The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH) fellowships are underwritten by individuals, organizations, and corporations. Each unique fellowship is designed with input from the sponsor to support a specific demographic or genre of writing or to honor an individual. Fellowship recipients win a writing residency at WCDH to focus on their writing projects. Six fellowships are open or will open later in 2021.
WCDH fellowships generally receive fifty to sixty submissions. Each application includes a work sample of up to ten double-spaced pages. To streamline the judging process, applications are stripped of names and other identifying information and divided into five reading groups of three people each. Readers use a rubric provided by WCDH to rank each submission and select the top two. No written review or other paperwork is required, and readers have seven days to review and rank the applications. The top submissions are then sent to the final judges who select the winning entry. For each fellowship, a total of eighteen readers are required. WCDH Executive Director, Michelle Hannon, said, “We’re extremely appreciative of our community of writers and literary lovers who are so enthusiastic about reading for us. I don’t know how we would be able to offer such a wonderful array of fellowships without their gracious support and conscientious reading.”
Readers are needed for the following upcoming fellowships.
The “My Time” fellowship for parent writers will be reviewed in March.
The “Moondancer” fellowship for writing about nature and the outdoors will be read in early June.
The “Emerging Poet” fellowship for unpublished poets working on their first book will be judged in late June.
The “Celebrate! Maya Project” for young writers who address social justice issues will be read in July.
The “Dancing in the Rain” fellowship for writers of children’s and YA literature will be reviewed in early August.
The “Real People, Real Struggles, Real Stories: Writing About Mental Illness” fellowship will be read in late August.
If you are interested in volunteering to be a fellowship reader, please contact Executive Director, Michelle Hannon, at director@writerscolony.org or 479-253-7444. Visit https://www.writerscolony.org/fellowships for details about open and upcoming fellowships.
To learn about funding a fellowship to honor a writer or support a genre and/or area of interest you are passionate about, visit www.writerscolony.org/sponsor-a-fellowship.
Since opening its doors to writers in 2000, the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow has made a lasting impact on the arts and literary communities by providing uninterrupted residency time for writers of all genres, including culinary, composers, and artists, without discrimination. The WCDH has hosted over 1,600 writers from 48 states and 13 countries. For more information, please visit www.writerscolony.org or call Michelle Hannon (479)253-7444.
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