It’s the 3rd Thursday, so let’s share some writing opportunities and contests!
A big shout-out and thank you to Marilyn Shipe for gathering and sharing the first 18 writing opps this week. Thank you, Marilyn!
1. A ROOM OF HER OWN – ORLANDO PRIZES: $15 ENTRY FEE – Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay by women writers. Submit a poem of no more than 36 lines, a short story of up to 1,500 words, a short short story of up to 500 words, or an essay of up to 1,500 words. Deadline January 31, 2013.
2. COMMENTARY: Publishes essays and opinions of 2,000 to 8,000. Pays $400 to $1,200. COMMENTARY is America’s premier monthly magazine of opinion and a pivotal voice in American intellectual life. Many of COMMENTARY’s articles have been controversial, and more than a few have been hugely influential, touchstones for debate and discussion in universities, among policy analysts in and out of government, within the ranks of professionals and community activists of all kinds, and in circles of serious thought worldwide. A large number of articles can be counted as landmarks of American letters and intellectual life.
3. ARTHRITIS TODAY: Pays $1 per word. Seeks general interest pieces, how-to, tips for living with arthritis, inspirational pieces, essays, personal experiences, photo features, technical, travel, news, nutrition, health, lifestyle.
4. A comprehensive list of 101 in-flight magazines from AirArabia to Wizz Air (many with links directly to the magazine’s web site) is: Many of these web sites have archived copies for your perusal.
Cision Navigator lists the top-ten in-flight magazines by circulation. United’s Hemispheres leads the list with a circulation of 800,000.
5. VALHALLA PRESS FLASH FICTION AND FLASH MEMOIR CONTEST: $15 ENTRY FEE – Limit 1,000 words. The contest seeks out the best in original short fiction and short memoir written in English. First prize is $500 and an e-reader plus publication in Ragnarok, an e-lit journal. The second prize winner will receive an e-reader as well as publication in Ragnarok. Deadline for entries is February 1, 2013. Winners will be announced by March 1, 2013. Valhalla Press reserves the right to choose a number of honorable mention winners from the contest whose work will appear in Ragnarok. All winners whose work appears in Ragnarok will receive compensation.
6. EARLY AMERICAN LIFE: Covers history, architecture, decorating, antiques, studio crafts, and travel. This magazine is highly retained by its readers, so know what’s already been written whenever possible. Stories for Early American Life should be just long enough to get from the beginning to the end–that is, content should dictate length. Don’t add words to make a story seem more meaningful. On the other hand, don’t give short shrift to a story that demands in-depth coverage. A one-page story in Early American Life, such as Worth Seeing, runs about 750 words. A typical feature may run 2,500 words. Note that it’s always easier for an editor to make a story shorter, so if anything, err on the long side. Never, however, go more than 10 percent beyond the length an editor assigns.
7. FAMILY BUSINESS: Our audience consists primarily of owners and managers of successful, multigenerational family-owned businesses. Their various needs are covered by many publications; only Family Business focuses on the family aspect of businesses, and the business aspect of families. Our content delves beneath the surface and addresses the human side of the business — with a particular emphasis on how conflicts were resolved or how potential conflicts were averted.
8. FRIENDS OF MERRIL CONTEST
: $: $200 (CDN).
Second Place: $100 (CDN)
. Third Place: $50 (CDN). Deadline February 15, 2013. The Friends of the Merril Short Story Contest is open to all writers of all levels (published, unpublished, emerging, etc.), without restriction. The contest
is international, so writers of any nation may enter. Maximum of 5,000 words. Short fiction only. No poetry or nonfiction.
9. CAT FANCY: We are open to working with new contributors and fresh voices in addition to drawing from a talented crop of established contributors. Each month, we provide our readers with a mix of informative articles on various topics, including breed profiles, feline health, nutrition, grooming, behavior, training, as well as lifestyle and special interest articles on cat culture, the human-animal bond and personalities. Length: 100-1,000 words. Query first.
10. Focus on the Family’s CLUBHOUSE Magazine: Focus on the Family Clubhouse readers are 8 to 12-year-old boys and girls who desire to know more about God and the Bible. Their parents want wholesome, educational material with Scriptural or moral insight. The kids want excitement, adventure, action, humor or mystery. Your job as a writer is to please both the parent and child with each article. Generally 15 to 25 cents a word. $200 and up for feature-length fiction stories. $150+ for nonfiction stories.
11. Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Writing Contest: Be sure to check out the video. The Christian Writer’s Den gang is VERY well represented. Just sayin’. 
12. DELIZON SHORT STORY COMPETITION:
$25 ENTRY FEE –
The awards will include:
A first place prize of $1,200;
A first runner up prize of $600
; A third runner up prize of $120;
The prize for the fourth through to the tenth place: $60.
The 11 to 25th place will receive a gift certificate. We are looking for a story that is bold, brilliant yet brief. Send in your best work with a word count not more than 1,500. Deadline April 15, 2013. Open to any writer; there is no age or
country restriction.
13. WRITERS WEEKLY: WritersWeekly.com and The Write Markets Report focus on “selling” the written word. We do not seek articles on how to write. Rather, we seek articles on how to make more money doing what you love….writing! We are also interested in other forms of home-based businesses and self-employment that may result from writing, such as self-publishing, corporate writing, ghostwriting, etc. All ideas that help writers support themselves performing the work they love are warmly welcomed. Length: ~600 words. $60 for non-exclusive electronic rights only. Submit query with credits by e-mail to
14. ANALOG: Basically, we publish science fiction stories. That is, stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse. The science can be physical, sociological, psychological. The technology can be anything from electronic engineering to biogenetic engineering. But the stories must be strong and realistic, with believable people (who needn’t be human) doing believable things–no matter how fantastic the background might be. Fact articles for Analog should be about 4,000 words in length and should deal with subjects of not only current but future interest, i.e., with topics at the present frontiers of research whose likely future developments have implications of wide interest. Illustrations should be provided by the author in camera-ready form.
15. BETHESDA MAGAZINE SHORT STORY CONTEST
: NO ENTRY FEE – Bethesda Magazine and the Bethesda Urban Partnership are partnering
to sponsor a short story and essay contest. Deadline January 25, 2013. For residents of Montgomery County, MD and Upper NW Washington, D.C. (ZIP codes 20015 and 20016) are eligible. Categories-
Adult (18 and over) &
High School (grades 9-12). Short stories in both categories must not exceed 4,000 words. Essays must not exceed 500 words. Adult Category–
First place: $500 and publication in Bethesda Magazine.
Second Place: $250.
Third Place: $150.
Honorable Mention: $75.
Young Adult Category–First place: $250 and publication in Bethesda Magazine.
Second place: $100
. Third place: $50.
16. PARENT:WISE – AUSTIN: Parent:Wise Austin is an award-winning parenting journal that seeks to inform parents with quality articles depicting some aspect of the parenting journey. We publish articles that are thoughtful and intelligent — not boring or pedantic. Simply put, articles must well researched (we require a list of sources), tightly written, and directed at an audience of parents who want to be educated. Our focus is Central Texas and, as such, we prefer local writers. Having said that, we will happily publish articles by non-local writers if the topic is important and the writing beautiful.
17. PARENTING: Parenting’s readers are moms whose kids range in age from newborn through age 12, as well as expectant moms. The magazine covers the psychological and practical aspects of raising a child, and the emotional issues that face mothers — from nurturing their own friendships to juggling the various parts of their lives. The magazine is largely freelance written. Fees for articles depend on length, degree of difficulty, and the writer’s previous experience. Generally, feature articles run between 1,000 and 2,500 words in published form. For writers new to Parenting, the best opportunities are the departments. The pieces there range from 100 to 500 words. Queries for each of these departments should be addressed to the appropriate editor (such as Kids’ Health Editor, or Ages & Stages Editor). Pays up to $1/word.
18. PLUM: The first-ever pregnancy magazine for women 35 years and older. As part of our mission to encourage dialogue between women and the medical community, Plum is available free of charge to all doctors for distribution to their patients. Published semi-annually. Email for specific guidelines. Needs essays, how-to, profiles. Query with your published clips. Pays up to $1/word. Email:
19. WOW! Women on Writing Contest: WOW! hosts a (quarterly) writing contest every three months. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, communication, and well-rewarded recognition to contestants. The contest is open globally; age is of no matter; and entries must be in English. We are open to all styles of writing, although we do encourage you to take a close look at our guest judge for the season (upper right hand corner) if you are serious about winning. We love creativity, originality, and light-hearted reads. That’s not to say that our guest judge will feel the same… so go wild! Express yourself, and most of all, let’s have some fun!
20. COUNTRY WOMAN: Country Woman is a bimonthly magazine with subscribers across the United States and Canada. Published since 1970 for women who live in or long for the country, this magazine celebrates their diversity, strength and spirit. Positive, upbeat, entertaining and informative, Country Woman reflects the many roles and interests of its readers through profiles of women and their lifestyle.
21. Doing Family God’s Way Short Story Contest: Do you have a true story of living by Biblical principles? We’d love to hear your story. Deadline: January 31, 2013. Be sure to follow the guidelines!
22. Jamie Britt is looking for Devotions! The theme of the book will be God’s unexplainable peace in a situation. I’m looking for your stories. I’m looking for the stories of a possibly traumatic time, or whatever the situation may be. It’s those times when there’s peace and you have no other way of explaining it other than to say it was God. The book will be based around this verse as the premise.
…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7, NKJV)
You will need to have a wordcount of 400 or less. I will need the stories in devotional format. It should be in the following format: Scripture verse along with book, chapter verse and translation; anecdotal question or two to ponder; and a prayer. Deadline: March 1, 2013. I look forward to hearing from you! Email Jamie at .
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Are you MoGoing this month? If not, you could be missing out on $100!
That’s right! Last week I announced the winner of the 2012 MoGo7000 Challenge, and it was Esther Wallace of CT! Yay, Esther!
But now it’s a new year, with new entries, and the door is wide open! Don’t have any idea what I’m talking about? Then you need to run on over to the MoGo7000 Challenge page and check out the details.
But the bottom line is you simply write a minimum of 7000 NEW words on a BOOK project and you’re in! The first Thursday of each month, you’ll post a comment with your total word count for the month and you’ll get an entry into the end-of-the-year drawing. The more months you reach the goal, the more chances you have to win!
So what are you waiting for?
Write on!
Vonda
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