A Public Space Writing Fellowship

About

The Writing Fellowships at A Public Space support writers who embrace risk in their work and their own singular vision. Writers who have not yet published a book are invited to apply. The three Fellows selected annually receive editorial support to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine; a $1,000 honorarium; complimentary access to all A Public Space Master Classes during the fellowship year; the opportunity to meet virtually with members of the publishing community and to participate in a public reading.

Application Details

Time Period and Compensation: Writers who have not yet contracted to publish a book are invited to apply to the 2025 Writing Fellowships. Submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are welcome. Three fellowships will be awarded.

During the seven-month fellowship, fellows will receive:

—editorial support from A Public Space editors to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine;

—a $1,000 honorarium;

—a one-year subscription to A Public Space;

—a guest pass to attend Master Classes;

—the opportunity to participate in a public reading and conversation with A Public Space editors and contributors.

Eligibility: Only writers who have not yet published or been contracted to write a book-length work with a U.S. publisher are eligible. Writers who have self-published, published an academic text, published a book with a publisher outside the U.S., or translated another writer’s work are eligible to apply. Writers who have published a chapbook or published (or contracted to publish) a book-length work in any of the fellowship genres (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) in the U.S. are ineligible to apply. International applicants are encouraged to apply, but we are only able to consider submissions in English. Only one submission per person is allowed. Please do not submit a piece you have previously submitted to A Public Space, either through the Fellowship category, the General Submissions category, or an Open Call. A Public Space reserves the right to invite submissions.

Timeline: Applications for the 2025 Writing Fellowships are being accepted via Submittable from March 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025. Submissions for the Fellowships close at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on March 31, 2025. Successful applicants will be informed no later than May 27, 2025. The fellowship period will be June 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025.

Procedure: Only electronic submissions will be considered. Applications must be submitted through the Writing Fellowship category in Submittable. There is no application fee. Please submit the following:

—A résumé

—A cover letter containing a one-paragraph biographical statement; one paragraph that is a favorite of yours from a book you’ve read, be it recently or long ago; and a brief statement telling us why this particular passage is meaningful to you.

—One previously unpublished piece (for prose, a limit of 6,000 words; for poetry, up to 15 pages). If selected, the submitted manuscript is the piece that will be published in the magazine.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please note that if any part of the submitted work is accepted elsewhere, you will be required to withdraw your entire application; replacement submissions will not be accepted once the deadline has passed.

Only PDF or Word files (.doc and .docx) are accepted. The cover letter and manuscript should be submitted as separate files. Incomplete applications will not be considered and will be returned unread.