The Open Notebook (TON) Early-Career Fellowship Program 2027 for early-career science journalists ($6,000 Stipend)

Application Deadline: October 31, 2026.

Applications at the moment are open for the 2027 Open Notebook (TON) Early-Career Fellowship Program. The Open Notebook gives a paid, part-time fellowship program for early-career science journalists. During the course of this fellowship, fellows work with a mentor to plan, report, and write articles for publication at The Open Notebook and change into part of the TON editorial staff. This one-year program gives fellows the chance to discover their profession pursuits and passions and to sharpen their abilities as part of a proficient, supportive, numerous neighborhood of previous and current fellows and mentors. 

Fellowship Details

• During this distant, part-time fellowship, every fellow will pitch, report, and write articles for publication at The Open Notebook—a mixture of “story behind the story” interviews and reported options. They may have weekly cellphone or video conferences with a mentor who’s an skilled science journalist and who will assist them form story concepts, present reporting and writing steerage, edit fellows’ article drafts, and provide normal craft and career-development recommendation and steerage.
• Fellows and mentors additionally take part in a Slack dialogue group composed of different present and former fellowship individuals and TON editors. During the fellowship, fellows will take part in cohort-based actions within the fellowship Slack neighborhood. Membership on this neighborhood will proceed after the fellowship ends.

Eligibility Requirements

• The fellowship is open to early-career science journalists.
  • If you reside exterior the U.S., you might be welcome to apply.
• Some coaching and/or expertise in writing for most people is a requirement for this fellowship.
  • You don’t must have in depth expertise or coaching, however you do must have some.
• Science journalists (or aspiring science journalists) should have fewer than three years of standard skilled science writing expertise.
  • Internships and scholar work don’t rely towards the fewer-than-three-years requirement.
  • Exceptions to this requirement may be made for instances by which an applicant has greater than three years {of professional} science writing expertise however some or all of that have will not be in English.
• Applications, together with writing samples and letters of advice, have to be in English.
  • Materials translated into English from one other language are acceptable.

Time Commitment

• This is a part-time, distant fellowship.
• The fellowship includes reporting and writing 4 articles of 1,500-2,000 phrases for The Open Notebook, in addition to assembly commonly with an assigned mentor and taking part in editorial discussions and cohort-based actions on Slack.

Selection Criteria

Priority will probably be given to candidates who display:

• A powerful intention to work primarily as an expert science journalist. (Note: This fellowship is meant for folks whose principal purpose is to do journalism, versus different types of science communication.)
• Some coaching and/or expertise writing about science for most people (it doesn’t need to be in depth)
• Some understanding of the science journalism occupation, the challenges science journalists generally face, and the methods by which you wish to develop as a science journalist
• Familiarity with The Open Notebook and the sorts of matters we are likely to cowl
• An means to generate good story concepts appropriate for The Open Notebook
• A dedication to delivering your greatest work and being conscientious about deadlines
• Strong writing means (If English will not be your first language, we do take this into consideration and don’t anticipate flawless writing. However, for a profitable expertise on this fellowship you should have a reasonably excessive stage of proficiency in English.)

Application Requirements

The application kind for this fellowship consists of the next:

• Responses to questions on:
  • Why you have an interest on this fellowship and what you hope to study
  • Your prior coaching and/or expertise in writing tales about science for most people
  • Any specific abilities, pursuits, or views that you’d deliver to this fellowship
  • Your general plans for through the fellowship interval (for instance, will you concurrently be ending a dissertation? Freelancing? Seeking full-time employment someplace? Doing one thing else?) 
• Short proposals for two TON options or multimedia tales that you just assume could be appropriate for publication at The Open Notebook. These can take the type of behind-the-story author interviews; reported options on some ingredient of the craft of science writing; roundtable discussions; or another artistic, feature-length undertaking centered on the craft of science writing. Please familiarize your self with the sorts of tales that The Open Notebook publishes. (Note: These are transient, 100-word proposals, not full-scale pitches.)
• A resume or CV
• One letter of reference. This might be from a professor, editor, mentor, supervisor, or different colleague—whoever you assume can greatest communicate to your abilities and qualities as they relate to science journalism and to this fellowship expertise.
• Up to 2 writing or multimedia samples of labor aimed toward most people (not scientific/educational writing). If you might be sharing audio or multimedia clips, you possibly can merely put the URLs for the work right into a PDF to add on this part. (Samples have to be in English. Translated supplies are acceptable.)
• Optional: Additional details about you. We strongly encourage writers from all sorts of backgrounds to apply. If you’re a member of any group or neighborhood that has traditionally been marginalized or underrepresented in U.S. journalism, we invite you to tell us. This is completely non-obligatory, and any data you disclose will probably be saved confidential

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Open Notebook (TON) Early-Career Fellowship Program