Please note that many questions can be answered simply by reading our application form in full.
Who can apply for a Stegner Fellowship?
Anyone interested in applying for a fellowship is welcome to.
I'm not a U.S. Citizen. Can I still apply?
Yes. Anyone may apply, regardless of nationality. If accepted, you would be considered a student at Stanford; we would send you documents confirming that status so you could apply for a student visa.
I'm in my forties; am I too old to apply for the Fellowship?
We have no age requirements for the program. We have accepted people as young as 22 and as old as 75.
What is the application deadline?
Applications must be submitted online or postmarked December 1 or earlier in order to be considered.
What is the application fee?
US$60.
Can you help me choose which of my works to submit?
Submit whatever work you feel best represents you as a writer.
Is publication required for submission of an application?
No, although publication in literary journals frequently appears in the profile of a Stegner Fellow.
What academic prerequisites are required?
We do not require any specific academic background. Many times people have completed an MFA, but we have admitted writers who have no formal training or college degree. Admission is based on the merit of the writing.
Do I need to take the GRE?
No; please do not send us GRE or any other test scores.
Do I need to have letters of recommendation sent?
No; please do not have letters of recommendation or transcripts sent. See the application form.
How should the manuscript be formatted?
This has absolutely no bearing on the success of your application. For secretarial purposes it is helpful if you type your name and contact info on a cover page, number your pages, and double-space. Bind paper applications with a simple metal paper clip or staple. We only need one copy of your manuscript. It does not matter whether or not your name appears on each page.
Do my recommenders need to be professors or teachers who know my writing?
Not necessarily. The selection committee evaluates the writing. What we ask the recommenders is more of a character reference. We want to know how they view your potential as a workshop participant.
Can I submit only one short story/15 short stories/two novel excerpts as my fiction manuscript, even though that's not listed as an option on the application form?
Yes, if that's how you will be best represented. The selection committee's main concerns are making sure they see your best work and making sure they get a good feel for your writing.
My fiction manuscript is 9,100 words; do I have to cut any of it?
Long applications won't be disqualified, and no one is going to count. However, the selection committee reserves the right to stop reading any applications that are heinously over the word limit.
Can I submit science fiction/part of a mystery novel?
Yes, with a caveat: though we do not consider genre novels and literary novels mutually exclusive, consider that if accepted to the workshop, you would be exchanging ideas with 9 other authors who probably write fiction outside your given genre. The Stegner workshop is a course in literary fiction, not in science fiction/mystery, and all manuscripts are therefore judged as literature.
Can I submit work that has been previously published?
Yes, if you feel it is the work that best represents you as a writer.
Can I submit creative nonfiction, memoir, or a screenplay that I have written?
No. We want only poetry or fiction as submissions for a Stegner Fellowship.
I write both poetry and fiction, can I apply to both categories in the same year?
Yes. To do so online, you will need to create two accounts. More extensive instructions can be found within the online application system. To do so by mail, please mail us two separate application packets. Both packets must contain all required documents; note that this means you will have to pay two application fees.
Can I submit two fiction applications or two poetry applications in the same year?
No.
I live abroad; how do I pay the application fee?
If you are applying online, you can pay by credit card. If you are applying by mail, you can pay by international money order. These can sometimes be purchased at your local bank (you usually don't need to have an account, just the money) or post office. Failing those options, Western Union will draft international money orders. One of these options should be available in every country. Also, if you have relatives living in the U.S., you may ask them to mail you a U.S. check. Sorry, we can't accept credit cards or cash by mail.
Did you receive my application?
Due to the volume we receive there is no way we can check; please do not ask us this. If you need reassurance, use a delivery confirmation service.
Could you add some information to my application?
No, we cannot alter or add information to your application form, manuscript, or statement of plans once we have received it (the only exception is if your or your recommender's contact information changes). Please make sure your application is ready and complete before you mail it. Please do not contact us to let us know one of your manuscripts has been published or received an award; this information will not have any bearing on our decision.
How many applicants are there for the fellowship?
We usually have about 1,400 applicants per year for the 10 fellowships.
How are applicants chosen for the fellowship?
Manuscripts are read thoroughly by a committee of our faculty. The committee members then discuss the merits of the manuscripts they considered the most suitable for the fellowship, reread several of them and pass them along to other committee members, and eventually reach a consensus on five applicants in each category. Applications are never read by current students/fellows. Note that the manuscript is by far the most important part of the application, followed by the statement of plans; the information requested on the application form itself is essentially for biography.
What does the selection committee look for in a manuscript?
Good fiction or good poetry - that's all. The best advice we can give is to seek the advice of other writers when preparing your manuscript. The next best advice we can give is to look at work by recent fellows or our faculty; however, you will probably find that body of work to be very diverse.
How is the statement of plans evaluated, and how long should it be?
The statement of plans is helpful to the selection committee because it helps give them a sense of why you are applying for the Stegner Fellowship. The prompt is intentionally open-ended, and there is no length requirement. Many statements are about a page long, but statements of successful applicants vary greatly in length.
When are applicants notified of the committee's decision?
All applicants will be notified of their status in April. Please do not contact us before then asking about your application, unless you want to notify us of a change in your contact information.
Can you tell me if I was shortlisted?
No, please do not ask us. Our notifications are strictly boolean. We never release feedback or compare one application to another in any way. Please understand that this is the only way we can keep our application fee reasonable considering the tremendous volume of applications we receive.
Can you tell me if my application is out of contention?
No, please do not ask us before April. Providing this information would be at odds with our policy of not comparing one application to another in any way.
When do you contact recommenders?
We do not necessarily contact recommenders of successful applicants at all, and if we do we may do so at any time; please do not try and use your recommenders to gauge the status of your application.
If selected, can I defer my admission?
No. We prefer to accept new fellows as a group; we also want candidates to be serious about their intention to come to Stanford.
If I am not selected, can I apply again?
Certainly. If we are unable to award you a fellowship this year, it should not be taken as a prohibition of your reapplying; we look forward to following your growth as a writer. Many past Stegner Fellows applied more than once.
Besides attending workshop, what will be expected of me as a fellow?
The obvious expectation is that you will write, revise, write, with the goal of a finished manuscript ready for publication. The Creative Writing Program also hosts various lecture series and reading events; in the past, we have enjoyed the presence of guest speakers such as Alice McDermott, Paul Muldoon, Richard Ford, Roddy Doyle, Ian McEwan and Jorie Graham. We also have a visiting poet-in-residence and a visiting writer-in-residence each year. Attendance at events related to these series is not only an expectation, but an enrichment in the life of a Stegner Fellow. Fellows also participate in campus readings throughout the year.
Is residency required?
Yes. One must live close enough to Stanford to attend the weekly workshops as well as readings by visiting writers.
When does the fellowship begin and end?
The workshop is coincident with Stanford's academic calendar. Fellows have the summer off to work, write or travel.
Do I get any kind of a degree once the fellowship is completed?
There is no degree attached to the Stegner Fellowship. We view it as more of an artist-in-residence opportunity for promising writers to spend two years developing their writing in the company of peers and under the guidance of Stanford faculty.
Does Stanford offer an MFA in Creative Writing?
No. Though the Stegner Fellowship Program is in some ways similar to an MFA program, no degree is offered.
How much is the fellowship and how long is it?
The fellowship includes a living stipend of $26,000 per academic year. The program also pays for each fellow's tuition (roughly $6,800 per year). The program is a two-year program; admissions are staggered so that there are ten first year fellows and ten second year fellows at Stanford at any given time.
Is it possible to live on the fellowship?
Although in the last few years rents have been coming down, it is still a very expensive area in which to live. Realistically, a person needs to have some form of supplemental income.
Is there an opportunity for me to teach to supplement my income?
Sometimes. Teaching appointments are not guaranteed, as priority goes to Ph.D. students who need the experience for their degree.
What do people do after the Fellowship is over?
All fellows have the opportunity to apply for a two-year lectureship teaching undergraduate fiction or poetry at Stanford. Fellows make a variety of career moves in "life after the Stegner." Some go on to graduate programs, some are independently successful as writers, some go on to tenure-track university teaching positions.