Applications are invited from interested persons who would be aged 18 and above by April 3, 2019, wishing to participate in the Iceland Writers Retreat holding in Reykjavík, Iceland, in April, 2019. Talented writers interested in participating in the Retreat but with financial need can apply for the Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni Award scholarships slots to attend the Retreat.
Application for the Iceland Writers Retreat, which is open to all interested persons, is available online here.
Persons applying for the scholarship must demonstrate that they do not have the financial means to attend the conference without the award.
Applicants do not necessarily need to be professional writers, but should be serious about the craft and interested in developing their skills and contacts and their writing interests must fit well with the faculty for the 2019 retreat (i.e. literary fiction, non-fiction, memoir).
Full and partial fundings are available for those who need support to participate in the Retreat and an applicant can apply for only one. While full funding covers all participation of a “complete package” in the Iceland Writers Retreat, (including accommodation and round-trip flights to Iceland) partial funding covers only participant fee for the Standard Package, and does not include accommodation or cost of flights.
The scholarship will be awarded primarily based on how applicants are able to demonstrate their potentials as writers and their need for financial support to be able to attend the Retreat. Applicants are therefore encouraged to ensure they tell the organisers about themselves and why they think they could be the perfect match for the Iceland Writers Retreat.
Applicants should also be available for media interviews before and during the Retreat, and be able to explain how they would help to share their experience with others after the Retreat.
Deadline for applications is October 31, 2018 at midnight, PST. Successful recipients will be announced on December 3, 2018.
The following are general tips increasing applicants’ chances of being selected for the scholarship:
- Applications must be complete as incomplete applications will not be considered.
- It is not possible to make changes to application once it has been submitted, applicants are therefore encouraged to ensure they go over their applications or get someone else to go through their applications and point out issues before submitting.
- Applicants need to show that they are unable to afford even the cost of flights to Iceland and accommodation while in the country to increase their chances of being selected. The organisers receive far more applications for full funding than partial funding, therefore requests for partial scholarships are more likely to succeed.
- Participants whose reasons for applying for scholarship is that they simply want an opportunity to visit Iceland are unlikely to be successful; they should rather give reasons why the particular event and this particular faculty have captured their interests and show what research they did about the Iceland Writers Retreat.
- Applicant should send writing samples in their applications with the maximum length of 1000 words.
- They should also demonstrate how they will help the organisers get the word out if they are awarded a scholarship.
- References by people who are familiar with applicants’ writings and who are not family members and written specifically for the event are encouraged as applications without appropriate references will not be considered.
To apply for the scholarship, please go to http://www.123formbuilder.com/form-4047579/Iceland-Writers-Retreat-Alumni-Award-Application-2019.
The Iceland Writers Retreat (IWR) Alumni Award is so named because it has been funded by former IWR participants and this is the fourth time the IWR Alumni Award will be granted.
