The Creative Writing Fellowship awards five $5,000 Luminarts Fellowships for excellence in creative writing in the categories of prose and poetry, both fiction and nonfiction.

Eligibility and Guidelines

Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Be between the ages of 18 and 30 years old on the date of applying
• Be currently enrolled in, or have completed, a degree program, conservatory, or other professional artist development program
• Live within 150 miles of the Chicago Loop

Submission Guidelines

There are three components that must be attached to your application. These include:

• A written piece of your work, two pages maximum length, single-spaced (excerpts of larger work are also allowed, but limited to two pages)
• A career statement outlining what your career objectives are as an artist, how becoming a Luminarts Fellow would help support those objectives, and how you envision your art/career impacting the greater Chicago community
• The name, contact information, and relationship to one (1) professional or educational reference

Read below for specific details about each of these components.

Your Written Piece:

You may submit one (1) piece of writing in either prose or poetry, fiction or nonfiction. The piece should be no more than two (2) pages in length, single-spaced, using 11-12 pt. type, in a standard academic font (Times New Roman, Cambria, Georgia, Arial, or Calibri, no exceptions). If your written piece is an excerpt of a larger body of work such as a novel or short story, space will be provided for you to attach the full piece in addition to the excerpt. In addition:

• Remove your name from all pages
• Write the title of your piece in the top left header
• Below the title indicate if the piece is prose or poetry and fiction or nonfiction
• If your piece is an excerpt, please indicate “excerpt” (you will also attach the full-length piece using the same guidelines, indicating “Full Piece”
• The .doc file name should be the title of the piece (example: “Catcher in the Rye.doc”)

Please submit your piece in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).

Career Statement:

• Your career statement should outline what your career objectives are as an artist, how becoming a Luminarts Fellow would help support those objectives, and how you envision your art/career impacting the greater Chicago community
• Your statement may not exceed 500 words in total
• This statement will be used in the Foundation’s evaluation

Professional/Educational Reference:

• Space will be provided on the application to include the name, contact information, and relationship to one (1) professional or educational reference.

After Submitting Your Application

Applicants will be notified via email on Monday, April 9, 2018 regarding whether or not they have been selected as a winner. Please do not contact the Foundation before April 9 regarding the status of your application.

While applicants may reapply to the Luminarts Fellowship annually, they are only eligible to receive the Fellowship award once. However, once an individual has been designated a Luminarts Fellow they are eligible to apply for Fellow Project Grants through the Foundation. For Project Grant information visit our Artist Opportunities page.

For questions about eligibility or more information about the Fellowship visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or contact Luminarts at info@luminarts.org or (312) 435-5961.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, February 9, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. CST