Harman Writer-in-Residence Program News

Last night I had the amazing opportunity to attend a celebration marking the tenth anniversary of the Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence Program at Baruch College of The City University of New York. Apart from the chance to meet and chat with Lorrie Moore, one of the program’s first visiting writers who came back to campus for this event (and author of some of my all-time favorite short stories), I also discovered some terrific news: Another of my literary idols, Francine Prose (see my review of her Reading Like a Writer here), will be the Fall 2008 Harman Writer-in-Residence. Lucky Baruch students who will have the chance to work with her, and lucky me who, you can bet, will be keeping tabs on the Harman Program site for the announcement of Prose’s public reading in October.

More Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

If you’re a fiction writer under the age of 30 you’ll want to pay attention (and do it fast, because the submission deadline is February 15) to this contest from The Kenyon Review. Alice Hoffman will be the final judge; stories must be 1200 words or shorter. “The Kenyon Review will publish the winning short story, and the author will be awarded a scholarship to attend the 2008 Writers Workshop, June 14th to the 21st, in beautiful Gambier, Ohio.” No entry fee.
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If you didn’t catch this news already at my super-special AWP blog, here it is once again. “The State-to-State Poets Exchange offers emerging poets from New York City and Minnesota the opportunity to expand the reach of their work by connecting to an active literary community outside their home state. For the first event, an emerging New York City-based poet will travel to Minnesota, meet with seasoned editors and literary presenters, and give a public reading and on-stage interview focused on his or her current work in progress.” The selected poet will also receive an honorarium of $500; the on-stage interview will be transcribed and published in Rain Taxi Review of Books. The second event will bring a Minnesota poet to New York. No application fees. More information/details on eligibility here. There’s no time to waste here, either: New York poets must apply by February 15.
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Seattle’s Hugo House is now seeking writers for its Belltown Residency program, which provides two writers with subsidized housing as well as the opportunity to teach in the Hugo House’s writing classes. Application deadline: April 11, 2008. No application fee. More information here.
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“Send us your stories! For the 2009 Albuquerque Almanac, an annual calendar, guide and selection of articles about Albuquerque, featuring writing by local writers on local subjects. We welcome essays, poems, short stories and other as-of-yet undiscovered kinds of writing of any length (though we reserve the right to edit and shorten). Writers will receive $30 for each accepted submission. Deadline is July 30, 2008. To submit or request guidelines, email mandy(at)streetsweeperpress(dot)com or snail mail ABQ Almanac, PO Box 153, Cedar Crest, NM 87008.” (via New Mexico CultureNet newsletter).
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Wolsak & Wynn, an Ontario-based publisher, accepts poetry samples and manuscripts between January 1 and March 31 each year. Check the guidelines here. (via placesforwriters)
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Finally, here are some job listings for good measure:

Visiting Assistant Professor (“Duties: Teach fiction, poetry, screenplay, documentary, playwriting, nonfiction, new media writing, journalism or related topics.”), University of California at Riverside
Endowed Chair in Creative Writing (fiction), Meredith College (North Carolina)
Media Relations Coordinator, Mars Hill College (North Carolina)
Writer, Stony Brook University (New York)

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!