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The Mountain Heritage Literary
Festival
June 13-15, 2008
 Jean
Ritchie Fellowship
The winner of the 2008 Jean Ritchie Fellowship in Writing is
Mindy Beth Miller from
Hazard, Kentucky.
We had entries from every state in the region and our judges tell us that they were blown away by the quality of the submissions and that they had never judged a competition that had so many worthy entries. The judging process for the fellowship was strictly blind—not one judge ever saw one name attached to the submissions. Ten finalists were picked by an esteemed panel of Appalachian writers and were then sent on to a small group of acclaimed writers from outside the region who made the final decision. Unfortunately, they could only award one fellowship. We hope you will consider submitting again. Next year’s fellowship deadline will be announced in the next couple of months here on our website. Please check back for updated information.
Through literature, a region tells stories to its citizens and the world. The Jean Ritchie Fellowship seeks to support, encourage and honor writers from the Southern Appalachians.
The fellowship is the first of its kind for the region's writers, and is committed to Appalachian voices.
Jean Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky, and Port Washington, New York, is a musician, author of prose and poetry, social activist, teacher, historian and folk music collector. The fellowship strives to support artists who, like Ritchie, create works of beauty and social relevance, while honoring traditional heritage and forging a new path.
Find out more about Jean Ritchie at
http://www.jeanritchie.com/.
Award amount: $1,500
Fellowship Guidelines:
Poetry: Submit no more than ten pages.
Prose (Fiction and Nonfiction): Submit no more than twenty pages.
All work samples must be double-side printed and page numbered.
Previously published material will not be accepted.
No collaborative work samples or joint applications, please.
Include a very brief, one page cover letter. To ensure an anonymous reading process, please do not put your name on any application materials excepting the cover letter.
For all genres, include a statement of purpose—no more than two pages—summarizing:
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What Appalachia means to you (for example: identity, culture, sense of place, values, economics, environment).
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What does writing mean in your life?
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Your current writing project.
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How would you utilize the fellowship funding?
Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
If awarded a fellowship, you will not be eligible to apply for another five years.
 Please consult the map (click for a list
of individual counties in each state) to determine if the county and state in which you live,
or are originally from, is eligible as defined by the fellowship requirements. Indicate your county and state in the cover letter.
Fee: Five dollars per submission. You may apply in more than one genre. For each genre in which you apply, there is an additional five dollar reading fee.
Check or money order made out to LMU, Jean Ritchie Fellowship. No cash.
Submissions will be accepted from
February 1 - April 1, 2008.
Postmarked deadlines are firm. Early, late, ineligible, and incomplete applications will be rejected.
Manuscripts will not be returned but will be recycled.
Fellowship winner will be announced at the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, June 14, 2008, and posted on this website by June 17.
Please do not seek information on the status of your application before the announcement date listed above.
Please mail your submission to:
The Jean Ritchie Fellowship
c/o Silas House
Lincoln Memorial University
P.O. Box 2005
Harrogate, Tennessee 37752
If you have questions, email:
denton.loving@lmunet.edu
Lincoln Memorial University
Cumberland Gap Parkway
P.O. Box 2005
Harrogate, TN 37752
Phone:
423.869.6432 or 800.325.0900, ext. 6432
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