Financial Aid

Thanks to the generosity of Middlebury College and also many donors and former Bread Loafers who have contributed, Bread Loaf is able to offer substantial financial aid. 

Financial aid is awarded in recognition of published work or literary promise, and financial need has no bearing on our decisions, except as noted. Awards must be used in the year they are granted.

Bread Loaf financial aid includes:

  • Participant Scholarships
  • Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Participant Scholarships
  • Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Participant Scholarships
  • Returning Participant Scholarships
  • Middlebury College Student Participant Scholarships (available only to current undergraduate students and recent graduates of Middlebury College)
  • Fellowships
  • Returning Fellowships

Each financial aid application requires a separate application.

With the exception of those applying for Fellowships, scholarship applicants should not have published a book in the genre in which they are applying nor should they have a book accepted for publication or under contract. Applicants with a forthcoming book are encouraged to apply for a Fellowship after their book has been published.

Writers who would like to be considered for a spot as a Participant should they not receive a financial aid award must submit a separate Participant Application in addition to the financial aid application. 


Participant Scholarships

Bread Loaf Participant Scholarships are awarded to writers who see themselves as emerging writers, regardless of age. Some writers may have a literary background and/or MFA, but this is not a requirement. Scholarship recipients reflect a wide range of publishing experience, from just starting to explore the world of publishing to having placed original work in distinguished magazines, literary periodicals, and online venues. A record of publication is valued but not required. Though the merit of the manuscript carries the most weight in our application review process, the writer’s responses to the application prompts are also important.

Bread Loaf Participant Scholarships cover tuition, room, and board at the conference ($4,250). A writer may receive a Participant Scholarship only once in a given genre. Former Bread Loafers who received financial aid to attend an in-person August conference are not eligible for the Participant Scholarship. 

Apply

Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Participant Scholarships

Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Participant Scholarships are offered to applicants at the early stages of their writing career whose writing shows exceptional promise. Bakeless Scholarships also support the conference’s goal of fostering a writing community that gives voice to writers of all backgrounds, ages, and experience. While literary merit is the main consideration for these awards, writers who meet one or more of the following criteria are encouraged to apply: a member of a historically underrepresented group; an individual who is in particular need of financial and creative support; a first-time Bread Loaf participant; or an applicant with a nontraditional literary or educational background. Applicants for a Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Participant Scholarship must not have previously received financial aid to attend an in-person August conference.

Bakeless Participant Scholarships are for those who consider themselves emerging writers. During the conference, Bakeless Scholarship recipients receive guidance on their work during the workshops and are invited to read by signing up for a slot during the Blue Parlor reading series. Bread Loaf Bakeless Participant Scholarships cover tuition, room, and board at the conference ($4,250).

Apply

 

Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Participant Scholarships


Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Participant Scholarships are awarded to emerging women writers seeking feedback on work-in-progress who often are beginning to publish in magazines or literary periodicals but above all whose work shows exceptional promise. While literary merit is the main consideration, the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Participant Scholarships are especially intended to support women who have not attended Bread Loaf in the past and also meet one or both of the following criteria: an applicant with a nontraditional literary background, who is working outside of academia with or without a writing degree and/or an individual who is in particular need of financial and creative support. Candidates must be permanent residents of the United States, and writers who have published a book (a standard trade edition of their work) are not eligible for these scholarships.

Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Participant Scholarship recipients will receive guidance on their work during the workshops and are invited to read by signing up for a slot during the Blue Parlor reading series. Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Participant Scholarships cover tuition, room, and board at the conference ($4,250) and include a $500 travel stipend.

Apply

Returning Participant Scholarships

Returning Participant Scholarships are available to former Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Participants who attended in-person within the past five years. Both former paying participants and former financial aid recipients are invited to apply. This year, those who attended in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024 are eligible. Writers are eligible to apply in the same genre that they attended in earlier. (Former Fellowship recipients may apply for the Returning Fellowship; see details below.) 

Returning Participant Scholarships are for those who consider themselves emerging writers. During the conference Returning Participant Scholarship winners receive guidance on their work during the workshops and are invited to read by signing up for a slot during the Blue Parlor reading series. Returning Participant Scholarships cover tuition, room, and board at the conference ($4,250).

Apply

 

Middlebury College Student Participant Scholarships

The Middlebury College Student Participant Scholarships are available to current Middlebury College students and also in some cases for recent Middlebury College graduates. See more information for Middlebury College Students.
 

Fellowships

Fellowships are awarded to applicants who have published their first or second book in English within the last four years in the genre in which they are applying.

Writers whose most recent book was published between the years 2021 and 2025 are eligible.

Fellows are assigned to a workshop where they generally are asked to assist the faculty member. Fellows give a public reading from their own work and may submit a proposal for a one-hour class on some aspect of the craft of writing. (Proposals for craft classes are solicited after the fellowships are awarded.)

Fellows arrive on Tuesday, August 12, rather than on Wednesday. Fellowships cover tuition, room, and board at the conference. (Due to limited housing, it is not possible to accommodate families). 

Fellowship applications are accepted online and must be submitted by February 1. Along with the online application, fellowship candidates submit a copy of their book (candidates who have published two books should apply with the most recent title). Copies of the Fellow’s most recent book will be sold at the Bread Loaf Bookstore during the conference.

Applicants should send a Kindle version of their book to the conference by going to Amazon.com and choosing Give as a Gift. Enter blwc@middlebury.edu for the recipient’s email address (we must receive the Kindle version within 24 hours of the application submission).

If the applicant’s book is not available via Kindle, please use one of the following methods:

  • Upload a PDF or Word file of the book with the application. The electronic file name should have the writer’s last name followed by the book title. For example, YourLastName__TitleOfYourBook.
  • If the applicant is unable to send an electronic version of the book, FOUR copies should be mailed at the time of your application to Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, 204 College Street, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753. Poetry applicants send THREE copies.

The applicant’s book must be in print by the time of the conference. If the book isn’t published yet but will be available by August 13, 2025 (the first day of the session), a galley or a proof may be submitted with the application. Please note the publication date on the PDF or Word document.

Because Fellows’ work is not critiqued in workshops or by faculty, there is no need to submit a manuscript in progress.

Apply

Returning Fellowships

For 2025 Bread Loaf Fellowship recipients who attended in 2023 or earlier and who do not yet have a third book accepted or published are eligible to apply.

Returning Fellows serve as a resource for first-time Fellows at the conference, hosting a brief welcome meeting and being available to assist with questions during the conference. All Fellows, including the returning Fellows, are assigned to a workshop where they generally are asked to assist the faculty member. Fellows give a public reading from their own work and are invited to submit a proposal for a one-hour class on some aspect of the craft of writing. (Proposals for craft classes are solicited after the fellowships are awarded.)

Fellows arrive on Tuesday, August 12, rather than on Wednesday, and room and board is provided for the fellowship recipient only (unfortunately due to limited housing, it is not possible to accommodate families). Fellowships cover tuition, room, and board at the conference.

Returning Fellowship applications are accepted online and must be submitted by February 1. Along with the online application, fellowship candidates should submit a copy of their book (candidates who have published two books apply with the most recent title). Copies of the fellow’s most recent book will be sold at the Bread Loaf Bookstore during the conference.

Applicants should send a Kindle version of their book to the conference by going to Amazon.com and choosing Give as a Gift. Enter blwc@middlebury.edu for the recipient’s email address (we must receive the Kindle version within 24 hours of the application submission).

If the applicant’s book is not available via Kindle, please use one of the following methods:

  • Upload a PDF or Word file of the book with the application. The electronic file name should have the writer’s last name followed by the book title. For example, YourLastName__TitleOfYourBook.
  • If the returning fellowship applicant is unable to send an electronic version of the book, TWO copies should be mailed at the time of your application to Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, 204 College Street, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753. For the Returning Fellowship, both poetry and prose applicants send TWO copies.

Because Fellows’ work is not critiqued in workshops or by faculty, there is no need to submit a manuscript in progress.

Apply

Returning Fellowship Application