Lyzette Wanzer, MFA

**  DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 6, 2024! **

 

 

The Muses & Melanin Fellowship application is now open!

 

Muses & Melanin is a fully funded eight-month cohort-based professional development course for 30 talented San Francisco Bay Area African American, Afro Latina, and multiracial women creative writers 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, and don't have literary agent representation. A Bachelor's degree is required. Participants will complete a comprehensive learning and support curriculum that equips them with the strategies 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 Op-Ed article, extended personal essay, or paper in professional manuscript format, fellows will submit their work to publications and contests during the last four months of the program. All fellows will learn and apply the MLA citation style.

 

The fellowship consists of the following components:

• two in-person Weekend Intensives (July 19-21 and July 26-28; Fridays start at 5pm)
• five-week in-person weekly writing workshops (Tuesdays, 5pm-7pm, July 23 - August 20)four monthly 3-hour online co-working sessions (one per month from September-December 2024. Time TBD)
• a public graduation and reading ceremony at the San Francisco Public Library for qualified participants (February 8, 2025, 12:30pm)

 

Note that all in-person program components occur in San Francisco.

 

The application deadline is MAY 6TH at 6pm Pacific time. Learn more about the program's scope and apply at https://forms.gle/KeY9P9YGJZzCtmMz6

 

Good luck!

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.