PEN Ukraine announced the open call for fellowships from the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association

Submissions can be applied by Ukrainian writers and journalists until August 30

The program from the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association and PEN Ukraine is aimed to support Ukrainian writers and journalists who work in non-fiction genres and to help documenting the experience of the war that Ukrainian society has been living through since 2014, in documentary literature. Non-fiction genres include essays, biographies, reportages, interviews etc.

"After the Revolution of Dignity and since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014, documentary genres – diaries, reportage, essays, collections of interviews, biographies, investigations – became particularly important in Ukraine. It’s documentary writing that captures the stories and emotions of war and resilience with the utmost quickness and accuracy. Since 2022, after Russia has launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, non-fiction literature became of even more significance because it helps to collect evidence, document war crimes, and tell the stories of our deceased ones as well as of those who fight for our freedom. It also represents the Ukrainian voice around the globe to help explain the reasons of the war and outline the ordeals that Ukrainians are going though as a society in the state of Russia’s full-scale aggression", says Tetyana Teren, executive director of PEN Ukraine.

10 fellowships amounting to €5000 each (in UAH equivalent), will be granted within the program.

To participate in the project, Ukrainian authors should fill in the application form until August 30. The application form includes the timeline of the fellow’s work on their text and preparing the book for publication; the synopsis of the work; the recommendation from a reputable expert; the copy of the agreement with a publishing company or a letter of intent willing to publish the book.

Throughout September, the applied submissions will be evaluated by the Jury consisting of Tamara Hundorova (literary scholar),Yurii Prokhasko (translator and essayist), Oksana Forostyna (publisher, translator, and publicist), Mariya Tytarenko (essayist and writer), Dmytro Krapyvenko (journalist and military serviceman), Bernhard L. Mohr (member of NFFO, non-fiction writer and editor at Cappelen Damm), and Atle Grønn (member of NFFO, non-fiction writer and professor at the University of Oslo).

While determining the winners of the project, the Jury will assess the criteria such as the unique author’s style, social and cultural significance of the author’s idea, and the author’s capability of carrying out the necessary research and processing of materials for a book.

The 10 fellows’ names will be announced on September 30, 2024.

As a result of the program, every fellow should publish the non-fiction book prepared within the program, in a Ukrainian publishing company no later than November 30, 2025

For more details about the project, requirements for candidates, and terms of participation in the program, please follow the link.

The project is implemented by the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association and PEN Ukraine.