In these uncertain times, the arts and culture industry has definitely been one of the worst affected. If you are an arts and culture enthusiast or a budding writer, you must have felt left out of the creative bandwagon for a while.
Most jobs don’t allow you to be that creative anyway!
We hear you and always have your back. To this end, we have curated a special list of fellowships & opportunities for those of you interested in arts, culture, and literature.
Have a look!
I. Dalit History Fellowship
Deriving its name from B.R. Ambedkar’s anti-metaphysical interpretation of Buddhism, Navayana is a publishing house that focuses on the issue of caste from an anticaste perspective. Founded in 2003, Navayana publishes general and academic nonfiction, graphic books, poetry and literary translations. It is best known for its finely curated list of books by and on Ambedkar.
This year Navayana will be funding a minimum of two authors to help them write manuscripts that deal with Dalit history. The term ‘Dalit history’ can be interpreted with some amount of fluidity—the work has to be nonfictional, have scholarly rigour, but also be suitable for non-specialist adult readers. The work could also be the fruit of research and groundwork that has already been done. Those who are working on translation efforts pertaining to Dalit history are also welcome to apply.
Send your proposals, in English, of not more than 3,000 words.
Deadline: June 30, 2021
To know more about the fellowship, check out Navayana’s page here.
II. YUVA Writing Programme
YUVA (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors) – Prime Minister’s Scheme For Mentoring Young Authors is an author mentorship programme to train 75 selected young and budding authors (below 30 years of age) with an aim to promote reading and writing. The authors will be selected through an all-India contest from June 1 to July 31. A scholarship amount of INR 50,000 per month will be paid to the selected participants for six months.
YUVA is part of India@75 Project (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) to bring to the fore the perspectives of young writers on themes like unsung heroes, freedom fighters and their role in the national movement, and other related themes in an innovative and creative manner. The scheme will thus help develop a stream of authors who can write on a spectrum of subjects to promote Indian heritage, culture, and knowledge system.
If you want to know more about the fellowship, click here.
Deadline: July 31, 2021
III. Zeenat Haroon Prize for Women
Named in honour of Zeenat Haroon Rashid, a founding member of the Womens’ National Guard at the time of Independence, a prize of INR 100,000 (1 Lakh) is awarded annually through a competition for writing in English. The competition is open to all women of Pakistani nationality or Pakistani heritage (with CNIC or NICOP) aged 18 and above. Entries must be original, previously unpublished works of no more than 3000 words. The genre alternates each year between fiction and non-fiction and the entry can be on any subject as long as the writing has Pakistan as its canvas or location. The judges will look for a piece of writing with a strong, personal voice.
The winning entry will be published online and, if appropriate, in a national newspaper or magazine.
Deadline: 30 June, 2021
Learn more about the fellowship here.
IV. Sonny Mehta Fellowships
The Iowa Writers’ Workshop has announced the Sonny Mehta Fellowships in Creative Writing, two new graduate fellowships for international students in creative writing, made possible by an endowed gift from Gita Mehta in honor of the late Sonny Mehta, distinguished literary publisher of Alfred A. Knopf.
Starting in 2022, the Graduate Program in Creative Writing will award two full fellowships for international students, one in fiction and one in poetry, with preference given to applicants from underrepresented countries, particularly the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Deadline: Ongoing
To know more about the fellowship, check out University of East Anglia’s website.
V. Calls for Submissions in Literary Journals
Literary journals and publishers put out calls for submissions when they are seeking new material. If you have a completed story, essay, poem, or piece of creative nonfiction, you can have a look at these opportunities in the Published To Death website.
To know more about these opportunities, check out their website.
VI. The Bombay Review
The Bombay Review calls for submission from writers under 30 years of age for pumping out an anthology of the best new short fiction from South Asia.
To know more about the opportunity, check out their website.
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