The Institute of American Indian Arts has announced its second annual Sherman Alexie Scholarship for their Low Residency MFA in Creative writing program. The scholarship will pay $7,500 a semester for four semesters.
“This is a great opportunity for an aspiring writer to attend the MFA program without incurring debt,” said Jon Davis, Director of the MFA program in an IAIA news release. “And the even better news is that we’ll distribute an additional $130,000 to the incoming students who do not receive the Alexie Scholarship.”
The scholarship is a total of $30,000, of which $24,000 will be applied to tuition. The remaining $6,000 will help pay for travel, lodging, books, and meals during the five residencies in Santa Fe, according to the release.
The winner of the First Annual Sherman Alexie Scholarship was Jamie Natonabah (Diné) from Fort Defiance, Ariz. Chelsea Hicks Bryan (Osage) was chosen as runner-up. Third place was awarded to Grace Randolph (Wampanoag).
All applicants to the Institute of American Indian Arts’ MFA in Creative Writing who are enrolled members of a Native American tribe or First Nation are eligible. Proof of enrollment will be required. To apply for the scholarship, complete an application to the IAIA MFA program. The application can be found by clicking here. The application, including the writing samples, will be the competition entry. Applicants should pay close attention to the page limits; additional pages over the limit will not be read, according to the release.
The screening of entries and final selection of the Sherman Alexie scholarship recipient will be done by a panel of IAIA MFA’s Native faculty.
The deadline is Feb. 15, at midnight MDT. Late entries will not be accepted. The winner will be announced on March 16. Finalists may also be offered scholarships. Winner must enroll for the July 21-29, pre-fall semester residency. All entrants will be notified by email.
The scholarship will be contingent on the student remaining in good academic standing throughout the two-year program.
About Sherman Alexie
According to the release, Alexie is the winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the PEN/Malamud Award for Short Fiction, a PEN/Hemingway Citation for Best First Fiction, and the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Sherman Alexie is a poet, short story writer, novelist, and performer.
He has published 26 books including his recently released memoir, “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” his first picture book, “Thunder Boy Jr.,” and the young adult novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” all from Little, Brown Books; “What I’ve Stolen, What I’ve Earned,” a book of poetry, from Hanging Loose Press; and “Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories,” from Grove Press. He has also published the 20th Anniversary edition of his classic book of stories, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.”
“Smoke Signals,” the movie he wrote and co-produced, won the Audience Award and Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
A Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Indian, Alexie grew up in Wellpinit, Wash., on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He has been an urban Indian since 1994 and lives in Seattle with his family.
About IAIA
Offering undergraduate degrees in Studio Arts, Creative Writing, Cinematic Arts and Technology, Indigenous Liberal Studies, and Museum Studies – a minor in Performing Arts – an MFA in Creative Writing – along with certificates in Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History – IAIA is the only college in the nation dedicated to the study of contemporary Native arts. The school serves 517 full time equivalent Native and non-Native American college students from across the globe. IAIA is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission – and is the only college in New Mexico accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
By
Osage News
Original Publish Date: 2018-01-22 00:00:00
