Deadline: November 20, 2021
Applications are open for the Narrative Initiative Changemaker Authors Cohort 2021. Changemaker Authors Cohort is a new, yearlong intensive coaching program supporting full-time movement activists and social justice practitioners to complete books that create deep, durable narrative change, restructuring the way people feel, think, and respond to the world.
The one-year program will follow a three-term structure, in which the Story/Skills/Sanctuary concepts are adjusted for the different stages of the writing process. Each term will have a clear focus, and each writer will develop outcome goals in terms of both process and craft. At the heart of the process are their mandatory monthly craft meetings designed both to strengthen your writing and improve your engagement with it. (Topics might include structure, voice, immediacy, audience, timelines, decolonization, writing the hard parts, and revision.)
Benefits
- They will select a cohort of 15 diverse changemaker-authors to participate at no cost in the Changemaker Authors Cohort. Those selected for no-cost participation will also receive a stipend of $1,000.
Eligibility
Open to people who:
- Are movement activists and social justice practitioners who have a story to tell. They want to support works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and graphic storytelling that are consistent with your—the applicant’s—lived experience of building justice. This can include books that are about communities building and using their power through organizing and activism, as well as works of imagination that contribute to the plurality of voices in the broader artistic and cultural discourse.
- Are not working as a full-time writer but have a work in progress or a strong concept for a book of any genre (nonfiction, fiction, poetry, graphic storytelling, hybrid/other) that fuels the momentum of social justice and movement work. A strong concept is specific, not vague — e.g. “a book about anger” vs “a book about survivors and how to live with the rage that arises from our experiences.” A strong concept entails a couple of components:
- A single, focused book idea (not a few different options of books you COULD write).
- A clear sense of what research would be needed (if any), that the research is already done, or the book draws from experience you have already had.
- Want to be in community with other changemakers who are also committed to writing.
- Have the time and commitment to develop their book idea into a submittable package over the course of the 12-month residency, beginning March 1, 2022 and ending February 28, 2023.
- Are not enrolled in a degree program at the time of their participation in the cohort.
Application
The application will ask you to confirm your eligibility, upload a résumé or curriculum vitae, upload a sample of the book you are working on, and share 1-3 links to your work. The substance of your application will be your answers to the following four questions, with a character count of 2000 characters per answer (including spaces):
- Who are you?
- Describe your book, including its working title and subject as well as how much work you have done on it so far. Your description should highlight what you think is noteworthy and distinctive about your book.
- What is the audience you are hoping to reach?
- How participation would the Changemaker Authors Cohort benefit you and your book at this time? What are some of the obstacles you are facing that you hope this program can help you overcome?
For more information, visit Narrative Initiative.
