Director, Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute
The Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University (NYU) in the United States is now accepting applications for the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award which will take place in the Spring of 2019.
The Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award is a grant of $12,500 to support the work of a promising early-career nonfiction writer on a story that uncovers truths about the human condition.
Since its inception in 2015, the Award has been endowed by individuals and organizations touched by the life and work of Matthew Power, 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. Power, a longtime friend of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, 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 media houses do not always have the resources to send a writer where the story is. The money needs not be used exclusively for travel; however, most successful applications will include such expenses.
The award includes NYU I.D. and full online and onsite NYU Bobst Library research and reference privileges. The monetary awards will be distributed in the following way:
- Main prize: $6,000 upon announcement of the winning proposal; $3,000 upon evidence of substantial progress (usually a first draft); and $3,500 upon completion and acceptance by the Award committee.
- Runner-up prize: $4,000 upon announcement of the winning proposal.
The Institute expects the Winner’s Work to meet a high degree of excellence. While the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award competition is open to all, with the exceptions noted below, the Institute especially encourages applications from early-career, creative nonfiction writers working on projects that meet the competition’s guidelines.
The following persons are not eligible to compete for The Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award: Employees, volunteers, interns and agents of NYU, and each of their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries (“NYU Affiliates”); NYU graduates with degrees dated within two years of the application deadline; journalists holding staff positions at established media outlets that are in a position to fund such projects on their own.
A panel of NYU journalism professors, outside writers, and editors will review the proposals. Finalists may be asked to be interviewed in person or by Skype.
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.”
The judges will also be looking out for a writer that has the same singular approach as Power.
The award will not fund proposals to report on armed conflicts where journalists are already imperiled, nor projects that are mainly investigatory. The winner will receive visiting scholar privileges at NYU, including library access.
The Institute expects the completed work to appear in an English-language publication of strong reputation.
The proposal deadline is February 19, 2019, with a decision anticipated in late April. The completed project must be delivered no later than November 4, 2019.
Interested applicants are encouraged to read the FAQ and the Competition Terms of Agreement and Eligibility Requirements carefully, before creating ther application.
Interested applicants should please visit here to apply. Enquires can also be sent to poweraward@nyu.edu.
