August Short Story Workshop Scholarships Available
+ Stories on Stage Contest
The Program
Two opportunities have come up for experienced short story writers at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, thanks to a grant from the Scientific Cultural Facilities District.
- A scholarship opportunity for the August session, available to three or more outstanding writers who are experiencing financial need. Preference for scholarship awards will go to those writing exceptionally well-crafted short stories and who demonstrate financial need. Those who are granted scholarships must enroll in the August session of the Intermediate or Advanced Short Story workshop, starting the week of 8/10/09—the award is not transferrable to future sessions. The scholarship recipients will be encouraged to write and/or revise a story to enter in the Stories on Stage contest (item #2).
- A contest run in conjunction with Stories on Stage (storiesonstage.org) that is open to all members of the August Lighthouse short story workshops, regardless of whether or not they apply for a scholarship. Each entry should fit the general topic: “Nobody likes a smartass.” Stories on Stage will select the winning entry based on their program needs and various other subjective criteria. The writer whose story they select receives a $200 cash prize and the honor of hearing his or her story read by a professional actor in a Stories on Stage (http://storiesonstage.org) performance. The performance will also feature actors giving dramatic readings of short fiction by established fiction writers, and will take place at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Jones Theater on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Shows will run at 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
Workshop scholarship application requirements
- Submit one original short story, published or not, that shows your writing at its highest level. This story need not fit the theme of the Stories on Stage Contest, nor will it be considered for the SOS contest unless you specify you would like it to be considered (ideally you’ll use the workshop in August to polish/revise your contest entry—that’s the idea). Please submit the story as an attachment to an e-mail to [email protected].
- Include a cover letter stating whether you (a) are seeking a full-paid tuition remission, based on financial need, or (b) seeking a half-off tuition waiver worth $125, in which case you’d arrange for payment of the other $125. In either case, please give us a brief sense of your financial need in the cover letter.
- Scholarship winners must enroll in the August session of the Short Story Workshops—the funds cannot be transferred to future sessions. (This is a stipulation of our grant.)
- Staff and faculty of Lighthouse Writers Workshop are not eligible to enter the scholarship portion, but they are eligible, if they’re enrolled in an August short story class, to enter the Stories on Stage contest. Lighthouse will not take part in judging the contest.
Stories on Stage contest requirements
- Applicants must be enrolled in the August session of the Intro, Intermediate, or Advanced Short Story (EDIT 7/23: or the Online Fiction) workshop, except in the case of a student sitting on the waitlist due to full classes. In that case, contact [email protected] to discover how to proceed.
- Stories must be no more than 4,000 words & should be double-spaced, 12-pt. font.
- Stories must relate, in some way, to the topic: “Nobody likes a smartass.”
- Stories must be submitted by Saturday, September 5, to [email protected], who will forward them to Stories on Stage. Electronic submission by Word doc (or docx) is preferred.
- Revisions and/or edits may be required by Stories on Stage, with or without author permission.
Deadline & Important Dates
• Deadline for applications for the workshop scholarships is Wednesday, July 22.
• Deadline for submissions for the contest ($200 prize plus performance): Saturday, September 5.
• The performance with Stories on Stage will take place on Saturday, September 26, 5 PM & 8 PM shows.
Questions
Contact Andrea Dupree, Program Director, at [email protected]
