Opportunities: July 2020

As we enter July life still seems to be hanging in a weird purgatory between normality and pandemic lockdown. Shops are re-opening, the beaches are busy and yet we are still avoiding our parents to keep them safe. Writing can be used as a means of escape during these strange times both for ourselves as the authors and our readers as the audience. So where do we get our inspiration?

As you know Thanet Writers run a number of groups: Thanet Writers Critique group, Writers’ Gremlins, Julie’s Journaling and Dead Hoarse Writers. However, due to the current Covid restrictions these are not able to meet at this time, but fear not, you can still get help and advice from your friendly writers group. The website publishes an article every day including essays, short stories, interviews with authors, investigations and so much more. If you only read these articles online and haven’t visited the site, then have a look: you might be surprised at how much information there is at your fingertips. If you can’t find what you need, let us know, and we will point you in the right direction.

Of course, in order to publish something every day we need the material to do so. That is where you, and your newly acquired spare time, come in.

Thanet Writers pay to publish and are open for submissions of short stories, poetry, essays, and book reviews. There is no charge for submissions, previously published items are accepted, and to make it even more tempting you will be paid £10 for any piece that is accepted. At this current time we need more short stories than ever to keep everyone amused, so keep them coming in!

You can submit here.

Once inspiration has struck and our work is ready to be released into the world we need somewhere to send it. Here are a few opportunities for July to get you started.

Short Stories

With each month bringing a new challenge this year, it is easy to feel a little out of control. Why not put these feelings into a short story and submit it to Whiskey Tit. This literary journal aims to:

…restore degradation and degeneracy to the literary arts. We are unwilling to sacrifice intellectual rigour, unrelenting playfulness, and visual beauty, often leading to texts that would otherwise be abandoned in a homogenised literary landscape. In a world gone mad, our refusal to make this sacrifice is an act of civil service and civil disobedience alike, and our work reflects this.

They are looking for short stories of no more than 5000 words and flash fiction up to 600 words of any genre. They do not like bigotry or monotony. They will respond within two months and ask that you query if you have not heard from them within this time.

Payment will be discussed upon acceptance for First North American Serial Rights.

For further information or to submit work go to: Whiskey Tit.

Our second opportunity for fiction is for Fractured Lit. They welcome micro fiction under 400 words and flash fiction of 401-1000 words. They say:

We want to find flash with emotional resonance, characters we care about, who come to life through their actions and responses to the world around them. We’re searching for Flash that investigates the mysteries of being human, the sorrow and the joy of connecting to the diverse population around us.

You can submit up to two stories at a time and there is no submission fee. They would like you to include a cover letter including a brief third person bio, the name of your story and a word count.

They pay their authors $50 for original micro fiction and $75 for original flash fiction. Submissions must be made through Submittable.

For further information go to:Fractured Lit

Poetry

If you are in the mood for pitting your poetic wits against others then our first poetry opportunity this month is for the Buzzwords Poetry Competition 2020.

The proceeds from the competition will be used to help fund the Cheltenham based poetry organisation Buzzwords who work with the community to run gatherings, open mic nights and workshops. Therefore a £4.35 entry fee will be charged per poem submitted.

However, they have a decent prize fund of £600 for first place, £200 for second place and £50 to an additional five commended poets.

Poems must be no longer than 70 lines and formatted with margins large enough for the judges to write in. They should be in a clear font size 12, preferably Arial. As the competition is marked blind no identifying features should be on the entry attachment but contained in a covering email including name, phone number, address, email address and the names of the poems entered.

All work should be previously unpublished.

The deadline for submission is 22nd August. For further information or to enter go to: Buzzword Poetry.

The next opportunity is for the online literary magazine Scrittura who are now open until the 31st July to submissions for their twentieth edition.

They accept all poetry providing that it is previously unpublished and your own work. They ask that you do not send in more than three pieces at a time.

In a covering email they would like to know your name, if you have had any work published elsewhere, if you are a student and the name of your university and if you are a member of a writers’ group and which one. They regret that they are unable to offer payment for poems published at this time.

For further information or to submit work go to: Scrittura.

Non-Fiction

If non-fiction is more your style then Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism are open for submissions. They would like essays 1500 – 3000 words in length and say that:

Areas of particular focus and interest include activism, art and environment, art history, book arts, contemporary art, digital and new media, gender studies, media archaeology, politics, queer cultures and media, race and ethnicity, religion and visual culture, television, and video games.

They request that you send a brief abstract of no more than 250 words describing your work and add three key words. They accept both solicited and open submissions but advise that you inquire with the editor about the journal’s potential interest in essays prior to open submission.

Payment is $150 for published essays. For further information and to read their detailed author guidelines go here.

Highlight

How does a £20,000 cash prize, a mentoring session with a Kindle Direct Publishing bestselling author and a marketing campaign to support your book on Amazon sound? This is what is being offered as first prize in the 2020 Kindle Storyteller Award, not to mention that each finalist will receive a Kindle Oasis E-Reader.

They say:

The prize is open to anyone over the age of 18 who publishes their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk between 1st May and 31st August 2020. All titles must be entered into the KDP Select programme for the entry period in order to be considered and must be published in print and digital formats.

Books can be any genre and must be at least 24 pages long when printed. The entry is free and the deadline is 31st August.

For further details, to read their terms and conditions or read about the judges go to: Amazon.

Good luck for any opportunities that you submit to this month. Don’t forget to check out the Thanet Writers website for any additional advice that you may need before we all meet again. Until then enjoy the sun but remember to stay safe.