Lyzette Wanzer, MFA

This strategy- and information-packed workshop is open to writers of any genre who are planning to apply for a literary grant, fellowship, scholarship, or any national or international writers' residency opportunity in 2025 or 2026.

 

This workshop will cover:

 

• The dreaded Project Statement, Work Plan, or Goals and Objectives question
• How to demonstrate a rising trajectory (remembering that most people who are awarded grants are on their way up, not already there)

• Using headings and "buckets" to make your statement navigable
• How to craft clear, concise personal or "artist" statements that do not ramble (leave this class with a completed first draft in hand!)
• Why the marketing angle is so important

 

Students should be computer savvy and prepared to engage in a range of hands-on activities. Learn more at https://midnight-indigo.com/collections/writing-classes-for-black-writers/products/applying-for-grants-residencies

 

 

This in-person workshop is open to writers who are considering applications for—or wish to learn about—creative writing grants, fellowships, and residencies. This six-week workshop will cover:

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• The best places to locate opportunities. You'll visit and conduct on several trustworthy websites offering the most lucrative funding.
• The dreaded Project Statement, Work Plan, or Goals and Objectives question. Finish the workshop with a revised draft.
• How to demonstrate a rising trajectory, remembering that most people who are awarded grants are on their way up, not already there.
• How to craft clear, concise personal or artist statements. Leave this class with a completed draft in hand!
• Why the marketing angle is so important.
• Creating an effective literary resume. You'll have a new professionally formatted one at the end of class!

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Open to writers of all genres. Reserve your seat now. Enrollment is limited.

The Muses & Melanin Fellowship for California Black Women Creative Writers is a supportive, virtual, fully funded eight-month cohort-based professional development program for 30 talented California African American, Afro Latina, and multiracial women creative writers of the African diaspora who aspire to become professional authors. The fellowship is designed for women who do not yet have a lengthy list of publishing credits, are not under a publishing contract, do not have literary agent representation, and do not have a doctoral degree in English, Creative Writing, or Literature (a Master's degree in these subjects is fine, such as an MFA or MA). A Bachelor's degree is required.

 

Participants complete a comprehensive learning and support curriculum that equips them with the strategies, tools, and knowledge they need to transition from creative writing students or hobbyists to professional authors. The fellowship launches attendees into the literary profession with a series of professional development workshops, writing workshops, and co-working sessions. After writing an article, personal essay, or paper in professional manuscript format, fellows will submit their work to publications, conferences, and contests during the last four months of the program.

 

Learn more details about the Fellowship Program and apply at https://www.cfplist.com/CFP/41747

4/18/23 – 5/23/23   

5:30pm – 8pm Pacific Time

Zoom and in-person

$175

 

*** Submission required for admission ***

 

NOTE: Students who've completed one of the following classes with Lyzette in 2022 do not need to apply and may register without a submission:

• Building a Career as a Literary Artist (Writers.com)
• For BIPOC Writers: Get Invited to Read at Literary Conferences (Muse & The Marketplace Conference)
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Creative Writers (Loft Literary Center)
• Lyzette's August 2022 Rooted & Written Fellowship workshop (The Writers Grotto)

All others wishing to register for this multi-week grant seminar must apply. Submit a literary resume and a link to your author website (or your author LinkedIn or Facebook profile). If you are in academia, you may submit a CV in lieu of a resume, and a faculty profile page in lieu of a LinkedIn or Facebook profile. Attach your resume as a Word, Pages, or PDF document only. Email your submissions to AuthorLyzetteWanzer@LyzetteWanzerMFA.com by April 15th, 2023.

 

You can secure a grant and focus on your work without the day-to-day pressure of paying bills. While there is no quick fix for securing a coveted grant, there are several strategies that position you to put your best foot forward and avoid the mistakes that other applicants make. This six-week  seminar intensive is geared for students eager to learn how to increase their odds of winning grants, fellowships, scholarships, or residencies from the nation's major funding foundations. We will cover:

• the best places to locate funding opportunities that are a fit for you
• getting inside the minds of review panelists (what are they looking for? what turns them off?)
• avoiding faux pas that mark you as an amateur and brand you as unprofessional
• how to curate your application package, online presence, and personal statements to portray a three-dimensional view of you, and why this step is absolutely crucial to success
• the Top 10 Tips for grant applications
• the often-overlooked importance of being a good literary citizen (hint: Funders actually prefer to give money, space, and financially supported time to these applicants).

This seminar is best suited to students who are interested in securing financial support for a period of one month to one year for writing projects that will start in late 2023 or in 2024. Registration closes April 16th. 

 

Prerequisite: Students must be computer-savvy, serious, focused, committed to completing assignments, and dedicated to the success of everyone in the seminar. Participants complete an emailed pre-work assignment prior to the first class meeting.