Fellowship & Award

Spring 2011 Emerging Writer Fellowships: Call For Submissions
The Writer's Center, metropolitan Washington, DC's community gathering place for writers and readers, is currently accepting submissions for several competitive Emerging Writer Fellowships for Spring 2011. We welcome submissions from writers of all genres, backgrounds, and experiences in the following genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Emerging Writer Fellows will be featured at The Writer's Center as part of Story/Stereo, our Emerging Writers Reading Series and live music fusion events. The readings, held on Friday evenings, bring together writers and some of the area's best local musicians. In its first year, 700 people attended Story/Stereo's events. The Writer's Center will sell titles by the Emerging Writers prior to and during their event. You can learn more about Story/Stereo by visiting www.storystereo.com. Selected Fellows may be invited to lead a special Saturday workshop at The Writer's Center, with compensation commensurate with standard Writer's Center provisions. For more information on leading workshops with us, please consult our Web site under "About Us," then "Teach for Us." Fellows receive an all-inclusive honorarium to help offset their travel costs, depending on their place of departure. Writers within a 250 mile radius of the Center will receive $250; all others will receive $500. Fellows for Spring 2009 included poets William Archila (The Art of Exile), Nicole Cooley (The Afflicted Girls), and Kathleen Flenniken (Famous); fiction writers Anthony Varallo (Out Loud), Marianne Villanueva (Mayor of the Roses), and Josh Weil (The New Valley); and nonfiction writers Steve Fellner (All Screwed Up) and Dawn Potter (Tracing Paradise: Two Years in Harmony with John Milton). The deadline to submit is September 30, 2010. Applicants are welcome to contact Charles Jensen, Director, with questions or for more information at 301-654-8664, or by email at charles.jensen(at)writer.org. More here.

Drake University Emerging Writer Award
The Drake University Writers & Critics Series is accepting submissions for its second annual Drake University Emerging Writer Award. The faculty and students of Drake University’s English Department select one outstanding first book from among the entries, and the author receives an honorarium of $1000 plus travel and lodging expenses to read at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Each year, the award rotates among genres (short fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry). We are currently accepting submissions of first books of literary nonfiction for consideration for the Drake University Emerging Writer Reading, which will be held during the first week of April 2011. Entries may be submitted by the author or the publisher, and must include a copy of the book; a cover letter that includes a brief biography, contact information for the author, and a statement affirming that this is his/her first book-length publication; a self-addressed stamped envelope; and a $15.00 entry fee payable to "Drake University." Entries must be postmarked by August 31, 2010. Materials postmarked after August 31 will not be considered. Entries will not be returned and will become the property of the Drake University English Department. The winner will be notified by December 1, 2010. All entrants will be notified of the results by December 31, 2010. This year, the award is open to single-author first books of literary nonfiction only. Authors must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must agree to attend and participate in the reading at Drake University in April 2011 to receive the award. The following are ineligible for the awards: 1) authors who have published more than one book of literary nonfiction through independent, university, or commercial publishers; 2) entries from vanity presses and self-published books; 3) current students and employees of Drake University. Send all materials to: Drake University Emerging Writer Award / c/o Jennifer Perrine, Writers and Critics Series / English Department, Howard Hall / Drake University / 2507 University Ave / Des Moines, IA 50311. For questions about the award or the series, please e-mail jennifer.perrine(at)drake.edu (replace (at) with @).