Which countries are eligible for the scholarship?
The Scholarships are open to anyone writing in the English language who was born in an African country or both of whose parents were born in Africa.
In which host country will the awardees be studying?
Candidate’s home country
What are the eligible works?
The Scholarships are meant for full length works of adult fiction or non-fiction. Poetry, plays, film scripts, children’s books, and short story collections do not qualify.
What is the category of this opportunity?
Contest
How do I know if I’m eligible for the scholarship?
The only condition imposed on the Scholars during the year of their Scholarship is that they must write. They will be asked to submit by e-mail at least 10,000 new words every month until they have finished their book or their Scholarship term has ended. If the first draft of the book is completed before the year is up, payments will continue while the Scholar edits and refines their work.
What are the benefits of the scholarship?
Scholars writing fiction will receive a grant of £18,000, paid monthly over the course of twelve months. At the discretion of the Foundation, Scholars writing non-fiction may receive a grant of up to £27,000, paid over a period of up to eighteen months.
What is the duration of the scholarship?
The Scholars may elect to start at any time between January and June in the year following the Scholarship Award. Their payments and the 10,000 word monthly submission requirement will start at the same time. The Foundation may exercise its discretion to offer non-fiction writers a longer Scholarship period of up to 18 months.
How to Apply for the Morland Writing Scholarship
To qualify for the Scholarship a candidate must submit an excerpt from a piece of work of between 2,000 – 5,000 words written in English that has been published and offered for sale,. This will be evaluated by a panel of readers and judges set up by the MMF. The work submitted will be judged purely on literary merit. It is not the purpose of the Scholarships to support academic or scientific research, or works of special interest such as religious or political writings. Submissions or proposals of this nature do not qualify.
They should be sent by e-mail to [email protected] Please do not submit anything in hard copy or by terrestrial post.
Note that before submitting an application, candidates should please read two things:
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The FAQs which set out in detail the requirements for entering the Scholarship.
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The Checklist which tells the five things candidates must include with their entry or it will not be considered.
The candidates should submit a description of up to 1,000 words of the work they intend to write. The proposal must be for a full length book of no fewer than 80,000 words. The MMF does not accept proposals for collaborative writing or short story collections. The proposal should be for a completely new work, not a work in progress, and must be in English.
Please note that this is not a residential Scholarship. It is up to the Scholars what their living arrangements are during their Scholarship year.
Scholarship Webpage
About Miles Morland Foundation
Miles Morland set up the foundation which bears his name in 2013, after a career investing in Africa via two companies he created, Blakeney Management and DPI (Development Partners International). Based in London, the Miles Morland Foundation (MMF) is a UK registered charity which makes grants in areas reflecting its founder’s interests.
The Foundation’s main aim is to support entities in Africa which allow Africans to get their voices better heard. It is particularly interested in supporting African writing and African literature.
