2021 Emerging Poet Fellowship

Poets assembling their first book of poems are invited to apply for this fellowship. Do you have enough or nearly enough poems for your first book? Do you need time and mental space to write new poems, revise the ones you’ve written, select and arrange them for a book, or all of these? Eligible applicants shall not have published a chapbook or other book of verse but may have published other books. (Published means the book has been issued for public sale and distribution.) Prior publication of individual poems is desirable but not required. The writing sample provided must demonstrate literary merit and the promise of publication in book form.

The fellowship winner will receive a two-week residency to allow the recipient to focus completely on their work. Each writer’s suite has a bedroom, private bathroom, separate writing space, and wireless internet. We provide uninterrupted writing time, a European-style gourmet dinner prepared five nights a week and served in our community dining room, the camaraderie of other professional writers when you want it, and a community kitchen stocked with the basics for breakfast and lunch.

Fellowship applications must be accompanied by a writing sample and a non-refundable $35 application fee. Only one writing project may be proposed per application. The submission period opens on Tuesday, March 16. The deadline is midnight on Monday, June 14, 2021. The winner will be announced no later than July 1, 2021. Residency must be completed by July 31, 2022. Exceptions will be made for COVID-19 concerns.

The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow would like to thank author and Writers’ Colony alumna, Linda Leavell, and her husband, Brooks Garner, for generously funding this fellowship.