Weird Weather? Submissions Open

Smoking Pen Press is pleased to announce a new Call for Submissions for a short story anthology for our Read on the Run series. We’re seeking stories about weather. But we aren’t interested in fair winds or ordinary weather, we are looking for Ill Winds and Wild Weather. All genres are considered.

  • Submissions accepted 15 March – 30 April 2023
  • 1,200 to 7,000 words
  • Attach to email as DOC or DOCX file

Contact spp (at) smokingpenpress (dotcom) for more information.

Photo by NOAA on Unsplash

Curated Calls & Competitions

Today IWU would like to acknowledge what looks to be a terrifically useful resource — a wealth of over 80* no-fee, paying opportunities for writers.

*and that’s just for this issue of her newsletter

Erika Dreifus regularly serves up these huge piles of contests, competitions, and other opportunities — potentially saving writers an appreciable amount of online research.

Visit her Practicing Writing website and/or subscribe to her newsletter.

The Theme is Dream

Submit your work (1 November through 15 December 2022) for consideration for the Timberline Review (Willamette Writers, Oregon) and, for the first time, you’ll be entered into the Kay Snow Awards competition as well — no extra fee.

Categories are:

  • Poetry
  • Fiction (flash, short story, novella, and novel excerpt)
  • Creative nonfiction (essay, memoir) and Critical commentary
  • Drama and screenplay
  • Visual artists — they’re also seeking both b/w and color work for exterior and interiors

The entry fee is modest and the instructions are thorough, so read carefully. Enter your work before 15 December!

Too many newsletters?

It happens to all of us: something or someone looks interesting, you subscribe to their newsletter, and then . . . your inbox explodes. (An aside: we do earnestly hope that you’re subscribing to the IWU newsletter — always short and sweet.)

That being said, your IWU editor has found a few newsletters here and there that seem to have earned their place in one’s inbox. Check them out. You decide.

  • Virtual Author & Writer Events, a Substack by Sarah Nicholas, lists both free and paid online events, neatly organized into: For Readers – Free, For Readers – Paid, For Writers – Free, and (you guessed it) For Writers – Paid. There have been some real gems in here. Once a week. You can submit an event. No cost, though there is a Tip Jar available if you find it useful.
  • Authors Publish is a very succinct newsletter that comes out a couple of times a week. Again: no fee. For those interested in submitting to traditional publishers (periodicals and houses), they can keep you abreast of who’s open to receiving submissions on what topic. They’re very strict on their criteria, and vet everyone they list.

Photo by Museums Victoria on Unsplash

Prose & Poetry on Pollinators

The Ada Soil & Water Conservation District is accepting entries through midnight 15 February for their 2022 Treasure Valley Pollinator Project Zine on “pollinators, flowers, or native plants told through the lens of conservation”.

Entries can be:

  • Short stories (max. 700 words)
  • Essays (max. 700 words)
  • Poems (max. 20 lines)

Full details and submission formatting requirements can be found on their website. (Click the “Submit Here!” button for even more information.)

Willamette Writers accepting . . .

The Timberline Review and the Kay Snow Awards submissions are open through 15 December. (You can submit the same work to either or both programs.)

Use this Submittable link – but be sure to read the guidelines for detailed information!

Choices include:

  • Member or Guest submissions (WW members can submit for free)
  • Children (grades 1-6) and Teens (grades 7-12) awards for Kay Snow submissions
  • BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and Disabled writer submissions (fee waived)

Further, categories WW are looking for are:

  • Poetry
  • Fiction (flash, short story, novella, novel excerpt), max. 3500 words
  • Creative nonfiction, max. 3500 words
  • Critical commentary
  • Drama and screenplay
  • Visual art (B/W)