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FREE MASTERCLASS FOR WOMEN WRITING NONFICTION
 

• Finish Your Nonfiction Book: 3 Shifts Women Need to Make
• Finish Your Nonfiction Book in 2021: 3 Shifts You Need to Make
• Ensure you have the right foundation to support accomplishing this milestone goal. 

During this live masterclass you will learn:  

• How to set manageable, realistic, achievable writing goals for yourself.

• Why you need to protect your schedule and probably don't need as much time to write as you think.

• My philosophy for establishing a holistic approach to getting a book done (hint: it doesn't include hours-long writing sessions or plowing through to get pages written).

Save your spot here.

 

EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

WHEN NOT TO DIY

We are an industrious lot. We want to know how someone did what they did successfully so we can do it, too. Or do it better. Or do it ourselves instead of buying the other guy's product. Or do it ourselves to save money . . . or to maintain creativity as our own instead of splitting its ownership. It's called DIY, or do-it-yourself, and we can't stand not to try doing it ourselves if it means more benefits for us.

I love to bake. I hate recipes that have boxed mixes or tell me to "save time" by inserting some pre-prepared product. I love to garden. I hate buying vegetables without trying to grow them myself first. I love sewing. A new pattern whets my appetite to crank up the machine and give a new design my best attempt. However, I would never attempt a wedding cake. I would never grow a veggie that isn't native to my state. I would never sew a suit for my husband.

As writers, we fight that battle uphill to publish a book. How hard can it be to format that manuscript in Word? How difficult can a cover be? Surely I can learn how to upload books. We read directions, study what others have done, then grit our teeth, determined to do it ourselves. Then invariably, after we've erred, redone, and cursed our mistakes, we reach a point where we ask ourselves and our friends: "It doesn't look bad for me doing it myself, does it?"

And right there, you've compromised your story's future.

You've cobbled together what others do for a living. You've decided to settle for less than professional. You think others won't notice, because they haven't learned what you've learned and tried what you've tried.

When you've poured your soul into writing, you need to equally pour your soul into its proper publication. You have two choices when doing anything in life: 1) Take the time to become an expert at it, or 2) Hire the expert. Just know that anything in between is settling.

When it comes to baking a cake, I'll settle for my Wayne's Extra Rich Chocolate Cake from scratch. It's meant to be rustic, gooey and not exactly straight around the edges. But when I need a cake for someone's 50th anniversary, believe me, I'm hiring someone who'll give me the presentation needed to respect the grand auspiciousness of the occasion.
 

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HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Hope - 

I just want to say thank you for posting about The Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize. On a whim, I applied and won first prize. I appreciate your emails more than you can know.

Gratefully,
Sharon Gelman

(Read the prize winners here - https://gutsygreatnovelist.com/page-one-prize-winners-2021/ )
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If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to [email protected] 

 

Featured article

Interactive Fiction and Five Markets for It

By Rachel Zakuta

Do you remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books of the ’80s: go to page 72 to turn left? Because an ebook can "remember" the player's choices, the new generation of interactive fiction has gained in plot complexity, character development, and fun since then. No more arbitrary decisions between right and left!

By publishing text-only, multiple-choice interactive fiction through Choice of Games, I earned enough to join SFWA and feel like a professional writer. Now they are actively looking for more writers! And don't be deceived by the ads that skew heavily towards romance; game creators are publishing works in all genres. Typically, you would approach these publishers by sending a pitch, and then you might be asked to submit a full proposal. 

You don't need programming experience to follow this path; the code languages used to write interactive fiction are designed to be so simple that even authors can use them. I teach one at a summer program each year, and all of my sixth-grade students and up, can write a basic game independently by the end of a week. 

Perhaps you are worried that this kind of writing isn't worthy of your craft, but that is simply not true. There are many games that offer a choice only after a full page of lovely, intense prose. Writing a multiple-choice game is freeing; you are free to write every possibility your vivid imagination can generate, not just one. You'll find that everything you know about story structure, character arcs, world-building, and scene-craft can apply to the writing of interactive fiction. Also, excellent game-writing is now recognized at the Nebula Awards. That could certainly jump-start your career!

So, here are the markets. All you need to begin is a unique story that you can imagine playing out several different ways.

Actively looking for writers:

Choice of Games—a publisher of text-only, multiple-choice novels in all genres. Email a pitch and see if they request a full proposal. Also, there's the possibility they might offer to "host" your game instead of publishing it; see the website for details.
https://www.choiceofgames.com

Aconyte Books—looking for tie-in novels (not interactive fiction) that take place in the worlds of their board games. Their submission portal asks for a sample of your favorite published work. Note that they retain the copyright of whatever you produce for them. 
https://aconytebooks.com/aconyte-write

Open to pitches:

Crazy Maple Studios—the publisher of the popular Chapters series has an open submission portal for pitches on its contact page:
https://crazymaplestudios.com/contact

Underflow Studios—a small publisher with one employee and many contractors, whose website indicates it is open to pitches:
https://www.underflowstudios.com/about/

Spider Lily Studios—a small publisher of interactive horror fiction whose website doesn't exactly specify whether they are currently open to pitches or not, but if you have a creepy idea, I say, go for it: 
http://spiderlilystudios.com/about.html

Not currently hiring, but pages to keep an eye on:

Pixelberry—the publishers of the successful Choices series:
https://www.pixelberrystudios.com/careers

Inkle—a well-respected studio that occasionally hires writers:
https://www.failbettergames.com/news/ 

BIO - Rachel Zakuta is the author of Reckless Space Pirates, as well as several short stories and essays. She lives outside Boston with two children and one outsized imagination. She teaches English by day and ponders alien evolution by night. You can find her, and her blog about reading, watching, and writing stories, at rachelzakuta.com. 





 

COmpetitions

GASHER JOURNAL CHAPBOOK PRIZE FOR POETRY
https://gasherjournal.submittable.com/submit
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 30, 2021. The selected manuscript will receive $250 and ten contributor copies upon publication. Manuscripts must be between 25-45 pages. 



INCEPTION PRIZE FOR PROSE, POETRY, OR ART
https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 30, 2021. For Sunspot Lit’s 2021 Inception contest, send your best opening. There are no restrictions on theme, category, or the length of the piece or collection from which the beginning comes. Word limit is 250 for prose, 25 words for poetry. Prize $500, publication for the winner, publication offered to runners-up and finalists. In addition to receiving the cash prize, the winner will be published. Select finalists will have the chance to be published. Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. 



UNCHARTERED SCIFI/FANTASY SHORT STORY AWARD
https://uncharted.submittable.com/submit/199897/uncharted-magazine-summer-sci-fi-fantasy-short-story-award-judged-by-ken-liu-3
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 1, 2021. Guest judge Ken Liu will choose three winning stories from a shortlist. We're excited to offer the winner of this prize $3,000 and publication, while the second and third place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively, along with publication. All three winners will receive a free class from Gotham Writing Workshops! Submit 1,001-5,000 words or fewer each per entry. All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted Magazine.



ZOETROPE SHORT STORY PRIZE
https://www.zoetrope.com/contests/stories-2021/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 1, 2021. We accept all genres of literary fiction. Entries must be unpublished at the time of submission; strictly 5,000 words or fewer. The three prizewinners and seven honorable mentions will be considered for representation by William Morris Endeavor; ICM; the Wylie Agency; Aragi, Inc.; Regal Literary; Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency; Markson Thoma Literary Agency; Inkwell Management; Sterling Lord Literistic; Aitken Alexander Associates; Barer Literary; The Gernert Company; Janklow & Nesbit Associates; and the Georges Borchardt Literary Agency. First prize: $1,000. Second prize: $500. Third prize: $250. 



CATHERINE DOCTOROW INNOVATIVE FICTION PRIZE
https://fictioncollective2.submittable.com/submit/195450/the-2022-catherine-doctorow-innovative-fiction-prize
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 1, 2021. Open to writers of, from, or in the US writing in English with at least three books of fiction published. Submissions may include a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a novel of any length. There is no length requirement. The prize includes $15,000 and publication by FC2, an imprint of the University of Alabama Press.



MALAHAT REVIEW OPEN SEASON AWARDS
http://www.malahatreview.ca/contests/open_season/info.html
ENTRY FEE CAD $35 IF FROM CANADA, CAD $45 FROM ANYWHERE ELSE. Deadline November 1, 2021. Categories are poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. The winner in each category will receive a prize of CAD $2,000 and be published in the magazine's spring 2022 issue #218. The contest is open to Canadian and international writers anywhere in the world. Poetry: up to three poems only per entry, no individual poem more than 100 lines long. Short fiction and creative nonfiction: one story only per entry, no more than 2,500 words in length. 



PEN/ROBERT J. DAU SHORT STORY PRIZE
https://pen.submittable.com/submit
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 15, 2021. Recognizes 12 emerging writers each year for their debut short story published in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website, and aims to support the launch of their careers as fiction writers. Stories must be submitted by editors of literary magazines, journals, or cultural websites and published in the English language. Stories may not exceed 12,000 words in length. 



JUXTAPROSE PRIZE FOR FICTION AND POETRY
https://juxtaprosemagazine.submittable.com/submit
ENTRY FEE $14-$18. Deadline November 26, 2021. $1,000 and publication in JuxtaProse Literary Magazine will be awarded to the winning prose and poetry. Up to three additional pieces, each by a different author, may be awarded "Honorable Mention" status, for which they will receive $100 and publication. All entries will be considered for publication, regardless of whether they receive honorable mention status. Poetry entries should contain between one and five poems, and each poem should be no longer than two pages. Fiction entries should contain a single story that is between 500 and 7,000 words.



JUXTAPROSE PRIZE FOR NONFICTION
https://juxtaprosemagazine.submittable.com/submit
ENTRY FEE $18. Deadline October 1, 2021. $1,000 and publication in JuxtaProse Literary Magazine will be awarded to the winning piece. Up to three additional pieces, each by a different author, may be awarded "Honorable Mention" status, for which they will receive $100 and publication. All entries will be considered for publication, regardless of whether they receive honorable mention status. Entries should contain a single piece of creative nonfiction that is between 500 and 7,000 words.



JUXTAPROSE CHAPBOOK PRIZE
https://juxtaprosemagazine.submittable.com/submit
ENTRY FEE $25-30. Deadline November 20, 2021. $1,000 will be awarded to the winner. Manuscripts must not have been previously published in any form - including any form of online publication - in order to be eligible, although individual poems (up to 90 percent of the chapbook's length) may have appeared in other venues. Entries should consist of a single poetry manuscript of between 20 and 40 pages. 
 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

- - - 

GEORGIA VIBRANT COMMUNITIES' ARTIST ROSTER
https://gaarts.org/what-we-do/grants/vibrant-communities-grant/
https://gaarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FY22-Vibrant-Communities-Artist-List-FINAL.pdf
The artists and organizations on this list were adjudicated by Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA). GCA is presenting this list to provide communities with ideas about the types of projects that could be supported by a Vibrant Communities Grant. Vibrant Communities applicants are not required to use artists on this list. Artists may offer additional programs other than the ones listed. Check the artists' websites for complete details. Travel costs depend on the distance the artists must travel to reach a site. Contact the artists for booking and for specific travel costs. Grants are between $1,000 and $5,000. 



CERF+ COVID-19 RELIEF GRANTS
https://cerfplus.org/cerf-covid-19-relief-grant/
Deadline August 31, 2021. The COVID-19 Relief Grant provides $1,000 to artists working in craft disciplines who are facing dire circumstances due to food, housing, and medical insecurities as a result of the ongoing pandemic.



"OF A CERTAIN AGE" FILM GRANT
https://nwfilmforum.org/lynn-shelton-certain-age-grant/
Deadline September 7, 2021. Through the program, a single grant of $25,000 will be awarded to an individual woman, non-binary, or transgender US filmmaker, age 39 or older, who is working on their first narrative feature (65 minutes or over) as a director. This program aims to recognize film directors for their distinct vision, storytelling, and singularity. Filmmakers must have "director" credit on at least one short film or feature documentary and desire to work in the narrative space. Filmmakers with "director" credit on a feature-length (70+ min) narrative film will not be considered. 



VIRGINIA CENTER FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS - MT. SAN ANGELO
https://www.vcca.com/apply/fully-funded-fellowships/
Deadline September 15, 2021. Richard S. And Julia Louise Reynolds Poetry Fellowship: A fully funded, three-week residency at Mt. San Angelo will be awarded to poets. VCCA is proud to offer a rotating selection of fully-funded fellowships at each of our three annual application deadlines (January 15, May 15, and September 15). At each deadline, applicants will be considered for a VCCA residency and as many fully-funded fellowships for which they are eligible. In addition to the fully-funded fellowships listed, significant financial aid is available throughout the year for all types of artists and writers. 



GASHER PRESS FIRST-BOOK SCHOLARSHIP
https://www.gasherjournal.com/first-book-scholarship
Deadline September 1, 2021. Gasher Press is pleased to offer a $250 scholarship to an emerging writer currently submitting their first-book manuscript, in order to assist in the covering of submission costs for contests and open reading periods. This year we are pleased to offer two scholarships, one for prose and one for poetry. Writers must not have published a full-length collection at the time of submission, including self-published books. (Chapbooks are okay.) The manuscript must be at least 48 pages in length with a cover letter and bio. The writer must reside in the United States at the time of submission.



US WRITERS AID INITIATIVE
https://pen.submittable.com/submit
The US Writers Aid Initiative is intended to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists. To be eligible, applicants must be based in the United States, be professional writers, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping them to address an emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported.
 

  

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

CHICKEN SOUP - GRIEVING, LOSS, AND HEALING
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline September 30, 2021. What helped you the most when you were grieving? Who were the people who helped you with your loss, and what did they do? What lessons can you share with someone starting on their own journey through grief and loss? When did you know that you had finally "turned the corner" and were on the road to healing? This book is going to be about the grieving, loss and healing process. Submit up to 1,200 words in first person. Winners receive $200 and ten copies of the book. 



CBS NEWS
https://www.cbsnews.com
Email [email protected] - Justin Michael Jerome, Assistant Managing Editor of CBS News. Looking for pitches from journalists of color. Topics include sports & entertainment, criminal justice reform, health & wellness, fashion, and more. Reporting only. Pay starts at 60 cents per word.



COMMERCIAL OBSERVER
https://commercialobserver.com/
Contact Chava Gourarie, Editor, email [email protected] . Open for pitches about real estate (housing, cities, sustainability), transit, infrastructure and related things in NYC, South Florida, Washington DC, and California. Pays 50 cents per word. 



UTAH BUSINESS
https://www.utahbusiness.com/
Contact Elle Griffin, Editor in Chief with pitches from writers who can cover innovative business startups in Utah. Pays 20-40 cents per word. 

 

Publishers/agents

McFARLAND BOOKS
https://mcfarlandbooks.com/
McFarland is a leading independent publisher of academic and nonfiction books. We are especially known for covering topics of popular appeal in a serious and scholarly fashion and for going to great lengths to manufacture our books to the highest standards and library specifications. With rare exceptions, we do not publish fiction. We don’t do children’s books. As for poetry—technically, yes, but only in the scholarly realm.



MX PUBLISHING
https://mxpublishing.com/index.html
MX Publishing brings the best in new Sherlock Holmes novels, biographies, graphic novels and short story collections every month. With over 400 books, it's the largest catalogue of new Sherlock Holmes books in the world.



NEWSOUTH BOOKS
http://www.newsouthbooks.com/
NewSouth has published hundreds of literary fiction and nonfiction titles. Publisher of regional books of national significance. They are a risk-taking, socially conscious publisher. Their books explore social justice topics and racial, ethnic, religious, and political identities. Publishing fine books on the American South for three decades. 



OCEANVIEW PUBLISHING
https://oceanviewpub.com/submissions/
Oceanview Publishing is accepting manuscripts of original adult fiction with a primary interest in the mystery/thriller genre. Any manuscript that has been published elsewhere, no matter the format, will not be considered. Submissions will be accepted only if they meet one of the following criteria: An author represented via a literary agent, an author who has previously been published by a traditional publishing house (not self-published or published by a vanity press), or an author specifically invited by an Oceanview representative or an Oceanview author.



PEACHTREE PUBLISHING
https://peachtree-online.com/about-us/
Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. is a trade book publisher based in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in children’s books, including board books, picture books, and middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. We create books that educate, entertain, encourage, and endure.



PM PRESS
https://blog.pmpress.org/about/
PM Press is an independent, radical publisher of books and media to educate, entertain, and inspire. Founded in 2007 by a small group of people with decades of publishing, media, and organizing experience, PM Press amplifies the voices of radical authors, artists, and activists. Our aim is to deliver bold political ideas and vital stories to all walks of life and arm the dreamers to demand the impossible.



SMALL BEER PRESS
https://smallbeerpress.com/about/submission-guidelines/
We publish six to ten books per year. We pay a small advance and standard royalties. Our ebook royalty rate is 40 percent of net receipts. We do not publish nonfiction or poetry collections or chapbooks. Publishes books as Small Beer Press, Big Mouth House, and Peapod Classics. 

 

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C. Hope Clark
E-mail: [email protected]
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

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ISSN: 1533-1326

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