Applications Invited for the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award

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Ted Conover
Head of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute

The Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University invites applications from journalists across the globe for the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award that supports the work of a promising early-career non-fiction writer on a story that uncovers truths about the human condition.

The Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award is a grant of $12,500 and will be awarded in Spring 2022.

First offered in 2015, the Award has been endowed by individuals and organizations touched by the life and work of Matthew Power who was a wide-roving and award-winning journalist who sought to live and share the experience of the individuals and places on which he was reporting. A longtime friend of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, Matthew Power died in March 2014, while on assignment in Uganda.

The award proceeds from the recognition that many important stories need to be reported from afar, and that publications do not always have the resources to send a writer where the story is. The money need not be used exclusively for travel, but we expect that most successful applications will include such expenses.

It will not fund proposals to report on armed conflicts where journalists are already imperiled, nor projects that are mainly investigatory. The winner will normally receive visiting scholar privileges at NYU, including library access.

The judges will be interested in perpetuating Power’s legacy, as his former editor Roger Hodge put it, of “strong, character-driven narratives with detailed scene writing and lyrical description.” Power was always open to the absurdity that often attends politics and international affairs; he was always searching, as he put it, for “the human truth beneath the sorry facts.” Power’s ultimate ambition, he added, was literary beauty.

Before creating their application, entrants are advised to read the FAQ and the Competition Terms of Agreement and Eligibility Requirements carefully and if they have any question about applying which is not answered in either place, to inquire at poweraward@nyu.edu

The deadline for submission of proposal is February 16, 2022, with a decision anticipated in late April. The completed project must be delivered no later than December 31, 2022. The Institute expects the completed work to appear in an English-language publication of strong reputation.

For further information, please visit: https://journalism.nyu.edu/about-us/awards-and-fellowships/matthew-power-literary-reporting-award/. To apply, an applicant need to first create an account at https://nyujournalism.submittable.com/submit/209053/2022-matthew-power-literary-reporting-award.