2016 Writing Excuses Scholarship

For those who haven’t heard of Writing Excuses, it is a fast-paced creative writing podcast by writers, for writers. it is hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells. Guest writers are occasionally being featured. I love this podcast and am an ardent listener. I have learned a lot from their series.

Every year, they hold a writing retreat and workshop on a cruise ship. They also give two scholarships to talented writers who show that they need the scholarship. Interested in applying? Then read on:

Award:Up to  $500 to cover travel expenses, tuition and accommodation  Food on the cruise ship is free.

Deadline: 15th March 2016. Winners will be contacted in May, 2016.

Your scholarship application should include a cover letter which must follow the following format

1) This cover sheet, filled out completely:

Name: [name]

Email: [email]

Phone Number: [number]

Scholarship: [“Carl Brandon Society” or “Out of Excuses”]

I confirm that my scholarship is complete, including: a personal essay, three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample.

Personal Essay word count (between 450-700 words): [insert word count here]

Letter of Recommendation 1: [Name of recommender]

Letter of Recommendation 2: [Name of recommender]

Letter of Recommendation 3: [Name of recommender]

Writing Sample total word count (1-3 pieces, limited to 10,000 total words): [insert word count here] Send an attachment that contains all of the following, in this order:

• Cover Sheet. Make sure it follows the format described above.
• Personal Essay: A 450-700 word personal essay stating why you are most deserving of the scholarship. What makes  a good candidate for the scholarship? What can you contribute to the retreat that no one else can? Remember that the administrators will focus on need, but they will also be considering merit.
• Letters of Recommendation: Send Three brief letters of recommendation (no more than 300 words each) from people who are not your relatives: friends, bosses, people from your writing group, anyone who can tell them exactly how awesome you are. Please note that all three letters must be included in the scholarship package, and not to be emailed individually. If you have a concern with this, please contact Kenna Blaylock at assistant@thedanwells.com.
• And A Writing Sample: A brief example of your writing, consisting of 1-3 different pieces. Ensure that the word count of all three pieces doesn’t exceed 10,000 words. You can send short stories or novel excerpts.

Again: ensure that everything is sent in one one email or your application will be disqualified!

To apply, please prepare the following scholarship package as a Word document, and send it to writingexcusesscholarship@gmail.com with the subject line: “Scholarship Application: [name of scholarship].” Please copy and paste the cover sheet to the main body of the email, and also include it as the first page in the package.

 

2) A single attachment, saved as [Name of Scholarship_Your Name]

Only the following three file formats: .doc, .docx, .rtf will be accepted.

For more information, go to the writing excuses website or click HERE.