Is this you? You’re just getting started in the field of mystery writing and eager to hone your craft. You’d like to enroll in a writing course or attend a conference, but don’t know how you can afford it. Perhaps the expense of doing research for your current work in progress is keeping you from your goal.
If this sounds familiar, consider applying for the 2018 Leon B. Burstein/MWA-NY Scholarship for Mystery Writing!
“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 do specific research as demonstrably necessary to a mystery work they are creating. It was named for Leon B. Burstein, an avid mystery fan, that more work in his favorite genre might be created.” Two scholarships of $1,000 will be awarded this year.
Residents of Connecticut, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia are eligible to apply. You may be, but are not required to be, an associate or affiliate member of MWA; active members are ineligible.
Six weeks remain until the close of the application period on October 10! Time to polish a writing sample (5,000 words or less) from your current 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. Also, time to work out your proposed budget. Scholarship funds may be used for writing-related expenses you expect to incur after the announcement of the scholarship winners in November.
I remember the early days of my interest in fiction writing, the invaluable lessons I learned from the instructors and fellow students in the writing courses I took. But who can say it better than one of last year’s winners of the Burstein Scholarship? Elizabeth Kerri Mahon tells us:
“Last year, I was at a pretty serious crossroads in my writing career. I had been lucky enough to sell my first book, a non-fiction book entitled Scandalous Women fairly easily, but it had been a struggle to sell another book ever since. I was even on the brink of giving up writing for good. I had always wanted to write a mystery ever since I picked up my first Nancy Drew book in grade school. I even wrote my first attempt at the age of ten and sent it in to Grosset & Dunlap, who very politely rejected my manuscript.
“Over the years, I dabbled in other genres (non-fiction, romance, young adult) but I always came back to the idea of writing a mystery. When I first became serious about writing mysteries, I bought all the craft books that I possibly could find on the genre. And they were all fantastic, but I soon realized that I learn better in a class than by reading a book. I needed to find a writing class that preferably focused on writing mysteries.
“The problem was, at the time, I was in between jobs and just couldn’t afford
to take a writing class. Enter the Leon B. Burstein/MWA-NY Scholarship for Mystery Writing. I happened to be on the MWA-NY site when I saw the blog post about the scholarship but promptly thought, ‘Oh, I’ll never win,’ and put it out of my mind, but something made me take out the mystery I had been working on a few years ago, dust it off, and send it in. I think I just about made the cutoff date for applying! To my great surprise, I received an email saying that I had been awarded one of the two scholarships! Winning the Burstein scholarship meant that I could take Mystery Writing I & II at Gotham Writers Workshop. The Burstein scholarship also gave me my confidence back in terms of my writing. I’m forever grateful to the judges for awarding me the scholarship.”
So, what’s stopping you, aspiring mystery writers? Click here to check out all eligibility requirements, and when you’re ready to apply, make sure you follow these instructions carefully!