An aerial view of Madison. Helen C. White Hall, home of the Creative Writing Program, is one building out of frame in the bottom right corner. Fellows' offices overlook the lake. Photo © University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.

Applying for the Djerassi
Playwriting Fellowship

Applicants to the Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship must have completed or be scheduled to complete an MFA or PhD in Creative Writing or Playwriting by August 15, 2012. For details regarding the responsibilities and privileges of our fellows, please see the main fellowships page. All applications must be postmarked by April 8, and should indicate "Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship" clearly on the envelope. There is no application form, though applications must include the following materials:

• A single cover sheet listing your name, address, phone number, email address and the title of your writing sample.
• A resume or curriculum vitae.
• Two letters of recommendation.
• A single writing sample (i.e. one published play or one unpublished manuscript). Your name must not appear anywhere on your manuscript.
• A self-addressed stamped envelope for our decision.

Please note that the application materials required for this fellowship differ from those required from the fiction, poetry, and HEAF fellowships. Send your completed application to:
      Sean Bishop, Coordinator
      Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing
      Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship
      Department of English
      600 N Park St, 6195A H.C. White Hall
      University of Wisconsin-Madison
      Madison, WI 53706

The Djerassi Playwriting Fellow will be chosen by June 1, and announced on the fellows page. If you have questions not answered in the FAQ below, please contact Sean Bishop, the Graduate & Institute Programs Coordinator, at institutemail@english.wisc.edu.

Applying for a Poetry, Fiction,
or HEAF Fellowship

Applications to the poetry, fiction, and HEAF fellowships are now closed, but will re-open on January 1, 2013. To be eligible, applicants must have completed or be scheduled to complete an MFA or PhD in Creative Writing by August 15, 2013. For details regarding the responsibilities and privileges of our fellows, please see the main fellowships page. In 2013 we will switch to an online application system—look for details regarding this system in fall 2012. All applications will require the following materials (some exceptions are noted for HEAF applicants):

• A $45.00 Application Fee, paid online by credit card. (This fee is waived for HEAF applicants only)
• A resume or curriculum vitae, concluding with the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of two recommenders.
• A writing sample consisting of either 10 pages of poetry (uploaded as a pdf) or up to 30 pages of fiction (double-spaced and uploaded as a pdf). Fiction applications must consist of either one short story or a novel excerpt. Your name must not appear anywhere on your manuscript, and while previously published work may be submitted, your manuscript must in no way indicate that your work has been published.

Do not include more than one genre in a single submission. You may apply in more than one of our fellowship genres (fiction, poetry, playwriting), but you must upload a separate application for each, with separate application fees.

If you are submitting short fiction, please do not send more than one short story. The limit is one story no matter how short that story may be. If you send more than one story, we will read only the first. If you are sending a novel excerpt, you may (but need not) include a brief synopsis (one or two paragraphs) of the novel, as page one of the manuscript.

The poetry, fiction, and HEAF fellows will be chosen by May 1 each year, and announced on the fellows page. If you have questions concerning these fellowships that are not answered in the FAQ below, please contact Sean Bishop, the Graduate & Institute Programs Coordinator, at institutemail@english.wisc.edu.

Required Degree

• Q: I don't have an MFA in Creative Writing, but I am a serious writer with a record of publications, awards, and the like to prove it. May I apply for a fellowship?  A: Unfortunately, no. To be eligible for a Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing fellowship—including the playwriting fellowship—you must have completed an MFA or PhD in Creative Writing by August 15th of the fellowship year. We cannot waive this rule even for those with a record of publications or other special circumstances.
• Q: I have a graduate degree in a field other than creative writing. Am I eligible for a fellowship?  A: Again, we have to say no. This question is usually asked by persons holding PhDs in other fields. Unfortunately, we are not able to award fellowships to persons with PhDs in any other area, including English literature, composition, theater, or other areas of English or theater studies. Even if you have a PhD in English, took graduate-level writing workshops, and wrote a creative dissertation, we still cannot offer you a fellowship if your degree is not specifically in creative writing.
• Q: May I apply for a fellowship if I have an MA in creative writing?  A: Once again, no. Although in the past we did give fellowships to persons with MAs in creative writing, we have changed that rule as the MFA has become the standard terminal degree in creative writing.

Previous Books (fiction, poetry, & HEAF fellowships only)

• Q: I published a book that is neither fiction nor poetry nor creative nonfiction (e.g. a cookbook, a car repair manual, or an ESL textbook). Am I eligible for the fellowship?  A: Yes. A book that is not creative writing does not count as a book for fellowship purposes. If you are unsure if your book is considered a creative book for fellowship purposes, feel free to contact us.
• Q: I edited an anthology. Am I eligible for the fellowship?  A: Yes.
• Q: Am I eligible if I published a chapbook?  A: Yes. A chapbook is not considered a book for fellowship purposes.
• Q: If I published a book of poems, may I apply for a fellowship in fiction?  A: No. Since the fellowship is provided to give writers time to work on a first book of creative work, you are no longer eligible to apply, even though your book was in a different genre.
• Q: I signed a contract (or won a first book competition) after I submitted my application for a fellowship. Am I still eligible?  A: Yes. As long as you did not have a book published or accepted for publication at the time you applied, you are still eligible.

Writing Sample (fiction and poetry fellowships only)

• Q: May I submit a slightly longer writing sample than the rules permit?  A: No. Additional material beyond the stated page limits will not be read.
• Q: If I write very short stories, may I send more than one? May I upload two 15 page stories instead of one 30 page story?  A: No to both questions. You may submit only one short story, no matter how short, even if that means you are sending fewer than 30 pages of work. If you send more than one story, only the first will be read.
• Q: You say I may include only one poem on a page. What do I do about a poem that won't fit on just one page?  A: In the case of longer poems, you may, of course, continue the poem on as many pages (up to 10) as necessary. You may, for example, submit a single 10-page poem or two 5-page poems. What we are asking is that each new poem begin on a new page.
• Q: May I upload/e-mail additional material, or substitute another story, or otherwise update my application at a later date?  A: No. Only the original material submitted with the application will be considered.

Selection Process (fiction and poetry fellowships only)

• Q: Could you give me an idea of how you go about selecting your poetry and fiction fellows?  A: Sure. Early in March, staff members separate the applicants' manuscripts from their other application materials using a number-coding system. At that point, the anonymous fiction manuscripts go to a panel of fiction judges and the anonymous poetry manuscripts go to a panel of poetry judges. The judges then read and evaluate the manuscripts, narrowing down the field until each panel has selected the fellowship recipients and several alternates. Judges who recognize work by former students or personal acquaintances recuse themselves with respect to that work. Only after the judges have made their final decisions are the selected manuscripts matched up with the applicants' other materials. This is the first time the judges learn the names of, and other information about, the persons selected.
• Q: Who are the judges?  A: The exact composition of the fiction and poetry panels changes from year to year, but they always consist of members of the creative writing faculty and current Institute fellows. There are generally five to seven judges on each committee. Because HEAF applicants must be former Wisconsin MFAs, however, those manuscripts go to an outside judge who publishes both fiction and poetry; the name of this judge is not revealed until the fellowship recipient is announced.
• Q: When and how will you let me know your decision?  A: We make our decisions and email or phone the selected poetry, fiction, and HEAF fellows by May 1. Djerassi Playwriting Fellows are notified by June 1. As soon as we have all of our acceptances we post the names of our new fellows on this website and notify other applicants via snail-mail of our selections. If you do not hear from us before the end of May, you may have forgotten to include an SASE or the letter may have been misdelivered.
• Q: Is there a certain style of writing you favor?  A: While selecting the fellows is a subjective process in which personal taste plays a large role, we do not intentionally restrict ourselves to certain styles of writing (as you will see if you read our fellows' books). Because the composition of our selection panel changes annually, it is hard to predict what kind of work will speak to a panel in a given year. All we can suggest is that you try not to second-guess the panel, but send in what you consider to be your very best work.
• Q: Do I have to indicate which of the fellowships I'm applying for (e.g. if I'm applying for a poetry fellowship, do I have to specify whether I'm applying for a Halls or a Middlebrook fellowship)?  A: No. The Institute will assign the fellowships; all you have to do is let us know the genre in which you're applying.