Each spring, we typically announce an upcoming contest, provide information in our By the Numbers feature, and share other timely news.
Today, we’re excited to announce that an anonymous donor has offered to make a $1,000 grant if we can match it dollar for dollar by April 14—a month from today. This grant—like all the money we raise—will go directly to pay artists for their work.
So we’re asking you to help us meet that goal. By donating now, your generous gift will go even farther to financially support literary arts. We know many of you support our nonprofit journal at year’s end and we can’t thank you enough. Consider making a spring gift this time, either via PayPal, credit card, or personal check. Visit our support page to learn more. Also, a tremendous thanks to our generous anonymous donor!
In other news, this spring we’re delighted to offer a writing contest for creative nonfiction of 1,000 words or less. Please submit your previously unpublished essay beginning April 1. Submissions will close when we get 200 entries, or on April 30 at 5 p.m., whichever comes first. The winning writer will receive a $500 cash prize as well as regular payment for their work. We will also choose two top finalists to receive $50 (regular payment + cash prize). Find more details on the submit page of our website.
Please note: We will be closed to all submissions during July and August this year while we catch up on submissions. This will enable us to contact writers more quickly after they submit. We will reopen to all submissions on Thursday, Sept. 1.
And now for this year’s By the Numbers! We wrapped up our fifth year in 2021, so we’re offering a five-year perspective below.
By the Numbers
2017
Total submissions: 509
Total acceptances: 199
2021
Total submissions: 1,025
Total acceptances: 129
In five years…
What we’ve published most: Fiction (203 stories)
What we’ve published least: Book reviews (24)
Total donations from readers since our 2017 launch: $12,361 (solely used for artist payments)
Total expenses since our 2017 launch: $21,349 (artist payments, website upkeep, tax filings, PayPal fees, and post office-box rental fee):
Staff (all volunteers): Eleven, including us
No paywall!
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As always, we’d like to thank our volunteer staff for reviewing submissions, copyediting, and writing pieces for us. Are you interested in being a volunteer reader and helping us review work? We are always looking for more help. Just drop us a line at thesunlightpress@gmail.com, and tell us what types of work (essays, short stories, flash fiction, poetry) you’d like to read.
Currently, we are looking for more submissions of Artists on Craft pieces, and book reviews of novels or nonfiction—preferably recently released ones. Peruse our site to see examples of the work we publish.
If you have questions about our upcoming contest or any other matter, please email us at thesunlightpress@gmail.com. Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to sign up for our free newsletter to get our posts to your inbox each week.
Happy spring to all, and thanks for supporting us for five years!
Rudri Bhatt Patel and Beth Burrell
The Sunlight Press founders and editors
