No application fee, New South Wales Writer's Fellowship, award: $20,000

Deadline: 21 March 2011

The NSW Writer’s Fellowship is offered annually by the NSW Government to assist the writing of a new literary work by a writer living in NSW.

How much is available? $20,000

What are the Assessment Criteria?

The Assessment Criteria for this Fellowship are:

* the merit of the applicant’s work. Note: the assessment panel may consider the following: originality of the proposal, applicant’s writing skills, applicant’s ability to engage the reader/audience
* applicant’s professional skills and experience
* the potential impact of the Fellowship on the applicant’s writing career
* extent to which the proposed new work will advance writing in Australia

Who is eligible to apply?

The Fellowship is open to applications from novelists, poets, playwrights, scriptwriters and other writers of fiction or literary non-fiction.

To be eligible to apply for this Fellowship, applicants must be:

Australian citizens currently residing in New South Wales; or

persons holding permanent residence visas currently resident in New South Wales.

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please speak to Arts NSW here.

How to apply?

To apply for the 2011 NSW Writer’s Fellowship:

* Read the Guidelines below
* Complete and submit an application form in one of the following ways:

1. Use our online application system to complete and submit your application and receive email notification that your application has been successfully received. Visit the Arts NSW Online Application System here.

2. Download a copy of the application form in PDF format here. Instructions on how to submit this form are contained in the application form.

2011 NSW WRITER’S FELLOWSHIP ($20,000) GUIDELINES

OVERVIEW

The NSW Writer's Fellowship ($20,000) is offered annually by the Government to assist
the writing of a new literary work by a writer living in New South Wales. The Fellowship is open to applications from novelists, poets, playwrights, scriptwriters and other writers of fiction or literary non-fiction.

ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING

Who is eligible to apply?

To be eligible to apply for this Fellowship, applicants must be:
• Australian citizens currently resident in New South Wales; or
• persons holding permanent residence visas currently resident in New South Wales.
Note: Persons who are temporarily overseas or outside of New South Wales may apply, provided that they can demonstrate that New South Wales is their primary place of residence and that they are otherwise eligible. Although fellowships and scholarships are usually awarded to an individual, joint applications may be accepted under certain circumstances. Enquiries regarding joint applications should be directed to Arts NSW staff on Freecall 1800 358 594 (within NSW)
or (02) 9228 5533(outside NSW).

Who is ineligible to apply?

Applications will not be considered from:
• previous recipients of this Fellowship; or
• previous recipients of other Arts NSW (previously Ministry for the Arts) grants,
fellowships or scholarships who have not fulfilled the conditions of their funding.

APPLICATION PROCESS

You are required to submit:

a) a completed Application Form (and a copy of it if submitted by post or hand delivered) which outlines the proposed new work and your qualifications and experience (including evidence of your body of work);
b) support material (and a copy of it if submitted by post or hand delivered) to demonstrate your writing ability (up to five single-sided typewritten A4 pages) If you have already commenced the proposed new work, it is highly recommended that you include a sample of the work in your support material.

You may also provide samples of previous work, either published or unpublished. It is desirable that this support material is of the same writing genre as the proposed new work. Other optional support material may include reviews of your work and letters of support (up to five single-sided typewritten A4 pages). If your support material is in a language other than English, you must also provide a translation with your name and the translator’s name at the top of each page.

How many applications may be submitted?

Only one application may be submitted for this Fellowship. Applicants may also apply for other relevant fellowships and/or scholarships. However, applicants may only be awarded one fellowship or scholarship in any given year.

Can I get advice from Arts NSW staff?

Arts NSW staff are available to provide advice on interpreting these Guidelines and on the types of activities that are relevant. However, Arts NSW staff are not able to talk through the details of an application or to provide advice that may be perceived as providing an unfair advantage to one applicant over another.

Arts NSW staff can be contacted by:

• Email: arts.funding@communities.nsw.gov.au
• Telephone: Freecall 1800 358 594 (within NSW)
• Telephone: (02) 9228 5533 (outside NSW)

Applications by people with a disability

In accordance with its Disability Action Plan, Arts NSW is committed to addressing any difficulties people with a disability may have in accessing Arts NSW and the services it provides. Applicants with a disability who are unable to make an application in the usual way, or who need other assistance because of that disability, should contact Arts NSW on (02) 9228 5533. Applicants may also call through the National Relay Service (NRS) by dialling 133 677.

FUNDING

The recipient of this Fellowship will be awarded $20,000. The Fellowship is intended to supplement the successful applicant's income during work on their nominated project and to defray necessary research and travel costs.

Are there any restrictions on the use of funds?

Funding is generally not available for:
• costs associated with a project or program that has already been substantially completed;
• assisting with the completion of degree theses or university or college projects undertaken to gain formal qualifications;
• offsetting the costs of items and materials already purchased at the time an application is lodged;
• production of books consisting primarily of drawings, photographs or reproductions of paintings;
• compilation of general reference books, bibliographies, how-to books and instruction manuals, personal growth, lifestyle and hobby books, or books aimed primarily at the education market; or
• the purpose of self-publication.

What is the funding term?

If the writing of the proposed work has not already commenced, the successful applicant will be required to commence work on it within 12 months of the presentation of the Fellowship.
The timeframe for the completion of the new work will be negotiated between Arts NSW and the Fellowship recipient. For the writing of a book or a full-length script, a period of up to two years from the date of presentation of the Fellowship will be considered reasonable.

When is funding provided to the successful applicant?

Funding will be paid following receipt by Arts NSW of a signed Funding Agreement.

ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS

Who assesses applications?

Applications will be assessed by a peer Assessment Panel, whose members are required
to comply with Arts NSW’s Code of Conduct, 2003 (available from the Arts NSW website).

What are the Assessment Criteria?

The Assessment Criteria for this Fellowship are:

• the merit of the applicant’s work. Note: the assessment panel may consider the following:
- originality of the proposal
- applicant's writing skills
- applicant's ability to engage the reader / audience
• applicant’s professional skills and experience
• the potential impact of the Fellowship on the applicant’s writing career
• extent to which the proposed new work will advance writing in Australia.

Applications will be assessed against the above Assessment Criteria. Therefore you must address each of the Assessment Criteria in your application. The Assessment Panel will not consider incomplete applications. The Assessment Panel will also take into consideration the overall quality of the application.

What is the assessment process?

The Assessment Panel will assess each application against the Assessment Criteria outlined above. At the discretion of the Assessment Panel, applicants may be asked to attend an interview as part of the assessment process. The Assessment Panel makes recommendations to the Minister for the Arts, or an authorised delegate, for approval. The Minister’s (or authorised delegate’s) decision will be final and no discussion or correspondence will be entered into concerning this decision. Individuals may only appeal a decision on the basis of probity. Such appeals will be considered by a panel chaired by an executive of the Department not involved in the original process and consisting of independent membership. An Assessment Panel may recommend that a fellowship or scholarship not be awarded if, in its opinion, applicants do not reach a satisfactory standard. All applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application.

WHAT CONDITIONS APPLY TO SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS?

What are the general conditions?

The following general conditions apply to all funding provided by Arts NSW:

• Successful applicants for funding will be required to sign and return a Funding Agreement to Arts NSW. The Funding Agreement may include conditions not specified in these guidelines.
• Funding may be used only for the purposes approved by the Minister or an authorised delegate. In exceptional circumstances, applicants are required to apply in writing to arts NSW for a variation to their Funding Agreement before proceeding with a change to the purpose of their funding.
• Dates nominated for the commencement and completion of projects must be adhered to as far as possible. If the project is not already in progress, it must be commenced within 12 months of the presentation of the fellowship. Arts NSW will have the right to terminate its obligations under the Funding Agreement and request return of the funds.
• Funds may be withdrawn if a successful applicant fails to comply with any of the conditions specified here or in the Funding Agreement.
• On conclusion of the project, the funding recipient must notify Arts NSW of any unspent funds and repay that amount, including any paid GST component, to Arts NSW within 30 days of a request to do so.
• Funding recipients must ensure that all relevant statutes, regulations, by-laws and requirements of any Australian Government, state or territory government or local authority are complied with.
• All funding must be appropriately acknowledged in all programs, publications and other printed or electronic material (with the exception of paid media advertising) undertaken in relation to the funding. Acknowledgements should be in accordance with the Arts NSW Logo Style Guidelines available on the Arts NSW website.
• All funding must be appropriately acquitted.
• A successful application does not commit the NSW Government to any future funding.

What are the reporting requirements?

The Fellowship recipient is required to provide 6 monthly reports on the progress of the project, as well as a final Artistic and Financial Report to acquit the funding.

Progress reports

Six monthly reports on the progress of the project will be required from the date or presentation of the Fellowship.

Acquittal reports

Final acquittal reports will be required within three months of the completion of the Fellowship. The final Artistic Report will summarise achievements against the intended results set out in the Funding Agreement and cover components such as:

• the delivery of the planned project, including positive and negative elements
• the recipient’s self-assessment of the extent to which they successfully achieved the
intended results

Copies of any published work resulting from the funding should be forwarded to Arts NSW
as part of the Artistic Report. The final Financial Report will be a statement of income and expenditure certified by the recipient. The Arts NSW funding should be clearly identified as a separate item of income.

ADMINISTRATION OF APPLICATIONS AND PAYMENTS

Required Information

Australian Business Number (ABN): All applicants are required to supply an ABN in their
application. Successful applicants without an ABN will have 48.5 per cent of their grant
withheld by Arts NSW, and will need to demonstrate how their project would proceed at a
reduced level of funding.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments: Successful applicants will be required to
complete and submit an EFT authorisation form to facilitate payment of the fellowship or
scholarship. EFT payments information will be handled according to Arts NSW’s Privacy
Policy. It will be seen by relevant Arts NSW staff and forwarded to the Finance section of
Communities NSW which processes payments for Arts NSW.

GST: Successful applicants who are registered for GST need to complete and sign a
recipient-created tax invoice (RCTI) for the sum of the payment. If a successful applicant
has not signed a RCTI, they must issue Arts NSW with a tax invoice to enable payment.

Arts NSW’s Privacy Policy

Arts NSW is required to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. Arts NSW collects the minimum personal information to enable it to contact an organisation or individual and to assess the merits of an application. All privacy issues are handled in accordance with Arts NSW Privacy Management Plan (2000), obtainable from the Arts NSW website.

Applicants must ensure that people whose personal details are supplied with their applications (including artists whose CVs are supplied) are aware that Arts NSW is being supplied with this information and of how this information will be used by Arts NSW.

Freedom of information / Government Information (Public Access)

The provisions of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 in 2010 (which has replaced the Freedom of Information Act 1989) may apply to documents in the possession of Arts NSW. Under some circumstances, a copy of the Application Form and other material supplied by the applicant may be released, subject to the deletion of exempt material, in response to a request made in accordance with the legislation.

More information here.