One of our goals at Pen Parentis is to help inspire the creation of new writing at the earliest stages of parenthood — it is sometimes hard to find the motivation to put a pen to paper (or tired fingers to a keyboard) when you’ve had four hours of sleep and can expect no more in any one session for the next year! Then there are toddlers that expect your undivided attention at all times, preschoolers who are too delightful to leave alone, elementary schools and their endless attempts to involve parents in education–which somehow always seems to translate into cleaning up after a classroom of kids while the teacher teaches or using your considerable writing skills to create flawless copy for the school’s fundraising website.

Well, we have a reason for you to write something creative. Our Fellowship for New Parents offers you $1000 towards your career, plus publication, mentorship, and the opportunity to read your winning work in NYC.

Applications are open from March 1 – April 17 — and even if you don’t win this year, just taking the opportunity to create a brand-new story at this time in your parenting life might be enough to keep you heading in the right direction with your creative career. See our Fellowship page for this year’s guidelines. We change word count every year to encourage you to write something new!