CARY — The North Carolina Writers’ Network (NCWN) is proud to announce the creation of the Sally Buckner Emerging Writers’ Fellowship, in memory of one of North Carolina’s most beloved poets, editors and educators.

This annual $500 fellowship will support an emerging North Carolina writer, between the ages 21-35, whose work shows promise of excellence and of commitment to a literary career. Each year, the fellowship will go to a writer working primarily in a designated genre (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or drama), with the genres rotating on a four-year cycle.

The inaugural 2019 Buckner Fellowship will support an emerging poet.

Applicants must be in the early stages of their careers and will not yet have achieved major recognition for their work. No specific academic background is required or preferred, but students enrolled in degree-granting programs are not eligible to apply.

For complete program guidelines, visit www.ncwriters.org.

Fellowship recipients will use the $500 award to allay the costs associated with the business of writing: paper, printing, writing supplies, submission fees, research expenses, travel, conference registration fees, etc. In addition to the cash award, recipients will receive a complimentary one-year membership in NCWN, as well as scholarship aid to attend the Network’s annual Fall Conference.

To honor and carry on the lifelong generosity displayed by its namesake, the Buckner Fellowship will invite each recipient, during their award year, to help at least one other writer — by mentoring a less-experienced writer, by critiquing another’s work, by writing references or editing applications, or in whatever other way the recipient sees fit.

Applications will be accepted at https://ncwriters.submittable.com/submit through June 30.

Application is free for current NCWN members; for nonmembers, the application fee is $10. A committee appointed by NCWN will review all applications, and invite finalists for interviews with committee members. The fellowship winner will be announced and introduced at the Network’s Fall Conference, held this year in Charlotte, Nov. 2-4.

The North Carolina Writers’ Network connects, promotes and serves writers of this state, providing education in the craft and business of writing, opportunities for recognition and critique of literary work, resources for writers at all stages of development, support for and advocacy of the literary heritage of North Carolina, and a community for those who write.

For more information about the Sally Buckner Emerging Writers’ Fellowship and NCWN, visit www.ncwriters.org, or contact Charles Fiore, NCWN Communications Director, at charles@ncwriters.org.