This list of publishers meet our guiding principles, but are only open to free submissions from historically underrepresented writers or focus on publishing content produced by historically underrepresented writers. Some of these publications are open to a wide range of writers including writers of color, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ writers, and those living with disabilities. Some have limited definitions and are only interested in work by Black authors. 

We try to make it as clear as possible who the publisher is seeking work from. Sometimes the focus of the press is limited, even though there are no limitations on who can submit. A few of the opportunities are also limited by geography, again, we try to make this clear. There are always additional submission details at the site we link to, but we try to cover the basics as best we can as part of this list.

If you belong to a limited demographic that is not listed here, this list might be helpful to you.

As long as a press/opportunity/journal is open to submissions we will continue to list it, so some of the content on the list is new, some overlaps with previous issues. This article is an ongoing collaborative effort by Emily Harstone and S. Kalekar. Please send us an email at support@authorspublish.com if you have any feedback or an opportunity/journal/publisher, to recommend.

Literary Journals/Magazines

FIYAH
They only accept speculative fiction and poetry from Black writers of the African Diaspora. They’re reading submissions for an unthemed issue, pay $0.08/word for fiction of 2,000-15,000 words and $50 for poetry, the deadline is 31 December 2024.

Midnight & Indigo
They publish works by Black women writers only – essays, as well as speculative and literary fiction. They’re reading unthemed work, and are also reading submissions for a special Music issue: “We’re looking for original, previously unpublished short stories and essays that use music as a prompt. Your piece can be inspired by anything from a lyric from your favorite song to a song title, or even a personal memory.” They pay $150 for essays, and $0.07/word for fiction. The deadline is 30 December 2024. Details here (Music issue guidelines and submission), here (general guidelines and submission links).

Rough Cut Press
They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose of up to 650 words on the ‘Reach’ theme. Pay is $25. The deadline is 27 December 2024.

Chestnut Review
They have fee-free and fee-based submission categories for all writers. There is no submission fee for up to 3 poems, or for flash fiction of up to 1,000 words. And, Black and Indigenous writers can submit longer fiction free. They read submissions through the year, with cut-off dates for issues. They pay $120. The deadline is 31 December 2024 for the Spring issue.

Anodyne Magazine
This feminist magazine is “focused on personal health experiences, including (but not limited to) physical health, doctor visits, mental health, chronic illness, and more. We accept submissions from anyone identifying as part of the FLINTA* community worldwide. Submissions are accepted on a trimesterly basis in December, April, and August, with a free period the first week of open submissions.” See their genres here and their submission portal is here.

Riadh Mag
This new electronic publication focus is on amplifying “the voices of BIPOC individuals and religious minorities, bringing their untold stories to light”. They are open to pitches for art, poetry, opinion pieces, essays, features, and more.

Decolonial Passage
According to their website they “publish writing from writers of all backgrounds regardless of race, origin, or gender while simultaneously centering African, African American, and Black Diaspora writing.” Their mission statement goes into more details about this. They are open on a rolling basis to essays, creative nonfiction, short stories, and flash fiction. They are open to poetry only during the months of January, March, May, July, September or November.

AC|DC
They publish short stories and creative nonfiction by LGBTQIA+ authors. They are currently open to submissions.

Magnets and Ladders
They publish the work of disabled writers in two issues a year.

DisLit Youth Magazine
They only publish work by writers 14-22, and they primarily publish disabled writers.

AURORE
This publications tagline is “a curated collection of erotic stories written by and for women and LGBTQ+ based on their own experiences”. They publish nonfiction erotica and their website is NSFW, please do not visit it if you are under 18.

ALOCASIA
A journal of queer plant-based writing. They accept submissions on a rolling basis.

Heaven Magazine
They are interested in publishing fiction, creative non fiction, flash, and poetry by all underrepresented creators.

Sinister Wisdom
A multicultural lesbian literary & art journal. Founded in 1976, this literary journal is always open to submissions.

Saffron City Press
Saffron City Press is an online literary journal dedicated to amplifying the voices of Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern-American writers.

Plentitude
They want submissions from LGBTQ2S+ writers only; their Submittable has separate submission slots for Canadian and international writers. Every genre has a monthly submission cap. Pay is CAD60 per poem, CAD125 per prose contribution (fiction and creative nonfiction), CAD100 for book reviews and Genre Bender (hybrid) submissions. Details here and here.

Canto Cutie: Childhood, youth, and experiences in school
Canto Cutie publishes the work of Cantonese writers and artists and the Diaspora. They want writing and art for Volume 8, which “will be about childhood, youth, and experiences in school. We are looking for work about growing up and adolescence.” They also say, “submissions are conducted primarily in English. Cantonese language art and writing are accepted and encouraged. Anonymous submissions are permitted for politically sensitive works.” Submissions are open until filled. Details here and here.

Arcanum Magazine
Arcanum Magazine is a digital and print magazine for creative writing, visual art, cultural criticism, and journalism by and for the Black diaspora. They are a paying market that is open on a rolling basis to creative writing, cultural criticism, news, and journalism, as well as visual art.

Bookish Brews
They describe themselves as a “book blog and a celebration of diverse books and authors (with a side of your favorite brew)”. They prioritize BIPOC writers but are open to submissions from other historically underrepresented groups also. They publish nonfiction, craft, and lifestyle essays as well as book reviews.

Mayday: Black
For Mayday: Black submissions, they want nonfiction pitches and drafts from Black writers – their website says, they are “committed to delivering a new experience for Black writers, including those seeking first-time publication. We welcome nonfiction work in opinions and analyses; personal, braided, and reported essays in contemporary and historical contexts. Bring your authentic, curious, courageous, well-rounded stories on life, living, love, loss, representation, race, racism, death, dying, Black plight and civil rights, neighborhood blight, gentrification, white flight, and more. (In no way is this an exhaustive list!)” They pay $50 for Mayday: Black essays of 800-3,000 words. Details here and here. (This magazine also occasionally accepts fiction, nonfiction, culture pieces, poetry, reviews, interviews, and translations from all writers, and pays $10-20 for these.)

Zindabad Zine
This print and electronic publication is based in the UK. They are open to submissions on a rolling basis. Currently they are closed to submissions for the print issue but open to electronic ones. They only accept work from people “in a diaspora”.  They publish personal essays, articles, poetry, fiction, visual art and photography.

The Kalahari Review
A weekly African literary magazine interested in material exploring modern Africa and Africans in unique and avant-garde ways. They publish their work on Medium.

Transition
Born in Africa and bred in the diaspora, Transition  is a publication of the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, published three times annually. Transition publishes writing by and about Africa and the African diaspora, with an eye towards a global perspective. They accept submissions year-round on a rolling basis, and generally respond to submissions within four months. 

Lavender Review
An international, biannual e-zine published in June and December, they are open to submissions of poetry and art by, about, and for lesbians (including whatever LGBTQ might appeal to a lesbian readership). Submissions are open year round.

Ricepaper
This publication offers Asian Canadian context to ongoing arts and cultural issues, new perspectives on emerging and established Asian Canadian artists, and challenges mainstream media perspectives, little-known facts of interest, or critical stories that haven’t been told elsewhere. They are open to submissions from Asian writers around the globe as long as the editors can see a link between the content and some aspect of the Asian Canadian experience.

Raising Mothers
Raising Mothers celebrates and centers the experiences of  Black, Indigenous, and Brown parents. Some sections have reading periods; columns are open year-round. Guidelines are here.

Prismatica Magazine
An LGBTQ fantasy and science fiction magazine that publishes short stories, poetry, reviews, interviews, and articles. They have very specific submission guidelines so please read those carefully.

African Writer
They are open to all genres of literature from Africa and the African Diaspora. They do not allow simultaneous submissions.

Afritondo
According to their website, “Afritondo is a media and publishing platform that aims to connect with and tell the stories of Africans and black minority populations across the globe.” They accept a wide range of work, including manuscript-length work.

Brittle Paper 
Brittle Paper is an online literary magazine for readers of African Literature. They accept the following: “fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, book reviews, essays, literary commentaries, fun listicles, and any writing with a literary bent”. 

Torch Literary Arts
Torch Literary Arts is a nonprofit organization. They publish and promote creative writing by Black women only; you can read more about them here. They publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers. “We are interested in work that challenges and disrupts preconceived notions of what Black women’s contemporary writing should be.” General submissions are accepted for Friday Features only, in which they publish fiction, hybrid works, poetry, and drama (including that accompanied by video or dramatic audio). Send up to 2,500 for fiction/hybrid works, up to 10 pages for drama, or up to 5 poems. Pay is $150. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis; you can submit here.

Tagg Magazine
Tagg is a US-based queer women’s publication. Their website has several themes they accept articles on, including personal essays, listicles, dating advice and fashion-related content. Articles are 350-1,000 words long and pay $75-175. They welcome pitches for article ideas. See the pitch guide for contributors here.

Bi Women Quarterly
BWQ features the voices of women “with bi+ sexualities (i.e., bi, pan, fluid, and other non-binary sexualities)” and they see “woman” as a broad category and welcome contributions those who identify as trans, non-binary, cis, etc. They publish articles, creative writing, musings, and more.

KOENING ZINE
They publish art, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction submissions  primarily by Asians, but they are open to submissions from non-Asians. Their uniting theme is Asian Folklore. Submitters must be over 18.

POETRY SANGO-OTA
We only usually include journals currently open to submissions, but this list is always published on the third Thursday of a given month, and this journal is only open to submissions through the 1st to the 10th of each month, so we are listing it and encouraging you to set a calendar alert for when it reopens on the 1st of the next month. “We are interested in poems with a keen connection to a sense of place, nature, or otherworldly geographies.” They only publish African poets, and pay N2,500 per poem.

The Gay & Lesbian Review
The Gay & Lesbian Review is a bimonthly magazine of history, culture, and politics targeting an educated readership of LGBT people, and their allies that publishes themed features (2,000-4,000 words), reviews, interviews, and departments. They have announced a few themed calls, and they also invite suggestions for future themes. 

1. Origins: When did the LGBT movement really begin?
2. Anthropologies: Sexual variants in non-Western cultures
3. The State of LGBT Rights: What’s next for the movement?

 Writers can send proposals or complete pieces. They pay for features ($250) and full-length book reviews ($100).

The Acentos Review
The Acentos Review publishes writing, art, music and multigenre work by Latinx writers. They are open to submissions all year long. Details here.

Craft
This respected literary journal is open to creative work from authors of all backgrounds, but they offer free submissions + fast response times to BIPOC and other mis- and underrepresented writers, here. Craft pays $100 for flash and $200 for short fiction and creative nonfiction.

Aloka
They want work by non-native English speakers only – poetry, translations, fiction, and hybrid work. Send up to 5 poems, or up to 2 prose pieces, up to 2,500 words each.

The Lighthouse / Black Girl Projects
The tagline of The Lighthouse is, “Cultivating spaces of solidarity and safety for southern Black girls to shine through focused programming and research.” They have an extensive guide for pitching articles, including “We … are always looking for thought-provoking stories and other content from marginalized communities, Black girls, (in particular, but not exclusively) and gender non-conforming people. In addition to story and long-form story pitches and op-eds, they accept photography and original artwork for their online blogging platform, The Black Girl Times, and their monthly newsletter, The Black Girl Times Redux. Also, “Each month, we have an editorial theme board (kind of like the mood boards interior designers use) we post on our social media accounts (@luvblkgrls). The theme board is intended to be an inspiration and provocation of thoughts, ideas and feelings. Your response(s) can be literal or abstract and loose. And again, it might not have anything to do with anything we’ve seen.” Pay is $0.25-$1/word. Pay for art (graphic design, cartoons and photo essays) is $150-1,000.

Singapore Unbound: SUSPECT
Their website says, “SUSPECT grew out of SP Blog, the blog of the NYC-based literary non-profit Singapore Unbound.” They want poetry, literary fiction, essays, and any kind of writings that do not fall into these categories, written or translated into English by authors who identify as Asian. They also publish reviews of books by Asian authors and interviews with Asian writers and artists. Pay is $100, and there is no deadline listed. (They also have a themed portfolio call; they’re reading works on the Eco- theme, and pay $100; the deadline for this call is 1 March 2025.) 

Breath & Shadow
Breath & Shadow only publishes work from people with disabilities. This is how they define disability: “We use the term “disability” broadly to encompass anyone with a physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, or sensory impairment that significantly affects one or more major life functions.” They accept writing on any topic in terms of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and drama. Pieces do not have to be about disability. The academic or article type nonfiction, including profiles, interviews, and opinion pieces, do have to relate to disability in some way. They pay $25 per poem (max 2) and $40 for prose.

Screen Door Review
They only publish work by individuals who are Southern and queer. You can learn more about how they define Southern here. They publish flash fiction and poetry.

Emergent Literary
An exciting new literary journal that accepts a wide range of submissions from Black and Brown authors.

LatinX Lit Audio Mag
LatinX Lit Mag is a safe space for literary work written by authors who identify as Latinx or Hispanic.

Presses/Anthologies

EastOver Press Anthology of Rural Stories
They want submissions of previously published fiction from BIPOC writers in the rural US only, whose short stories feature characters living and/or working in rural or semi-rural spaces/from BIPOC writers who’ve spent a significant amount of time in rural or semi-rural locales and whose work might reflect those spaces. Pays $100-300 for stories up to 7,500 words, the deadline is 31 December 2024.

Neon Hemlock: Two Anthology Calls
Neon Hemlock is seeking submissions for their annual anthology series We’re Here. This series highlights the best Queer speculative fiction that was previously published by other journals in that calendar year. To submit, you must follow their guidelines carefully and submit work that was published in 2024. They close to submissions on December 31st.

They are also reading submissions for Shatter the Sun: Queer Tales of Untold Adventures. They close to these submissions on January 15th. The anthology is edited by dave ring, and “will include pulp heroism in conversation with Samuel R. Delany’s Nevèrÿon, Conan and Red Sonja, Imaro and Xena.” They are still crowdfunding the project and state that they will pay 8 cents a word. To read more details for both anthologies, go here.

NeuroQueer: Annual Spoon Knife anthology
NeuroQueer, is an imprint of Autonomous Press, and they publish an annual genre bending anthology called Spoon Knife which is now accepting submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. They are a paying market. Autonomous Press does not accept unagented submissions, but this is one of the ways they find authors. The theme of this anthology is Polarites, and they include details and image along the theme lines on their site. They pay $30, plus 1 cent per word. All contributors also receive a copy of the anthology their work appears in. The deadline for submissions is July 31st.

Rosarium Publishing: Planet Black Joy
This is an anthology of speculative fiction. They want work by women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage only; stories exploring and celebrating Black joy and pleasure. “We want to showcase stories of Black joy in the fantastical and the mundane in the present, past, and the future. We’d like a variety of Black joy from catharsis to irreverence to clawing resilience out of the darkness. From Black Twitter after the Alabama Brawl to the kind of joy that has been constructed in the face of white supremacy and patriarchy. We want to know what Black joy means to you.” They also accept translations and reprints. Pay is $0.08/word, for original short stories of 3,000-7,000 words and $0.02/word for reprints. The deadline is 1 January 2025.

OwlCrate Press: Future States of Stars
This is a fiction anthology for upper YA (18+), new adult, and adult audiences. “We are specifically seeking stories in the dystopian sci-fi genre with a Black Mirror or Twilight Zone vibe. Authors are encouraged to explore themes of the near-to-far future of states, whether set here on Earth, in space, or in other dimensions.

Consider exploring dystopian themes such as authoritarian regimes, environmental collapse, surveillance societies, loss of individual freedoms, or the impact of advanced technology on humanity.” They also say, “Across our anthology series, OwlCrate is prioritizing publishing stories from (but not limited to) BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, neurodivergent, and diverse authors.
If you are otherwise marginalized and wish to disclose privately, please indicate that on the form or email submissions@owlcrate.com and we will ensure you have any accommodations you may need.” Pay is $0.10/word for stories of 4,000 to 8,500 words, and the deadline is 31 December 2024.

Phoenix
Phoenix is a new speculative imprint launched by Nigerian publisher Ouida Books in collaboration with Nnedi Okorafor and Lọlá Shónẹ́yìn. Phoenix is dedicated to publishing African speculative fiction and fantasy (Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism). You can learn more about it here.

The Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series
This opportunity, from Black Lawrence Press, is for immigrants living in the US – for manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid writing. “Poets and authors, at any stage of their careers, who identify as immigrants are welcome to submit a book manuscript of poetry or prose or a hybrid text for consideration. Submissions are accepted year-round. However, selections are made in June and November for a total of two books per year. In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors.”

North Dakota State University Press: Contemporary Voices of Indigenous Peoples Series
The goal of this series to feature the authentic stories, poetry, and scholarly works of Native Americans, First Nations, Maori, Aborigines, Indians, and more to give voice to contemporary Indigenous peoples. NDSU Press considers book-length manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for publication in this series.

Random House Canada
The Canadian arm of Random House changed their submission policy have opened their policy exclusively to LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC writers, as well as those from other traditionally underrepresented communities. They are particularly looking for “High quality commercial fiction in the following genres: literary, romance, speculative fiction, historical fiction, and mystery. Please note that we do not currently accept screenplays, stage plays, young adult fiction, children’s fiction, or picture book queries. All non-fiction submissions must be submitted via a literary agent.” They are open to submissions internationally, this is not limited to Canadians.

Somos en escrito Literary Foundation Press
They publish a literary magazine as well as books, they are “dedicated to publishing raza authors to express the narratives and needs of our communities, which typically get overlooked by the mainstream presses. We intend to be the institution nobody else will build for us.”

Tundra Books, Puffin Canada, Penguin Teen Canada
These children and teen focused Canadian imprints are open to direct submissions by underrepresented authors and illustrators only. Authors need not be Canadian.

Monsoon Books
This respected press accepts unsolicited manuscripts with Asian, particularly Southeast Asian, themes. 

Arsenal Pulp Press
A Canadian independent press that publishes a wide variety of work,  prioritizes work by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors. We have reviewed them here.

Blind Eye Books
Blind Eye Books publishes science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and romance novels featuring LGBTQ protagonists. They are a print publisher and their book covers are beautifully designed and really stand out. The books they have published have won and been nominated for a number of awards, including the Lambda. We have reviewed them here.

Lily
A small poetry press that publishes work of varying length. Submitting shorter work is free for everyone, but submitting poetry manuscripts is free only for poets who identify as Black. They are always open to these submissions.

Sourcebooks
We’ve reviewed Sourcebooks here, and their adult nonfiction imprint and their romance and horror imprints are always open to all submissions, but they also deserve to be on this list because their fiction imprint, their mystery imprint, their young adult imprint, and three of their children’s book imprints, all say “Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion. For more information please email InclusiveFiction@Sourcebooks.com.” So if you have work that matches that description in those genres, please reach out to them.

Angry Robot
A great science fiction publisher that only accepts direct submissions from Black authors.

Scholastic Canada 
They are open to direct submissions from Canadian authors or focusing on Canadian content, who are from underrepresented communities, including Black writers, Indigenous writers, writers of colour, writers with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ writers and writers who identify with other marginalized groups.

Heartdrum
Heartdrum is an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, which is edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, and is in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Native and First Nations writers and writer-illustrators are welcome to query her directly via a form on her website. Native and First Nations illustrators are also invited to reach out.

Opportunities/Support/Contests

Northern Writers Awards
These are various awards for writers based in the north of England, for fiction, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and for young people; they also have the Matthew Hale Award for young writers ages 11-18 who show promise but have had limited opportunities to pursue their talent; this could be due to a number of factors, including physical or mental ill-health, family circumstances, financial circumstances, lack of access to cultural opportunities or other reasons. Young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap. The winner will receive a package of support created by New Writing North to the value of £500. The package will be tailored to the specific interests and needs of the winner, but could include anything from one-on-one mentoring with a professional writer, enrolment on a course, books, theatre tickets or a pass to a literature festival. There is also the Eva Ibbotson Award open to young writers aged 11-15 in the North of England who are writing in English as an additional language; young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap. The winner will receive a bespoke package of support created by New Writing North to the value of £500, and could include anything from mentoring with a professional writer, enrolment on a course, books, theatre tickets or a pass to a literature festival. The deadline for both awards is 6 February 2025.

MIT: Knight Science Journalism Fellowships
They’re open for the Africa and Middle East Fellowship for science journalists in Africa and the Middle East. The Fellowship for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle East is a one-semester fellowship for science journalists in Africa and the Middle East is held in the fall of the academic year and hosted by KSJ at MIT. It is for journalists with at least three years’ experience reporting on science, health or environmental issues; applicants may be reporters, writers, editors, producers, illustrators, filmmakers, or photojournalists in the region. Fellows are awarded $40,000 and other benefits.  The deadline is 15 January 2024 (see here.) Details here and here.
(They’re also open for The Knight Science Academic Year Fellowship at MIT, which is open internationally to 10 science journalists a year; applicants must be full-time journalists, whether on staff or freelance, and have at least three consecutive years of experience covering science, health, technology and environmental reporting. While in Cambridge, fellows will pursue a research project that uniquely leverages the resources and connections available to them at MIT and in the surrounding greater Boston area. The research project must be journalism related. Fellows are awarded $85,000 and other benefits, deadline 15 January 2025.)

San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program
The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University’s creative writing program. This awards writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. The creative writing fellowship does not require that there be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck’s. A writing sample is part of the application. Fellows are expected to give one public reading from their work and will be required to reside within the counties of the San Francisco Bay Area, adjacent counties of the California central coast or central valley during most of the academic year. Up to 6 fellowships will be awarded. The deadline is 5 January 2025. Details here and here

Kinsman Quarterly: Stories of Inspiration
They want essays of 500 to 1,200 words. “Submissions should highlight the struggle and resilience of the human spirit, a cultural figure and/or tradition, or celebrate an art form especially related to cultures of marginalized communities. … A successful entry will be awarded each quarter and included within Kinsman Quarterly’s online journal and magazine. They prefer works by BIPOC writers or those from an underrepresented community. The award is $150. The deadline for this quarter is 31 December 2024, and this contest will run quarterly through 2025, as well.
(See all of Kinsman Quarterly’s opportunities / awards on this page. They also have a seasonal internship program for those eligible to work in the US.)

Meridians: The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award
Meridians is a literary magazine affiliated with Smiths College. This award is for short works – poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and play scripts. “The Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award celebrates an author whose work embodies the lyrically powerful and historically engaged nature of Dr. Alexander’s writing. We aim for this award to highlight different forms of knowledge production that emerge from the artistic, political, and cultural advocacy undertaken by women of color nationally, transnationally, and globally. Works engaging with feminism, race, and transnationalism will be prioritized. Translated works and manuscripts in languages other than English are encouraged as well.” Apart from a cash prize, the award also offers a reading and retreat at Smith College, and publication in Meridians. The award is $500, and the deadline is 31 December 2024.

The 2024 Laureate Prize: Small Harbor Publishing 
The 2024 Laureate Prize from Small Harbor Publishing will be judged by Kai Coggin. All entries will be read by Harbor Editions staff. A selection of finalists will be read by the judge. They encourage submissions from all marganilized writers, but the submission fees ($25) are waived for all BIPOC identifying writers. They are seeking full length books of poems between 50-80 pages. The winner will receive $500 and 20 copies of their book. Simultaneous submissions are not allowed. The contest closes January 31st.

Discoveries 2025
This prize is run by The Women’s Prize Trust, Audible, Curtis Brown Literary Agency, and Curtis Brown Creative writing school. It is for UK- and Ireland-based unpublished and unrepresented women writers, for a novel-in-progress (adult fiction) – send the first 10,000 words and a synopsis. Apart from a cash prize of £5,000, the winner also gets literary representation. There are also non-cash prizes for shortlisted and longlisted writers (see T&C). The deadline is 13 January 2025. Details here and here. 

The Caribbean Writer Prizes
Their website says, “The Caribbean Writer (TCW) has issued a call for submissions for Volume 39 under the 2025 theme: Possibilities: Beyond Tradition, Inside of Courage.
Contributors may submit works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays or one act plays which explore the ideas resonating within the region and its diaspora. The Caribbean should be central to the work, or the work should reflect a Caribbean heritage, experience or perspective.” Submissions are also eligible for various prizes (there is no separate application process): The Canute A. Brodhurst Prize of $600 for best short fiction; The Daily News Prize of $500 awarded to a resident of the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands; The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize of $500 for a new or emerging writer; The Cecile deJongh Literary Prize of $500 for a Caribbean author whose work best expresses the spirit of the Caribbean; The Vincent Cooper Literary Prize of $300 awarded to a Caribbean author for exemplary writing in Caribbean Nation Language. The deadline is 31 December 2024. Details here (click on ‘Show prizes’ at the end of the page) and here.

Princeton University Press: Global Equity Grants
These grants, are for authors of underrepresented groups to support the preparation of works that is already under contract, in production, or published within the last 12 months. Grants range from $500 to $2,000. The grants can be used to cover a wide range of supports including parental/family care, and translation. More details at the source. Applications are considered on a rolling basis.

Curtis Brown Creatives: Scholarship Opportunities
Curtis Brown Creatives regularly offers scholarships for their courses. Some are London-based and some are online. Right now they have have three scholarships with approaching deadlines: the Breakthrough Scholarship for Writers of Colour, the Breakthrough Scholarship for Crime and Thriller Writers of Colour, and a novel writing for writers of low income. Additional eligibility details are on the website.

Society of Authors: Dursilla Harvey Access Fund
These are small grants for UK-based/British writers, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. “Usual grants will be £150 or less, but fair consideration will be given to all proposals.” Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. (Society of Authors also has awards for works in progress as well as contingency funds – all their grants are here.)

The Writing Barn Scholarship
The Writing Barn has a small but budding scholarship program available for our programming. Scholarships are awarded on the following criteria: seriousness of purpose, talent and financial need. They also offer specific Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity scholarships for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse writers, and writers with disabilities.

Creative Capital, Skoll Foundation, Mellon Foundation: Forward Funds
The crowdsourcing platform for creatives, Kickstarter, now has Forward Funds. Their website says, “Forward Funders are foundations, nonprofits, and organizations that back Kickstarter campaigns related to their visions and missions around a more creative and equitable world. Each Forward Funder makes a public commitment and then backs projects just like anyone else—through single pledges that bring the works one step closer to reality.” One such fund is the $700,000 fund from Creative Capital, Skoll Foundation, and Mellon Foundation. “Creative Capital in collaboration with Skoll Foundation and Mellon Foundation have partnered in this $700,000 fund to support innovative and impactful projects across all categories by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators in the United States (US citizens, permanent residents, and O-1 visa holders).” Projects launched on Kickstarter following their rules are eligible, and creators can nominate themselves for specific Forward Funds. This is for both, creators and organizations.