2011 Pen Women Scholarship

The Roanoke Valley Branch of the National League of American Pen Women is offering a scholarship to a woman who is working on a creative project or taking a class in the arts.

Scholarship Requirements:

The Roanoke Valley Pen Women will grant a scholarship of a minimum $100 to a woman age thirty or older who is taking a class in the literary, visual or performing arts; or who is working on a creative project involving the literary, visual or performing arts. The applicant must live within 50 miles of Roanoke.

The money is to be used either for supplies (textbooks, art supplies, paper, software, etc.) or for other expenses directly related to the project (tuition, travel expenses, conference fees, etc.).

Women interested in receiving the grant for 2011 must apply to the Roanoke Valley Pen Women on or before February 1, 2011. The application should include the following:

•Statement of interest:

Contact information at top of page: name, address, phone, email.

A proposal that includes the following: (1) a paragraph that either explains the recipient’s reason for taking the class or describes the creative project, (2) a statement about the applicant’s career goals, (3) verification that the applicant is committed to the project (Verification for class enrollment could include a photocopy of acceptance letter, student ID, or receipt for payment of tuition. Verification for a creative project might include receipts for materials already purchased, photos showing that the applicant has worked on a similar project, preliminary sketches for an artistic project, etc.)

•A work sample in one of the following:

Literary Arts: an example (2-10 pages) of either published or unpublished fiction (short story, novel excerpt), non-fiction (article, essay), poetry (three poems) or a combination thereof.

Visual Arts: CD or DVD of jpegs of artwork (paintings, drawings, sculpture, pottery, fiber art, photographs, etc.).

Performing Arts (composer, performer, choreographer): CD or DVD of performance.

Applicants who want work samples returned should provide a self-addressed mailer with sufficient postage.

The scholarship recipient is encouraged to report back to the Roanoke Valley Pen Women, either by mail/email or as a guest at a future Pen Women meeting to inform the membership how the scholarship helped her accomplish a goal.

Send applications to Peggy Shifflett, 700 Cherrywood Street, Salem, VA 24153 or to Becky Mushko, 8 Listening Hill Road, Penhook, VA, 24137