Free International Writing Competitions and Publishing Opportunities in September 2022
Dear Writer,
Here’s a compilation of writing competitions, and direct pitching opportunities to editors of various magazines. Hope you’ll find this list useful.
There are some restrictions on some of these chances to get published, but they require no entry fees. Kindly read the guidelines before submitting for each one.
*List might get updated during the month. You can keep checking back for new opportunities.
The Daily Dot
The Daily Dot is a website that covers internet culture and life online. They seek reported features and are always on the lookout for writers who are trying to break into the industry.
Pay: $300 to $600 for most stories.
Send pitch to: dcovucci@dailydot.com.
Deadline: Open now
Agbalumo stories
Do you have a story categorised as an African genre fiction, with an engaging narrative and one or more beautiful themes? Then there’s a good chance you have an Agbalumo story.
Deadline: Open now
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Belt Magazine
Belt Magazine is “an independent digital magazine by and for the Rust Belt and greater Midwest.”
They’re currently reading pitches for commentary and essays.
Pay: $500 per feature, $250 per essay, $200 per commentary piece, and $25 per poem.
Send pitch to: ed@beltmag.com.
You can also read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Deadline: Open now
>>READ ALSO: Our Special Place by Olachi Iwehee | A Short Story<<
The Robora Magazine
The Robora Magazine is a digital business magazine for female freelancers/business owners. They are seeking pitches from women writing about tech and innovation.
Pay: £200 for 800 words.
Deadline: Open now
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Planet New Writers Competition 2022
They’re seeking “creative and unconventional ways of exploring the essay form as well as a more traditional style.” You’d want to write a lively, well-crafted essay which leaves a lasting impression, and relates to Wales in some way, however obliquely.
Prize: £200
Deadline: 1st September, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
The International Journalists’ Network
“Do you know of a journalism tool, app or resource that The International Journalists’ Network has not covered? A media innovator who has a fascinating story to tell? Or do you simply want to discuss a current media trend taking place in your country?”
They hope to build a network of global, diverse contributors whose work can help as many journalists as possible.
IJNet accepts pitches from readers worldwide
Pay: $200 per article
Deadline: Open now
Read their details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
MIT Technology Review
MIT Technology Review publishes a wide range of stories, from breaking news to long-term investigations. They want stories about technology itself, but they’re particularly excited about those areas where technology and humans collide—where technology meets the real world.
Pay: Ranges from $1 to $2 per word.
Deadline: Open now
Read their details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
On the Premises
They’re calling for entries into their current short story writing contest themed “OBJECTS IN MOTION”. They need a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which the story’s main character(s) spend most (even better, all) of the story’s time in constant motion.
Deadline: 2nd September, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Furious Fiction SPRING 2022 Challenge
As always, your story has to be 500 words or fewer, on the theme and criteria listed on their website.
Prize: $500
Deadline: 4 September 2022
Read the details and guidelines >>here<<
Feminist Food Journal
Feminist Food Journal is “an online magazine dedicated to a feminist food future.” They are open for pitches for their “Earth” issue which is focused on “gender and all things related to our earth home – climate change, farming, foraging, and more.”
Pay: $130 per piece.
Send pitch to: pitch@feministfoodjournal.com.
Deadline: September 8th, 2022
Write4fun Kids Poetry and Short Story Writing Competition
This competition is for students all over Australia. They’re seeking 16 line poems OR 500 word short stories, and no theme or style specified.
Prizes: Cash rewards and gift cards.
Deadline: 11 September, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Correct Connect Africa Foundation “Tep Ra” Contest
Send in your poem, story, or spoken word piece on the theme; “The African Woman”.
Deadline: 13th September, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Narratively
Narratively is a media company that publishes original and untold human stories. Their deputy editor is “assigning and editing a series about TURNING FAILURE ON ITS HEAD, i.e., times when failure in one area turned out to be positive in another, or when failure taught you an important lesson that helped shape you.”
Rates: Beginnning from $1,000 for word counts of between 3,000 and 6,000 words.
Send pitch to: jsposato@narratively.com.
Deadline: September 15th, 2022
The Tales by Moonlight Contest
This is a novella writing competition. Genre is fiction and the theme is magic. Contest entries can range from 7,500 – 40,000 words in length, and the winners will be decided by a public voting system.
Prize: $1,000
Deadline: 15th Sept, 2022
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
>>READ ALSO: NLNG Prize for Literature 2022 Shortlist<<
Valiant scribe literary journal
They’re calling for submissions that focus on “faith and social issues, including violence, poverty, criminal justice, human trafficking, mental health, unknown inventors, people of color, climate change, etc.”
They’re mostly after works about peace despite the uncertainty of the last few years.
Prize: A complimentary electronic version of the issue.
Deadline: September 16, 2022
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
SprinNG women’s prize for fiction
The SprinNG Women Authors Prize (#SWAPng) will select two Female Nigerian Authors who have published full-length books in print and invest N300,000 each in purchasing, distributing, and marketing print copies of their books nationwide through their sister literary websites and events whom they collaborate with.
Deadline: September 30, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Naitalk Annual Essay Competition
For this competition, you have to pick any topic but “let your topic have the word Africa in it, E.g My first-day visit to Africa, Living in Africa can be Hell, How I became a billionaire in Africa, etc.”
Prizes: 1st – N50k, 2nd – N20k, 3rd – N10k
Deadline: September 30th, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Lorna McDonald Essay Prize
The competition is open to essays of 3000 to 5000 words exploring any aspect of Central Queensland’s story.
Prize: 1st – $2,000 with a runner up prize of $500.
Deadline: 30th September, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Kenyon Review 2023
“In 2023, our magazine will feature two themed issues, one focused on WOMEN’S HEALTH and one on FOOD. We invite work that broadly considers these two themes.”
Deadline: September 30th, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Weird Horror Magazine
They publish horror and weird fiction. Length is between 500 and 6,000 words.
Pay: 1.5c/word
Deadline: 30 September 2022
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
The Cincinnati Review
They accept prose (fiction and creative non-fiction), poetry, translation submissions, and drama queries.
Pay: $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry for print, $25 for online features
Deadline: 30 September 2022, or until filled, for print magazine.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Kaleidotrope
They publish predominantly speculative fiction and poetry—science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but also compelling work that blurs the lines between these and falls outside of neat genre categories. They also accept artwork.
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction, $5/poem
Deadline: 30 September 2022
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Nashville Review
They publish fiction, including flash, non-fiction, poetry, translations, comics, and art.
Pay: $100 for prose, $25 per poem
Deadline: 30 September 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
Chicken Soup for the Soul
They’re seeking submissions for their forthcoming books, “Impact of a Chicken Soup for the Soul story on me,” and “The advice that changed my life.”
Deadline: September 30th, 2022.
Read the details and guidelines for submission >>here<<
If you loved this list, kindly share it with someone who’d love to see it too. Thanks for reading!
Mike
Blessing Obiahu