Ready to take your manuscript to the next level?

Applications for the 2027-2028 Fellowship Eleven will open November 15, 2026. See below for more information!

As a BookEnds fellow, you’ll spend a year revising and editing your manuscript alongside a small cohort of talented fiction writers with promising novel drafts. You’ll dive deep into your characters’ worlds using the unique BookEnds methodology and interrogatory techniques, with distinguished mentors such as Karen E. Bender, Lincoln Michel, Dawnie Walton, and Meg Wolitzer to guide you along the way.

BOOKENDS WORKS. 20% of our alums have novels published or under contract, including at major presses like HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Red Hen Press, Zibby Books, and more.

BookEnds novels have been chosen for Reese’s Book Club, reviewed in the New York Times and the Washington Post, and selected as New York Times’ Editors’ Choices and People magazine "Best New Books." Our alums have won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, the Women’s Prose Prize, and the Blue Moon Novel Award, among others.

BookEnds has a robust alumni network comprised of nearly 100 writers (and counting). We maintain an active shared worksite for writing accountability, hold regular online writing sessions, provide robust support and advice for querying and submitting novels for publication, and meet online and in-person monthly. Join us!

Successful applicants must demonstrate a sustained commitment and work ethic, as well as an understanding of group processes and constructive feedback. Orientation begins virtually, on four successive Tuesday afternoons in May and June, followed by in-person attendance at the Southampton Writers Conference in July of 2027. Successful applicants must be prepared for a single Saturday afternoon virtual meeting in January 2028, and a three-day meeting in person, at the Southampton Writers Conference, in July of 2028. You are also expected to post your revision reports and engage with your cohort and the directors on Slack throughout the Fellowship year. 

• Applications for the 2027-2028 Fellowship Eleven will open November 15, 2026.
• They are reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis and close by January 1, 2027, or when we receive fifty applications. One manuscript per writer will be accepted. 
• Finalists will be contacted for a Zoom interview in February 2027.
• Admitted students will be notified soon after interviews are completed. Acceptance paperwork must be returned within 7 days.

Questions? Get in touch with us at bookends@stonybrook.edu.

Visit our website for more information.