Beginning today, U.S. fiction writers who have published at least one book have the opportunity to apply for four-thousand-dollar fellowships from the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. Five to eight writers will receive the awards, intended to enable them to set aside time for writing.
Isherwood, born in England in 1904, was a novelist and translator, friend and collaborator with writers such as W. H. Auden, and an activist for gay rights. U.K. publisher Jonathan Cape released Isherwood's first novel, All the Conspirators, in 1928. In the early 1930s, he lived in Berlin, during which time he wrote Berlin Stories, which was adapted into the musical Cabaret. Isherwood spent the latter part of his life in California, where he worked in film and television among other writers including Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and Aldous Huxley. He died in 1986.
According to the organization's Web site, the Isherwood Foundation was established to grant funds to published fiction writers, as well as scholars of the late novelist. For the fiction grants, writers who have published a novel or short story collection may submit three copies of twenty to thirty pages of fiction, a curriculum vitae, and a letter of interest between today and October 1.
Before sending materials, entrants should visit the Web site to complete an online application and obtain an ID number. The organization is specific about how materials should be organized and mailed, so be sure to follow the instructions carefully.