When I first became serious about writing mysteries, I considered going to a writer’s conference in Chicago. My problem was simple… the cost. When I added up the cost of the conference registration, the hotel and airfare, I struggled to justify the expenditure. Then one of my friends offered a bit of advice. If you want to be a real writer, you have to start going to the places that the real writers go.
I was fortunate to get such good advice. I learned important lessons about the craft and the business of writing. And it was at that conference in 2005 that I met the acquisitions editor who would offer me the publishing contract that qualified me for Active membership status in MWA.
If an aspiring writer asks me for advice, I often recommend that they go to a writer’s conference or workshop. And they often tell me that they don’t have the money. So I was especially pleased last year, when the Board asked me to work on a project that could help address the problem. If you attended Revels in December, you heard the announcement. As a result of a generous donation from one of our members, we have created the Leon B. Burstein/MWA-NY Scholarship for Mystery Writing. We have now posted the scholarship FAQS and application on our website. You will find them at the Leon B. Burstein/MWA-NY Scholarship for Mystery Writing.
The scholarship will make it possible for aspiring mystery writers (whether or not they are members of MWA) located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia to seek financial support “to take a specific class, attend a conference, or to do specific research as demonstrably necessary to a mystery work they are creating.”
If you are an aspiring mystery writer, I hope you’ll apply. If you teach aspiring writers, or know aspiring writers, I hope you’ll share the information.
I’ve learned a couple of things in my time as a blogger. The first is that people are more likely to read a blog if it has pictures.
The other thing I’ve learned is, sometimes people don’t bother following links. So, I’ve include the FAQS here.
1. What is the purpose of the Burstein Scholarship? The purpose of the scholarship is to inspire aspiring mystery writers by offering financial support to writers who want to take a specific class, attend a conference, or to do specific research as demonstrably necessary to a mystery work they are creating.
2. Who is eligible to apply?
An applicant may be, but is not required to be a member of MWA. Associate and affiliate members of MWA are eligible to apply. Active members are ineligible. Non-members are eligible to apply as long as they don’t meet the criteria for active membership. (For a definition of active, affiliate, and associate memberships, see http://mysterywriters.org/how-to-become-a-member-of-mwa/.)
To be eligible to apply, an applicant must live in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia.
3. How many scholarships will be awarded?
In 2016, two scholarships will be awarded.
4. How much is the scholarship?
Scholarships will be awarded in the range of $500 – $1,000, depending on the scope of the submission.
5. What are the application requirements?
Applicants will submit a completed application and a writing sample. The application may be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
The application includes identifying information necessary to confirm eligibility and a brief personal statement including a rationale as to how the scholarship will help the applicant to achieve his/her writing goals. The applicant must identify on the application how the funds will be used and an estimated budget (i.e., the specific class, conference, or other research activity, including travel).
The writing sample should be an excerpt from a work-in-progress. It may be fiction or nonfiction, book, short story, play or screenplay, adult, YA, or juvenile, but must be related to mystery writing.
6. How will applications be judged?
A panel of judges, selected from among the active members of the New York chapter will consider both the quality of the writing sample and the proposed use of the award in the selection of the scholarship winners.
7. What are the time frames for the scholarship?
The application submission period will open on May 4, 2016, and will close on August 3, 2016. Scholarship winners will be announced November 2, 2016.
8. How will the chapter promote the scholarship?
The scholarship announcement and application will be found on the chapter website. The chapter will post announcements on The Noose and other chapter communications in print and online. Information about the scholarship will be distributed by chapter members to area writing programs. The scholarship will also be promoted at the monthly Write-Ins.
9. Who is Leon B. Burstein?
Leon B. Burstein was born in the Bronx in 1915, lived his adult life in California until his death in 1991, and always loved a good mystery. The Leon B. Burstein/MWANY Scholarship for Mystery Writing was launched in 2015 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth.
10. If I get the scholarship, what do I have to do?
Recipients agree to acknowledge the Leon B. Burstein/MWANY Scholarship for Mystery Writing in anything they publish as a result of the award. They also agree to write a brief description of whatever they did with the funds provided to them.
11. Where do I find an application?
You can download the application here: http://www.mwany.org/burstein/bursteinapplication2016.doc.zip