For Spalding MFAers who write creative nonfiction, the George Getschow Scholarship provides funding to attend the 2017 Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, July 21-23, in Grapevine, Texas.
The $800 scholarship is available to Spalding MFA students and alums, regardless of area of concentration. The scholarship is made possible by the MFA program and a generous donation from an anonymous MFA alum. Others are welcome to make a tax-deductible donation to the fund.
George Getschow
The scholarship is named in honor of George Getschow (CNF ’05), who is co-founder and writer-in-residence of the nationally acclaimed conference. He is also principal lecturer at the Mayborn School of Journalism and serves as writing coach for a number of newspapers. George spent 16 years at The Wall Street Journal as a reporter, editor, bureau chief, and on the Page One Rewrite Desk. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for distinguished writing about the underprivileged. In 2012, he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.
According to the conference website, “The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference is a forum for journalists, writers, readers, students, educators and the general public to listen to, be inspired by and practice their craft at the highest possible level.
“Every year, the Mayborn Conference gathers some of the most talented storytellers in the country to share their stories, life-changing experiences and expertise with aspiring writers through three days of lectures, panels, one-on-one sessions, and student classes.
“In addition, the conference includes a variety of writing contests for anyone from high school students to Pulitzer Prize-winning professionals, who receive hand-made trophies, more than $26,000 in cash awards and have their work published in Mayborn’s journal, Ten Spurs, or anthology, Best American Newspaper Narratives.”
The scholarship will be awarded to an MFAer who is able to attend the entire conference weekend. Applications will be accepted between March 1 and April 1, and notification will be made by email on or before May 15.
To apply, submit a nonfiction writing sample (maximum 10 pages), published or unpublished, with your name on the cover letter only. The cover letter should confirm that you are able to attend the entire conference. Email the sample and cover letter to kmann@spalding.edu. The writing sample is read blind by a Spalding University MFA alum.
As part of the award, the recipient agrees to write a brief testimonial about the experience shortly after the conference concludes.
Previous scholarship recipient Donna Crow (CNF ’14) wrote, “As the largest nonfiction literary conference in this country, the Mayborn Conference draws some of the best writers from around the globe. To be in the same room with so many top award-winning journalists as well as novelists, memoirists, etc., was a head-spinning experience. I was able to socialize and network with people I would not otherwise ever have met. I am sure it has caused my writing to grow in many ways.”
Registration for the conference is now open at a cost of $225 before May 1 and $425 after that date. Tickets for additional conference events are available at an extra cost. Scholarship funds are paid directly to the recipient to defray conference registration and travel costs.
The conference is hosted by the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, University of North Texas. For information and to register, visit http://www.themayborn.com/.