VOLUME 25, ISSUE 7 | February 14, 2025 |
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY While Valentine's Day tends to be about partners in love, I like to think of it more along the lines of Christmas, where people are just nicer to each other. We exchange sweets and hearts and
flowers and just show gladness that someone else is alive it show it to. Even if it's no more than saying Happy Valentine's Day, just say it to someone. Make their day brighter. They will smile. They could probably use that smile. Innocent tokens of appreciation are meant to tell people that
they are capable of being loved. That's it. Even if they are not your significant other, give them a card, a handwritten poem, a piece of chocolate, or a flower. It might not cost you a penny in cost, but the effort will be worth so much. Be kind on Valentine's Day. Kindness is needed more than ever these days. Give it to someone without expectation of anything in return. It will do you both
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Deadline: February 27, 2025 Entries are now being accepted for the 2025 Next Generation
Short Story Awards, a not-for-profit international awards program for authors of short stories. The Short Story Awards offers 30+ categories to choose from and accepts original, unpublished stories (5000 words or less) written in English by authors in the U.S., Canada, or internationally. Take advantage of this exciting opportunity to have your story considered for 30+ cash prizes, gold medals, complimentary
gold digital stickers, literary exposure and recognition as one of the top stories of the year! Winners in each of the 30+ categories will have their story published in an annual Anthology of Winners (you maintain copyright) and will receive a complimentary copy of the Anthology of Winners. Three Finalists in each of the 30+ categories will have their author name and story title mentioned in the Anthology
of Winners. Three Grand Prize Winners selected from all entries will be invited to attend the Next Generation Indie Book Awards annual gala. Enter today at www.ShortStoryAwards.com. The Short Story Awards is brought to you by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards ( www.indiebookawards.com), the largest international book awards program in the world
for independent and self-published authors. WHO YOU KNOW
I love today's feature piece by Dan Brotzel. We've known each other for a few years, strictly online. He once asked me to review his book, and I did. He pitched some
pieces to me back then as well. We became an online acquaintance. Then he went his way and I went mine. A year ago, I saw his name in a magazine, reached out and said hi. Nothing much happened after that. But then his publisher recently asked me to review his new book. And in a chagrinned way, Dan
reached out to see if I needed an article since he'd returned to freelancing. He was worried it had been too long. On the other hand, I was thrilled to hear from someone who had successfully written for FundsforWriters and knew how to put ideas together. I recalled he understood guidelines and followed them. He had smart ideas. Of course I welcomed him back. And I bought the first piece he pitched.
He's in the process of pitching others to me. You do not have to maintain a daily ritualistic reaching out to all of your contacts. And it's never too long since the last communication to reach out again. If you were a quality contractor, writer, advertiser, person to do business with . . . if you were an interesting person to just talk with . . . if you built a trust with that person over anything
once upon a time, the party is still open for contact. Quality is remembered. Sincerity is remembered. Manners are remembered.
NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSONS - SHOWDATE IS SEPTEMBER 2025
Seeking original vignettes inspired by the classic nursery rhyme: "Monday’s Child" Contest
Rules: No more than 10 minutes in length, 10 pages maximum, no more than 3 characters and a theme. Each vignette should focus on an adult who embodies a “child” from the rhyme below. Monday’s child is fair of face Tuesday’s child is full of grace Wednesday’s child is full of woe Thursday’s child has far to go Friday’s child is loving and giving Saturday’s child works hard for a living And the child that is born on the Sabbath day...Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay. 7 vignettes will be selected for production. No children’s theatre, musicals, or child-centered stories, please. Absurd,
Comedic, Dark, Dramatic, Farce, Tragedy...literal or figurative, that is up to you!! Work must be original and unproduced. Submission Rules: The cover page should only have the play’s title. On a separate page include playwrights name, address, phone and email. These do not count as part of the 10 pages. Please send scripts in a word document. The play's title should reflect the day of the week you are writing about. (Monday's Child, Thursday's Child or Sunday's Child/Child born on the Sabbath Day, etc. Entry Fee: $15 in a money order or check payable to Emerald Theatre Company OR sent via CashApp at
$EmeraldTheatreMphs. Entry fee covers production costs and printing of scripts. Deadline: May 31, 2025. Winners contacted and announced July 1, 2025, and the play festival is September 2025. Once payment is received and verified, playwrights will be notified, and scripts will be printed. Prizes : 1st - $100 plus a medal plus stage performances 2nd - $50 plus a medal, plus stage performances 3rd - a medal plus stage performance Full details at www.etcmemphistheater.com -March 18, 2025 - Readers and Writers Group, Lizards Thicket, 10170 Two Notch Road, Columbia, SC 29229 - 11:30AM -March 22, 2025 - Writer's Digest Mystery/Thriller Writing Virtual Conference - "Person, Place, or Crime: Where to Start Your Mystery" - 1PM Eastern -March 29, 2025 - Read Freely Fest, Richland County Library, 1431 Assembly St., Columbia, SC -April 23, 2025 - Artist 5 Show, Newberry Opera House, Newberry, SC - 6
PM Eastern - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -May 3, 2025 - Pelion Library Book Club, 206 Pine St, Pelion, SC, Saturday, 1-2PM Eastern -May 17, 2025 - Speaking of Writing Expo, New
Bern, NC - 8-4:30PM Eastern - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -June 7-14, 2025 - Gutsy Great Novelist
Retreat, Bar Harbor, Maine
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise.
"Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on."
- Louis L’Amour
<<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com >>
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Tips from a Reluctant Networker
By Dan Brotzel I was recently made redundant from my day job so am now, at the age of 56, back out there having to hustle for freelance work. I naturally began to reach out to my so-called network. But I quickly realised that I haven't been great at nurturing contacts and keeping in touch
with people over the years. It’s a bit like my performance on social media. As writers we’re constantly told we need to self-promote, but I always feel uncomfortable and a bit imposter-ish putting myself out there. And as I’ve had two books to promote recently, I’ve been forcing myself to be especially annoying. When networking or posting, I think things like: Surely people are
sick of me by now? Is anyone even looking at these posts? I feel like I’m constantly begging it, as my teen daughters would say. I looked up former clients and business contacts, people I once hired or were hired by. But so many of these relationships were so dormant it felt nakedly desperate. There is no easy way to message someone out of the blue after five years and lay claim to a fond friendship that has mysteriously lain dormant until
the moment when, quite coincidentally, you just happen to be desperate for work. That saying about how you treat people on the way up… reverberated around my head. Like me, I'm sure many people feel uncomfortable about reaching out to people to ask for work when they haven't spoken in ages. It can feel fake or desperate or cynical. But a strange thing happened. I've discovered – it's OK. Late or sporadic networking is better than no
networking. I’ve got some potential big projects to do this month from a man I reached out to on LinkedIn that I haven’t spoken to in at least 10 years. He happens to be someone who posts frequently about the powers of networking and is always receptive to people who reach out. His deceptively simple mantra is: ‘be seen and make friends’. Part of the problem, he thinks, is that
networking relationships tend towards the transactional, whereas ‘they don’t have to start with an exchange of value. Sometimes, they’re simply about connection, curiosity, and a genuine affinity’. And rather than worrying what the other person might think, he says we should just get on with it. ‘In reality, most people are just as open to being approached as you are — and, frankly, many are just as unsure about how to
start. ‘The best thing you can offer someone isn’t always advice, access, or solutions. Sometimes, it’s as simple as showing genuine interest, asking thoughtful questions, showing up.’ And what’s the worst that can happen? Nothing much. You might get ignored, but so what. And if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
So true. I always had an
affinity with this person, and when we sense an affinity with someone it’s rarely one-way. So even if there’d be nothing transactional that came out of our re-connecting, it was really just nice to have a Zoom catch-up. And I’ve realised it’s OK to be a reluctant, tardy networker. It’s OK to get in touch with people only when you need something, if you go about it the right way – be honest and real. People have often approached me like this
over the years, come to think of it, and I’ve helped where I could; I’ve certainly never been offended. It’s all just business, after all, it’s all just life. Most people will get this, because most people have been slightly desperate and rather poor networkers at one time or another too. They’ve been where you are. BIO - Dan Brotzel’s latest novel is Thank You For The Days.
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GUTSY GREAT NOVELIST CHAPTER ONE PRIZE $20 ENTRY FEE. Submissions open February 3 – Mar
3, 2025 (5PM ET). The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding opening chapter of an unpublished novel. First prize is $1,000; 2nd is $500; 3rd is $250. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers. DIANA WOODS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR NONFICTION
https://lunchticket.org/contests/dwm/
Reading period month of February. Creative nonfiction authors are invited to submit work of up to 3,500 words on the subject of their choice to be considered for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction. Winners will receive $250 and their work will be featured in the next issue of Lunch Ticket. Each award recipient must submit a 100-word biography, current photo, and send a brief note of thanks to the Woods family. IMAGINE LITTLE TOKYO SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://www.littletokyohs.org/imagine-2024
Deadline February 28, 2025. The story must be original, fictional, written in either
Japanese or English by the submitting author and never been published (even online). Submitted manuscript should be 2,500 words or less for English or 5,000 ji or less for Japanese and have a title. If your submitted short story wins first place for the Youth, English Language or Japanese Language categories, you will receive a monetary prize of $500 after providing an e-mail of acceptance and biographical information for publication purposes. TORONTO STAR SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/01/03/3004034/0/en/Toronto-Star-and-Toronto-Public-Library-Launch-2025-Short-Story-Contest.html
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 26, 2025. Open to Ontario residents 16 years of age or older. One of the biggest prizes in Canada for a short story contest, with the first-place winner receiving $5,000. In addition to seeing their story in the largest newspaper and on
one of the most-visited websites in Canada, the winner also gets to study with some of the country’s best creative writing teachers. Part of the top prize includes the tuition fee for one of two programs at the Humber School for Writers, either the Creative Writing Graduate program, which has an approximate retail value of $3,895, or the Summer Workshop in Creative Writing, valued at $1,665. The second-place winner receives a cash prize of $2,000 and the third-place winner will be awarded
$1,000. All three winners will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges. WATERMAN FUND ESSAY CONTEST
https://www.watermanfund.org/essay-contest/enter-essay-contest/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2025. Since 2008, Appalachia, the mountaineering and conservation journal published by the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Waterman Fund have joined to sponsor an annual essay contest for emerging writers. Writers who have not published a major work of fiction or narrative nonfiction on topics of wilderness, wildness, or the ethics and ecology of environmental issues are eligible. The Waterman Fund provides generous
prize money of $3,000 for the first-place essay selection and $1,000 for a runner-up. Submissions should be 2000-3000 words. NAOMI SHIHAB NYE PRIZE
https://www.albustanseeds.org/naomi-shihab-nye-prize
$25 ENTRY FEE. Opens March 1. Deadline May 20, 2025. Open to Arab American and Arab Canadian writers to submit an English-language middle-grade manuscripts directed to readers ages 8–12. This competition, initiated by Barbara Nimri Aziz, serves to foster new talent and encourage all writers, emerging and established, to celebrate the richness of Arab
creativity and their storytelling tradition. First prize: $1,000; second: $500. Minimum 200 pages.
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING INDIANA LAWYERS FOR THE ARTS
https://indianalegalhelp.org/
Pro Bono Indiana's Lawyers for the Arts project provides legal assistance at no cost to artists
and small arts organizations. To obtain help, please call 812.402.6303. Calls from artists and small arts organizations are taken on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Central Time). Support for this service is provided by the Indiana Bar Foundation. MARYLAND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
https://msac.org/programs/professional-development/professional-development-opportunity-grant
Deadline April 30, 2025. The Professional Development Opportunity Grant assists artists in embracing growth, learning, and discovery for economic sustainability. Limit
$2,000. VERMONT ARTS COUNCIL GRANTS
https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/grants/find-a-grant/artists/creation/
Deadline April 8,
2025. The Vermont Arts Council is now accepting applications for its annual Creation Grant, which supports artists or artist groups in creating new work. Grant funds may be used to compensate artists for time spent creating new work, to purchase materials, or to rent equipment or space for the process. NEVADA ARTIST PROJECT GRANTS
https://www.nvartscouncil.org/fy26-project-grant-for-artists-guidelines/
Deadline March 3, 2025. Up to $3,000. Supports individual artists in the production and/or presentation of artistic projects. Must be a current Nevada resident and have been in residence for at least one year
prior to the date of the grant application. Must be a U.S. citizen or have legal permanent resident status. Must be at least 21 years old. UTAH ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
https://artsandmuseums.utah.gov/fellowship/
Deadline March 7, 2025. The Utah Artist Fellowships are $5,000 unrestricted awards that recognize the careers of Utah artists demonstrating exceptional creativity in their fields. Fellows are selected by out-of-state arts professionals based on evaluation of application narratives as well as work samples from the past five years. We seek to support professional and
committed individual artists reaching pivotal moments in their artistic practices and encourage their career advancement. Five fellowships will be awarded in each of these categories: Design Arts, Literary Arts, Performing Arts (Theatre), Visual Arts.
NEW ORLEANS REVIEW
https://www.neworleansreview.org/submit/
Submit fiction pieces up to 5,000 words. Flash fiction welcome, but only one piece at
a time. No previously published work (online or in print). Simultaneous submissions are okay. Honorarium is $300, regardless of length. Submit nonfiction pieces up to 5,000 words. Flash nonfiction welcome, but only one piece at a time. No previously published work (online or in print). Simultaneous submissions are okay. Honorarium is $300, regardless of length. Submit up to five pages of poems. No previously published work (online or in print). Simultaneous submissions are okay. Honorarium is
$100, regardless of length. Submissions also are open year round for Fiction, Poetry and Nonfiction for our biannual issues! THE NEW QUARTERLY
https://tnq.ca/submit/
Fiction and Nonfiction: $350.
Poetry and Postscripts: $75 per piece. The New Quarterly publishes Short Fiction, Poetry, Postscripts, and Nonfiction. The New Quarterly has a range of nonfiction series that focus on the writing life: Day Jobs, In Conversation, On Writing, Soundings, The Writer at Large, and Word & Image. We seek to nurture emerging writers by publishing and promoting their work alongside established writers, whose works are familiar and respected in the Canadian literary arena. FLASH FICTION ONLINE
https://ffo.submittable.com/submit
Submission dates: Feb 1-28, 2025 all genres, Apr 1-30, 2025 special call for Wilderness Horror; all other genres accepted in open call, May 1-31, 2025 open to
reprints & special call for Family-centered spec fic, Jul 1-31, 2025 TBD, Oct 1-31, 2025 TBD. We are looking for complete 500- to 1000-word stories with crisp prose, well-developed characters, compelling plots, and satisfying resolutions. We publish across many genres, including speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary fiction. BOOK XI
https://www.bookxi.org/submit
Please submit only one prose manuscript or up to five poems for each issue. We pay $200 for each piece that we publish (or $50 for each poem we publish). We are generally looking for pieces that are between 1,000 and 5,000 words. TOPIC: Things (submission period January
1, 2025-March 1, 2025 at 9 am Eastern Time or until the submission cap of 300 is met). THE JUGGERNAUT
https://www.thejuggernaut.com
A magazine dedicated to global South Asians. You do not
have to be South Asian to write for them, but you should have an interest and curiosity in South Asian news and culture. Our editorial sections include (but are not limited to): Culture, History, Food, Business, Science + Health, Politics, Technology. Your reporting should follow our editorial tone — smart, nuanced, and skeptical. We assign reported features (1300-2000 words) and the occasional column (op-eds, essays, photo essays). Please include a hed/title, dek/subtitle, angle, and (brief!)
description of the story you want to tell, a few sentences on how you plan to report it, and links to previous articles you’ve published. Pitches without this information will be harder to approve. Takes up to two weeks to respond. Pays $250 and up for articles. FREELANCE CONSPIRACY WRITER
https://www.simplyhired.com/job/2MveiuTlmF4qxRBUDHr13oATcuq17sOoKYnTGMGtIagC5f-TBYISkw
We are looking for a creative and investigative conspiracy writer to produce thought-provoking content on historical mysteries, hidden truths, and fringe theories. The ideal candidate is skilled at
weaving facts, speculation, and engaging narratives to captivate readers interested in exploring the unknown. $20.62 - $23.57 an hour. Fulltime or parttime.
JACKLEG PRESS
https://jacklegpress.org/info
JackLeg Press is now open for submissions. We invite you to visit our Submittable page and send us your query.
Currently, we are focused on publishing works by U.S.-based writers. FERNWOOD PRESS
https://www.fernwoodpress.com/submissions/
We seek to publish the very best poetry, especially
from previously unpublished and lesser-known authors. We select manuscripts through an open submissions process that occurs year-round. Manuscripts should be 50 to 100 pages of poetry. CIRCLING RIVERS
https://circlingrivers.com/submissions/
We publish poetry and nonfiction on literary topics. We’re drawn to the author, known or unknown, whose work offers insight and depth, beautiful writing, and the wondrous absorption of reading. Circling Rivers does not publish books, including poetry chapbooks, under 76 pages. For nonfiction, we consider works that reflect on the arts, especially literature. Our fiction imprint, gertrude m
books, is not currently open for submissions. BOTTOM DOG PRESS
https://smithdocs.net/who_we_are_mission_staff_guidelines
We believe in a sense of place and person,
in writing that reveals through its directness an essential human story. We also support the history and development of Working Class Literature and Appalachian Literature, and we work to provide outlets for that writing and information on that vital art. We do not do chapbooks; a minimum book needs to be at least 80 pages long. AT BAY PRESS
https://atbaypress.com/submissions
Prefers Canadian writeres. At Bay Press is a literary publisher. We are only interested in literary fiction and literary nonfiction—including poetry. We do publish literary mysteries, thrillers, and noir and are interested in quality submissions in the science fiction, fantasy and graphic novel genres
as well. We are also currently open for submissions for our “From the Heart” series. The focus of this series is to bring short works to the trade in a small, well designed, inexpensive book format. We are accepting short poetry collections (minimum 5 poems, maximum 10 poems per manuscript), literary short fiction stories, genre fiction short stories, non-fiction short works, short essays, graphic novellas etc. TERRAZZO EDITIONS
https://www.terrazzoeditions.com/books
Terrazzo Editions will open for manuscript submissions of literary fiction for the month of February. Seeking full-length literary fiction manuscripts.
Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact hope@fundsforwriters.com for permission. Do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish out of ours.
C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com Copyright 2000-2025, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326 Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. Use information listed at your own risk. FundsforWriters gives no warranty to completeness, accuracy, or fitness of the markets, contests, and grants although research is done to the best of our
ability. FundsforWriters finds open submission calls, contests, and markets from a wide variety of sources, including Erika Dreifus' Practicing Writer
newsletter, Erica Verrillo's blog, Authors Publish, Poets & Writers, Duotrope, Winning Writers, Write Jobs Plus, LinkedIn Jobs, Emily Stoddard, and other newsletters and online sites. Many announcements are submitted directly to FundsforWriters. All must be paying opportunities. Contests must pay a minimum of $200 first place. Submit potential listings to hope@chopeclark.com **Note that FundsforWriters.com places paid advertising in this newsletter. ALL ads are related to writers and the business of writing, screened by FundsforWriters to make sure the information is suitable for writers and their endeavors to improve their careers. While the mailing list is
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