The First Line: “In the six years I spent tracking David Addley, it never occurred to me that he didn’t exist.”

The First Line is a literary journal that publishes short stories that stem from a common first line; it also provides a forum for discussing favorite first lines in literature. All stories must be written with the first line provided. The line cannot be altered in any way, unless otherwise noted by the editors.

All short stories with the first line “In the six years I spent tracking David Addley, it never occurred to me that he didn’t exist.” must be submitted by November 1, 2016.

The first line pays $25-$50 to all fiction contributors. To learn more, visit their website here.

Jenny:  Women

Jenny, an online literary journal published by YSU is putting together an issue featuring work by writers who identify as women. The deadline is September 10th.

To learn more visit their website here.

Eyedrum Periodically: Fusion

Eyedrum Periodically is seeking works of poetry, fiction, essay, drama, visual art, including graphic art and comics, multimedia, and genre-defying oeuvres concerned with the theme, Fusion. All submissions must be made by September 5th.

The theme should be interpreted as broadly as possible: fusion of genres, of subject matter, of cuisines, of nuclei. Collaborative projects will be given special consideration insofar as they represent a synergistic fusion of different media, subjects, genres, etc. We welcome the work of writers and artists with extensive publication credits or none at all., as well as those with non-traditional backgrounds.

Learn more at their website.

Here are four prestigious free-to-enter writing competitions. They cover literary fiction, arts writing, cultural diversity, and science fiction/fantasy. Note that three of the contests require already published books and one is only interested in unpublished work.

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction:

This is one of America’s foremost awards for literary fiction, and is now open for entries. The winner receives $15,000, and other four finalists receive $5,000 each. Any book of fiction – short story collection, novella, or novel – written by an author who is a living American citizen and published between January 1 and December 31, 2106, is eligible. Self-published books are not.
There are no submission fees or application forms. All submissions must be post-marked October 31, 2016.
Details here: http://www.penfaulkner.org/award-for-fiction/submission-guidelines/

Marfield Prize/National Award for Arts Writing:

The Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is for nonfiction books about the arts written for a broad audience. Intended to help increase access to the arts, the prize celebrates prose that is lucid, luminous, clear, and inspiring—writing that creates a strong connection with arts and artists.

The prize of $10,000 honors nonfiction books first published in the U.S., by a single author who is living at the time of the book’s nomination.
Books must be nonfiction titles written in English by a single, living author, originally published in the United States in 2016. Books may be about any artistic discipline (visual, literary, performing, or media arts, as well as cross-disciplinary works). They seek art history and criticism, biographies and memoirs, and essays.
Nominations must be received by October 1, 2016.

Details here: http://artsclubofwashington.org/public-programs-2/award-for-arts-writing/award-guidelines/

The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards:

This recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of cultural diversity.  Awards are given for fiction, poetry and nonfiction.

Books must be written in English and published and copyrighted in 2016 to be eligible for the 2017 prize. Award recipients traditionally receive $10,000 from the Anisfield-Wolf Fund. Now in its 81st year, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards continues to be the only American book award designed specifically to recognize works addressing issues of racism and diversity.

Submissions will be accepted from September 1 to December 31.

Details here: http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/submissions/submission-guidelines/

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers & Illustrators of the Future contest:

This is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy.
The contest is open only to those who have not professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium. Entries must be works of prose, up to 17,000 words in length.

The contest has four annual contests periods, beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1. The year will end on September 30. To be eligible for judging in each quarterly contest, an entry must be postmarked or received electronically no later than midnight on the last day of the quarter. Late entries will be included in the following contest.

The prizes, every three months, are $1,000, $750, $500, and there is an additional annual prize of $5,000.

Their website says that winners have gone on to publish over 700 novels and 3,000 short stories, and have appeared on international bestseller lists, even reaching the #1 slot on the New York Times and London Sunday Times.

Details here: http://www.writersofthefuture.com/contest-rules-writers/

They are currently accepting art, nonfiction, and short story submissions. Short stories and nonfiction must be between 1000 and 22,000 words in length. They pay above SFWA rates for the work they publish.

They respond to most submissions within a month. They ask that you do not query about a submission until two weeks have passed.

It should go without saying that Clarkesworld Magazine rejects the vast majority of what is submitted to them. They are a highly respected, well paying, genre magazine.

All stories should work in audio format as well, even though they are submitted in text. They should be well written and easy to read on a screen because most readers will be reading a digital version.

The editors have put together a long list of hard sells – story topics that they generally do not want to see, although you might be able to convince the editor that your particular take on the topic is worth it. The list includes zombies, cannibalism and approximately 50 other things, so read it carefully before submitting.

They have an easy to use submission manager. They do not accept simultaneous submissions. They ask that you wait at least 7 days after being rejected to submit again.

To learn more about their submission guidelines, visit their submission guidelines here.