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Summer Fellowships
Each year, Fishtrap, Inc. awards up to five Fellowships valued at $1000 for Summer Fishtrap Workshops and Gathering, held every July at Wallowa Lake, Oregon. Awards are made on the basis of writing submission only, and are not limited to any one genre. Submissions should follow the Fishtrap mission, which is to promote "good writing in and about the West." Therefore, applicants should be from the West, or writing of the West. Fellowships cover the cost of a workshop, registration for the Gathering, and food and lodging for the week. A small travel stipend is also included.
It is the goal of Fishtrap's Fellowship program to recognize and encourage emerging writers. Previous Fellows include novelists Kathleen Tyau and Michael FitzGerald, poets Charles Goodrich and Marilyn Johnston, short fiction writer Kelly Magee, and non-fiction writer Ellie Waterston.
Because we now receive a high volume of Fellowship applications, we are unable to accept applications that don't follow the guidelines stated below. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS. You are limited to one Fellowship submission. Thanks for reading these guidelines carefully.
Here's what to include in your Fellowship application:
A writing sample:
Material can be published or unpublished but MUST be in manuscript form, typed or printed– double-spaced for prose.
Writer's name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the manuscript.
Prose –fiction or non-fiction– 2500 words maximum; poetry 8 pages maximum.
If the work is from a book-length manuscript, you may send a half-page introduction in addition to the 2500 word selection.
DO NOT FOLD. Please use a 9" x 12" envelope to mail your manuscript flat.
Brief author's bio: The bio is not used in judging, but in publicizing winners.
Other optional enclosures: Self addressed stamped postcard if you'd like to be notified upon reciept of your manuscript. If you include an email address, this is the default method for receipt notification. You may also include a brief cover letter.
SASE if you want your manuscript returned to you. Make sure it has
sufficient postage. If you do not provide a SASE with sufficient postage
we'll dispose of the manuscript.
The next submission deadline is February 1, 2010 (postmark date) for Summer Fishtrap 2010 to be held July 11-18. Please mail your submission to Fishtrap, PO Box 38, Enterprise, OR 97828 and mark it "Fellowship."
All applications will be read by a preliminary judging panel of current and/or past members of the Fishtrap Board of Directors. Final judging will be done by 2010 faculty members. None of the judges will see any information about the applicant, only the manuscript.
2009 Fellows:
There were 124 Fellowship applications in 2009. All submissions were read by at least two readers–Fishtrap Board Members and former Board Members. The final judge was John Daniel, who taught a yearlong workshop in Memoir starting at Summer Fishtrap 2009.
The fellows selected for 2009 were:
Rebecca Yarrow, Durham, CA
I live in a small town in Northern California and work in a plant nursery. I have a degree in Social Work which I use when couples cannot decide if they want to purchase a plant. I tend to side with the buyer. I write a monthly column in the local newspaper telling stories about my son, my siblings and my mother. I always take my notebook out with me when I work in my garden. I'm inspired by the bees on the lavender and the hummingbirds on the salvias helping me to make my garden a magical place.
Jonathan Harnum, Chicago, IL
Jon Harnum is a lifelong Alaskan, currently living in the urban wilderness of Chicago while he pursues a PhD in music education at Northwestern University. He has written three music-related texts, the latest in 2007 being the Hal Leonard publication, All About Trumpet. In keeping with his educational philosophy, over 500,000 copies of his first two books have been downloaded for free from his web site. Harnum is currently working toward a dissertation on the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and--in his spare time--on his fourth book, The Practice of Practice. In addition to music-related subjects, he also enjoys writing about Alaska, and writing speculative fiction.
Kelly Luce,Woodside, CA
Kelly Luce's collection of Japan-related short stories won the 2008 Jackson Award from the San Francisco Foundation, and her work has been recognized by fellowships to the MacDowell Colony and Jentel Arts. She is the winner of the 2008 Danahy Prize from Tampa Review, and has recently published fiction in The Gettysburg Review, The Southern Review, Massachusetts Review, and North American Review. She keeps a hula hoop in her car. Find her online at Crazy Pete's Blotter: www.thecrazypetesblotter.blogspot.com.
Jay Schroder, Central Point, OR
Jay Schroder teaches high school, writes, and trains in martial arts in Southern Oregon. Currently, he is working on a book of poems. “I am interested in the wild forces that move into our lives inviting us to change. That’s the mania behind most of my poems.”
Ceiridwen Terrill, Portland, OR
Ceiridwen Terrill teaches science writing and environmental journalism at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. Her essays have appeared in Oxford American, Isotope, Whetstone, Organization and Environment: International Journal of Ecosocial Research, and the anthology What Wildness is This: Women Write about the Southwest. Her first book Unnatural Landscapes: Tracking Invasive Species was published by the University of Arizona Press in 2007. She is at work on her second book about wolf-dog hybrids, which combines memoir and science writing. She is a mountaineer and sea kayaker, and practices herbal medicine.
Click here for the 2008 Fellows.
Nearly 100 fine writers have been selected as Fishtrap Fellows since 1990. Now, Fishtrap would like to help libraries, arts and culture organizations, schools, and community groups connect with Fishtrap Fellows for readings, workshops, classes, lectures, and more. You can view or download a Fishtrap Fellows Directory (in PDF format) and find a poet, novelist, storyteller, or other writer to present to or work with your audience. If you were a Fishtrap Fellow and are not in this directory, please email us with your information and we will update the Directory
Click here for a complete list of Fishtrap Fellows.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Call Fishtrap 541-426-3623, or email director@fishtrap.org.
For information on previous Fishtraps, see our history page.
NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION Fishtrap, Inc. prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age within its organization and during the conduct of any of its programs.