Applications call for the Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers. There is a $15 fee to apply. The application requires a project proposal, a biographical statement, and a writing sample of no more than 10 pages. Candidates must submit all materials in one document.

Prizes

The Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers grants one $5,000 award in the spring of each year.

Grant Guidelines

Only proposals for literary or creative nonfiction book projects will be considered. No fiction or poetry proposals will be reviewed. The Fund supports writing that combines an engaging individual voice, literary sensibility, imagination, and intellectual rigor to bring new perspectives and deeper meaning to the body of desert literature. All applications will be reviewed through a peer-panel process.

Considerations in the selection process will be:

• The writing sample’s artistic excellence and desert literacy.
• The strength of the proposed book project.
• The biography’s ability to demonstrate a history and future of writing and desert experience.

Application

Applications can be submitted once each year beginning November 1, 2020 through January 15, 2021. When your proposal is ready and has been saved in ONE FILE in ADOBE ACROBAT (pdf) or MICROSOFT WORD (doc or docx). Complete the form and upload your grant submission file. Click Submit and you will receive a confirmation of the submission. Applicants must follow the process to ensure that applications is selected for review by the selection committee.

To be considered for an Ellen Meloy Fund Desert Writers Award, participants should submit only the materials specified below. Any extra materials included with the application (and not requested in these guidelines) will not be reviewed. Again, ONLY creative nonfiction proposals will be reviewed; please no poetry, fiction, or juvenile literature. Applications that exceed the length limits below will not be considered.

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