WriterHouse Emerging Writers Fellowships

 
American literature without To Kill a Mockingbird? It could easily have been one of the many books that were never written, but Harper Lee had two angels in her life. In 1956, she received a Christmas gift from her friends Michael and Joy Williams Brown: a year's wages with a note, "You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas.” Within a year, she had written the first draft of one of the most important novels of the twentieth century.
Most writers don't have friends like Harper Lee's. If they're not able to pursue an MFA degree, they're probably squeezing in their writing around work and family. Most don't have access to writing instructors or critique groups or even a quiet space to write uninterrupted.
WriterHouse was founded in 2008 to support and nurture Charlottesville-area writers and aspiring writers. It provides affordable writing instruction, quiet work space, an opportunity to connect with other writers, and a connection to the larger literary world through visits from published novelists, poets, and nonfiction authors.
WriterHouse is establishing an annual Fellowship program for emerging writers. Beginning in January 2011 (or whenever funding is established), unpublished writers without Masters of Fine Arts degrees in Creative Writing or any related field will be invited to apply for a one-year fellowship. Three Fellows will be chosen by a panel of judges: one in fiction, one in poetry, one in narrative nonfiction. Selection will be based on the promise evident in submitted writing samples and a commitment to making significant progress on a single project during the year.
Support from the fellowship funds will include up to eight tuition-free workshops for one year (1-2 per quarter), free writing space reserved especially for the Fellows, and up to two hours a month of one-on-one coaching with a personal writing mentor. WriterHouse needs $4,500 to fund each of the three Fellowships. A Fellowship may be named for any donor who fully funds one or more fellowships in that year and the donor will be acknowledged in any future publication of the work accomplished during the Fellowship year.
For more information about this and other giving opportunities, contact Rachel Unkefer, veep@writerhouse.org or leave a message at 434-296-1922. www.writerhouse.org