Announcing the Ashley Bryan Fellowships
The Ashley Bryan Fellowships
In honor of his life in writing and art, the MWPA is pleased to offer the Ashley Bryan Fellowships, which support emerging Maine writers who are Black, people of color, and/or members of one of the Wabanaki Nations or other Native peoples.
In 2017, MWPA awarded Ashley Bryan its Distinguished Achievement Award for exceptional and steadfast contributions to the Maine literary arts. Bryan has published more than fifty books in his lifetime, and many of them have been groundbreaking. Among Bryan’s other awards are the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, and the New York Public Library’s Literary Lions award. It is our hope that the Ashley Bryan Fellowships will continue his legacy by offering support, encouragement, and connection to talented Maine writers.
In 2021, MWPA will give 10 Ashley Bryan Fellowships to emerging writers who either can be nominated by writers, teachers, or librarians around the state or can nominate themselves. A few members of the MWPA’s Community Advisory Board will act as jurors. In 2022 and in each year to follow, MWPA will give 5 Bryan Fellowships through an open application process with a subset of the current fellows acting as jurors. Eligible writers can be nominated by writers, teachers, or librarians around the state or can nominate themselves. Any writer who is nominated will be alerted to their nomination and asked to apply.
Bryan Fellows will be full or part-time Maine residents who have published no more than one book. Each Bryan Fellow will receive the following a five-year Find Maine Writers Membership, which entitles the fellow to a profile on Find Maine Writers, member workshop and conference discounts & scholarships, two free workshops per year, and other benefits. Please see the fellowship page for full eligibility and application and nomination details.
The Bryan Fellowships are open to nominations from now through September 17, 2021 and applications from now through September 30, 2021.
We thank writer Stephanie Cotsirilos for the original matching support to establish the Ashley Bryan Fellowship, as well as to the other MWPA donors who help make this fellowship possible. If you wish to contribute to this fund, please visit mainewriters.org/join-support or contact Gibson Fay-LeBlanc at director@mainewriters.org.
MWPA hopes to add more opportunities for mentorship, support, and community for Bryan Fellows in the years to come. This fellowship is one of a series of efforts to help make Maine’s writing community more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. You can read MWPA’s Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion here.
All writers who are Maine residents are also eligible to apply for the Martin Dibner Memorial Fellowships and the Kline Scholarships by September 17, 2021. FMI: mainewriters.org/scholarships