Entries open for the 2016 Morland writing scholarships for African writers

Application for the yearly 2016 Morland writing scholarships for African writers is now opened.

It can be difficult for writers, before they become established, to write while simultaneously earning a living. To help meet this need the MMF awards annually a small number of Morland Writing Scholarships, with the aim being  to allow each Scholar the time to produce the first draft of a completed book.

Entry is opened to all Africans who write in English language, born in Africa or both of whose parents were born in Africa. All African citizens are encouraged to send in entries to be considered.

Applications  will be received between 30th June 2016 and it ends Oct 31st 2016. Applications submitted outside that period will not be looked at.

Rules and guidelines

To qualify for the Scholarship a candidate must submit an excerpt from a piece of work of between 2,000 – 5,000 words written in English that has been published and offered for sale,. This will be evaluated by a panel of readers and judges set up by the MMF. The work submitted will be judged purely on literary merit. It is not the purpose of the Scholarships to support academic or scientific research, or works of special interest such as religious or political writings. Submissions or proposals of this nature do not qualify.

Proposed Work

The candidates should submit a description of between 400 - 1,000 words of the work they intend to write. The proposal must be for a full length book of no fewer than 80,000 words. The MMF does not accept proposals for collaborative writing or short story collections. The proposal should be for a completely new work, not a work in progress, and must be in English.

Biography

Please also tell us in 200 - 300 words something about yourself and your background. People who reach the short-list will be asked for further information about themselves and how they propose to write their book.

Fiction or Non-Fiction

The Foundation welcomes both fiction and non-fiction proposals. We are aware that non-fiction Scholars may need extra time for research, so the Foundation may exercise its discretion to offer non-fiction writers a longer Scholarship period of up to 18 months.

Accepted works

The Scholarships are meant for full length works of adult fiction or non-fiction. Poetry, plays, film scripts, children’s books, and short story collections do not qualify.

Grant

Scholars writing fiction will receive a grant of £18,000, paid monthly over the course of twelve months. At the discretion of the Foundation, Scholars writing non-fiction may receive a grant of up to £27,000, paid over a period  of up to eighteen months.

​For more information, visit the Morland writing scholarship website

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