Friday Find: Post-MFA Fellowship Compilation
UPDATED NOVEMBER 2023
What next? That question confronts many MFA candidates nearing graduation. The soon-to-be degreed writer has just spent (typically) two years submitting manuscripts to workshops and receiving critiques. She has completed a book-length work and therefore fulfilled the creative thesis requirement. Now she possesses readers’ comments on that work, too. It’s clear that she must revise to get that first book fully ready for publication. But who can guarantee the time or resources to support this next crucial stage?
Some fellowship and writer-in-residence opportunities allow emerging writers to continue crafting their work, often with both financial and intellectual support. Most offer the comfort and camaraderie of an artistic or academic community, as well. While not all programs require a graduate degree in creative writing, some do; others often expect the teaching ability and level of accomplishment frequently associated with having earned a graduate-level degree. For some programs, in fact, teaching is an integral part of the fellowship.
On this page I will try to keep a comprehensive (and current) list of these opportunities. Please let me know (in comments) about additional programs you think belong here, and/or about any problems you may encounter with the links.
Please note that I am not intending for this list to focus on relatively short-term residencies, or, with a few exceptions, on programs that seem to expect writers to have published a book before application. If you want to locate more opportunities along those lines, I suggest that you consult the Alliance of Artist Communities and ResArtis websites.
Note also that deadlines (and application fees, when applicable—yes, unfortunately, some of these applications will cost money to submit) can vary and may even change within a given fellowship program from year to year. Be sure to check with each program for updated information, as well as for detailed eligibility and application guidelines.
Finally, recognize that some fellowships are not offered yearly, and some rotate disciplines/area of literary focus (alternating between poetry and prose, for example).
Good luck!
- Akademie Schloss Solitude Fellowships
- Anisfield-Wolf Fellowship in Writing and Publishing
- Bard Fiction Prize
- George Bennett Fellowship (Phillips Exeter Academy)
- Gaius Charles Bolin Dissertation and Post-MFA Fellowships (Williams College)
- Children’s Writer-in-Residence Program (Boston Public Library)
- Emory University Creative Writing Fellowships
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) Fellowship
- Fine Arts Work Center Fellowships
- Hodder Fellowships (Princeton University)
- Kenan Visiting Writer (University of North Carolina)
- Kenyon Review Fellowships (Kenyon College)
- Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Transitional Residencies (These residencies don’t last quite so long as the other opportunities listed here, but I’m including the program because a) the “transitional residencies” are targeted specifically to recent graduates and b) the KHN Center graciously hosted me for two weeks right after I finished my MFA program.)
- New York University Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowships (MFA-grad applicants are eligible: “Applicants with terminal degrees in their field may apply as long as they are preparing for a career in university teaching and research.”)
- Olive B. O’Connor Fellowship in Creative Writing (Colgate University)
- Ann Plato Fellowship (Trinity College)
- Princeton Arts Fellowships (Princeton University)
- Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing (Bucknell University)
- Wallace Stegner Fellowships (Stanford University)
- Steinbeck Fellows Program (San Jose State University)
- Reginald S. Tickner Writing Fellowship (The Gilman School)
- Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowships (University of Wisconsin)
The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers: http://www.mccullerscenter.org/fellowships.htm
Three month stay, September-December, at the Smith-McCullers House in Columbus, Georgia, childhood home of Carson McCullers. Includes a $5000 stipend.
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I’m aware of this program, but my impression is that it’s for writers who have already published multiple books (the current fellow’s bio indicates three novels to her credit). Thanks for mentioning it, though!
Don’t forget the Fulbright grants, which pay you a “liveable” stipend (changes based on which country you go to) and defers your student loan for the time you’re away and there are no publications required (but good grades from grad school help).
Thanks for that tip, C.!
Erika,
This one from Colorado College is new: http://haydensferryreview.blogspot.com/2009/04/post-mfa-fiction-fellowship.html
Thanks so much, Jolie!
The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center link doesn't work. Thanks for this list!
Thanks for the update, Carmiel. I've just changed the link so it no longer goes directly to the residency application. Apparently,the site was updated so the link changed. Now I'm just directing everyone to the KHN Center and letting you find the residency app. from there. Good luck!
The link for the Southern Review Fellowship does not work.
Thanks, Anonymous. The link worked a year ago when it was added; apparently, the journal will post a new announcement when it is taking applications once again. I've therefore moved the opportunity to the list of positions that do not maintain a dedicated Web space.
Please note: On our old blog, someone has just left a dismaying comment re: applying to Akademie Schloss Solitude. Proceed with caution!
In regards to the comment on your old blog (for those who haven’t read it: the application procedure requires you to pay the application fee in advance, in order to be sent a link to the online application via email, and the commenter never received the link), I’ve applied to Akademie Schloss Solitude before, and had no trouble receiving the application. I don’t doubt the other commenter’s assertions that they make no bones about being unresponsive to potential applicants (I had no technical problems with my application, so I have a limited perspective..), but I just want to offer my own experience as a counterpoint, especially because there’s so little available about them on the web, in English at least, that it can be hard to feel like you’re not sending your time/effort/money into a void!
Thank you for sharing that, Miriam. Much appreciated.
T&W Fellowship Program: Thank you for your message and for yourinterest in the T&W Fellowship Program. We are not currently offering the fellowship,but may be able to provide fellowships again beginning in calendar year 2012.You may want to check back with us in October or November for an update.
I was able to find a few more fellowships here: https://www.webemployed.com/fellowships-for-international-students/