The Oxford International Centre for Publishing (OICP), domiciled at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England, and one of the leading institutes for media education in the world, with a reputation for innovation and excellence in teaching and research, has opened a call for applications for the 2026 edition of the David McClure Public Interest Journalism Fellowship.
The David McClure Public Interest Journalism Fellowship exists to recognise the time-consuming and costly endeavour of rigorously researching and producing public interest journalism.
David McClure was a well-respected news producer, author and journalist whose investigation into institutional privilege resulted in two nonfiction books and a series of impactful pieces of public interest journalism. He died from cancer in June 2022.
Starting in 2026, the David McClure Public Interest Journalism Fellowship will support one non-fiction writer per year for the next five years with an award of £15,000 to produce a timely, independent piece of long-form journalism that holds significant relevance within the UK society today. It will focus on public interest journalism, which, without this funding, might never be published.
The selection of the Fellow comes with a few conditions. The ultimate decision will be based on how deserving the writer’s proposed investigation is in the public domain. However, the investigation must be original, non-biased, non-partisan, and rigorously researched. Also, the Fellowship is for writers who already have an investigation underway but are unable to progress it without financial support.
To be eligible for the award, the applicant must submit a 1500-word pitch, including a synopsis of their investigation and its aims, objectives, key research undertaken, progress to date, and what support they need to complete it, and how the Fellowship funds will be utilised.
The application deadline is May 31, 2026. Prospective applicants can apply here: https://bit.ly/3OyTliy, or visit: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/tde/centres/oicp#fellowship for more information.
