Ignite Fellowship

The Ignite Fellowship is currently closed.

We recognise that professional writers need a range of support for their career and the awards will provide a flexible programme to suit the individual needs of the selected awardees. Fellows receive:

• A £2,000 cash award, allowing them to focus on their work
• Tailored personal development opportunities, which can include mentoring from writers, industry professionals and networking opportunities
• A week-long writing retreat at Moniack Mhor (alongside writers from the New Writers Award programme)
• A showcase event in a bookshop (to be organised with the selected writers)
• Optional Press and PR training and other reasonable support (including marketing, promotion and press) as needed
• Reasonable travel expenses for all trips to attend programme commitments

The Fellowship was developed in in consultation with our Writers Advisory Panel and we are working in partnership with the Gaelic Books Council to provide one award specifically for a writer working in Gaelic. We also strongly encourage applications from writers working in Scots.

How to apply

Applications are currently closed. There are three fellowships awarded per year. Check our Privacy Statement to see how we use and store information about your application. Have any questions or concerns? Email applications@scottishbooktrust.com.

Eligibility Criteria

You can apply if you:

• Are based in Scotland
• Meet the eligibility criteria for the Live Literature database (you don’t have to be on it, only meet the criteria)
• Are a writer, comic maker, poet, illustrator, storyteller, playwright and spoken word artist with a written project in development that you plan to work on during the fellowship (Playwrights looking for support with their theatre work should look into opportunities available with Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland)

Can I apply if I've received support from Scottish Book Trust or Gaelic Books Council before?

Yes, while the panel will take previous and current support into consideration, you can still apply if you:

• Have received support from us before for different projects, for example a New Writers Award
• Are currently in receipt of a Gaelic Books Council Commission Grant can also apply for the fellowship, although a reduced bursary may be offered. However, all other aspects of the support package will be made available where appropriate
• This fellowship is a new development and we welcome feedback: applications@scottishbooktrust.com

Equality and Diversity

Scottish Book Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us monitor how well we’re doing, entrants will be asked to fill in a short Equalities and Diversity survey before completing a New Writers Award application form. The answers will be completely confidential, stored anonymously, separate to your application and not accessible by the judges.