Fellowships
Bringing together the needs and interests of donors and writers, Dedicated Fellowships cover all of a Writers' expenses for a one-month residency at WCDH, including room and board. Travel is the responsibility of the Fellow. Deadlines may vary, so check the website or email the Colony at director@writerscolony.org.
Fellows may take their residency in the month of their choosing, within the 12 months following their selection. Application can be made online through the "Apply" section of the website or by mail.
Current Fellowships
To find out more information about the fellowships available, click on the fellowship that interests you.
The Maeve Marie Fellowship for Children's Book Writing
This fellowship is offered to both emerging and experienced writers of children's literature, from picture books to teen writing. The fellowship provides a one-month residency at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow. Apply online.
The Eureka! Fellowship for Short Story Writing.
The Moondancer Fellowship for Nature and Outdoor Writing
The Moondancer Fellowship for Nature and Outdoor Writing.
The Tyson Foods Fellowship (Culinary) for American Home Cooking or Regional Home Cooking.
The Forrest Goodenough Fellowship
The Forrest Goodenough Fellowship for Composers/Songwriters.
Dedicated Fellowship Program
WCDH's Dedicated Fellowship program allows donors to support the subject, genre, or category of writer, songwriter or composer of their choosing.
Working with staff, donors determine the type of writing, composing and/or songwriting they want to support, such as fiction or nonfiction, poetry or plays, classical or folk music, writing for adults or children.
Donors may also specify a particular category of writer, such as an emerging woman writer under 30, an African-American novelist at mid-career, a songwriter who is a cancer survivor.
It is also possible to add a stipend for an individual writer, such as a Dedicated Fellowship for a writer from Ireland, India, or Italy might include travel expenses.
How much does a Dedicated Fellowship cost the individual donor and/or Corporation?
Sponsorship is $6,000 per year for a 3, 5 or 10-year commitment. The underwriting covers:
- A one-month, all-expenses paid stay for a writer each year in the donor's chosen genre or subject
- A jury of professionals in the particular fellowship topic to review and determine the annual recipient
- National and international publicity
- Processing of the entries and recipient notification
- Staff, working closely with donors/sponsors, determines additional ways to increase donor benefit for underwriting a fellowship. These benefits can be customized based on donor/corporate sponsorship agreements
- Community outreach and education opportunities throughout Arkansas for each writer, as well as information on the topic provided to a national market where applicable
- Outreach evaluation
Endowment
To endow a Dedicated Fellowship requires an outright gift of $100,000 which can be given at one time, or over a five-year period. The endowment supports the Fellowship in perpetuity, providing an annual one-month, all-expenses-paid, stay for a writer in the donor's chosen genre or subject.
Endowing a Dedicated Fellowship assures that writing about a particular topic, or by a certain category of writer, will continue long after the gift-giver is gone. Writers will be writing, readers will be reading, and both discussion and thought will be directed toward the chosen topic.
How does a donor decide what to support?
Colony staff works closely with potential donors to determine the kinds of literature, music/composing they wish to support, the subjects they are passionate about, or the people whose interests or work they wish to memorialize.
The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH) is a program of the Communication Arts Institute.
