The Royal Literary Fund

Applying to the RLF Fellowship Scheme

From January 1 2009 recruitment to the Fellowship Scheme is suspended. Eligible writers (see criteria below) may supply their name and address to receive an application pack when recruitment re-commences. If you wish your details to be added to the mailing list, please email the Fellowship Officer.

A Note for Universities/Colleges
There is no application document for prospective partners to complete. Any institution interested in hosting an RLF Fellow should contact the Fellowship Officer for a preliminary discussion.

Steve Cook
Fellowship and Education Officer
Royal Literary Fund
3 Johnson's Court,
London EC4A 3EA

Tel. 020 7353 7160

Email: rlitfund@btconnect.com

Eligibility
The Fellowship has been designed for professional, published writers of literary merit with at least two (sole-authored) books - of any genre - already published (or mainstream theatre works performed or scripts broadcast).

Please also note that an applicant must be a native English-speaker and a citizen of the UK, the Republic of Ireland or a Commonwealth country. Citizens of other countries may apply if, at the time of application, they have been living in the UK for at least three years.

These are the RLF's eligibility criteria for application to the scheme. The selection process is a competitive one. Once you apply, your literary merit and suitability for the scheme will be measured against those of the other candidates in that round.

Terms and Conditions

Duration of the Fellowship
Fellowships run the course of an academic year from around mid-September to mid-June (although, in exceptional circumstances, shorter or longer periods, up to a maximum of two years, may be considered).

Timetable during Term
The Fellow commits to be available for contact with students on two regular days a week (exactly which days of the week, or combination of half-days, will be agreed by the Fellow with staff before the year begins). An additional half-day each week may be required of the Fellow as time spent in preparation/ liaison with staff and RLF/ review, etc (though this time need not always be spent on campus).

Payment
The Fellow receives a fee ('stipend') under contract from the RLF. For entry in autumn 2008 this was £14,000 (38 weeks).

The stipend is paid gross. The Fellow is responsible for tax and National Insurance. The stipend can be paid in two or more instalments by cheque or monthly into a bank account, as preferred.

Our Partner Organisations
The RLF runs the scheme in partnership with Higher Education institutions (mainly universities) throughout the UK. In most cases, a partnership will last for three consecutive years with new writers being appointed each autumn.

Our standard Partnership Agreement will cover, inter alia, the RLF's hire of an office and equipment (for the Fellow's use, both when working with students as well as during the rest of the week, if desired/available). The Fellow will also be covered for the costs of using phone, email, internet, photocopier, etc., up to agreed limits.

Liaison
A staff member (the Co-ordinator) at the partner institution will be nominated to take responsibility for liaison with the Fund, and will also be the Fellow's main point of contact on campus.

The Fellow will have one or more opportunities to meet with the nominated staff member prior to taking up the post and to reach agreement with the institution on how the year should run. The RLF encourages Fellows and staff to adapt the overall shape of the scheme to fit both the interests and expertise of the writer and the particular needs of the student body.

The Fund's Fellowship Officer will be available at all times to give advice and support to Fellows.

Reporting
At the end of the year, the Fellow is required to submit a written report about the year which the General Committee of the Fund will use in its assessment of the scheme's development. During the year, the Fellow is also required to contribute to any formal evaluation of the work that the Fund may commission, and to be available to help the Fund publicise and promote the Fellowships, where appropriate.

Contracts

You can see the full terms and conditions in the Fellow's contract with the RLF.

You can also read a sample of the RLF's contract with partner institutions.

Further Reading

Applicants are strongly advised to look through the contents of the Research section of this site; click on the sidebar 'Research'. In particular, applicants should be familiar with the main findings of the RLF's Writing Matters report; you can find a Briefing and Summary, as well as the full text on the Research page.