Deadline: 18 September 2022
Before they are well-known, it can be challenging for writers to make a living while writing. The Morland Memorial Foundation (MMF) grants a small number of Morland Writing Scholarships each year to assist in meeting this need. Apply now for The Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship 2022.
Each Scholar is given time to write the first draft of a finished book. The Scholarships are not intended to fund academic or scientific research or works of particular interest like religious or political writings. Such submissions or plans are not acceptable. The work submitted will be judged purely on literary merit.
The only condition imposed on the Scholars during The Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship 2022 period is that they must write. They will be asked to submit by email at least 10,000 new words every month until they have finished their book, or their Scholarship term has ended.
Scholar’s undertaking:
At the end of each month scholars must send the Foundation 10,000 new words that they will have written over the course of the month.
Scholars are also asked to donate to the MMF 20% of whatever they subsequently receive from the book they write during the period of their Scholarship.
This includes earnings from the book written during the Scholarship period’s writing that arise from the sale of film rights, serializations, or other supplementary earnings. Other deserving authors will be helped by these dollars. The 20 percent return duty should not be viewed as a contractual obligation, but rather as a debt of honor.
Eligibility
To qualify for the Scholarship a candidate must
- Be born in Africa, or both of whose parents were born in Africa.
- The Scholarships are open to anyone writing in the English language
- Submit an excerpt from a piece of work of between 2,000 – 5,000 words, written in English that has been published and offered for sale,
- Send clear evidence that the piece you upload as part of your application has been both published AND offered for sale. This will be evaluated by a panel of readers and judges set up by the MMF.
Scholarship Requirements:
Proposed Work:
- The candidates should submit a description of between 400 – 1,000 words of the work they intend to write.
- The proposal must be for a full length book of no fewer than 80,000 words.
- The MMF does not accept proposals for collaborative writing or short story collections.
- The proposal should be for a completely new work, not a work in progress, and must be in English.
- Please note that if you are shortlisted for a Morland Writing Scholarship, you will be asked to send us a 3,000 – 4,000 word “chapter” of the book you are proposing to write on your scholarship year to help the judges assess your ability.
Writers will be notified that they are on the shortlist at the end of October. Shortlisters will then have 15 days to return the sample “chapter”.
Biography:
In 200 – 300 words tell us something about yourself and your background. People who reach the shortlist will be asked for further information about themselves and how they propose to write their book.
Fiction or Non-Fiction:
The Foundation welcomes both fiction and non-fiction proposals. We are aware that non-fiction Scholars may need extra time for research, so the Foundation may exercise its discretion to offer non-fiction writers a longer Scholarship period of up to 18 months.
Starting times:
The Scholars may elect to start at any time between January and June in the year following the Scholarship Award.
Their payments and the 10,000 word monthly submission requirement will start at the same time.
Accepted works:
The Scholarships are meant for full length works of adult fiction or non-fiction. Poetry, plays, film scripts, children’s books, and short story collections do not qualify.
Mentoring:
The Foundation will not review or comment on the monthly submissions as they come in. However, each Scholar will be offered the opportunity to be mentored by an established author or publisher.
In most cases the mentorship will begin after the book has been finished and the Scholarship period has ended.
The MMF will pay for the mentorship at the Foundation’s exclusive discretion. The MMF does not intend to serve as an editor or a publisher. Despite the MMF’s willingness to provide guidance, scholars are responsible for finding their own agents and publishers.
Residency: It is up to the Scholars what their living arrangements are during their Scholarship year
Benefits:
- Scholars writing fiction will receive a grant of £18,000, paid monthly over the course of twelve months.
- At the discretion of the Foundation, Scholars writing non-fiction, who require additional research time, could receive an additional grant, paid over a period of up to eighteen months.
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