March 22, 2023: The Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference is pleased to announce our 2023 Scholarship Awards!
Willie Lin of Chicago is our Poetry Workshop Scholarship recipient and will be working with Ross Gay. Anna Farro Henderson of St. Paul is our Creative Nonfiction Workshop Scholarship recipient and will be working with Lia Purpura. Alec Osthoff of Minneapolis is our Fiction Workshop Scholarship recipient and will be working with Will Weaver. The Minnesota Scholarship goes to poet Micah Ruelle of Minneapolis who will be working with Keetje Kuipers. This year, we also awarded a Hybrid Poetry & Prose Scholarship to Josie Mitchell of Houston, Texas, who work with Aimee Nezhukumatathil. And we awarded a Bemidji Area Scholarship to Jennifer Schultz, a former BFA in Creative Writing at Bemidji State University. Jennifer will work with Will Weaver.
The Charles W. Scrutchin Emerging Writer Scholarship goes to poet Ladan Khoddam-Khorasani for dedication to craft and community. Ladan will work with Ross Gay. This full scholarship is funded through a generous donation from a past MNWC attendee, and named for an African American lawyer who came to Bemidji in 1898 to establish a law office.
This year, we awarded two full NPNN Women Scholarships, funded through a generous donation of royalties from sales of the anthology New Poets of Native Nations, edited by Heid E. Erdrich and published by Graywolf Press. Poet and writer m.s. RedCherries, a citizen of the Tsėhéstáno (Cheyenne) Nation of Montana, will work with Diane Wilson. Poet, writer, and teacher, Bronwen Tate, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, will work with Lia Purpura.
We accepted scholarship applications March 1 through March 15, 2023 (see below).
MNWC Workshop Scholarships
One $400 MNWC Workshop Scholarship is awarded toward the conference fee in each of the following genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. A $400 scholarship will also be offered to a Minnesota resident. We may offer a $400 scholarship to a resident of the greater Bemidji area and adjoining counties in Northern Minnesota. The participant pays the balance.
While these scholarships aim to lower financial barriers for those who want to engage in this unique arts learning opportunity, they will be awarded based on literary merit.
Honorable Mention scholarships of $200 may also be offered.
To Apply: Submit 5- to 10-pages of poetry or 10- to 20 pages of prose and include in conference application a one-page (double-spaced) statement of what you hope to gain from the conference. Please include your name and page numbers on each submission. There is no application fee.
Scholarship recipients are ineligible for other discounts. Previous scholarship recipients are ineligible for this scholarship for three years.
New Poets of Native Nations Women’s Scholarship
While this scholarship aims to lower financial barriers for those who want to participate in a workshop at the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference, it will be awarded based on literary merit. This scholarship is open to application to any of the workshops: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Any woman who is an enrolled member or citizen or descendant of an enrolled member of a Native Nation is eligible to apply for this scholarship.
This full scholarship waives all conference fees including manuscript consultation and housing. A modest stipend will be provided upon arrival to Bemidji to help with books and daily expenses. No transportation costs are covered. One scholarship will be awarded.
This scholarship is funded through a generous donation of royalties from sales of the anthology, New Poets of Native Nations, edited by Heid E. Erdrich and published by Graywolf Press.
To Apply: Submit 5- to 10-pages of poetry or 10- to 20 pages of prose and include in scholarship application a one-page (double-spaced) statement of eligibility and what you hope to gain from the conference. Please include your name and page numbers on each submission. There is no application fee.
The scholarship recipient is ineligible for other discounts. Previous scholarship recipients are ineligible for this scholarship for three years.
Charles W. Scrutchin Emerging Writer Scholarship
The Scrutchin Emerging Writer scholarship is open to any person who will be 45 years old or younger at the time of the conference and who is also a member of a community of color. We are defining an emerging writer as someone who has published in nationally recognized venues to someone has published their first book within twelve months prior the conference. While this scholarship aims to lower financial barriers for those who want to participate in a workshop at the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference, it will be awarded based on literary merit. This scholarship is open to application to any of the workshops: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction.
This full scholarship waives all conference fees including manuscript consultation and housing. A modest stipend will be provided upon arrival to Bemidji to help with books and daily expenses. No transportation costs are covered. One scholarship will be awarded.
This scholarship is funded through a generous donation from a past MNWC attendee. It is named for Charles W. Scrutchin, an African American lawyer who came to Bemidji in 1898 to establish a law office. In 1920 he represented William Miller, one of the accused men who survived the Duluth Lynchings. Scrutchin’s legal work resulted in Miller’s acquittal.
To Apply: Submit 5- to 10-pages of poetry or 10- to 20 pages of prose and include in scholarship application a one-page (double-spaced) statement of eligibility and what you hope to gain from the conference. Please include your name and page numbers on each submission. There is no application fee.
The scholarship recipient is ineligible for other discounts. Previous scholarship recipients are ineligible for this scholarship for three years.
Partnership Opportunities
MNWC works with educational, institutional, and tribal partners to help aspiring writers who show promise to attend the conference and work with our award-winning writers. We have collaborated with MFA programs of national stature, regional tribal governments, local writing groups, and regional arts organizations to help fund worthy candidates.
This year, we are offering a $200 registration discount on the cost of a workshop to MFA students who are funded in part by an established institution and accepted into one of our workshops. Partnership scholarships are available until workshops are filled and we have openings in our two fiction workshops.
- Individuals or institutions interested in a partnership opportunity should contact MNWC Coordinator Mathew Hawthorne at writersconference@bemidjistate.edu at their earliest convenience.
To Apply: Submit 5- to 10-pages of poetry or 10- to 20-pages of prose and include in scholarship application a one-page (double-spaced) statement of eligibility and what you hope to gain from the conference. Please include your name and page numbers on each submission. There is no application fee.
The scholarship recipient is ineligible for other discounts.
LINK TO ONLINE APPLICATION
Other Funding Opportunities
Kurt Brown Prizes from the Association of Writers & Writing Programs
AWP will award scholarships of $500 each to writers of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry this year to help them attend a writers’ conference, festival, retreat, or residency. Kurt Brown Prizes are welcome.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Region 2 Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.