VOLUME 26, ISSUE 9 | FEBRUARY 27, 2026 |
JUST A QUICK NOTE THIS TIME I am typing one handed right now, having stumbled in the gym this morning only to drop a loaded barbell (85 pounds) on my left hand. (At least it wasn't my right!) Two broken fingers with one bone on the end of one finger crushed. So enjoy the newsletter. (Thank God I prepared it a couple days ago.) (PS - Not my hand below. You don't want to see the real one.) |
GUTSY GREAT NOVELIST CHAPTER ONE PRIZE $20 ENTRY FEE. Submissions open February 3 – Mar 3, 2026 (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 The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding opening chapter of an unpublished novel.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. HOW TO BE CLEARLY HUMAN THESE DAYS
I just spent a week going back and forth with a freelance writer who wanted to see his piece published in this newsletter. TO be honest, the piece had great potential. I needed some changes in it, and he quickly accommodated. The
message had purpose. I hadn't had red flags before then, but while he did a rewrite, I did a deep dive into him to see if he might be in any way affiliated with AI or a con artist from a third world country. I get a ton of both. I had hope for this piece, but my gut told me to look harder after I studied his resume...then his email. Three different emails with all of them Gmail, and two of them with names I could not read much less pronounce. Every single link in his bio led to places I'd never heard of before except one, LinkedIn. Then I looked at where he claimed to be from, and it ranged from West Virginia to California to UK to Asia. His resume was posted with a company that blatantly promoted itself as AI-friendly. He had no presence on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, etc. When I questioned him in very clear language about his lack of clear identity, he said he had different emails because his was hacked a while back, and that he used a friend's PayPal address instead of his own. Sitting alone in my study, I literally laughed. This was not the first time I'd been told this very thing. But it wasn't funny. The piece wasn't bad at all, and I scrutinize
submissions. In this case, the writer didn't feel legitimate to me. He gave up easily when I told him why, too. In essence, his reply was "my bad." I cannot express this enough. Write well. Pitch well. But also have a definitive online presence. I'd rather pay $100 to someone who writes a column for a small town newspaper for $50 a pop than someone in Asia using AI pretending to be American, no matter how well they
write.
Erma Home Schooling: Laugh and Learn from Home Missed your chance to grab a seat at the sold-out March 26-28 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop? Don’t worry — the laughs (and lessons) are coming to you. With Erma Home Schooling, you can livestream five inspiring keynote talks and four exclusive humor-writing workshops — all from the comfort of your couch.
(Note: In-person workshops are not included.) Learn how to: - Find and sharpen your comedic voice
- Master timing, structure and tone
- Use humor to connect, comfort and help readers see the joy in life’s messiest moments
Discover more about the keynote speakers, faculty and sessions. Early bird rate: $175
before March 9. In a world that needs more laughter, your words matter. -March 21, 2026 - Writer's Digest Mystery/Thriller Writing Virtual Conference
- time TBD -April 1, 2026 - Her Story, Her Voice, open to public ($18 each and catered), Something Small Catering, 2510 Main Street, Suite A, Columbia, SC - 5:30-8PM - 6 invited authors to read -April 6, 2026 - Night Harbor Book Club, Chapin, SC
(Hope is moderator, book Before the Coffee Gets Cold) -Apr 15, 2026 - Book Club, Noon to 2 PM - Elgin, SC (members only) -April 16, 2026 - Brookhaven Book Club, 3001 Stanbury Dr, Matthews, NC -7-9PM -June 4, 2026 - Chapin Library, Chapin, SC - 1-2 PM -June 13-20, 2026 - Gutsy Great Novel Retreat, Bar Harbor, Maine - Hope as author-in-residence -July 25, 2026 - Smoking Guns Sisters in Crime Zoom meeting - Noon - Zoom -October 27-28, 2026 - SC Library Conference, Columbia Convention Ctr - lunch speaker -November 15-21, 2026 - Edisto Beach, signings TBD
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise. “The things people say of a man do not alter a man. He is what he is. Public opinion is of no value whatsoever.” — Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), “The Soul of Man Under Socialism”
<<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com >> Practical Ways to Keep Your Query Pipeline Full
By Rachel Carrington
Many freelancers struggle with consistency, especially with pitching and idea generation. We all know we should keep a pitch tracker so we’ll know when
we’ve sent something out and when we can expect a response. But if that’s all we’re doing, it’s easy to lose focus. Most of us are goal-oriented or reward-oriented. We like knowing there’s something waiting for us at the end of our hard work. We don’t always get responses fast enough to fill that need. What can help is a seven-step system that will keep the ideas flowing and
make a writer look forward to writing. 1. Start by creating a weekly goal tracker to keep ideas and outreach on track. It can look something like this: Task / Minimum Goal / Stretch Goal
New article ideas 5 / 10
Pitches
sent 2 / 5
Follow-ups on previous pitches 2 / 3
Articles drafted or revised 1 / 2 2. At the end of every week, have a creative check-in. I usually do this every Friday evening. See how many new ideas you came up with, how many pitches you sent,
if any follow-ups are due in the coming week, and if there are any ideas you could refine or match to a different editor, especially any that have been rejected. 3. Pair up with another freelance writer for accountability. If you prefer, you can form an accountability group. You can meet however you wish, although video chatting is best. You can share your wins (accepted pieces, etc.),
goals for the next week or two weeks (depending on how often you choose to meet), and share some ideas to get feedback. It helps if the writers you’re sharing with don’t write in the same arena you do so there’s no feeling of competition. 4. Every month, perform a metrics review. I usually do this on the first of the month. I tally the total number of pitches sent, acceptance rate, average time
to response, and most responsive publications/topics. This data will help you know what’s working. 5. Choose a creative refuel day each month. Read a magazine or website you never have. Browse Reddit threads, Quora, and Google Trends. Review some headlines to see if they spark some ideas. How could you write a similar or even totally opposite story? Visit a place you’ve never been in your
town or spend time browsing a bookstore. All of these can jumpstart the creative center of your brain. 6. Along with a pitch tracker, use an idea bank. Though I use Excel, you can certainly use Trello, Airtable, or even Google Sheets. Take some time each week to brainstorm freely about topics you want to tackle (bonus points if you’ve never written about it before), review potential publications,
and create some seasonal ideas at least six months ahead of the season. 7. Have a reward system. It can be something as simple as treating yourself to a fancy coffee every ten pitches. Or use a planner and give yourself a gold star if you meet your goals at the end of every week. Plan something you want to do once you accumulated so many gold stars. You can also include a “wins” system where you
reward yourself after so many acceptances and/or positive feedback. Just like we look forward to the weekend if we work a 9-5 job, it’s important that we have something we’re excited about once we reach a goal. Keeping ourselves motivated is a big part of being freelancers because talent itself can’t keep the forward momentum. Having a system will ensure that we stay focused. BIO: As well as being a published author of fiction, Rachel is also an entertainment journalist and nonfiction writer and has written for the New York Times, Funds for Writers, Startrek.com, The Writer, and many others. She can be found on the internet at www.rachelcarrington.com and on Instagram and Twitter @rcarrington2004. ID 15672892 © Richard Williams | Dreamstime.com
GUTSY GREAT NOVELIST CHAPTER ONE PRIZE $20 ENTRY FEE. Submissions open February 3 – Mar 3, 2026 (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. THE HUDSON PRIZE
https://blacklawrencepress.com/submissions-and-contests/the-hudson-prize/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 31, 2026. Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or prose (short stories
or essays). Novels are not eligible for this prize. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes awarded on publication. Manuscripts should be 45-95 pages in length (poetry) or 120-280 pages in length (prose). TOM GRASS PRIZE
https://www.tomgrassprize.com/entry-and-prizes-2026
ENTRY FEE FREE TO FFEBRUARY 28. ENTRY FEE £15 AFTER. Deadline March 31, 2026. The Tom Grass Prize is open to all writers from all over the world who are over the age of 25 and writing in the English language. Entrants must not be represented by a Literary Agent and must not have any previous or new book under contract
with a mainstream publisher for the duration of the prize. The word count is between 1,500 and 3,000 words. The entry can be either fiction or non-fiction and must be a stand-alone piece of prose. Entrants are invited to reflect the spirit of adventure in subject matter and/or style in whichever way and in however broad a sense the writer interprets this. 1st prize: £1,000. Two runners-up prizes: £500 each. All three finalists will be offered a meeting with a Literary Agent. JERBOA LIT 500 CONTEST
https://www.jerboalit.com/
$15 ENTRY FEE (AND UP). Runs March 13-15. That's 48 hours, 500 words, and a random prompt. we want to read the weird short stories you come up with based on some fun and random conditions. After selection and announcement of the random prompt (including a
story genre, an item that must be present, and a phrase that must be included, all drawn from a hat), contest entrants will have 48 hours to write a 500-word story fitting those conditions. $1,000 first prize ($2,200 total prizes). PLOUGHSHARES EMERGING WRITER CONTEST
https://pshares.org/submit/emerging-writers-contest/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 31, 2026. Contest recognizes work by an emerging writer in each of three genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We consider authors “emerging” if they haven’t published or self-published a book in any of the contest genres. One winner in each genre per year will receive $2,000 and publication in Ploughshares. The winners will also receive a conversation with our partnering
literary agency, Aevitas Creative Management, regarding their work and writing careers. We accept fiction and nonfiction up to 6,500 words and 3-5 pages of poetry. WINTER BLACK FOX PRIZE FAIRY TALE REMIX
https://blackfoxlitmag.com/contests/
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 31, 2026.
We are open to loose interpretations of the theme in any genre. Please submit your strongest fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and we will choose one winner that we feel interprets the theme best. The prize is $325 and print publication in the Summer 2026 issue. All submissions are considered for print publication in the Summer 2026 issue. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. For poetry, send up to three poems in the same document. For flash fiction, send up to two stories in
the same document.
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING ARTIST CREATIVE PRACTICE GRANTS
https://www.southarts.org/grants-opportunities/artist-creative-practice
Deadline April 30, 2026. The Artist Creative Practice Grant supports a variety of professional
development opportunities including milestone activities in an artist's career that will likely lead to substantial career growth. Grants up to $3,000 are available for opportunities taking place between November 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Must be a legal resident of the United States and the South Arts region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee). CREATIVE CAPITAL
GRANTS
https://creative-capital.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2027-Creative-Capital-Application-Handbook.pdf
Deadline April 2, 2026. Artist Eligibility - US citizen, permanent resident, Tribal ID holder, or O-1 visa holder at time of application, at least 25 years old at
time of application, working artist(s) with at least 5 years of professional artistic practice within their chosen discipline; applicant may not be enrolled in a degree-granting program at time of application. Applicants must select one primary discipline. The Creative Capital Award amounts range from $15,000 up to $50,000 per project. Creative Capital grants are structured so that the artist(s) may draw down funds over a five-year period. O'SHAUNGHNESSY FELLOWSHIPS
https://www.osvfellowship.com/
Deadline April 30, 2026. Twelve Months of pure possibility. No equity. No corporate overlords. No thesis requirements. No committee approvals. Just you, your vision, and the resources to make it real. This is the O’Shaughnessy Fellowships & Grants: a one-year program that
unites the world’s bravest souls and brightest minds to manifest the future humanity deserves. Pay is $100,000. They are also looking to give out $10,000 grants. ASJA SEMINAR FOR LAID-OFF JOURNALISTS - SCHOLARSHIPS
https://www.asja.org/resources/webinars/from-full-time-to-freelance-charting-a-new-path/
https://www.asja.org/asja-webinar-scholarship-application/
Join us Tuesday, March 3, at noon Eastern time, to hear from four writers who successfully transitioned to running writing-related small businesses. Long-time
Washington Post staff writer and current ASJA member Katie Shaver moderates. She'll be joined by fellow ASJA member Emily Dalamangas as well as Andy Vasoyan and Tyler Santora. Panelists will share tips for getting started, marketing, finding clients and what they wish they had known starting out. The webinar is free for members; $20 for nonmembers. Scholarships covering the registration fee are available for recently laid-off staff writers and editors on a first come, first serve basis. ASJA CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIPS
https://www.asja.org/2026-asja-conference-schedule/
https://www.asja.org/asja-2026-conference-scholarship-application/
ASJA is offering at least 12 scholarships to the 2026 conference to support diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, and ensure that all writers have the opportunity to benefit from the organization's workshops and professional networking. ASJA has extended the application deadline to March 1 to provide the opportunity for more people to apply. The conference takes place April 20-22, from 11 a.m. to
6 p.m. Eastern time each day on the Airmeet platform. Scholarships cover the entire registration fee, and are open to both ASJA members and nonmembers. Recipients will be notified by March 20. BURNAWAY
https://burnaway.org/about/
Burnaway is an Atlanta-based, non-profit magazine of contemporary art and criticism from the American South and the Caribbean, published online weekly and in print annually. Through its editorial program and cultivation of
emerging arts writers and journalists, Burnaway connects the region’s diverse creative communities and develops exchange between Southern art, and the national and international art audiences. Pays up to 30 cents/word. CHINA BOOKS REVIEW
https://chinabooksreview.com/submit/
Reviews — Punchy,
argument-driven reviews of recent (<1yr) single works (1600+ words), or longer review-essays that engage with multiple works (3200+ words). Essays — Lively essays (either 1600+ words or 3200+ words) that engage with broader ideas and trends relating to China or the Sinophone world. Profiles — Literary profiles (3200+) of prominent Chinese or sinophone authors (or film-makers or other artists), written up as a narrative that engages deeply with their work and life. Excerpts — If you are an
author or publisher, feel free to propose a stand-alone passage for excerpt (2000-4000 words) from your upcoming or recently published (<1yr) book, that tells an engaging story or reveals something new about China or the Sinophone world. We pay a competitive flat rate for all original articles, roughly equivalent to 25 cents/word. THE GREEN EUROPEAN JOURNAL
https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/get-involved/
The Green European Journal publishes articles which track political currents and ideas, offering fresh perspectives and frontline analysis. The Green European Journal looks to two dimensions to guide its content: political ecology and Europe. We are quite flexible on length, but the best way to ensure your article is read is for it to be
between 1800 and 2500 words. We welcome contributions from everyone. Pay estimate €300 to €400. LONG NOW
https://longnow.org/ideas/pitch-guide/
Long Now is accepting pitches of essays, reported features, interviews, book reviews, shorter articles, fiction and poetry for Ideas, our
living archive of long-term thinking. The Long Now Foundation is a nonprofit established in 01996 to foster long-term thinking and responsibility. Reported, argument-driven, or photo essays (1,200 - 3,000 words). Long-form reported narrative features (1,200 - 3,000 words). Interviews with the thinkers, artists, and makers whose projects and ideas foster long-term thinking and responsibility (2,000 - 3,000 words). Articles breaking down the latest long-term thinking news (scientific papers,
studies, projects, trends), profiling fascinating and forgotten examples of long-term thinking from the past, or exploring how today’s technological interventions are being applied to the past to make us reconsider what we thought we knew (500 - 1,200 words). Speculative fiction - We’re interested in stories that take unexpected angles on the future and the past, honing in on details that you only see when you take a longer view. (1000 - 4000 words) Payment starts at $600 for features and
essays, and ranges between $300 - $600 for interviews, book reviews, and short-form science journalism and news articles. We pay $100 for science fiction stories and $25 per poem (with a maximum of four poems per submission). CONTINGENT MAGAZINE
https://contingentmagazine.org/pitch-us/
We
are a magazine about history and the process of doing history. We prioritize pitches from people who have completed postgraduate work in history (or a history-adjacent field) and are working outside the tenure-track professoriate. MAILBAG columns, roughly 400 to 500 words pay $150. POSTCARDS, accepting pitches for both research and conference postcards. The base pay for a postcard is $50. FEATURES, roughly 2,000 to 3,000 words (or a comic/video/multimedia work of equivalent scope). The base pay
for a feature is $500.
COLE HART SIGNATURE PUBLISHING
https://colehartsignature.com/publish-your-novel-with-cole-hart-signature
COLE HART SIGNATURE is a company for authors who not only want to publish their books but want to be a part of
a community. This platform is renowned for making unknown authors into huge names well-recognized by many readers. You can find many African American women’s fiction or African American romance novels to read anytime and anywhere. Most authors who partnered with Cole Hart Signature have written many #1 best-selling African American & Thug romance novels on Amazon or Kindle. Location Atlanta. EVENING POST BOOKS
https://www.eveningpostbooks.com/pages/submissions
DEADLINE FEBRUARY 28, 2026. We’re Evening Post Books, the book publishing division of The Post and Courier, and we’re proud to open the doors to the next generation of Southern voices. Based in Charleston, South Carolina — our creative anchor — we publish nationally, seeking work that reflects
the South’s richness, complexity, and ongoing transformation. We’re looking for literary artists who bring depth, nuance, and excellence to the page — writers unafraid to challenge, honor, and reimagine what Southern storytelling can be. Please note their dates when open to submissions. ENCHANTED LION BOOKS - UNRULY
https://enchantedlion.com/about-unruly
Enchanted Lion Books is an independent book publisher based in Brooklyn, New York. With Enchanted Lion’s exciting new imprint, Unruly, we’re creating category-defying picture books for grown-ups and teens. Picture books created for adults and young adults are substantially different from those created for children. These books invite older readers to engage with stories that expand the definition of a
“picture book” and challenge the idea that they are made only for children. AWE
https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/pages/awe
Blackstone Publishing is thrilled to announce the launch of Andrews & Wilson Entertainment’s publishing imprint: AWE. Led by the New York Times
bestselling author duo of Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson, AWE will showcase both established authors in the military thriller genre and emerging voices committed to telling stories focused on service and sacrifice, grit and perseverance, heroism, faith, and moral courage. KEY LIME PUBLISHING
https://www.keylimepublishing.com/english-privacy-policy
We primarily focus on adult trade nonfiction titles. Our list is filled with books that open minds, spark dialogue, and leave a lasting impact—spanning history, current affairs, human rights, science and climate, LGBTQ+, business, finance, pop culture, health and wellness, lifestyle, self-help, and spirituality. When it’s the right fit, we love to uplift creative storytelling across fiction, poetry, children’s, young
adult/new adult, and more. 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
not sold to third parties, other parties do advertise in the newsletter, to include the occasional solo ad. You will not receive this newsletter without your permission. It's physically impossible since recipients must opt-in, giving us permission to send the newsletter. If at any time you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, click the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of each newsletter. We want you to enjoy this newsletter at your pleasure, not be forced to read anything you do not wish to
receive. Direct any complaints, suggestions, and accolades to Hope Clark at hope@fundsforwriters.com. We are an anti-spam site. | |
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