Scholarships & Fellowships 

The MWPA is proud to offer a wide variety of scholarships and fellowships, open to both members and nonmembers at all stages of their careers.. All MWPA scholarships and fellowships are awarded on a mix of need and merit.

Ashley Bryan Fellowships

Open to Maine residents who are emerging writers and who are Black, people of color, and/or members of one of the Wabanaki Nations or other Native peoples. Provides fellows with a Find Maine Writers membership, free workshops, and other benefits for five years. Deadline: October each year.

Bodwell Fellowship

Open to Maine residents who are emerging writers. Provides one Bodwell Fellow each year with a residency at Hewnoaks Artist Colony and a $500 award. Deadline: mirrors Hewnoaks application process each year, usually January-February.

Christina Baker Kline Scholarships

Open to all Maine residents. Provides one-year of MWPA membership and attendance fees for two workshops. Deadline: September each year.

Darcy Scott Award for Young Mystery Writers

Open to all Maine residents under 40 years of age. Provides a scholarship to the Maine Crime Wave plus a cash award to help cover hotel/travel costs. Deadline: May each year.

Ilgenfritz Scholarships

Open to non-binary and female-identifying people who are Maine residents. Provides one scholarship for a high school student to attend a summer writing conference AND one grant for an adult writer to attend a writing conference or self-designed research trip. Deadlines: May each year for youth award AND September each year for adult award.

Macklin Fellowship for Young Maine Writers

Open to all youth and young adults who have worked with The Telling Room. Macklin Fellows receive free, year-long memberships to the MWPA and free registration for two workshops. Deadline: May each year.

Martin Dibner Memorial Fellowships

Open to all Maine residents who have not published a full-length book. Provides full funding to attend the MWPA’s autumn Harvest Writers Retreat or spring Black Fly Writers Retreat OR a multi-week workshop in the fall or spring. Deadline: Mid-September and April 1 each year.

Monson Residencies

Open to all MWPA members who live in Maine. In partnership with Monson Arts, provides a two or four-week funded residency during the following year in Monson. Deadline: Late September each year.

MWPA Scholarships

Open to all MWPA members. Provides for MWPA members to attend various workshops throughout the year. Deadline: Rolling.