Financial Aid at the Fellow Level

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 2019 and 2023 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 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 15, 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.

In addition, a Returning Fellowship is available for writers who have attended as a fellow during a past conference. Please see the Returning Fellowship Application section below for more details.

Fellowship Applications

Fellowship applications are accepted online and must be submitted by February 15. Along with the online application, fellowship candidates 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 are ordered to be sold at the Bread Loaf Bookstore.

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 16, 2023 (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.

Please do not send chapbooks, self-published books, books for which the applicant has served as co-author or editor, academic work, children’s or young adult literature, or “how to” books.

Apply

Returning Fellowship Applications

All former Bread Loaf Fellows who have published one or two books but 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 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.)

Returning Fellowship applications are accepted online and must be submitted by February 15. Along with the online application, fellowship candidates 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 are ordered to be sold at the Bread Loaf Bookstore.

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.

Please do not send chapbooks, self-published books, books for which the applicant has served as co-author or editor, academic work, children’s or young adult literature, or “how to” books.

Apply