PEN Ukraine announced the open call for fellowships to write fiction and non-fiction books

Submissions can be applied by Ukrainian writers and journalists until July 31, 2025

The program is aimed at supporting 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.

Organizers of the initiative: Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association, Norwegian Authors’ Union, PEN Ukraine. The project is sponsored by The Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine.

This is the continuation of the last year’s fellowship program launched by the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association in cooperation with PEN Ukraine. 10 projects were supported by the program in 2024.

Unlike 2024, this year’s program will cover not only authors who work in non-fiction genres but also fiction writers. Thus, the program is aimed at supporting Ukrainian authors who work in genres such as non-fiction (reportage, biographies, essays, interviews etc.), fiction (novel, short story, poetry, plays etc.), children’s and young adult literature (fiction and non-fiction texts).

20 fellowships amounting to €5000 each (in UAH equivalent), will be granted within the 2025 program.

The application form to participate in the project can be filled up until July 31, 2025. It includes 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 the letter of intent to publish the book no later than November 30, 2026.

Throughout August-September 2025, the applied submissions will be evaluated by the Jury consisting of Tetyana Teren (journalist, cultural manager, Executive Board member of PEN Ukraine), Bogdana Romantsova (editor, literary scholar), Rostyslav Semkiv (literary scholar, publisher), Bogdan Kolomiychuk (writer, military serviceman), Mariya Tytarenko (essayist, professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University), Ivan Andrusyak (poet, children’s writer, literary critic, translator), Bernhard L. Mohr (member of NFFO, writer, editor of the Cappelen Damm), Olya Shamshur (project manager of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee), Iryna Shuvalova (poet, translator, researcher, post-doc fellow at the University of Oslo).

While determining the winners of the project, the Jury will assess the criteria such as the author’s unique style, social and cultural significance of the author’s idea, and the author’s capability of carrying out the necessary research and processing of materials for a book.

The names of 20 fellows will be announced on September 30, 2025.

As a result of the program, every fellow should publish the non-fiction book prepared within the program, in a Ukrainian publishing company no later than November 30, 2026.

For more details about the project, requirements for candidates, and terms of participation in the program, please follow the link. For any additional information, please apply to Alisa Bondarenko, the program coordinator: alycebondarenko@gmail.com

The main visual of the program includes the photo by Stas Kozliuk