts – and the lines that we cross. The lines we wait in, and the lines we toe. All defining, all surprisingly fragile.” Fiction and nonfiction submissions should be no more than 5,000 words; flash should be no more than 1,000. Poetry (up to three poems of any form), short scripts up to 15 pages, and experimental narratives are also welcome. On Dec. 10, Human Rights Day, the $3.50 submission fee will be waived for all entries.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Appalachia Book Company: Stories based in central Appalachia
Writers with work based in central Appalachia (“parts of eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and eastern Tennessee”) with stories based in the region are welcome to submit to the Appalachia Book Company’s “Made in Appalachia” chapbook series. Send short stories or novellas with a minimum word count of 5,000 words or general nonfiction and personal essays up to 10,000 words.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Bellevue Literary Review: “Taking Care” submissions
In collaboration with AARP, Bellevue Literary Review is seeking submissions for an upcoming special issue, “Taking Care.” Editors ask for “poetry, short stories, and creative nonfiction that celebrate the many facets of caregiving and how we care for one another, for ourselves, and for the world.” Send up to three poems or fiction/nonfiction pieces up to 5,000 words. The $5 submission fee is waived for subscribers. Payment is $75 for poetry and $150 for prose, plus two contributor copies of the issue and a one-year subscription to Bellevue Literary Review.
Deadline: Dec. 31
BLF Press: “Black Joy Unbound” anthology submissions
This upcoming anthology from BLF Press will be “a multi-genre collection that encompasses a broad spectrum of literary writing on Black joy.” Creative nonfiction and fiction submissions should range from 2,000 to 5,000 words, while two poems will be counted as one submission. Payment is $75 and one print copy of the published anthology.
Deadline: Dec. 31
The Decadent Review: Works on Dmitri Shostakovich
Seeking criticism, reviews, and works of ekphrasis about Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich. Other open calls include works on “aesthetics and abstraction” and “meta on meta” submissions. “We value: erudition; cynicism; sarcasm; classicism; brutality; humor; existential despair,” editors say. Nothing like a little existential dread to finish off the year right, eh?
Deadline: Dec. 31
Girls Right the World: Submissions from young female-identified writers
Female-identified writers aged 14 to 21 are invited to submit their work for Girls Right the World’s seventh annual issue. Send poetry, prose, and visual art in any theme.
Deadline: Dec. 31
Epiphany: Poetry and prose from students
Graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to submit work in consideration for the 5th Annual Breakout! Writers Prize. One winner in prose and one winner in poetry will receive a $1,000 prize. Poetry manuscripts can include up to five poems and prose manuscripts should not exceed $5,000. Entry fees are $20 and include a one-year digital subscription to Epiphany.
Deadline: Jan. 1
Havok: Genre flash set in Europe
Send mystery, humor, thriller, fantasy, or sci-fi stories between 300 and 1,000 words to Havok’s “World Tour.” The deadline for stories that celebrate Europe is January 1, but deadlines for Asia and Oceania are also forthcoming (Feb. 5 and March 5, respectively). And if you hurry, the Africa deadline is still open until Dec. 4. No entry fee.
Deadline: Jan. 1
The Other Stories: Stories about strange weather or imaginary friends
This horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast, billed as “a modern take on The Twilight Zone,” has two upcoming theme deadlines: The first, on Jan. 1, is for “Strange Weather.” The second seeks stories about “Imaginary Friends” by Jan. 15. Send stories that are roughly 2,000 words (no need to record them – the podcast has their own narration team for accepted stories).
Deadline: Jan. 1 (“Strange Weather”) and Jan. 15 (“Imaginary Friends”)
Orion’s Beau: “A Love Worth Losing” LGBTQ+ SFF
The winter issue of Orion’s Beau, an LGBTQ+ fantasy journal founded earlier this year, has a theme of “a love worth losing (if love is a losing game)”. Fiction submissions should be 5,000 words or less, although longer works will be considered for serialization. Poets may send up to five poems. There are no entry fees and contributors will be paid $3 for each accepted work.
Deadline: Jan. 10
ASK magazine: Children’s nonfiction about bones
The editors of ASK, a science magazine for readers ages 7 to 10, seek submissions about bones for their October 2023 issue. Send queries only; new writers should also send two writing samples.
Deadline: Jan. 15
Creative Nonfiction: “Caring for the Heart” submissions
Send essays about “caring for the heart – medically, technologically, or metaphorically” to Creative Nonfiction for consideration in an upcoming issue. “We’re looking for stories from healthcare workers and researchers; counselors and cardiologists and coaches; nurses and nutritionists…or any red-blooded writer with a heart,” editors say. Essays should be no longer than 4,000 words. The $3 reading fee will be waived for subscribers. Payment will be provided for accepted essays.
Deadline: Jan. 23
Black Sunflowers Poetry Press: “Dear Mx Lonelyhearts” submissions
Send prose, poems, or letters addressed to Mx Lonelyhearts for consideration in this upcoming “interactive anthology” from Black Sunflowers Poetry Press. “Maybe you have a tale of woe, failure or mishap, of misplaced love, a misunderstanding or a mistake – tell Mx Lonelyhearts. Perhaps you have nothing to say or too much. Maybe you want to rant or cry or just write it out – here’s the place. Tell Mx Lonelyhearts,” urge editors – but “be advised, Mx Lonelyhearts may reply.” “ Send up to 5 pages with an entry fee of $3; entrants who cannot afford the fee are encouraged to get in touch via the press’s website. Payment is at least £20.
Deadline: Jan. 31
That’s all we have for this month’s edition. I can’t wait to meet you back here in January for our first newsletter of 2023.
And if you know any writers who might enjoy this sparkly new endeavor of ours, please feel free to share this newsletter far and wide. The more eyes we have in our ranks, the more calls for submissions we’ll find...and the more future bylines we’ll all be able to toast together.
Until then—
Keep writing.