As part of its mission, the William F. Laman Public Library System strives to enhance the community by providing public access to literature and other information. However, Laman Library also seeks to encourage the creation of literature by Arkansans, for Arkansans.  

For that reason, Laman Library founded the Laman Library Writers Fellowship in March 2010 to provide grants to writers that will assist them in the writing and publishing process.

Each year, a grant of up to $10,000 will be awarded in the first quarter to a previously published Arkansas author. The grant will be paid in consecutive monthly installments.

Authors will be selected based on the creative excellence of their work by an group of literary professionals who are independent from Laman Library. The library will not be involved in the selection process, but reserves first right of refusal.

Applications for the 2011 fellowship will be accepted from June 1, 2010 - November 1, 2010.

2010 Fellow

Grif Stockley

The 2010 fellowship has been awarded to Grif Stockley to assist him as he completes his book on the 1959 fire at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville. Stockley will recount the tragedy of 21 black teenagers who burned to death in a small dormitory that was pad-locked from the outside.

Stockley, an award-winning Arkansas author, has published 10 books, including six novels that he categorizes as "lawyer mysteries," and is also widely known for his nonfiction work on race relations in Arkansas. Stockley has won the Porter Prize for fiction and is a member of the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame.

Eligibility

To apply the author must meet either of the two following conditions:

 1. The author has been commissioned by a commercial American publisher to write a full-length work of fiction, poetry or non-fiction and needs funding (in addition to the publisher’s advance) for important research, travel, or other general expenditures.

 2. The author is without a contractual commitment by a publisher but has had at least one work published commercially by an American publisher (excluding vanity presses), and there is a strong likelihood that their next work will be published in the United States.

Please note:

 1. Successful applicants may not apply to the Foundation within three years of receiving an award.

 2. Grants will not be awarded to cover publication costs.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted here.

To print an application, click here.