THEATER — NOVEMBER 2023

LITERATURE GRANT

Café Royal Cultural Foundation

DEADLINE: November 6, 2023 at 9:00 am ET (or when they reach their limit of 40 applications, which ever comes first).

INFO: Café Royal Cultural Foundation NYC will award a writing grant to authors of fiction / creative nonfiction, poetry and playwriting.

AWARD: Up to $10,000.00

ELIGIBILITY:

  • Authors in fiction / creative non-fiction, poetry and playwriting.

  • The applicant must be the originator of the written material.

  • Grants will not be made for the purpose of research only.

  • Grants will not be made for equipment.

  • Writers applying must be a current resident of New York City and have lived there for a minimum of one year prior to applying and plan to be a resident through the completion of their project.

Grants awarded in this category may fund costs associated with continuing the composition of work submitted. Such as:

  • Course Reduction (if you're a Teacher/Professor)

  • Salary Replacement

  • Living Expenses

  • Research Expenses

  • Travel Research Expenses

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

  • Up to and no more than a 15 page PDF of the work, for the Café Royal Cultural Foundation Selection and Executive Committee to download and read. Please make sure your links are correct and not password protected. If they are not correct or have password protection your application will be declined and not reviewed by the Selection Committee.

  • A short description of the project.

  • A short author biography of the person(s) involved.

  • Budget must not exceed the amount of $10,000.00.

  • List of costs of how you plan to use the grant funds.

  • (Please review our lists of Approved and Ineligible Budget Items for Literature Grant Funds, located below)

  • Travel and Research costs within the United States must demonstrate a direct correlation to the project for which you are applying.

  • You may not apply for International Travel and Research Costs.

  • If you are hiring fact checkers / editors / research assistants please be aware that we prefer that individuals providing these services are located in the NYC area.

  • Writers applying must be a current resident of New York City and have lived there for a minimum of one year prior to applying and plan to be a resident through the completion of their project.

  • We ask that the completion of your manuscript is no sooner than 90 days after this application's due date and no later than 12 months after your grant’s award date.

  • Applicants can only apply with the same project twice.

  • You may apply in a different cycle with a different project.

caferoyalculturalfoundation.org/literature-page

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Scholars-in-Residence Program Fellowship 2024-25

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

INFO: The Scholars-in-Residence Program offers both long-term and short-term fellowships designed to support and encourage top-quality research and writing on the history, politics, literature, and culture of the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora, as well as to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary exchange among scholars and writers in residence at the Schomburg Center.

Long-term fellowships provide a $35,000 stipend to support postdoctoral scholars and independent researchers who work in residence at the Center for a continuous period of six months. The Scholars-in-Residence Program provides funding for six fellows each year, three of whom are supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Selected fellows can choose to begin their term either in September or in January. Fellows are provided with individual office space and a computer, research assistance, and full access to the unparalleled resources of the Schomburg Center. In addition to pursuing their own research projects, fellows also engage in an ongoing interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, sharing their research with one another in a weekly work-in-progress seminar. While in residence, they are also exposed to the vibrant intellectual life of the Schomburg through its public exhibitions, panels, screenings, and events.

Short-term fellowships are open to postdoctoral scholars, independent researchers, and creative writers (novelists, playwrights, poets) who work in residence at the Center for a continuous period of one to three months. Short-term fellows receive a stipend of $3000 per month. (These short-term fellowships are a recent addition to the Scholars-in-Residence Program, having been offered for the first time in the 2017-18 application cycle; they are funded by an endowment provided by the Ford Foundation and the Newhouse Foundation.)

Both long-term and short-term fellowships are awarded for continuous periods in residence at the Schomburg Center. Fellows are expected to devote their full time to their research and writing. They are expected to work regularly at the Schomburg Center and to participate in the intellectual life of the Scholars-in-Residence Program. Fellows may not be employed during the period in residence, except on sabbaticals from their home institutions. Those selected as Scholars-in-Residence are encouraged to supplement their stipends with funding support from their home institutions or other non-residential fellowships or grants if the requisite approval is received from the Schomburg Center.

The deadline for applications is December 1, 2023. The online system will open for new applications on September 1.  Keep checking this page for updates or sign up for our free enewsletter Schomburg Connection.  If there are any questions, please email sir@nypl.org.

ELIGIBILITY: The Scholars-in-Residence Program is intended for scholars and writers requiring extensive, on-site research with collections at the Schomburg Center, the pre-eminent repository for documentation on the history and cultures of peoples of African descent around the globe. Fellows are expected to be in full-time residency at the Center during the award period and to participate in scheduled seminars and colloquia. The Program is intended to support research in African diasporic studies undertaken from a humanistic perspective; projects in the social sciences, science and technology, psychology, education, and religion are eligible if they utilize a humanistic approach and contribute to humanistic knowledge.

Candidates who need to work primarily in the New York Public Library's other research libraries – the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, and the Science, Industry and Business Library – are not eligible for this fellowship, nor are people seeking funding for research leading directly to a degree. (Applications are accepted from current doctoral students, as long as they will defend their dissertation and graduate before starting the fellowship tenure.) Only U.S. citizens, permanent residents and foreign nationals who have been resident in the United States for the three years immediately preceding the application deadline may apply.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

A complete application must include:

  • The Schomburg Center Scholars-in-Residence Application.

  • A 1500-word description of the proposed study.

  • Curriculum vitae (limit to 3 pages).

  • Names of references (long-term fellows must submit three recommendation letters; short-term fellows must submit a minimum of two letters). References will receive an e-mail instructing them how to upload their recommendations.

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY:

In no more than 1500 words the applicant should provide a detailed description of the proposed study, including but by no means restricted to the following elements:

  • A statement of the topic under consideration with specific reference to the major questions, problems, and theses being investigated.

  • An outline of the plan for carrying out the study or project.

  • Discussion of the sources in the Schomburg Center and other research units of The New York Public Library that the applicant plans to use for the study and plans for examining them.

  • Description of research methods.

  • Applicant's competence in the use of any foreign languages needed to complete the study.

  • The place of the study in the applicant's overall research and writing program.

  • The significance of the study for the applicant's field and for the humanities in general.

  • The final objective and expected outcomes of the project. Plans for publications, lectures, exhibitions, teaching, and other vehicles of dissemination should be detailed. Fellows will be expected to share and discuss their research and writing with other scholars-in-residence in the weekly work-in-progress seminar during their residency.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Applications for the Scholars-in-Residence Program will be reviewed by a Selection Committee consisting of five external reviewers, a rotating panel of accomplished scholars and writers with expertise across the fields of study covered by the fellowship. The Selection Committee is convened and chaired by the Director of the Scholars-in-Residence Program.

Fellows will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

  • Relationship of the project to the resources of the Schomburg Center.

  • Qualifications of the applicant.

  • Quality and feasibility of the project plan.

  • Importance of the proposed project to the applicant's field and to the humanities.

  • Relationship of the project to the humanities.

  • Likelihood that the project will be completed successfully.

  • The provisions for making the results of the project available to scholars and to the public at large.

Applicants selected for the Program will be notified in late March.

nypl.org/help/about-nypl/fellowships-institutes/schomburg-center-scholars-in-residency/application

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WINTER '23 GUEST RESIDENCY

Woodward Residency

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

INFO: Woodward Residency is announces that applications are now open for its Winter '23 Guest Residency in Ridgewood, Queens.

Established/emerging creative professionals in the fields of literary arts, design, music, film, visual arts, architecture, multi-disciplinary and other arts are all encouraged to apply. They also have two pianos in the space for musicians and composers.

RESIDENCY DATES: January 8 — March 29, 2024

ELIGIBILITY: Established/emerging artists and creative professionals in the fields of literary arts, visual arts, design, music, architecture, multi-disciplinary and other arts are encouraged to apply.

Please note that art forms that generate fumes (such as oil painting) cannot be accommodated. Also, with the exception of our piano residents, our space is best suited to less cacophonous artistic pursuits.

AWARD BENEFITS:

  • Access to the building from 9AM-5 PM, Monday through Friday for the duration of your Guest Residency.

  • Guest Residents will work in the communal Great Room, with library etiquette.

  • Open invite to weekly resident gatherings.

  • A supportive and engaged community of working creatives.

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS:

  • Work Samples + Personal Statement - Recent work samples and your personal statement should reflect your commitment to your work and clarify how the residency would benefit your work at this time. Please see our application for specific guidelines.

  • References - Please provide the contact info of at least one professional and one personal reference (excluding family members or significant others). If you are new to your field of interest and don’t have a professional reference to speak to your current creative pursuits, you are welcome to provide a reference from someone in another field who has worked directly with you.

EVALUATION PROCESS: A rotating panel of arts professionals will review all applications with the intent of supporting both established and emerging artists. Panelists include novelists, filmmakers, performance artists, literary agents, film/theater producers.

Selection criteria includes originality, commitment to your proposed field of work, interest in community, and demonstrated need for a work space.

We have limited space for Guest Residents and encourage all applicants to reapply if they don’t get a spot in the upcoming session.

woodwardresidency.co/guestresidency

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Mesa Refuge Residency

DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

APPLICATION FEE: $50

INFO: Mesa Refuge welcomes a diverse community of writers—both emerging and established—who define and/or offer solutions to the pressing issues of our time. Particularly, it is our priority to support writers, activists and artists whose ideas are “on the edge,” taking on the pressing issues of our time including (but not limited to): nature, environment and climate crisis; economic, racial and gender equity; social justice and restorative justice; immigration; health care access; housing; and more.

We especially want writers of nonfiction books, long-form journalism, audio and documentary film. Occasionally we accept poetry, fiction (Young Adult/Adult Literary), screenwriting and playwriting, photojournalism, personal memoirs (as a vehicle to tell a larger story) and graphic narrative. We tend not to accept academic writing. The potential impact and distribution of your project is also important.

We aim to support a diverse community of writers and welcome applicants that represent a broad spectrum of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, immigration status, religion or ability. Please see our DEI statement for more information about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

We typically have one application deadline during the year: December 1. Applications received in December will be considered for residencies throughout the following year.

As a small nonprofit, our application fee of $50 helps underwrite the cost of application review. However, we do not want the application fee to be a barrier to apply. To request a fee waiver, please email us directly here.

Our application process is anonymous, and the questions are mostly short answer. We require one writing sample (max 2,000 words or 10 pages), a current resume, headshot photo and two references (we do not require letters of recommendation). Applicants will be contacted approximately 8-10 weeks after the application deadline.

Our residencies are two weeks long and there is no residency fee. Additional residency expenses like travel, transportation and food are your responsibility. Our facility accommodates three residents at a time.

2024 RESIDENCY DATES:

  • Session 1: March 1-March 14

  • Session 2: March 15-28

  • Session 3: March 29-April 11

  • Session 4: April 12-April 25

  • Session 5: April 26-May 9

  • Session 6: Oct 18-Oct 31

  • Session 7: Nov 1-Nov 14

  • Session 8: Nov 29-Dec 12

mesarefuge.org/residencies/application/