A fellowship program for Ukrainian non-fiction authors supported by the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association and PEN Ukraine

The program is aimed to support Ukrainian writers and journalists who work in non-fiction genres and to help documenting the experience of the war that Ukrainian society has been living through since 2014, in documentary literature. Non-fiction genres include essays, biographies, reportages, interviews etc.

10 fellowships amounting to €5000 each (in UAH equivalent), will be granted within the program.

Timeline:

• June-September 2024 – open call
• September 2024 – work of Jury
• September 30th, 2024 – announcement of the winners
• October-November 2024 – contracts with winners
• until November, 30th, 2025 – publication of the books

Jury:

The applied submissions will be evaluated by the Jury consisting of 5 Ukrainian writers, scholars, and journalists and representatives of the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association. The Jury will include:

• Tamara Hundorova (literary scholar)
• Yurii Prokhasko (translator and essayist)
• Oksana Forostyna (publisher, translator, and publicist)
• Mariya Tytarenko (essayist and writer)
• Dmytro Krapyvenko (publicist and journalist)
• Bernhard L. Mohr (member of NFFO, non-fiction writer and editor at Cappelen Damm)
• Atle Grønn (member of NFFO and professor at the University of Oslo)

While determining the winners of the project, the Jury will assess the following criteria:

• The unique author’s style
• Social and cultural significance of the author’s idea
• The author’s capability of carrying out the necessary research and processing of materials for a book

A fellow will get:

• The fellowship amounting to €5000
• Some of the winners will receive a possibility to present their projects to the Norwegian audience

A fellow’s responsibilites:

• A Ukrainian author with at least 1 non-fiction or fiction book published may apply for the fellowship
• A fellow takes the responsibility to publish the book prepared within the program, in a Ukrainian publishing company no later than fall 2025
• A fellow takes the responsibility to mention this in their book: "This book was published through the fellowship provided by the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association and PEN Ukraine"
• One copy of the published book must be sent to the library of PEN Ukraine

How to apply:

• To participate in the program, Ukrainian authors should fill in the application form.
• Please note that the application form includes the timeline of the fellow’s work on their text and preparing the book for publication; the synopsis of the work (up to 10,000 characters with spaces); the recommendation from a reputable expert; the copy of the agreement with a publishing company or a letter of intent willing to publish the book no later than November 30, 2025
• Academic papers are not considered within the program

In case of successful implementation of the program, it could be extended by two years.