Applications being taken for financial awards for registration of 2015 Mayborn conference

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 20:16

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Online applications are being accepted through April 15 (Wednesday) for financial awards to cover university and college students' registration fees for this summer's Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. Non-students will also be considered for some of the awards.

The conference, hosted by the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas for an 11th straight year, will be held July 17-19 (Friday-Sunday) at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas. It attracts approximately 300 participants each year who are interested in narrative nonfiction.

With a theme of social, economic, racial, cultural and political gaps in American society, the 2015 conference will feature Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the bestselling memoir "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America," as the one of three keynote speakers. The other keynote speakers are:

  • Anne Fadiman, author of "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures," an account of the cross-cultural conflicts between a refugee family from Laos and American doctors; and
  • Alex Tizon, whose memoir, "Big Little Man: In Search Of My Asian Self," examines race, culture, politics, power and stereotypes of Asian Americans.

All of the 12 awards will cover the conference registration fee of $425. Some of the awards will also cover accommodations at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center and entry fees for the conference's Personal Essay, Book Manuscript and Reported Narrative contests, which applicants for some of the awards are required to enter.The top three winners of each contest receive $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.

To be eligible for any of the awards, students must be able to attend the entire weekend of the conference and must have a current grade point average of at least 3.0.

The awards being offered are:

Minority Awards sponsored by The Dallas Morning News -- These five awards are open to students from racial and ethnic minority groups who are currently enrolled at any community college or university, or will graduate in May 2015. Applicants must submit:

  • Cover letter about their interest in the award
  • A published or unpublished writing sample showing narrative writing skills
  • A college transcript, and
  • Two reference letters.

Mayborn Emerging Writer Awards -- These three awards are open to undergraduate and graduate students from any college or university who are enrolled in writing degree programs, such as biography, creative nonfiction, English, history and journalism. Professional writers working for newspapers, magazines, alternative weekly publications and other digital and print publications are also eligible. Applicants must submit:

  • Two examples of their narrative writing that were published in print or online, or
  • Must enter one of the Mayborn conference's writing contests in personal essay, reported narrative or book narrative.

Green Light Awards -- These two awards are open to full-time undergraduate and graduate students from any college or university. Applicants must submit:

  • Cover letter about their interest in the award
  • Two published or unpublished writing samples showcasing narrative writing skills.

Additionally, applicants must enter one of the Mayborn conference's writing contests in personal essay, reported narrative or book narrative.

El Futuro Literario Awards -- These two awards are open to Hispanic undergraduate or graduate students from any college or university who are enrolled in writing degree programs, such as biography, creative nonfiction, English, history and journalism. Hispanic professional writers and publishers working for newspapers, magazines, alternative weekly publications and other digital and print publications, or any writer covering Hispanic issues at these publications, are also eligible. Applicants must submit:

  • Five examples of their writing that were published in print or online, or
  • Must enter one of the Mayborn conference's writing contests in personal essay, reported narrative or book narrative.

Mayborn Graduate Student Literary Journalism Award -- This award is open only to students currently enrolled in the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism. Applicants must submit:

  • Cover letter about their interest in the award
  • Two examples of their narrative writing that were published in print or online

Additionally, applicants must enter one of the Mayborn conference's writing contests in personal essay, reported narrative or book narrative.

More information about the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference and its speakers is available online. For questions about the awards, contact Kelly Briggs in the Mayborn School of Journalism at 940-565-4778 or send a message to maybornconferenceinfo@unt.edu.

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