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
The Deadlands
This is a speculative fiction magazine. For fiction, their guidelines say, “The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve.” They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully. They accept fiction, fiction reprints, poetry, art, and nonfiction. Pay is $0.10/word for original fiction up to 5,000 words, $100 per essay of 1,000-4,000 words, and $50 for poetry. They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully. They are open through December for BIPOC authors only.
Neon Hemlock Press: Baffling Magazine
This is a quarterly online magazine of flash fiction. “We are looking for speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want aro/ace stories. We want indefinable stories. We welcome weird, slipstream, and interstitial writing.” They’re reading unthemed, as well as Sex-themed submissions, until 15th December 2023. They pay $0.08/word for stories up to 1,200 words.
Rough Cut Press: Still
They publish short prose from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose (up to 650 words) on the ‘Still’ theme. They pay $25. The deadline is 27 December 2023.
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.
The Amistad
The Amistad is published by Howard Collage. Their goal “is to elevate the creative voices of the Black diaspora through poetry, fiction, interviews, and art”. They are open to submissions till February 5th. They allow multiple submissions in different genres, which is rare.
Wishbone Words
An online creative writing magazine for chronically ill and disabled writers and artists, they publish a wide range of creative work. All contributors receive free copies. Their family and friends get a discount for that issue as well.
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 unerrepresented 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.)
just femme & dandy: Time Travel
just femme & dandy is a biannual literary & arts magazine for and by the LGBTQIA+ community on fashion; they want work on the ‘Time Travel’ theme. They have detailed guidelines, including, “We want to hear about the historical figures that informed your developing queer/trans styles, what you imagine for our queer future. Think Queerasures & Queertopias: Past, Present, and In Futurity! We’re particularly interested in receiving submissions that considers queer fashion, past, present, or future in terms of climate change and fashion’s role in (un)sustainability. We would love to hear from up and coming drag artists and independent fashion designers. You are welcome to send us submissions outside of the theme, but submissions that relate to the theme are highly encouraged. We accept anything that can be displayed on a website: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, tutorial, illustration, comix, photography, painting, video, drag, costume/fashion designs, hot takes, interviews, and so on!” They pay $50 per text-based submission and up to $150 per multimedia submission (video, photography, image + text, fashion spread + interview, etc.). The submission deadline is 15 January 2024.
Room Magazine: Bodies
They publish fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and art by folks of marginalized genders, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They will begin accepting submissions on the Bodies theme starting 15th November, and the deadline is 5th January 2024; submission will be via Submittable. “We’re seeking writing about touch and isolation, trans and queer embodiment, fat liberation, chronic illness and disability, brutality, sensuality, and other meditations on the bones and muscles you inhabit every day.
What words live in the relationship between your body and other bodies? Between your body and the land beneath it? Explore what it means to feel empowered and grounded in your body—and what it means to feel betrayed by it. Have you ever lost your body to dissociation? Or perhaps to transcendence? The body is a site of self-love, self-hate, and body neutrality alike: accepting loving odes, body horror, and everything in between.” Length guidelines are up to 3,500 words for fiction and creative nonfiction, and up to 5 poems. Pay is CAD50/page, up to CAD200 for print, and CAD75 for reviews and work accepted for online publication. Their Submittable will open for these entries during the reading period.
Moko Magazine
A journal of Caribbean arts and literature, Moko publishes short stories, poems, interviews, essays, reviews of books, art, photography, and other types of visual media about the Caribbean and its diaspora. They are not interested in academic pieces.
Peril
An Asian-Australian journal focused on arts and culture, they pay $75-300 for pieces, but can only guarantee payments for Australian contributors (their submission guidelines have more details about this). The theme of their current issue is “You, where you’re at.” They are open to submissions in creative and new media interpretations of literature, including “those in video, audio and text format, graphic stories, sound or visual art, as long as it can be presented online and has a relationship to story. We accept prose, non-fiction, essays, creative non-fiction, opinion/blog posts, visual art, documentation of performance, videos, audio.” They ask for less than 1,000 words for text submissions and three poems for poetry submissions.
Midnight & Indigo
They only accept work by Black women writers – speculative fiction, character-driven fiction, and essays. They pay $0.08/word for speculative fiction on their website and $200 for works compiled in their anthology, $100 for essays, and $0.08/word for other fiction. They are open to submissions till December 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET. Details here and here.
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.
New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column in the New York Times. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Also, “Love may be universal, but individual experiences can differ immensely and be informed by factors including race, socio-economic status, gender, disability status, nationality, sexuality, age, religion and culture.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, September through December, and March through June. Writers are paid. Send submissions to modernlove (at) nytimes.com. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US. Details here.
(Also see their Tiny Love Stories column; these are also personal essays similar in theme to Modern Love, but much shorter, of 100 words.)
The T4T Project
A zine by and for trans writers and artists of color. They have rolling deadline and feature 20 creators per issue.
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.
NonBinary Review
They are open to submissions from everyone on the themes ‘Old Friends’ (deadline end-January, or until filled), and ‘Heredity’ (deadline end-April, or until filled) – they pay $10-30 for poetry and prose. They also offer advice on submitting to journals in general through their Dear Horace Greeley column, and also accept submissions for Visual Verse. You can learn more about all of these on their Submittable page. They also offer free Feedback for Poets of Color, which is just what it sounds like. Writers of color may submit one poem, up to 50 lines, for consideration. Two poets per month will be accepted, and the Poetry Editors will work with those two poets to edit, improve, and strengthen their work. Acceptances are done on the first of the month, although submissions are open year-round.
Gay Flash Fiction
They welcome submissions on any theme and in any genre, as long as there is a is a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex connection. Please only submit one story at a time. They are also open to poems under 500 words in length, as well as related artwork.
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. They are currently looking for submissions on the ‘Species’ theme, as well as unthemed work.
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.
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.
Aurelia
Aurelia publishes the nonfiction work of marginalized genders: women, non-binary people and trans men. “Aurelia is a publication dedicated to personal thoughts, feelings and experiences. The things you think and the way you feel must be at the centre of your piece. All article submissions must be written in the first-person (“I think, I feel, I want…”)” Please send them pitches only, not unsolicited submissions. They pay £50. Details on how to pitch are here.
African Writer
They are open to all genres of literature from Africa and the African Diaspora. They do not allow simultaneous submissions.
Djed Press
This journal is based in Australia and they “prioritise submissions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, on whose land we live and work and whose sovereignty has never been ceded.” They only accept submissions from “Australian and/or Australia-based Bla(c)k and other POC creators.” They really stress that work is likely to be edited and that you shouldn’t submit if you are not comfortable with that. Pay is AUD50-150 for text.
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”.
The Awakenings Review
The Awakenings Review is a project of The Awakenings Project. Established in cooperation with the University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation in 2000, this print journal accepts poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from writers that have a personal connection to mental illness.
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 $100. 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 Woman 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.
Tangled Laces
A magazine focused on publishing writing by queer teen authors between the ages of 14-18.
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.
Afternoon Visitor
This is an online quarterly publication of poetry, hybrid text, visual poetry, and visual art, and they’re particularly interested in giving space to trans + queer writers in each issue.
Class Collective
Their website says, this is “An annual literary magazine that illuminates the class struggle(s) hidden in the shadows of our culture.” They accept submissions from all writers. They publish poetry, including visual poetry (up to 5 poems), fiction (up to 5,000 words), essays (pitches and submissions), and commentary — writing that has a class-based perspective on politics and culture. Pay is CAD10 for poetry and CAD20 for prose. Submissions are open on a rolling basis.
Reappropriate
Reappropriate is an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) race advocacy and feminism blog, focusing on race, gender, identity, Asian American history, and current events. Pay is $75-150 for work of 800-2,500 words.
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.
— The State of LGBT Rights: What’s next for the movement?
— The Travel Issue: The role of travel in LGBT culture and community
— The Age of Innocence: Gay life in the time of Wilde
— The Great Transformation: From bar culture to hookup world
— LGBT Science: New research on gender & sexual orientation
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.
the archipelago
They publish creative work that rewrites the map. Rewriting the map may involve oceans; islands; travel; movement; the decolonial/transcolonial; multilingualism; geography; cartography; displacement; relationships between unlikely places. They primarily publish short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction essays, fine art, photography, film. They publish work in فارسی , اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ , Somali, မြန်မာဘာသာ, bahasa Indonesia, español, français and English. While they prioritize writers of color they are open to submissions from all. They pay for accepted work and also have an ongoing mentorship program which you can learn about at the bottom of this page. To submit, visit the link and email pitches@thearchipelago.org.
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.
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 $20 for poetry and $30 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
Neon Hemlock Press: We’re Here – The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2023
This is a reprint anthology. They want “The best speculative stories published in 2023 under 17,500 words that implicitly or explicitly explores queerness and/or transness.” Pay is $0.01/word. The deadline is 31 December 2023. Details here and here.
Thinking Ink Press: Neurodiverse Anthology
They want submissions for a science fiction anthology – “stories, flash fiction, poetry, and art exploring encounters between neurodivergent people and neurodivergent aliens.” And, “The universe is filled with aliens—creatures with different histories, cultures, and even biologies—who may seem strange to us. But our world is filled with a diversity of people, many of whom find each other strange. One particular group finds the rest of humanity especially strange: neurodivergent people. Would neurodivergent folks find themselves at an advantage in dealing with aliens?” They want fiction up to 6,000 words, and poetry up to 100 lines. Pay is $50 for flash fiction and poetry, $100 for short fiction. The deadline is 31 December 2023.
Blue Cactus
They accept submissions for full-length manuscripts by women, transgender and gender-nonconforming People of Color in the Pacific Northwest on a rolling basis. They are not interested in receiving manuscript submissions from someone who doesn’t match this description. Their focus is primarily on non-fiction work including poetry.
Want That Twink OBLITERATED! Anthology
They want “pulp-inspired science fiction, fantasy and horror that explores or subverts classic genre tropes through queer protagonists and villains, particularly those who are non-traditionally masculine.” They have detailed guidelines, including, “IWTTO! is seeking classic pulp adventures centring non-traditionally masculine queer heroes and villains. … Whether fantasy, science-fiction or horror, we want to prove that hetero himbos don’t hold a monopoly on giant swords. We want out and proud thrill-rides starring queers who don’t give a fuck what society says. Smash systems, kiss boys, be gay do crime. … Bring us your femboy starship captains, bring us to trans berserkers fuelled by queer rage, bring us your literal demon twinks. Most of all, bring us stories that make you shriek…” And, “The editors are particularly interested in submissions from trans, non-binary, or intersex writers; aro or ace writers; disabled writers; neurodiverse writers; black, south asian, or east asian writers; or other writers of colour.” Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 6,000 words (see guidelines for their preferred length). The deadline is 17 December 2023. Details here and here.
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.
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.
Peepal Tree Press
The world’s leading publisher of Caribbean and Black British writing publishes around 15 titles a year. They try to respond to all submissions within 20 weeks.
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.
Forever
The romance imprint of Hachette Book Group and Grand Central Publishing is open to direct submissions from BIPOC-identifying authors.
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
International Women’s Media Foundation: Kim Wall Memorial Fund
This grant is for women or nonbinary journalists with one or more years of professional experience working in news media from anywhere in the world. “The IWMF’s Kim Wall Memorial Fund will provide $5,000 grants to journalists whose work embodies the spirit of Kim’s reporting. The grant will fund women or non-binary reporters covering subculture, broadly defined, and what Kim liked to call “the undercurrents of rebellion.” The deadline is 17 December 2023. Details here. (See more of IWMF’s programs/grants/awards here.)
Lilith Magazine Fiction Contest
This magazine publishes work of interest to Jewish women. They like work with both feminist and Jewish content. Submit fiction up to 3,000 words. The prize is $300, and the deadline is 31 December 2023.
The Caribbean Writer Prizes
Their website says, “The Caribbean Writer (TCW) has issued a call for submissions for Volume 38 under the 2024 theme: Legacies: Reckoning and Resolve. We inherit the legacies of our those who march before us, if not directly, some other way and so reckoning has become a way of life. Some suggests that what will save us is our resolve.
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 prizes range from $300 to $600. The deadline is 31 December 2023. Details here and here.
Kinsman Quarterly: Iridescence Award
This is an award for short stories and poetry by BIPOC authors. “Themes should include the supernatural, extraterrestrial, or the paranormal. Prizes include publication in the Iridescence anthology with cash awards up to $500. … Genres include, but are not limited to, fantasy, folk mythology, science fiction, and the paranormal.”
The prizes are $500, $250, and $100; and finalists receive gift cards. The deadline is 31 December 2023.
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.” The prize is $500, and the deadline is 31 December 2023.
Discoveries 2024
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 women writers, for a novel-in-progress (adult fiction) – send the first 10,000 words and a synopsis. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets literary representation. There are also non-cash prizes for shortlisted and longlisted writers. The prize is £5,000, and the deadline is 8 January 2024.
MN BIPOC Emerging Writer Awards
The award will be judged by poet, essayist, literary critic, and arts educator Michael Kleber-Diggs. Writers must submit flash fiction, flash creative nonfiction or poetry. Three winners will recieve 1,000 dollars each. There will be one winner in each category. It is only open to authors who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Color and have a history of producing artistic work, but have not published their first book. Writers must have lived in Minnesota for a t least 6 months prior. Work will also be featured in the Blue Earth Review. Additional restrictions and details are on the website Submissions close January 31st, 2024.
“Miss Sarah” Fellowship for Black Women Writers
Run by Trillum Arts North Carolina, this fellowships goal is to provide Black women writers a restful environment conducive to reflection and writing. This year the fellow will be a fiction writer. Black women fiction writers at any stage of their careers are invited to apply there are no residency restrictions but applicants outside of the United States must pay for their travel to the United States, as travel expenses will only be covered within the United States. The selected writer will receive a ten-day solo residency in July 2024 and can choose whether to stay at Trillium Arts’ rural “Firefly Creek” apartment or at E. Patrick Johnson and Stephen Lewis’ “Montford Manor” residence. Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend and transportation to and from Asheville, NC. Additional benefits will be custom tailored to the needs of the awardee. The Deadline is Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 11:59pm EST.
Pulitzer Center: Connected Coastlines Grants
This is an opportunity for US-based journalists. The Pulitzer Center is seeking applications from journalists who want to report stories as part of Connected Coastlines, a nationwide climate reporting initiative in U.S. coastal states. This initiative is building a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across the U.S. to report on the local effects of erratic weather patterns on coastal populations using the latest climate science. “This opportunity is open to all U.S.-based journalists with a plan to publish or broadcast their climate stories with a newsroom based in a U.S. coastal state or region. We strongly encourage proposals from journalists and newsrooms who represent a broad array of social, racial, ethnic, underrepresented groups, and economic backgrounds.” And, “We are eager to receive proposals from staff journalists and freelancers who wish to report on coastal stories, underpinned by recent climate science, data, or research, for publication or broadcast by small and regional news outlets in U.S. coastal states.” They prioritize proposals that can be completed, including publication, in 1-4 months. The ideal range for most awards will be $2,000 to $8,000. Grants are open now and approved on a rolling basis.
Dragonblade Publishing: Historical Romance Contest
This is a contest for a historical romance manuscript, and they want submissions from all writers, including those writing LGBTQ+ romance. The first prize is $1,000 and publishing, and the deadline is 1 February 2024.
Poetry Northwest: James Welch Prize
The James Welch Prize is awarded yearly for two outstanding poems, each written by an emerging Indigenous poet who are community recognized members of a tribe based within the United States and its trust terriroties. In addition small group of finalists is selected for print and/or online publication alongside the winner. The two winning poets will be featured in a reading with the judge and the reading will “include travel, lodging, and a very celebratory welcome for the winners”. It opens to submissions on December 15th, 2023, and will close to submissions on February 15th, 2024.
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.
Forward Funds: Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Creator Fund
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 $500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Fund. This backs projects by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators in the US on the crowdfunding platform – “Effective immediately, funds will be awarded on an ongoing basis to creators with active projects across all of Kickstarter’s categories: Arts, Comics & Illustration, Design & Tech, Film, Food & Craft, Games, Music, and Publishing.” Projects launched on Kickstarter following their rules are eligible, and creators can nominate themselves for specific Forward Funds via a form. This is for both, creators and organizations.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2023 Guide to Manuscript Publishers. She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.
