Straw Dog Writers Guild, in Western Massachusetts, has opened up its call for applications for the 2022-23 cycle of the Emerging Writer Fellowship Program which it started in 2020.
Applications are open to women and gender-expansive writers of color based in the Western MA counties of Frankin, Hampshire, and Hampden. Applicants must be in the early stages of their career and, in this cycle, must be writers of fiction.
The fellow will receive a $3000 stipend (up from $2,500) which can be used in any way the fellow chooses as long as it helps with their writing; e.g. to subsidize workshop attendance, writing residency fees, writing-related travel, competition fees, time off work to write, child-care.
The fellow will also receive complimentary Straw Dog Writers Guild membership during the year and access to mentors who can offer insight on craft, revision, promotion, publishing, or other writing needs identified by the fellow.
Other benefits include a professionally designed author website courtesy of Valley of Writers and an opportunity to promote their work through the Straw Dog Writers Guild mailing list and social media platforms.
The inaugural cycle of the Straw Dog Writers Guild Emerging Fellowship was for poetry and the selected fellow was Amina Jordan-Mendez (Pictured above).
Applications must be completed between November 1 and December 30, 2021. Finalists will be asked to participate in an interview and the selection committee decision will be announced by March 1, 2022. The fellowship term will run from May 2022 to May 2023.
The application form and more details are available online here.