The Georgia Writers Association's John Lewis Writing Grants are inspired by the late civil rights icon and his more than three decades of service as Georgia’s 5th District representative. The John Lewis Writing Grants will be awarded annually in the categories of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and screen/playwriting.
 

The purpose of the John Lewis Writing Grants is to elevate, encourage, and inspire the voices of promising Black writers in Georgia. Applicants must be emerging writers who are Black or African-American residents of Georgia for at least one year, or full-time students at a Georgia college or university at the time of application and on the date of the award. Writers who are eligible may apply annually but may only win the John Lewis Grant one time.
 

The winning recipients will receive $500, and an invitation to read from their work at the next Red Clay Writers Conference.

There is no submission fee to enter.

Deadline: October 10th, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
 

Qualifications: 

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and emerging writers who are Black or African-American residents of Georgia for at least one year, or full-time students at a Georgia college or university at the time of application and on the date of the award. Applicants are ineligible if they have published more than one traditionally published book. Promising writers without publication will be considered. Writers who are eligible may apply annually but may only win a grant once. There is no submission fee to enter. Applicants are ineligible if they are of relations to any of the Georgia Writers staff or board of directors.

Guidelines: 

Writers may apply in only one genre and must submit the following:

—A completed grant application

—An artist statement of 500 words (max.) as a concise description of your work and goals as a writer. Tell us what inspires your writing career, and how your work engages (directly or indirectly) with the legacy of John Lewis.

—A writing sample of 10 pages (max.) of a published or unpublished piece in the genre in which you are applying: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or screen/playwriting. If submitting poetry, one poem per page please. 

*Do not include your name or any identifying information in the writing sample.

We Believe That Anyone Can Be a Storyteller.

About our Publication

• Waymark Literary Magazine is a fully online magazine in html format. We publish fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and art.
• Waymark accepts submissions from undergraduate students from North America (Canada, Mexico, North America, the Caribbean islands) and its affiliated territories. Work submitted by students residing outside of North America or work from non-undergraduate students will not be considered for publication.

About Our Issues

• Waymark publishes two issues every academic year, one per semester. Submissions for our Fall/Winter '25 issue open July 1, 2025 and close on November 16, 2025. 
• Due to summer break, Waymark's submission review process will be suspended until late August. No decisions on submitted pieces will be released until then.
  

Submission Guidelines

• All pieces should be submitted with adherence to MLA formatting: 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, page numbers in the top-left.
• Waymark does not publish erotica or fan fiction of any kind. We reject works with excessive violence, hate speech, and unnecessary gore.
• All submitted works should be self-contained stories that are not parts of larger works. Waymark does not publish chapters of books or book excerpts.
• To see our guidelines for specific genres, please check out our website: https://waymarkmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/
   

The Headlight Review presents the third annual Anthony Grooms Prize in Short Fiction

First prize of $750 is awarded to the winning writer, along with 20 copies of the winning chapbook, published by The Headlight Review Press. The chapbook will be perfect-bound and feature a four-color cover. Submissions will open on June 1 and will run through August 31. 

Manuscript guidelines

Manuscripts are not to exceed 12,500 words. The content may include a single story, multiple stories, multiple flash stories or a stand-alone novel excerpt. Any submission that exceeds this word count will not be considered.

Stories may have been published individually. However, none of these stories are to have been published in a previous collection. A novel excerpt cannot have been part of a previously published novel. 

All manuscripts are anonymously submitted. First-round judging will be conducted by staff from The Headlight Review. Finalists will be revealed by October 15 and will be judged by the esteemed author James Cherry. 

About the Judge

James Cherry is the author of four collections of poetry, two novels and a collection of short fiction. His novel, Edge of the Wind, was reissued in 2022 from Stephen F Austin State University Press and his latest collection of verse, Between Chance and Mercy was published by Aquarius Press/Willow Books in 2024. He has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, a Lillian Smith Book Award and is the recipient of fellowships from the Martha Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and Kimbilio for Black Fiction. Cherry has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso and is Board Chairman of the Griot Collective of West Tennessee, a poetry workshop. He resides in Tennessee. Visit: jamesEcherry.com.

The Grooms prize winner will be announced by December 1 with publication scheduled for spring 2026.

Entry fee: $18.