Instructions for applicants

Complete the form below to apply for a 2021 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship. You will not be able to save your work if you leave this page, so review the application before you begin and make sure you have all the required materials. 

The fellowship runs for one year, and fellows submit written installments of their reporting project every second month.

Fellows receive grant income of $30,000 and are awarded a further $5,000 to cover project expenses.

Fellows are required to attend occasional retreats and other events organized by The Fund for American Studies during their fellowship. This typically means 2-4 events per year. (The COVID-19 pandemic may lead to some substitution of on-line for in-person events.) 

U.S. citizens with no more than ten years of professional experience in journalism are eligible to apply.

In addition to the form below, applicants are asked to provide two letters of reference from persons familiar with their work, such as editors, professors, other journalists, Novak Fellowship alumni, or other professional contacts.

Reference letters can be submitted here or emailed to Daniel McCarthy, director of professional journalism fellowships, at dmccarthy@TFAS.org.

You may also contact Daniel McCarthy at dmccarthy@TFAS.org if you have any questions about the application or the fellowship.

Applications are due by Monday, April 12.

Finalists will be invited to interview with our panel of judges via Zoom or another video conference service in May. Fellowships will begin in the Fall.

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* 1. Your Name and Contact Information

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* 2. Are you a U.S. citizen? (Only U.S. citizens are eligible for the fellowship.)

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* 3. How did you learn about this fellowship?

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* 4. Who will be submitting letters of reference on your behalf?

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* 5. Upload your resume or C.V. here. PDF or Word files only.

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* 6. Provide below links to three professionally published examples of your writing. If you would like to submit a writing sample that is not available online, see the upload options in questions 7, 8, and 9 below. We need three samples of your work in total.

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* 7. [Optional] If you would like to submit a published sample of your work that is not available online, upload a copy here in PDF or Word format.

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* 8. [Optional] If you would like to submit another published sample of your work that is not available online, upload a copy here in PDF or Word format.

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* 9. [Optional] If you would like to submit a third published sample of your work that is not available online, upload a copy here in PDF or Word format.

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* 10. Upload your fellowship project proposal in PDF or Word format. A proposal should be no more than three pages, single-spaced. The proposal should explain why you are applying for the fellowship and why your proposal is an important reporting project. The proposal should also briefly break down the major questions or reporting subjects you expect to explore in each of the six installments of your project over the year of the fellowship.

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* 11. Upload in PDF or Word format a one-page budget projection for your project, including anticipated travel, research, and other expenses necessary to complete the project. The budget should be a good-faith general estimate.

If you will need more money for project expenses than the Novak Fellowship provides, specify how you will make up the difference (e.g., through other fellowships, a book advance, out of pocket, etc.).

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