NESCBWI will award two (2) scholarships to the 2024 New England conference in memory of writers in New England who passed in the previous year.
o One (1) for picture book text or poetry
o One (1) for novels, including chapter books, middle grade, young adult, and graphic novel text
This was formerly known as the Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship for NESCBWI writers. Ruth Landers Glass was an active member in NESCBWI who nurtured aspiring writers. She was an artist, writer, and founding member of two Newton, Massachusetts, critique groups that helped many writers move toward publication.
The scholarship provides writers with an opportunity to attend next year’s NESCBWI conference for one full day.
General Guidelines:
o You must be a current/active member of SCBWI and a resident of New England. You do not need to be registered for the 2023 conference to be eligible.
o All submissions are a maximum of ten (10) pages. Additional pages will be removed.
o The winner of this year’s scholarship will receive free tuition for ONE DAY at the 2024 NESCBWI Conference. The winner will be announced Sunday, April 30, at the 2023 NESCBWI Conference in Springfield.
o Only UNPUBLISHED manuscripts will be accepted for the scholarship. A circulating manuscript or manuscript being read by editors or agents will be accepted unless the manuscript is under contract with a publisher.
o Past winners are not eligible (so that we may help jumpstart as many writers as possible!).
o Presenters at NESCBWI 2023 are not eligible to apply but may apply any subsequent year they are not presenting.
o The scholarship does not cover any other expenses such as editor critiques, hotel, or travel.
Manuscripts should be submitted as they’d be sent to a publisher, but please do not put your name anywhere on the manuscript, including the header. Instead, include a separate cover letter with contact information and the title of the submitted work.
Each submitter may only submit one (1) manuscript, in the following format:
Two (2) separate documents, saved in Microsoft Word:
o The cover letter
o The manuscript
1. The Cover Letter will include:
o The author’s name
o The author’s contact information, including home address, email address, and phone number
o The title of the manuscript
o Whether the manuscript is fiction or nonfiction
o The category the manuscript fits into: Picture Book, Poetry, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, or Young Adult
2. The Manuscript will include:
o Text only.
o The author’s name may not appear anywhere on the manuscript, including the headers or footers.
o The filename should be the title of your manuscript.
o Indicate in the header:
o Whether the manuscript is fiction or nonfiction
o The category the manuscript fits into: Picture Book, Poetry, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, or Young Adult
o You may submit ONE of the following:
o One (1) picture book manuscript, not to exceed ten (10) pages
o Three (3) poems, not to exceed ten (10) pages
o One (1) nonfiction manuscript, not to exceed ten (10) pages
o Longer fiction (such as chapter book, middle grade, young adult, graphic novel text), not to exceed ten (10) pages
3. Submission:
o Send the email to Christy Yaros at southARA@NEscbwi.org.
o The subject of the email will be: [2023 Memorial Scholarship] (title of your manuscript) – (category)
For example: [2023 Memorial Scholarship] Red, White, and Whole – middle grade
o The cover letter and the manuscript will both be attached to a single email (one (1) email with two (2) attachments).
4. The deadline for submissions is March 30, 2023.
Submissions that are not in the correct format will be considered ineligible. Due to the number of submissions received, you will not be contacted and asked to resubmit. If you think you might have made a mistake, such as putting your name in the header of the manuscript or not attaching one of the required documents, simply resubmit.
If you have any questions, please contact Christy Yaros at southARA@NEscbwi.org.