Emerging Voices
Five-month mentorship fellowship for early-career writers from underrepresented communities, administered by PEN America, with stipends and one-on-one mentorship from established authors.
Overview
The PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship is a five-month mentorship program for early-career writers from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in publishing and media. PEN America selects ten fellows per cycle and pairs each with an established, published author for one-on-one mentorship over the course of the program. Fellows receive a $1,500 stipend, access to literary events and workshops, and ongoing career support through PEN America's professional network.
The fellowship is administered virtually, making it accessible to writers across the United States rather than only those based in New York. It is one of the few writing fellowships specifically designed to reach writers who face structural barriers to entry -- including economic barriers, geographic isolation, and lack of access to professional networks in the literary and screenwriting world.
What It Funds
The fellowship provides each selected writer with a $1,500 stipend and five months of intensive one-on-one mentorship from an established author. The program also includes workshops, craft discussions, and exposure to PEN America's broader programming in literary advocacy and freedom of expression.
The fellowship supports work across literary forms -- fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting. Writers working on scripts or narrative screenplays are eligible alongside those working in more traditional literary formats. The stipend and mentorship are the primary benefits, with the longer-term value coming from the professional relationships and the PEN America credential.
Eligibility
Applicants must be early-career writers from communities that are underrepresented in publishing. The fellowship is open to US residents. Former Emerging Voices Fellows are not eligible to reapply. Writers who are enrolled in a graduate MFA program or who have published a book with a major trade publisher are generally outside the scope of "emerging" as defined by the program.
Applications open annually, typically in January. Filmmakers and screenwriters should consult the PEN America website for current cycle dates and any updates to eligibility criteria.
Who Should Apply
Early-career screenwriters, playwrights, and writers from underrepresented communities -- including communities of color, LGBTQ+ communities, and writers from low-income backgrounds -- who are developing their craft and professional voice and who would benefit from sustained one-on-one mentorship alongside a structured writing program.
See Also
For understanding how script development fits into the broader film development timeline, see Film Grants and the Development Pathway. For an overview of the screenwriting craft, see the Screenwriting glossary entry.
