Trillium Arts currently awards an annual “Miss Sarah” Fellowship, which provides immersive creative time and space to the selected artist, free of charge.
Sarah M. Johnson was born on July 10, 1931 in Cleveland County, NC. In 1948, she moved to and settled in Hickory, NC, where she believed there would be greater job opportunities. Sarah was honored as the Hickory Branch of the NAACP “Mother of the Year” in 1986 and was also crowned North Carolina state “Mother of the Year” in the same year. What better way to honor her than to create a fellowship that embodies her creativity and commitment to social justice? She passed away on July 17, 2019 at the age of 88.
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The “Miss Sarah” Fellowship for Black Women Writers offers a ten-day residency in the month of July at Trillium’s “Firefly Creek” apartment in Mars Hill, surrounded by the beauty of nature in the lovely setting of the Blue Ridge Mountains, or at E. Patrick Johnson and Stephen Lewis’s “Montford Manor” residence near downtown Asheville; transportation to and from Asheville; and a $1,000 stipend. Whether one needs the quiet space and time to develop the seed of an idea for a new writing project or to complete a project underway, the “Miss Sarah” Fellowship for Black Women Writers aims to provide Black women writers (fiction and nonfiction) uninterrupted time and a conducive environment to rest, reflect and write.
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The “Miss Sarah” Fellowship for Black Women Writers aims to provide Black women writers a restful environment conducive to reflection and writing. It also offers uninterrupted, independent time to plant the seed of an idea for a new writing project or to develop or complete a project underway.
For 2025 the Fellowship will focus on the genre of Poetry.
Location:
United StatesBenefits
- The selected writer will receive a ten-day solo residency in July 2025 and can choose whether to stay at Trillium Arts’ rural “Firefly Creek” apartment in Mars Hills, NC or at E. Patrick Johnson and Stephen Lewis’ “Montford Manor” residence near downtown Asheville, NC.
- Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend and transportation to and from Asheville, NC.
- Additional benefits will be custom tailored to the needs of the awardee
Eligibilities
- Black women writers at any stage of their careers are invited to apply.
- For applicants outside of the United States, travel expenses will only be covered within the United States. International airfare will be at the expense of the applicant.There is no application fee.
Application Process
- Upload and submit all of the following documents, either as PDF or Word documents. Files should not exceed 10 MB each
- CV or resume (not to exceed 5 pages
- A one-page Fellowship Proposal Statement outlining the proposed project. Include information about the project context and what applicants plan to accomplish during the Fellowship period
- A one-page statement that addresses the question of, “Why Trillium Arts?” Be specific in how a Fellowship at Trillium Arts will benefit applicants creative work.
- One letter of recommendation. The letter should be submitted separately by an outside recommender. The letter should specifically refer to your writing project. Choose someone who can speak specifically about your project, and we suggest you share your work sample with your recommender so they can be informed about your writing.
- In the letter, the recommender should address the following four questions:
- How do you know the applicant? Are you their teacher, colleague, editor, etc.
- What makes the applicant’s project significant?
- Who do you imagine would be most served by this project?
- Whatt do you find inspiring about the applicant’s project?
- Provide an email address for the recommender in the online Submittable application form and the recommender will receive an automatic link to use to submit their letter on applicants behalf. They need to reply to the automatic email and submit their letter by no later than Monday, November 18, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST, which is a three day grace period for the recommenders, following application completion deadline of Friday, November 15 at 11:59 pm EST.
- A writing sample of your proposed project. The writing sample should be of work applicants intend to further develop during the Fellowship. Work-in-progress is therefore highly recommended. Writing samples should be in English.
- MA and MFA theses, PhD dissertations, and edited collections are not eligible and will be disqualified. Work sample must be original.
- Applicants name and the title of their written piece should appear on the top of each uploaded file.
- Submit the writing sample in ONE PDF document. The sample should be a minimum of 10 pages not exceed 15 pages. All submitted documents should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and in an easily readable 12-point font.
Application Deadline: November 15, 2024 (9 Days Remaining)
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