The Miles Morland Foundation awards yearly Writing Scholarships to writers born in Africa. The sole aim of the scholarship is to provide upcoming writers the flexibility they need to focus squarely on their craft without having to worry about earning a living. In addition to the Scholarship, the Foundation will also provide support to the selected writers in form of mentorship by established authors.
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Who is Eligible?
Writers who write in English and were born in Africa or have African parents.
About the Grant
Scholars writing fiction will receive a grant of £18,000, paid monthly over the course of twelve months. At the discretion of the Foundation, Scholars writing non-fiction, who require additional research time, could receive an additional grant, paid over a period of up to eighteen months.
Scholar’s Undertaking
At the end of each month scholars must send the Foundation 10,000 new words that they will have written over the course of the month. Scholars are also asked to donate to the MMF 20% of the revenue generated from their written work during the scholarship duration. This will help to continue the chain of support to upcoming writers.
Scholarship Qualifications
Candidate must submit an excerpt from a piece of work of between 2,000 – 5,000 words, written in English that has been published and offered for sale. Academic or scientific research, religious or political writings do not qualify.
Scholarship Requirement
- Scholars must write for the duration of their scholarship.
- At least 10,000 new words must be submitted via email every month until book completion or end of scholarship term.
- If the first draft of the book is completed before the year is up, payments will continue while the Scholar edits and refines their work.
Proposed Work
- The candidates should submit a description of between 400 – 1,000 words of the work they intend to write.
- The proposal must be for a full length book of no fewer than 80,000 words.
- The MMF does not accept proposals for collaborative writing or short story collections.
- The proposal should be for a completely new work, not a work in progress, and must be in English.
Biography of the Writer
Write 200 – 300 words about yourself and your background. People who reach the shortlist will be asked for further information about themselves and how they propose to write their book.
Accepted Works
The Foundation welcomes both full-length fiction and non-fiction proposals only. Non-fiction writers may get a longer Scholarship period of up to 18 months. Poetry anthologies, film scripts, short stories or children’s books will not be accepted.
Deadline for Application
18th of September, 2020
Other Things to Note
- Scholars may elect to start at any time between January and June in the year following the Scholarship Award. Their payments and the 10,000 word monthly submission requirement will start at the same time.
- If you are shortlisted for a Morland Writing Scholarship, you will be asked to sends a 3,000 – 4,000 word “chapter” of the book you are proposing to write on, so, it’ll be a great idea to start some brainstorming now.
- Scholars would be responsible for their living arrangements during the Scholarship year.
- Scholars would also be responsible for their editors and publishers.
Application Checklist
1. A submission of between 2,000 to 5,000 words as a Word document of work that has been published and offered for sale. Please send proof of publication.
2. A description of between 400 – 1,000 words about the new book you intend to write.
3. A scan of an official document showing that you, or both of your parents, were born in Africa.
4. A brief bio of between 200 – 300 words.
5. Information on how you heard about the Morland Writing Scholarships.
Find out other details and how to apply here
Good luck!
