Fellowships - Literature

Closing date: 17 May 2010
Decisions advised: September 2010
Projects may start: 1 November 2010

Fellowship grants support excellence in Australian literature by providing highly accomplished, critically recognised literary writers with financial support for two years to enable them to create new work.

Fellowships are worth $50,000 per year for two years.

Nominated projects must be in the following literary genres:

• Fiction
• Literary non-fiction (defined by the literature board as autobiography, biography, essays, histories, literary criticism or other analytical prose)
• Children’s and young adult literature
• Poetry
• Writing for performance (theatre, radio) or new media (digital, interactive, cross-media).

The Literature Board does not assist in the creation of film and television scripts; textbooks and other works created for primary, secondary and tertiary educational purposes; newsletters; books which are primarily works of interviews; local and oral histories; military studies; instruction manuals; how-to books; academic theses or course work (including course work in creative writing); bibliographies; dictionaries; encyclopaedias; professional reference titles; guide books; catalogues; self-help, lifestyle and hobby books; or works of physical or natural sciences, theology, psychology, cooking, medicine or law.

Payments for fellowship grants are made in either three or five instalments over the two-year period. All fellowship recipients are required to submit an interim report at the end of the first year prior to receiving the second year of funding. The final instalment of $10,000 will be paid when an acquittal report has been submitted and approved at the end of the two-year period.

Applications will only be accepted from individuals who have had a minimum of five major works published or performed and have achieved substantial critical recognition in the genre of their intended project.

To be eligible, you must meet the general eligibility requirements.

If you received a fellowship from any board after 1995, you are not eligible to apply to this category again.

Fellowship recipients must not undertake any work that prevents them from fulfilling the terms of their fellowship.

Applications to write in languages other than English are not eligible under this category. Support for writers who are writing in languages other than English is provided through the Languages other than English (LOTE) publishing initiative.

Previous work published in the genres that the literature board does not assist will not be accepted as evidence of eligibility.

How often can you apply?

You may not apply for a fellowship in the same year as  applying to either the new work or residencies category. An applicant awarded a fellowship in 2010 will not be eligible to apply to the new work category of the literature board for two years after the conclusion of the fellowship; that is, not before 2014.

Selection criteria

Applications must demonstrate:

• Literary merit, which is understood to include the applicant’s writing ability as demonstrated by their support material, together with the creative substance of the nominated projects
• Substantial critical recognition and demonstrated contribution to Australian literature.

You can apply online for all Australia Council grants. If you would like a hard copy application form, contact Australia Council staff on (02) 9215 9000 or 1800 226 912. Information on how support material should be supplied (either electronically or via post) is provided when you complete the online grant application.

You must submit evidence of your eligibility and all required support material by the application closing date.

You are required to submit:

• a curriculum vitae of no more than two pages
• one copy of two published books or performed plays in the genre of your project.

Applications that do not include support material in the genre of the nominated project will not be eligible.

Any material supplied in addition to the required support material will not be considered in the assessment of your application. If you need assistance in determining the support material you are required to submit or when it must be submitted, please contact Australia Council staff.

Other support material can be submitted AFTER the closing date but BEFORE the board meeting.

Letters of support and/or contracts from publishers or producers that are specific to the project will be accepted up to 10 working days before the board meeting.

Some applicants may be required to submit additional support material as detailed below. This support material can be submitted after the closing date but must be submitted before the board meeting if your application is to be eligible for consideration. The date by which this support material must be received is 18 August 2010.

When proposals are submitted from organisations or individuals that involve major performing arts board (MPAB)-funded companies, a letter of agreement between the applicant and the MPAB-funded company must be provided to both the MPAB and the literature board. For further details, please contact MPAB staff directly.

In line with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts policy and its underpinning principles, the Australia Council requires that applications for projects containing representations of artistic/cultural practice or intended outcomes relating to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists or communities must provide letters from relevant communities or artists. Letters must show clear evidence of support and agreement for the activities undertaken. In preparing your application, you may wish to consult the Indigenous protocol guides in song, performance, writing, new media and visual arts.