Deadline: September 1, 2021
Event Dates: October 13-17, 2021
Event Location: Lodge at Whitehawk Ranch in the Lost Sierras near Clio, California
A generative and restorative writing retreat at the Lodge at Whitehawk Ranch in California facilitated by Carolyn Dawn Flynn, the Story Catalyst, acclaimed novelist, memoirist, and TEDx speaker; and poet, essayist, and novelist Jona Kottler. Let the pristine forest of California’s Lost Sierras be your inspiration for this generative and restorative retreat for writers of fiction and creative nonfiction. This retreat will help you deepen and refine your work. Participants receive an extensive editorial letter and individual consultations with a mentor. The cuisine and the landscape will be sumptuous, and there will be time to write! carolynflynn.com/sierra-writing-retreat-2021/
Writing Conferences & Events
EVENT :: Deadline to Register for IWWG’s Virtual Summer Conference is July 20!
IWWG Summer Event: Writing Our Way Forward
Registration Deadline: July 20, 2021
Event Dates: July 22-24, 2021
Event Location: Virtual
This 3-day event will provide connection, inspiration, and learning from a range of instructors and keynote speakers. Sessions will include author panels, agent/editor panels, pitch appointments, a variety of workshops, raffles, and Open Mics. Featured Keynotes: Sylvia Mendoza, Sonali Dev, and Aine Greaney. Don’t forget to register by July 20! www.iwwg.org
Join the August Poetry Postcard Festival
It is once again time to sign up for the August Poetry Postcard Festival! And this year’s event is a special tribute to Diana di Prima and Michael McClure.
Now in its 15th consecutive year, the concept is simple and fun: You sign up, and your name is added to a group along with 31 others. Once the group is “full,” you each get the list with names and addresses of participants in your group. The week before August, you start writing and sending your postcards (so that the first one arrives around the first of August). You write one postcard per day and send it to the person listed after your name in the group. The next day, you write another poem and send it to the next person – and so on until you go through the list. One for each day.
The idea is spontaneous writing without editing, censoring, or revision. You can use the postcard as your prompt or not. Some people choose a theme to write on for the month. The postcards vary from store bought to homemade, contemporary to vintage. It’s really wide open to your creativity, imagination, and passion. Then, throughout the month of August, you will receive poems in the mail from the others in your group.
Last year, the organizers began year-round registration – so you can actually register at any time of the year. In 2020, some participants started sending cards immediately upon registration, instead of waiting until August – and what a boost that was during the early days of the pandemic. A few ambitious writers completed their 31 cards and signed up for another group! The organizers welcome repeat participation.
There is a $15 fee which helps pay the bills and support the non-profit Seattle Poetics LAB, who organize this event as well as many others throughout the year. Registration closes July Sign up today!
Event :: Lost Sierras Writing Retreat – October 13-17, 2021
Deadline: September 1, 2021
Event Dates: Oct. 13-17, 2021
Event Location: Lodge at Whitehawk Ranch in the Lost Sierras near Clio, California.
A generative and restorative writing retreat at the Lodge at Whitehawk Ranch in California facilitated by Carolyn Dawn Flynn, the Story Catalyst, acclaimed novelist, memoirist, and TEDx speaker; and poet, essayist, and novelist Jona Kottler. Let the pristine forest of California’s Lost Sierras be your inspiration for this generative and restorative retreat for writers of fiction and creative nonfiction. This retreat will help you deepen and refine your work. Participants receive an extensive editorial letter and individual consultations with a mentor. The cuisine and the landscape will be sumptuous, and there will be time to write! carolynflynn.com/sierra-writing-retreat-2021/
Free Story Toolbox Workshops
805 Lit + Art online lit mag not only features new and emerging writers, poets, and artists, they provide a series of Story Toolbox workshops to help writers practice and hone their craft. Open to participants 16 years and older, upcoming workshops with Writer and Editor Julieanna Blackwell [pictured] and hosted by Manatee Libraries include Writing in Flash-Prompts (7/12/21) and Study of Novella in Flash (7/19/21). Visit the 805 Events page for more information.
National Writing Project Launches Write Now Teacher Studio
The National Writing Project has long been a source of support for writing teachers (K-12+), providing programs where teacher-leaders work with local teachers on developing approaches to teaching writing as well as engaging in their own writing practice. Those who have local chapters benefit from the professional development and community programming, but now NWP is expanding that opportunity by introducing an online space for teachers to connect and collaborate with writing teacher colleagues.
Write Now Teacher Studio will open on June 3, 2021, and NWP invites teachers to join a live launch event through mobile app or the web. The Write Now Teacher Studio will let teachers connect and collaborate around specific topics of interest in their teaching, attend events about writing and teaching writing, join groups to address challenges, take courses designed by experienced writing teachers, and create or join reading and writing groups.
To learn more about the Write Now Teacher Studio or to sign up for the launch, visit NWP Eventbrite Registration.
Event :: IWWG Summer Conference: Writing Our Way Forward
Registration Deadline: July 20, 2021
Event Dates: July 22-24, 2021
Event Location: Virtual
This 3-day event will provide connection, inspiration, and learning from a range of instructors and keynote speakers. Sessions will include author panels, agent/editor panels, pitch appointments, a variety of workshops, raffles, and Open Mics. Featured Keynotes: Sylvia Mendoza, Sonali Dev, and Aine Greaney. www.iwwg.org
Event :: The Virtual 2021 Palm Beach Poetry Festival Takes Place Next Month
Event Dates: January 18-23, 2021 Location: Virtual
17th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival in Delray Beach, Florida, January 18-23, 2021. Focus on your work with America’s most engaging and award-winning poets. Workshops with David Baker, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Traci Brimhall, Vievee Francis, Kevin Prufer, Martha Rhodes, and Tim Seibles. Six days of workshops, readings, craft talks, panel discussion, social events, and so much more. One-on-one conference Faculty: Lorna Blake, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Nickole Brown, Jessica Jacobs, and Angela Narciso-Torres. Special Guest: Gregory Orr and the Parkington Sisters. Poet At Large: Brian Turner. To find out more, visit www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org. Apply to attend a workshop!
Event :: Poetry Brings Us Together – 2021 Palm Beach Poetry Festival
Event Dates: January 18-23, 2021 Location: Virtual
Extended Application Deadline: December 1, 2020
The 17th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival in Delray Beach, Florida, January 18-23, 2021 will be virtual. Focus on your work with America’s most engaging and award-winning poets. Workshops with David Baker, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Traci Brimhall, Vievee Francis, Kevin Prufer, Martha Rhodes, and Tim Seibles. Six days of workshops, readings, craft talks, panel discussion, social events, and so much more. One-on-one conference Faculty: Lorna Blake, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Nickole Brown, Jessica Jacobs, and Angela Narciso-Torres. Special Guest: Gregory Orr and the Parkington Sisters. Poet At Large: Brian Turner. To find out more, visit www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org. Only days left to apply to attend a workshop!
Weekly Roundup for Calls & Contests :: November 13, 2020
How is November nearly half over with already? Today is Friday the 13th. Time to stay home and work hard on your submission goals. Check out these submission opportunities featured on and posted to NewPages.
Calls for Submissions
View all calls for submissions in our online Classifieds. Have a young writer? Check out our Young Writers Guide to Publications to help them find a market for their work, too.
November Submission Deadlines
Deadline: November 15, 2020. The Pinch Literary Journal seeks poetry written in or regarding Variety Englishes for a featured highlight in its Spring 2021 Issue (41.1). Poems in Singlish, Konglish, Spanglish, AAVE, and other English-derived emerging linguistic forms will be considered for publication. No submission fee, accepted pieces will be awarded $150 for publication. For inquiries, visit www.pinchjournal.com/glish or contact editor@pinchjournal.com.
Deadline: November 15, 2020. Sou’wester is now reading fiction and creative nonfiction for our annual print issue, forthcoming in spring 2021. We are committed to investing in and encouraging the words/stories/voices of all writers, prioritizing those belonging to marginalized communities. We want to read stories from writers belonging to the black diaspora, indigenous communities, Asian communities, Latin(x) communities, neurodivergent communities, those with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+. We seek fiction that allows us to transcend the everyday, haunts our dreams, and feels fresh. We’re looking for work that will move, stun, and awe our readers. Submission is free through Submittable.
Deadline: November 30, 2020 (midnight CET). Tint Journal, the online literary magazine for English as a second language or non-native language writers, is open for submissions for their fifth issue, Tint Spring ’21, appearing on March 10, 2021. Tint Journal publishes poems, short stories, and creative nonfiction written by authors whose first language is something other than English. Emerging and well-established authors are welcome to submit. We also accept art submissions (paintings, photographs, collages, and more) to accompany our stories. The deadline to be considered for our Spring ’21 issue is Monday, November 30, 2020 (midnight CET). Writers and artists are asked to consider our submission guidelines at www.tintjournal.com/submit. [Read more…] about Weekly Roundup for Calls & Contests :: November 13, 2020
Mudfish Writing Workshop Goes Virtual
Mudfish founding editor Jill Hoffman leads a combined workshop of poetry and fiction in Tribeca, New York. These workshops are open to writers of all levels and are now being conducted virtually via ZOOM. Writers get to read aloud each week and give and receive honest and constructive criticism. Editors for Mudfish are also recruited from these workshops.
Sessions are being offered Tuesday or Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 11:00 PM. Visit their website to learn more.