The Minnesota Emerging Writers’ Grant provides writers financial support and professional assistance to develop and implement multifaceted plans to help them with their artistic endeavors. Two to four winners will be selected to receive grants of up to $10,000 to underwrite projects of their own design.
ELIGIBILITY
• Writers at the early stages of their careers are eligible to apply. Writers may have published no more than two books in order to be eligible to apply. Spoken word artists who have won national competitions or who frequently tour nationally are not eligible to apply.
• Applications are accepted from Minnesota poets, prose writers, children’s authors, and spoken word poetry artists. The grant does not accept applications from playwrights, screenwriters, journalists, or writers of academic, educational, business, or self-help works.
• Applicants must have been legal residents of Minnesota for at least 12 months prior to deadline.
• Previous recipients of a Minnesota Writers Career Initiative Grant prior to 2008 are eligible to apply, as long as they meet other eligibility requirements.
• Members of the Loft staff and board are not eligible to apply.
• Loft teaching artists are contract employees, not staff, and are eligible to apply.
PROPOSAL OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
The grant program is intended to encourage emerging writers and support them in their craft. Work samples and proposal narrative should demonstrate the writer’s commitment to craft and ability to carry out his or her project. Proposal objectives and activities may include, but are not limited to:
• taking time off work in order to focus on writing;
• obtaining critical evaluation of manuscripts;
• attending a writers’ conference;
• meeting with editors, publishers, or agents;
• revising a manuscript for publication;
• improving speaking, performance, and presentation skills;
• marketing for a first or soon-to-be-published work or performance;
• consulting with mentors or colleagues on matters of artistic development;
Proposal budgets may include expenses for such activities as childcare, rent, and utilities. Tuition for non-degree granting programs (e.g., writers’ conferences, community-based education) is permissible; tuition for classes leading to a degree is not.
PROGRAM DATES
Deadline: January 28, 2011 (must be in Loft office by 5 p.m. - not a postmark deadline). No late entries will be considered. Winners will be announced in May 2011. Projects may not begin before June 2011 and should conclude by June 2012.
JUDGING
Proposals will be judged on the quality of the work sample; the merit of the project design (originality, feasibility, clarity of the stated objectives); and the applicant’s potential ability to complete the project. This year’s judges are Rob Spillman and Tony Valenzuela.
Rob Spillman is editor and cofounder of Tin House, a 12-year-old bicoastal (Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon) literary magazine. He is the executive editor of Tin House Books and cofounder of the Tin House Literary Festival. His writing has appeared in BookForum, the Boston Review, the New York Times Book Review, Rolling Stone, Spin, Vogue, and elsewhere. He is the editor of Gods and Soldiers: the Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing.
Tony Valenzuela is the executive director of Lambda Literary Foundation, presenter of the Lambda Literary Awards. A graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing Program of the California Institute of the Arts, Tony Valenzuela is a longtime community activist and writer whose work has focused on LGBT civil rights, sexual liberation, and gay men’s health. He has continued to publish essays, fiction, and journalism and is currently working on a memoir.
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions about the program or if you would like to discuss a project you have in mind, please call Jerod Santek, program director, at 612-215-2586 or jsantek@loft.org. Informational sessions will be held on Wednesday, December 8th at 6 pm and Saturday, December 18th, at 11 am. The informational session is free but space is limited; please call 612-215-2586 to reserve a spot. (Additional sessions will be added if interest demands.)
Due to the unique nature of this application, one-on-one consultations are provided in person, by phone or by e-mail may also be scheduled. Please note that no consultations will be possible between December 20th and January 4th. Consultations are also not possible on deadline day.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
1. Submit three, double-spaced copies of a single-sided proposal, no more than five pages in length. Regard this as a preliminary plan, but be specific about how each part of the plan would enhance artistic development.
2. Attach three copies of a preliminary budget. You may apply for up to $10,000 to use toward your proposal. Be realistic in your budget and as detailed as possible. Judges may decide to fund all or a portion of your budget based on how feasible components of your project are and how necessary the amount of your request is to achieving those goals.
3. Include three copies of a one-paragraph biographical statement.
4. Enclose three copies of your writing sample: Prose: 20-30 double-spaced pages or 15-20 typeset (photocopied from your books) or Poetry: 15-20 single-spaced pages of poetry (photocopied or typeset). If you want to submit prose and poetry, submit half the maximum page amount for each genre. Spoken word artists may submit an audio- or videotape or CD or DVD as part of their application, but must also submit the required pages of written text (may be a transcription). Writers of picture books may submit up to 25 pages of text and art or three copies of the book. You may submit a synopsis as part of the page count.
5. You may include three copies of no more than five pages of optional supporting materials. Supporting materials may be anything that relates to your project, such as a letter from a writer who has agreed to work with you on your manuscript.
6. Complete and submit the attached cover sheet.
Your name, address, and phone numbers should appear on the first page of all copies of your application materials. Failure to submit your work according to these guidelines will disqualify your proposal. This program is directly supported by a grant from the Jerome Foundation.
More information/ application form here.
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