Nonfiction markets paying $75 for a short article to $10,000 for an essay

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox.  ~Brian

American Gardener: "The American Gardener is the official publication of the American Horticultural Society. The 64-page, four-color magazine goes out bimonthly to nearly 20,000 members. We stress environmentally responsible gardening practices, including minimizing use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, preventing illegal collection of plants from the wild, and avoiding plants with the potential to escape and damage natural ecosystems."

Payment: Payment for feature articles ranges from $300 to $600 on publication, depending on the article’s length and complexity, and the author’s background and publishing experience. Reimbursement for travel and other expenses can sometimes be negotiated at the time an article is accepted.

Creative Nonfiction magazine – from their submissions page:

Unlike many magazines, Creative Nonfiction draws heavily from unsolicited submissions. Our editors believe that providing a platform for emerging writers and helping them find readers is an essential role of literary magazines, and it’s been our privilege to work with many fine writers early in their careers. A typical issue of CNF contains at least one essay by a previously unpublished writer.

We’re open to all types of creative nonfiction, from immersion reportage to personal essay to memoir. Our editors tend to gravitate toward submissions structured around narratives, but we’re always happy to be pleasantly surprised by work that breaks outside this general mold. Above all, we’re most interested in writing that blends style with substance, and reaches beyond the personal to tell us something new about the world. We firmly believe that great writing can make any subject interesting to a general audience.

Creative Nonfiction typically accepts submissions via regular mail and online through Submittable. Please read specific calls for submissions carefully.

We try to respond to all submissions as soon as possible. If you submit by regular mail, you will receive an email from us (typically within a week of your manuscript’s arrival in our office), confirming we have received your manuscript. If you submit online, you will receive a confirmation email from Submittable.

We read year-round, but it is not uncommon for a decision to take up to 6 months; unfortunately, this is especially true of work we like. If you have not heard from us since the initial confirmation email, please assume your manuscript is still under consideration.

Current Submission Calls

 HOW WE TEACH

For a special issue of Creative Nonfiction, we’re looking for original essays about teaching—whether in a traditional classroom or online; in summer camp or college; in preschool or in a prison; in the woods or in a workshop. $1,500 in prizes. Deadline: August 29, 2016. Complete guidelines »

THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN SCIENCE & RELIGION

We're looking for original narratives illustrating and exploring the relationships, tensions, and harmonies between science and religion—the ways these two forces productively challenge each other as well as the ways in which they can work together and strengthen one another. $10,000 for best essay, $5,000 for runner-up. Deadline: December 12, 2016. Complete guidelines »

DANGEROUS CREATIONS: REAL-LIFE FRANKENSTEIN STORIES

We’re looking for true stories that explore humans’ efforts to control and redirect nature, the evolving relationships between humanity and science/technology, and contemporary interpretations of monstrosity. $10,000 and publication for Best Essay and two $2,500 prizes and publication for runners-up. Deadline: March 20, 2017. Complete guidelines »

TRUE STORY

Our new magazine, featuring one exceptional essay every month, debuts this fall. Submissions should be between 3,500 and 7,000 words long, on any subject, in any style. Surprise us! The only rules are that all work submitted must be nonfiction and original to the author, and we will not consider previously published work.  Now Reading  Complete guidelines »

PITCH US A COLUMN

Have an idea for a literary timeline? An opinion on essential texts for readers and/or writers? An in-depth, working knowledge of a specific type of nonfiction? Pitch us your ideas; Creative Nonfiction is now accepting query letters for the following sections of the magazine. Accepted Year-Round. Complete guidelines »

TINY TRUTH CONTESTS

TWITTER
Can you tell a true story in 140 characters (or fewer)? Think you could write one hundred CNF-worthy micro essays a day? Go for it. We dare you. There's no limit. Simply follow Creative Nonfiction on Twitter (@cnfonline) and tag your tiny truths with the trending topic #cnftweet. That's it. We re-tweet winners daily and republish ~20 winning tweets in every issue of Creative Nonfiction. Not sure what we're looking for? Check out this roundtable discussion about the art of micro-essaying with some of the more prolific #cnftweet-ers. 

INSTAGRAM
Maybe a tweet isn’t quite enough space for you to realize your tiny truth vision. What if you could include a picture worth a thousand words and 2,000 additional characters? Ready to try your hand at writing mixed media micro essays?  Follow Creative Nonfiction on Instagram (@creativenonfiction), tag your photos (and caption-length prose) with #cnfgram and #tinytruth, and we’ll do the rest. We “heart” our favorites regularly, and every week we'll repost our favorite to our Instagram feed. Plus, we'll share one in our newsletter monthly, and one on our website every third month. Check out some early examples here. 

Tai Chi Magazine: Tai Chi Magazine focuses on self-defense, internal skills, health, meditation, fitness, self-improvement, ch'i cultivation, Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, herbs, massage, etc.) and spiritual growth.

"Articles may be a feature or interview about a style, self-defense techniques, principles and philosophy, training methods, weapons, case histories of benefits, or new or unusual uses for T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Interviews with teachers or personalities should focus on their unique or individual insights into T'ai Chi Ch'uan, internal martial arts, qigong, or Traditional Chinese Medicine rather than on their personal achievement or ability, although their background can be woven into the article."

Length: Articles range from 500 to 3,500 words.

Payment: Tai Chi Magazine pay $75 to $500 per article depending on the length and quality of the article. It usually pays within 90 days of publication.

Catholic Digest: "We are a lifestyle magazine that encourages and supports Catholics in a variety of life stages and circumstances. Our writers speak with the authority of experience, but always with an encouraging and positive voice. We recognize the importance of beauty and use beauty and truth to inspire our readers, but we also recognize real-life limitations. None of us is perfect. We are real-life Catholics who care deeply about our faith and our family."
Length: Approximately 550-700 words for Last Word. Features are approximately 1500 words and cover marriage, parenting, spirituality, and relationships, along with parish and work life.

Payment: $500 for features and Last Word, upon publication.

Earth Island Journal: "We cover the entire spectrum of environmental issues, including: wildlife and lands conservation; innovations in science and technology; public policy and the politics of environmental protection; climate and energy; animal rights; public health; environmental justice and cultural survival; and environmentally related film, music, and books. 

Whenever possible, we seek to tell the stories of individuals and communities who are successfully defending and restoring the Earth. On-the-ground reports from outside North America are especially welcomed. These pieces should be appropriate for an educated, environmentally savvy readership. We do not consider technical or academic reports."

Length and Payment: 25 cents/word for shorter dispatches (1,200-1,500 words) and for longer investigative features (2,500-3,000 words). You can expect to earn about $750-$1000 for an in-depth feature story. For online reports, the fee ranges from $50 to $100.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Writing Kid Lit, from Picture Books to YA, weekly course offered Sept 27 – Nov 22, in Burlington

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong,
a New York Times #1 bestselling author
and one of Brian's students

Writing Kid Lit ~ Picture Books to YA

~ New course ~

Tuesday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m.

Sept 27 – Nov 22 (no class Oct 11).

Appleby United Church, 4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington, Ontario (map here.)

From picture books to young adult novels, this weekly course is accessible for beginners and meaty enough for advanced writers. Through lectures, in-class assignments, homework, and feedback on your writing, we’ll give you ins and outs of writing for younger readers and set you on course toward writing your own books. We’ll have two published authors as guest speakers: Jennifer Mook-Sang and Kira Vermond.

Jennifer reading from Speechless

Jennifer Mook-Sang lives and writes in Burlington. She’s as amazed as anyone to find she’s a published author. Her humorous middle grade novel, Speechless was started in one of Brian Henry’s classes and was released by Scholastic in the fall of 2015. Her first picture book, Captain Monty, will be released by Kids Can Press in September 2017.  

Speechless is already a hit. The CBC named it one of the 75 best books published in 2015 (here) and named Jennifer as an author to watch (here). The Canadian Children's Book Centre's placed Speechless on its Best Books for Kids and Teens list and the Ontario Library Association nominated it for a Silver Birch Award for grades 3-6. Speechless is available online here.

Kira Vermond is an award-winning writer with over 1,500 articles to her name. She has been a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, CBC and Today's Parent.

Kira is the author of four nonfiction books for young readers: Half-Truths and Brazen Lies, (read more about Half-Truths here); Why We Live Where We Live (more here); Growing Up: Inside and Out, (nominated for on Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Award) and The Secret Life of Money: A Kid's Guide to Cash (which was my son’s and daughter’s favourite book  the year it came out, although my kids are four years apart). 

Kira lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. Brian is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.  

Course fee:  $159.29 plus 13% hst = $180

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

To see details of all five weekly classes offered this fall, see here.

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Andrea Cascardi rejoins major Canadian literary agency Transatlantic; seeks books for children and adults

Transatlantic Agency

2 Bloor Street East

Suite 3500

Toronto, ON M4W 1A8

Canada

http://transatlanticagency.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox.  ~Brian

The Transatlantic Agency is one of Canada’s larger literary agencies, with over 150 clients on two continents. The agency represents both books for children and books for adults, and nine of their agents are looking for authors, including Andrea Cascardi, who has returned to Transatlantic after a few years as Publisher and Managing Director of Egmont USA.

Andrea Cascardi is enormously experienced both as an agent and an editor and she is now actively looking for authors, of both children’s and adult books. Before her recent stint with Egmont, she was with Transatlantic for ten years and before that held senior editorial positions at Random House and Disney Publishing.

Said Cascardi, “I am delighted to be returning to agenting with Transatlantic, a company I know and trust, after a period of three years on the other side of the desk. I am very excited about working closely with authors and illustrators and I look forward to bringing a new perspective to my work as an agent.”

David Bennett, president of Transatlantic  said, “We are so pleased that Andrea is returning to the agency to represent a broad range of talent in different genres from her base in New York.”

“I have eclectic taste, so my submissions wish-list is broad-ranging,” says Andrea. She is looking for both children’s authors and adult authors, both fiction and nonfiction

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool,
represented by Andrea Cascardi

Fiction: “Any fiction submission must, first and foremost, have a compelling voice driving the story.” says Andrea. “Beyond that, I look for smart writing, and amped-up emotions: for example, if you’re writing a warm, heartfelt story, I want it to leave me emotionally spent at the end. Ditto for romance: I want to feel the heat!

“I’m hoping to discover funny books that literally make me snort with laughter throughout. And books that take unexpected turns that surprise or shock me in a good way. I look for unique yet relatable characters, and I want those characters to come from a full range of diverse backgrounds and time periods. More specifically, I’d love to see boundary-pushing stories, dark humor, literary, and clever commercial fiction.”

Nonfiction: I am open to nonfiction for young readers of all ages, and I’m keen to find innovative presentations and compelling, creative nonfiction that illuminates a broader topic by viewing it through a smaller lens. I’d like to see some “out there” nonfiction ideas that dazzle with their brilliance yet connect immediately with kids.”

Author-illustrators: “I’m excited to bring new storytelling talent into the field, as well as to work with artists who have experience in other fields such as animation or editorial work and are ready to send their own projects into the world.”

Adult fiction: I’m a voracious reader, and I’m looking to represent what I’d love to read, which for lack of a better term I will call commercial books that beg to be discussed. As with children’s fiction, it must be superlative in one or more ways: smart, fierce, commercial, emotionally-hooking, clever, heart-pounding, diverse…the bar is high but I’m eager to discover exciting new voices.”

Query Andrea at: andrea@transatlanticagency.com

Full submission guidelines, here.

Literary agent Cassandra Rodgers

Brian Henry has a number of workshops coming up: “Writing and Revising,” Saturday, July 23 in Kitchener (see here),“How to Make Your Stories Dramatic,” Saturday, Aug 20, in Oakville (see here), and “You can write great dialogue,” Sunday, Aug 21, in Brampton (see here).

For those who love great food and a beautiful setting with their writing, Brian Henry will lead a Fall Colours Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park, Friday, Sept 16 – Sunday, Sept 18 (see here).

This fall, Brian will offer a wide range of classes:

“Welcome to Creative Writing,” Thursday afternoons, Sept 29 - Dec 8, in Oakville.

 “Writing Kid Lit ~ Picture Books to YA” (new) Tuesday afternoons, Sept 27 - Nov 22 (no class Oct 11), in Burlington.

“Intermediate Creative Writing,” Wednesday evenings, Sept 21 to Nov 30 (no class Oct 12), in Burlington (see here)

“Intermediate Creative Writing,” Thursday evenings, Sept 29 - Dec 8, in Georgetown (see here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Wednesday afternoons, Intensive Sept 14 - Dec 14 (no class Oct 12) , in Burlington.

See details of all five classes offered this fall here.

To reserve a spot or for more details, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Brian will lead “How to Get Published” workshops on Saturday, Oct 15 in Burlington with literary agent Cassandra Rodgers of The Rights Factory as his guest speaker (details to be posted soon), and on Saturday, October 29, in Caledon, at the Bolton Public Library, with Martha Web of the McDermid Agency (see here). 

To register or for details, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Then on Saturday, November 19, Brian will lead a “Writing for Children and for Young Adults” workshop in Mississauga with Anne Shone, Senior Editor, Scholastics Canada as his guest speaker.

To register of for more information for any of the above, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“Purgatory: A Love Story,” by Lis Jakobsen

Margot claimed the restaurant booth and started the wait for her friend Derrick.

There’d been a time when she thought their larking friendship might deepen and inspire an occasional commemorative gesture of promptness on his part.  This hadn’t happened.

Instead, Margot had come to ritualize the elastic time between her arrival and his, starting each vigil with an affirmation:  accept, only accept.

As a lapsed Catholic, she knew she didn’t have the full complement of faith needed to take the concept to the point of grace.  But it sure beat the hell out of drumming her fingers on the table for an hour.

She’d unpack and lay out on the table what she joked to friends was her version of the Catholic mass travel kit. It contained sacred vessels and essential liturgical items: a time-waster mystery novel; personal journal; cryptic crossword puzzle; and phone.  At least she wouldn’t need the bottle of Saint Bernadette Spring Water or the sacrificial trail mix this evening.

The rest of these, though, would see her through the wait for Derrick, who made lateness seem like a wild horse of his own invention, one only he could ride successfully into the corral while waving his big white hat at the crowd.

Margot, by contrast, revered punctuality to the cusp of fetish and usually showed up at least 20 minutes early to any appointment, threatre showing, book lecture or Hudson’s Bay white sale. 

She found it absolutely necessary to arrive early so as to choose the best seat, read her program, examine the stage, study the menu and organize her coat and purse.

“There, that’s better,” she’d tell herself, straightening her signature pearl necklace. It had been her mother’s and once the long strand sat the way it should on her neck she felt grounded. 

Derrick, on the other hand, used, “Sorry I’m late,” as standard greeting, the equivalent of, “Hi.  How are you?” and if he ever got a chilly reception for his blithe lack of concern, his buoyant arrival never seemed even slightly wobbled by it.

He had a way of melting away any initial resistance to his singular brand of congenital insouciance.  There was a manner of entering a room as if everyone were entirely relieved to see him, even strangers.  As if the table gave a sigh of gratitude when he rested his arms on it.  As if the menu thrummed with pleasure at his touch.

And, dammit, the waitresses did take his order as if on a mission to tell the angels he needed a dirty martini.  

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a current move through the room. She looked up and there he was, 45 minutes past the appointed time. 

“You’re late,” she said as he sat down.

What would the excuse be this time?

“Traffic?” she suggested.

No answer.  Just a smile. That smile. Today, it bugged her. “Lost track of time, did you, while you were rewriting one of your rejected novels?”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, Marg-gie.”

“You know I hate it when you call me Marg-gie.  Are you depressed?

Smiling more broadly now.  “Clearly not.”

“In love?”

“Bingo.”

“Not again,” she said, lightly, but turning her head sharply, searching the room for someone to take her order.

“Yup,” he said, looking up in time to catch the waitress’ eye. 

There would be the other kind of waiting now. She began to worry the pearls in her long necklace as if it were an heirloom rosary.

Lis Jakobsen is a retired public relations consultant who clocked in a lot of job writing over the years, including plenty of speechwriting, mostly for government.  It was definitely not from the “I have a dream” sphere.  She lives in Hamilton where she has happily turned her hand to other kinds of fiction.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Silence of Morning, by Daisy A Hickman, reviewed by Charlene Jones

Capturing Morning Press 2014, 352 pages, paperback $16.80, Kindle free, from Amazon.ca here.

Letting go as a phrase used in meditation encourages meditators to release thoughts and eventually beliefs and emotions, allowing a natural sense of being in the present moment to rise and fall with each breath.

Daisy A. Hickman’s deeply poignant memoir traces her steps through a life outlined by cultural expectations to her present, ever present state of personal depth.

That she followed these steps because of the death of her only son by his own hand makes this memoir all the more remarkable and poignant.

Hickman frames her memoir The Silence of Morning with time. Time as described by the cultural demands from grade school, time as a potential to describe hope for the future, time in every description, Hickman lays waste to the fantasy of time encouraged by our collective group belief. Time as a frozen construct, warbled to her by well-wishers eager to put distance (time) around her in stock phrases like, “time heals all” – that idea of time the author rejects.

 Hickman rejects the homily but not the intent of compassion, just as she rejects the notion her son’s suicide is an act from which she can, or will “heal.”

Instead, she emerges out of that dream of time through the nightmare of her only son’s addiction and suicide. What is left?

Letting go as a meditation mantra mouthed by millions of beginners sounds like a remedy for all of life’s ills and pains. Instead, as Hickman describes it, truly letting go means dissolution of false securities, unreal mental constructs, and fantasy beliefs dominating your life. Letting go means taking on the face of the present moment even as that requires sacrificing one’s cherished personality.

The freedom acquired is a freedom of maturity, not the instant and eternal happiness our infantile culture proscribes, but acceptance of the paradox of life lived with death. Hickman’s memoir rings with moments of such freedom. In the end her writing describes the Depth that rises to meet those who must let go.

It is a Depth of timeless grace, including sorrow and joy, embracing paradox. In the end Hickman succeeds in describing her own beginning and in it the ever-present spirit of her beloved son Matthew. The book is a meditation guide. Get it. Read it. Slowly. 

Charlene Jones escaped from three days as hostage to two armed criminals when she was just 16. Within a year she met her meditation teacher, the contentious Namgyal Rinpoche. Through his teachings on Visualization Ms. Jones created a life of health, vitality and joy in spite of her early trauma. This is her testimony to how we all have the power to heal. Her book Medicine Buddha / Medicine Mind is available from Amazon here.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.