Opportunity: USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program

The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism announced that applications for the eleventh annual USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program, which will operate as a 15-member pop-up newsroom in Los Angeles, are now being accepted.

The fellowship, which will be held November 8-18, 2012, seeks to assemble an all-star team of arts journalists committed to using their skills to imagine and create new and innovative ways of reporting on arts and culture. Most costs are covered by the fellowship, including air travel, hotel, transportation within the city and most meals.

National and international arts journalists, web designers and developers are welcome to apply. Applications are due July 24, 2012.

The USC Annenberg/Getty Fellowship will be built around creating next-generation reporting tools for arts journalism. The fellowship, which is funded by The Getty Foundation, plans to design, develop and build this new project over the course of 11 days in a pop-up newsroom called Engine30. The program is looking for fellows who fit into one or more of these categories:

ARTS JOURNALISTS who are committed to finding and telling stories in new ways, thinking about journalism as a dynamic system and process rather than a product, as well as those who care about finding better ways to engage with audiences.

DESIGNERS who are committed to thinking imaginatively about information architecture, user interaction, story-telling and visualization of multi-level data with design that is intuitive, simple and fun to use.

DEVELOPERS who are committed to imaginatively finding, adapting and integrating existing tools into Engine30 with a focus on ideas/intent behind what is developed rather than specific ways to realize them.

More information here

Reading Bridges Fellowship...

With all the opportunities around these days, it looks like a writers' year. Don't just read; apply!

Reading Bridges Fellowship 

The fellowship is designed to support young upcoming writers, to horn their skills. In short, if you want to get better at your writing, apply! It is also an opportunity to connect with established writers and gain access to resources necessary to build your career as a writer.

Eligibility

You are eligible, if you are:

• not above 35
• a graduate of an institution of higher learning
• able to express thoughts in writing and have a good command of English.

How to apply

• Send in a writing sample; essay, article or poem.
• Tell us about yourself in less than 300 words.
• Tell us what this fellowship means to you and how you'd make the most of it.
• What are your future plans?
• What area of writing would you focus on while completing your fellowship?
• Send in your application with your full names, date of birth, sex, address, educational background, email address and phone number to libraryport@gmail.com, cc: timothyogene@gmail.com

Deadline: 21st May 2010

Accepted fellows will be announced on Monday 24th May 2010.       Duration: 6 Months 

Visit and join the Reading Bridges Magazine Fan page on Facebook 

CNN Africa Journalist Award&The Nordic Africa Institute Residency...

The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Competition is the most prestigious Award for journalists across the African Continent. Its objective is to reinforce the importance of the role of journalists in Africa’s development and to reward, recognise and encourage journalistic talent across all media disciplines.

Who can enter:

You must be an African National, working on the continent for African owned, or headquartered, media organisations. Your work must have appeared in printed publications or electronic media that is primarily targeted at and received by an African audience.

What the judges are looking for:

Our panel of independent, highly respected and experienced judges are in pursuit of excellence. They will be looking for entries which:

• Tell the story in a balanced, comprehensive and objective manner
• Demonstrate journalistic integrity and resourcefulness
• Communicate the story in a way that makes the topic accessible and relevant to their audience
• Display well organised research and insight
• Was broadcast or published, in English, French or Portuguese only, between January and December 2009 with proof supplied

Look here for more information.

Nordic Africa Institute Residency Opportunity

The Nordic Africa Institute invites applications and nominations for a three-month grant as African Guest Writer at the institute in the latter half of 2010 (September through November). The application should reach the institute by 31 December 2009. Nominations should be submitted as soon as possible, but no later than 30 November 2009. The selection committee will announce its decision by 20 March 2010.

Previous Guest Writers

The Nordic Africa Institute has previously hosted four Guest Writers, Ama Ata Aidoo from Ghana, Gabeba Baderoon from South Africa, Tolu Ogunlesi from Nigeria and Shailja Patel from Kenya. These Guest Writers have added in a very positive way both to the dialogue and interchange at the institute itself, and have given a new dimension to its interface with various groups and audiences in the Nordic countries.

Purposes

The purpose of the grant is threefold:

•  Firstly, to provide an opportunity for writers to concentrate on their work during their stay.
• Secondly, to facilitate readings to audiences in Sweden, and one or two other Nordic countries by visits to those countries. The itinerary is negotiable, but should include at least one other Nordic country – Norway, Denmark, Iceland or Finland. The guest writer of 2010 will also be required to participate in the Gothenburg book fair in September, which has Africa as its focus.
• Thirdly, to allow the guest writer to interact with researchers, guest researchers and other staff and visitors at the Nordic Africa Institute, hence contributing its intellectual and cultural atmosphere.

Qualifications

• Applicants must have some documented record of writing, with at least some published work. The applicant must be able to express herself/himself in English, although this does not have to be the language she/he writes in. We encourage young writers to apply.
• The application must include name, full contact details (residential address, telephone and e-mail), a curriculum vitae or a summary thereof, including a list of previous writing and performances, a freely worded explanation of why the grant appeals to the applicant, and two references – including their contact details. 
• The application must include up to (but not more than) three works by the applicant in English, French or Portuguese, preferably in published format. The works may be originally written in other languages, but they must have been translated into one of the three languages mentioned. There are no application forms for this grant. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

Deadlines

Nominations must reach the Nordic Africa Institute by 30 November 2009.

Applications must reach the Nordic Africa Institute by 31 December 2009.

More information here.

Writing Opportunities

Ellechor Publishing thrives on helping aspiring authors and part-time dabblers reach their potential. This is why we host an annual "Reach the Stars" Publishing Contest, to assist authors as they reach for their goals. There are two anthologies that will be published with the top writers who enter: the first will be a collection of children's short stories and the second will be a collection of poetry.

Contest Rules

• Entries must be received at ReachTheStars@EllechorPublishing.com by November 4, 2009 to be entered into the contest. . 
• Each application must be an original, unpublished work by the author, no exceptions. After October 10, 2009 submissions must also include a submission fee of $5 for poems and $10 for short-stories. Please use the same name when applying and submitting, the information must match for your submission to be eligible.
• In order for the contest to be valid, there must be at least 50 short story submissions and 100 poetry submissions 

Click here for more information

Narrative is calling on writers, visual artists, photographers, performers, and filmmakers, between eighteen and thirty years old, to tell us a story. We are interested in narrative in the many forms it takes: the word and the image, the traditional and the innovative, the true and the imaginary.

Awards: First Prize is $1,500, Second Prize is $750, and Third Prize is $300, and ten finalists will receive $100 each. The prize winners and finalists will be announced in Narrative. All N30B entries are eligible for the $5,000 Narrative Prize for 2010 and for acceptance as a Story of the Week.

Entries must be previously unpublished, though we do accept works that have appeared in college publications. Entries cannot have been the winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest. We accept online entries only. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but if your entry is accepted elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible (and accept our congratulations!).

For more info, click here


SENTINEL Literary Competition
The Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition takes place every 3 months in January, April, July and October. These competitions are held to promote creativity and literary excellence. Winners of the competition win cash prizes and the top poems in from each competition may be collected into a chapbook subject to quality of entries.
Details here.