We are pleased to introduce the mentors for this year's Emerging Voices fellowship.

Ramona Ausubel’s novel, No One is Here Except All of Us, was published by Riverhead Books in 2012. It was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and was named a Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Huffington Post.  Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review Daily, One Story, and The Best American Fantasy and shortlisted in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Non-Required Reading. Ausubel’s short-story collection, A Guide to Being Born, will be published by Riverhead in 2013.

Meghan Daum has been an opinion columnist at The Los Angeles Times since 2005. She has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Harper's, and Vogue, and is the author of three books, most recently the memoir Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived In That House.

Harryette Mullen is the author of several poetry collections including Recyclopedia, winner of a PEN Beyond Margins Award, and Sleeping with the Dictionary, a finalist for a National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her poems have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Polish, German, Swedish, Danish, Turkish, and Bulgarian. She teaches American poetry, African American literature, and creative writing at UCLA. A collection of her essays and interviews, The Cracks Between What We Are and What We Are Supposed to Be, was published by University of Alabama Press in 2012. Her Tanka Diary is forthcoming from Graywolf Press in 2013.

People ineligible for the Emerging Voices program:

• Those who have a B.A. in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis or an M.A., M.F.A., or Ph.D. in Creative Writing.
• Students currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs.
• Those who are Professional PEN Center USA members.
• Writers who are widely published or have recent noteworthy writing awards.
• People who have books published and former or current professional magazine/newspaper writers or editors.
• Anyone under the age of 18.

Emerging Voices is a rigorous fellowship program based in Los Angeles with weekly meetings and an intense reading and writing schedule. Participants should be willing and able to make an enthusiastic commitment to the program and to their involvement as members of a group. If you are not a resident of Los Angeles and you are awarded the fellowship you will need to relocate for the eight-month program. Housing is not provided.
If offered a place in the fellowship, you may not defer acceptance for another year. If you are not awarded a fellowship, we encourage you to reapply if interested.

MENTORS: Mentors are carefully chosen from PEN’s membership of professional writers based on shared writing interests with each fellow. The mentor-fellow relationship is expected to challenge the fellow's work and compel significant creative progress. Over the course of the program, EVs and mentors should meet three times in person, and be in contact at least once a month. In these meetings, mentors will offer feedback on the EV fellows’ work in progress.

UCLA EXTENSION WRITERS’ PROGRAM: Participants will attend two free courses at UCLA Extension, donated by the Writers’ Program. Program and PEN staff will assist EV fellows with course selection. Fellows will also have access to the UCLA libraries.

AUTHOR EVENINGS: A schedule of Q & A evenings with prominent authors, poets, editors, agents, and publishers will be distributed at the first EV orientation meeting. Fellows must read each visiting author's book before the evening.

MASTER CLASSES: After completing the UCLA Extension courses, EV fellows will enroll in a PEN master class. The master class is a four-session, genre-specific workshop with a professional writer that affords fellows the opportunity to exchange feedback on their works in progress.

VOLUNTEER PROJECT: All fellows are expected to complete a 25-hour volunteer project that is relevant to the literary community.

VOICE CLASS: The fellowship will provide a one-day workshop with a professional voice actor. The EV fellows will read their work in a recording studio and receive instruction on reading their work publicly.

FINAL READING: The program culminates in a public reading to showcase the progress each fellow has made in his or her work.

SPECIAL EVENTS: PEN Center USA provides complimentary admission to select events throughout the fellowship.

The Emerging Voices Fellowship originated as a mentorship project. The project grew out of PEN Center USA’s forum “Writing the Immigrant Experience,” held at the Los Angeles Central Library in March 1994, which explored the issues and challenges faced by first and second generation immigrant writers. It was evident from the forum that many of the culturally diverse communities of writers in Southern California were often isolated from the literary establishment. In the fall of 1995, PEN Center USA initiated Emerging Voices as a literary mentorship program designed to launch potential professional writers from minority, immigrant and other underrepresented communities. The program has now evolved into an eight-month writing fellowship for writers who lack access to a traditional writing education and seek financial and creative support.

The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation was established in 1948 by my parents, a young businessman and his fashion-editor wife, who clearly had a great deal of confidence in their eventual financial success as well as a genuine desire to contribute to the world outside themselves. As my father formulated it in the beginning, “Individuals fortunate enough to receive unusual benefits from a society have the distinct obligation to return meaningful, tangible support to that society—in the form of creative energy as well as funding.”

What this has meant over the years is a pattern of rewarding excellence and accomplishment by giving awards in the fields of medicine, art and literature. In the last several decades, as the younger generation has begun to have more of a say, the goal has modulated into an emphasis on more directly encouraging excellence and accomplishment—by funding programs as well as awards, thus concentrating on setting up structures for achievement, and utilizing the multiplier effect.

– Jamie Wolf

The 2014 Emerging Voices application period is now open. You may download the application here.

Do I need to live in the Los Angeles area to apply to the Emerging Voices Fellowship?

You must be a US citizen or have the correct documentation to apply to the EV Fellowship. However, all fellows must live in Los Angeles or close enough to commute to Los Angeles for the duration of the program. No funds are available for relocation.

Are there any age restrictions?

The EV Fellowship is open to all writers over the age of 18.

Can I submit work that has been previously published?

Yes, if you feel it is the work that best represents you as a writer.

Can you help me decide what work to submit as my writing sample?

No, although we do strongly encourage you to submit writing that corresponds to your project proposal. Also, please submit work that corresponds to your genre. This allows the selection committee to gain a better understanding of your project and how you and your work could benefit from the fellowship.

How should the manuscript be formatted?

Fiction and nonfiction manuscripts should be double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins all around. You may format poetry manuscripts however you feel best represents the poetry you are submitting, as long as you do not exceed the page limit and the typed font is legible. Please number your pages.

What does the selection committee look for in a manuscript?

A strong writing sample. The best advice we can give is to seek the advice of other writers and instructors when preparing your manuscript.

When are applicants notified of the committee's decision?

All applicants will be notified two months after the close of the application period.

Can you give me feedback on my manuscript or tell me why I wasn't selected for the fellowship?

We cannot provide any comments on manuscripts or on applications submitted.

On the short answer section of the Emerging Voices application, it states you may use up to 500 words for each answer. Does this mean 500 words for each answer or 500 words for all nine questions combined?

It states each response can be up to 500 words maximum. That means each response for each individual question may be up to 500 words, not 500 words for all nine responses.

I write screenplays/graphic novels/children's books. Am I eligible?
The accepted genres for the Emerging Voices Fellowship are fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. All classes, mentors, and programming for the fellowship are based on one of these three genres. Many alumni have gone on to pursue careers in graphic novels, performance art, and screenwriting, but concentrated on either prose or poetry for the duration of the fellowship.

PLEASE REMEMBER: No FED EX or UPS packages.

You must use only non-signature mail.
Your manuscript must be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font.
Letters of recommendation must be signed.
SASEs accepted.

You can learn about the 2012 Emerging Voices fellows here, and watch the video of the 2011 Final Reading. The Mark is a rigorous manuscript finishing school for Emerging Voices alumni. Visit the Mark page and The Mark Blog to learn more.

The application period for PITC 2012 - 2013 is now open. The application is available for download:

If you are a writer who would like to apply to teach a PITC academic or community residency, please download the application and contact Michelle Meyering. Please carefully read all sections of the program page before applying.

A PITC community writing residency is a generative writing workshop that takes place in a community center such as a nonprofit organization, shelter, or reservation. PITC community instructors are selected from PEN’s diverse membership to best match the needs of the community where they will teach. (Or, alternatively, an interested writer applies to become a PITC community instructor and subsequently becomes a PEN member. All PITC instructors must also be PEN members.)

In preparation for a PITC community writing residency, PITC instructors and community leaders attend a mandatory orientation session at the PEN office. Then, working with the community leader, the PITC instructor develops a curriculum with the goal of helping the students complete a solid body of creative writing work. A PITC community writing residency is comprised of twelve in-class writing workshops, the publication of a student anthology, and a final public reading. Throughout the semester, the PITC program manager makes three visits to each community center and communicates with all PITC instructors and community leaders on a weekly basis.

If you would like to host a PITC community writing residency in your community, please contact Director of Programs and Events Michelle Meyering for more information.

The PITC Literary Journal Program aims to introduce students to a range of genres over the course of one year by providing a series of in-class genre clinics at a host school. These clinics happen monthly and allow host teachers and a variety of PITC instructors to assess where student interest lies and to encourage all students to discover the literary genre that resonates with their own unique voice.

The program also allows the host teacher to accept school-wide submissions from student writers, which may be published in the final PITC Literary Journal. Accepting open submissions provides host teachers with an opportunity for students outside of the creative writing class to become involved with writing. Faculty members, school staff, and parents of students are also invited to submit work to the Literary Journal.

The first PITC Literary Journal Program was launched at Animo Pat Brown L.A. in October 2009.

This is a rigorous workshop program that requires an existing creative writing class. Please contact Director of Programs and Events Michelle Meyering.

PITC instructors are required to develop a tailored curriculum before the start of the residency. The curricula are often genre-specific, meaning students will focus on writing poetry, fiction, plays, or creative nonfiction. A typical PITC writing residency combines selected readings with classroom discussions and thematically linked writing exercises.

Students will be expected to participate in discussions and complete in-class writing assignments. Homework and creative projects may also be assigned. Though the PITC instructor will run the workshops and provide written feedback to the students, it is the responsibility of the host teacher or community leader to ensure credit is given for completion of assignments and to maintain control of the classroom (though this is seldom an issue).

Student work is collected by the PITC instructor at the end of the residency and published by PEN Center USA in an anthology. At the public reading of the student work, copies of the published anthology are distributed to the students and their friends and family.

PITC instructors typically conduct workshops once a week for a period of twelve weeks. Classes last for one to two hours and vary depending on the schedule of the school or community schedule. In the case of block scheduling, workshops are adjusted accordingly.

PITC instructors are paid a stipend for each writing workshop. For more information on stipends, please contact Director of Programs and Events Michelle Meyering.

At this time, all PEN in the classroom academic and community writing residencies are paid for by PEN Center USA. Schools and community centers that host PITC writing residencies are responsible for securing a venue and providing refreshments for the final student reading.

PEN Center USA is generously supported by the Herb Alpert Foundation, California Community Foundation, City of Los Angeles – Department of Cultural Affairs, The James Irvine Foundation, Kayne Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Rosenthal Family Foundation, Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, UCLA Extension Writers Program, and Jamie Rosenthal Wolf & David Wolf.

PEN Center USA serves all states west of the Mississippi River. PEN In The Classroom’s ability to serve all western states is dependent on the program’s budget. At the moment, most PITC residencies occur in or around Southern California. To donate to PEN In The Classroom, please visit PEN’s donation page.

Participating PEN In The Classroom host schools have included:

• Ánimo Jackie Robinson Charter High School
• Ánimo Locke 1 College Preparatory Academy
• Ánimo Pat Brown Charter High School
• Belmont High School
• Birmingham Community Charter High School
• Calvin Capshaw Middle School
• Cleveland High School
• Crenshaw High School
• Culver City High School
• Del Ray Cont Senior High School
• Dorsey High School
• Downtown Magnets High School
• Fairfax Senior High School
• Film and Theater Arts Charter School
• Grant High School
• Hamilton Senior High School
• Hoover High School / Ocean Discovery Institute
• Jefferson High School
• John C. Fremont High School
• John Marshall High School
• José A. Castellanos Elementary
• Los Angeles High School of the Arts
• Los Angeles Senior High School
• Lynwood High School
• Manual Arts Senior High School
• Morningside High School
• Narbonne High School
• North Hollywood High School
• Odyssey Charter School
• Palisades Charter High School
• Roosevelt Senior High School
• San Fernando Senior High School
• Santa Fe High School
• Santa Monica High School
• South Gate Senior High School
• University High School
• Venice High School
• Verdugo Hills High School
• West Adams Preparatory High School
• Woodrow Wilson High School

PEN Center USA’s Freedom to Write Committee seeks to spotlight ongoing dangers and disturbing new trends in the suppression of expression. We do this by investigating and reporting on regional and country-specific problems. Past efforts include the Nigeria Initiative, aimed at publicizing the link between oil politics and the silencing of dissent in Nigeria, and a coordinated campaign to end violent attacks against journalists in Latin America.

Each year PEN Center USA presents Freedom to Write and First Amendment Awards to individuals and organizations that have produced notable work in the face of extreme adversity or demonstrated exceptional courage in the defense of free expression. The awards are presented each fall at PEN Center USA’s Annual Literary Awards Festival. Funds are collected from our members for the purpose of helping other writers or their families for lawyer’s fees, bail or medical needs. Recent honorees include Cuban dissident Raul Rivero, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association, the American Library Association, Sahal Abdulle and U Win Tin.

PEN Center USA’s Freedom to Write Committee carries out campaigns on behalf of eighty specially selected writers who are long-term prisoners of conscience. Each honorary member has several “minders” who work diligently, sometimes for years, on his/her case. Minders write letters to foreign governments and diplomatic representatives, communicate with and provide vital support to the honorary member and his/her family, and encourage American officials to implement sound policy that represents the United States’ commitment to freedom of expression.