Thursday, November 16, 2006

helen mccloy/mwa mystery writing scholarship

What Is It?
The Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship for Mystery Writing seeks to nurture talent in mystery writing -- in fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting.

Who May Apply?
The scholarship is open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents only. Membership in Mystery Writers of America is not required to apply.

How May the Scholarship Be Used?
The scholarship may be used to offset tuition and fees for U.S. writing workshops, writing seminars, or university/college-level writing programs.

What Is the Scholarship Amount?
MWA will present two scholarships for up to $500 each in summer/fall 2007.

Submission Details
To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must submit the following:
Scholarship application form
Copy of official description of writing workshop, seminar or class printed by the institution/sponsor of program
FIVE COPIES of a mystery writing sample (e.g., 3 chapters from a novel with a synopsis, 3 short stories, 3 pieces of short nonfiction work, 1 screenplay, or 1 play script)
Two letters of recommendation (usually from teachers who can speak to the applicant's writing ability)
Short (300 to 500 word) essay on the applicant's interest in mystery writing
The scholarship committee may also require a syllabus or other documentation from the writing program to be attended.

Submission Address
Submit all materials to:
Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship Committee
PO Box 16319
Saint Paul MN 55116-0319

Application Deadline
All applications must be postmarked by February 28, 2007. No late applications or emailed applications will be accepted.

Questions?
Contact the Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship Committee at the address above or e-mail mccloy-mwa@lycos.com.



scholarship info

7 comments:

Tami Klockau said...

Thanks for the heads up Anne! I was just talking to my boyfriend Kurt about wanting to look into writing classes. I just need to find one that is structured to where I feel like I have a little freedom instead of random writing classes at a JC or something. I'm not the biggest fan of school and don't want to turn writing into something I hate due to a bad class/teacher. This might push me to look even harder at the ones that are a little more pricey with more established teachers.

anne frasier said...

tami, good luck if you apply!

i should mention that i'm not involved in any of this. i attended a mystery writers of america meeting last night and was reminded of the scholarship.

Rob Gregory Browne said...

Sounds like a great scholarship. I really wish, however, that there was something out there that's similar to the AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Back when I was a struggling screenwriter, they gave me twenty grand to pursue my dream (and entry into the Hollywood establishment). I think it's now up to twenty-five or thirty grand.

Are there any novel/mystery writing fellowships like that? Sure hope so. All some new writers need is a break. And something like that would afford them one.

Jaye Wells said...

Rob are you volunteering? ;)

Anne, sounds like a great opportunity for an aspiring mystery writer. Thanks for sharing it.

anne frasier said...

rob, i SO agree with you. i don't know of anything like that, but i'm all for helping struggling writers. i don't know the membership numbers for MWA, but 10 bucks taken from every member's yearly fee could make a nice scholarship. the biggest thing people need is time to write. we used to have a minnesota scholarship that allowed the winner to quit her job and do nothing but write for a year. i think one of the last writers to get that was kate dicamillo who wrote because of winn dixie. i could be wrong, but i think that's the book she wrote that year.

jaye, it's not that much money, but it could mean the difference between taking a class and not taking one.

Patrick Shawn Bagley said...

Thanks for posting this, Anne. I will definitely apply for the scholarship since I have three more semesters to go on my MFA. Sure, 500 bucks isn't a lot of money but every penny helps.

anne frasier said...

best if luck, patrick!!