Fellowship in Literary Arts

FELLOWSHIP IN LITERARY ARTS

Maximum Award: $5,000.
Required Match: None
Award Cycle: July 1 to June 30.
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Artists and organizations seeking relief funding for the COVID-19 emergency should visit the agency COVID-19 Resource Page. It has information about Maine Arts Commission support as well as support options from other organizations. 

Maine Artist Fellowships recognize artistic excellence and advance the careers of Maine artists. Fellowships are not grants, they are merit-based awards that are informed by an applicant’s work as documented through the application and support materials. Maine Artist Fellowships are available in the categories: Belvedere Handcraft, Craft, Literary Arts, Multimedia/Film, Performing Arts, Traditional Arts, and Visual Arts. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the deadline.

The Literary Fellowship offers an award for contemporary literary artists in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose, and other writing genera. Literary artists who work in the medium of scriptwriting for the stage or screen should apply in the performing arts fellowship category.

Eligibility Requirements

All applicants must have an active Maine Arts Commission account and current Vendor Code to receive funding. An individual is eligible to apply if they meet all of the following criteria at the time of application:

  • Is currently a practicing Maine craft artist at the time of application deadline.
  • Has resided full-time in Maine for at least one year immediately prior to the application deadline.
  • Will reside full-time in Maine throughout the project period.
  • Is at least 25 years of age or older by the application deadline.
  • Is not a student enrolled in a degree or certificate-granting program.
  • Is in compliance with Final Reports required by the Maine Arts Commission for previous awards.
  • Has not been previously awarded a Maine Artist Fellowship.

Artist-specific application information:

  • ‘DUNS Number’ does not apply to individual artist applicants; just enter “1”
  • If your contact information has changed in the past year you will need to fill out a new Vendor Form

Ineligible Expenses

Fellowships are merit awards with no restrictions on award use.

Application Materials

Once an application is started, the applicant may revisit it to add materials or change answers. This can be done up until the deadline. When the application is complete, the applicant must hit the ‘Submit’ button on the final page. This locks the application and makes it ready for review. Please note that specific artistic sample requirements will be more defined within the Grants Management System application.All application materials must be submitted through the Grants Management System (GMS) and must contain:

Online - Fields within the Grants Portal that will need to be completed

  • Complete answers to all narrative prompts. (Required)

Uploads - Up to a total of 10 pieces of support materials uploaded through the Grants Portal

  • Resumes, bios, or curriculum vitae for the applicant. (Required)
  • A brief statement about the artist and their work. (Required)
  • Artistic samples (Required): Writing samples; prose samples (no more than 20 pages in length), poetry (no more than 5 poems).
  • An itemized list of the uploaded materials. (Required)

Vendor Code – An applicant must have a current Vendor Code to receive award funds

  • Your Vendor Code is a state assigned number that allows award payment processing. Please check your Maine Arts Commission User/Organization account to see if there is a number in the Vendor Code field. If the field is blank you will need to complete a Vendor Form with exactly the same name and contact information as used in the application. This must be provided to the agency prior to award notification and can be submitted through email, surface mail, or FAX. Please do not upload the Vendor Form as part of the application.The form can be downloaded from the Grants Help page.

The Maine Arts Commission reserves the right to use submitted materials in the non-commercial promotion of the artist and/or Maine Arts Commission programs.

Application Questions (to be completed in the GMS)

(All character counts include spaces. 2,550 characters/page)

  • All materials to be included through uploads.

Review Criteria

Grant applications are reviewed on a competitive basis using the following criteria

  • Fellowship applications are reviewed on a competitive basis. Decisions are informed by an applicant’s artistic excellence and artistic merit as documented through the application and support materials.

Review Process

Applications are reviewed by panels of public members, selected for their expertise. Reviewer recommendations are presented to Maine Arts Commission members who approve the review process, making an award official. Fellowship notifications to applicants are sent in mid-October. The review process and delivery of funds may take up to six months. This means that grant funds may be used to reimburse costs which have been incurred for the project after the grant has been approved but prior to funds being disbursed.

Awards

All applicants are notified of their award status (approved or declined) via email after the Commission members approve the review process. Awardees are also listed on the Maine Arts Commission website. Paperwork for an applicant to accept an award is sent via email. Award funding is delivered by surface mail in the form of a paper check. A copy of your executed award contract can be accessed on the State of Maine site at: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/reports/service-contract-search .

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Assistance

Agency staff are always here as a resource for you. We recommend contacting the correct staff person a minimum of two-weeks prior to submitting your application.

For specific questions about the Project Grant for Artists please contac the appropriate agency staff person based on the discipline of your application.

For general questions about the application or review process please contact Kerstin Gilg, Director of Grants and Accessibility, at kerstin.gilg@maine.gov or 207/ 287-6719.

All Maine Arts Commission programs are accessible to people with disabilities. All programs funded by the Maine Arts Commission must also be accessible.     

Grant information is available in large print format by request.