Pen Women Scholarship

I've been a member of the Roanoke Valley Branch of the the National League of American Pen Women for a couple of years. I enjoy the monthly luncheon with an interesting group of writers and artists and an equally interesting speaker. Because our group promotes education for women, one of the things we wanted to do was encourage a woman to return to college or perhaps enter college for the first time. Consequently, we established a modest scholarship to help with incidental expenses.

If you know a woman who fits the criteria and might be interested in applying, please pass the following information to her:

Roanoke Valley Branch
National League of American Pen Women
Scholarship Information

The Roanoke Valley Pen Women will grant a scholarship of a minimum $100 to a woman age thirty or older who has either returned to college or entered college for the first time, and who is taking one or more classes for credit in the arts, letters, or music at a college or university within 75 miles of Roanoke.

The money is to be used either for supplies (textbooks, art supplies, paper, software, etc.) or for other expenses related to college attendance.

Women interested in receiving the grant for fall 2008 must apply to the Roanoke Valley Pen Women on or before May 2, 2008. The application should include the following:

1. Statement of interest:

• Contact information at top of page: name, address, phone, email.
• A paragraph explaining the recipient’s reason for taking the class or returning to school.
• A paragraph explaining the recipient’s career goals.

2. A work sample in one of the following:

• Letters: an example (2-10 pages) of either published or unpublished fiction (short story, novel excerpt), non-fiction (article, essay), poetry (three poems) or a combination thereof.
• Arts: CD or DVD of jpegs of artwork (paintings, drawings, sculpture, pottery, fiber art, photographs, etc.).
• Music (composer, performer, choreographer): CD or DVD of performance.

Applicants who want work samples returned should provide a self-addressed mailer with sufficient postage.

3. Verification of class enrollment or college acceptance (a photocopy of acceptance letter, student ID, or receipt for payment of tuition).

The scholarship recipient is encouraged to report back to the Roanoke Valley Pen Women, either by mail/email or as a guest at a future Pen Women meeting to inform the membership how the scholarship helped her accomplish a goal.

Send applications to Becky Mushko, 8 Listening Hill Road, Penhook, VA, 24137 or to Peggy Shifflett, c/o Cottage Curio, 622 Colorado Street, Salem, VA 24153.

The Roanoke Valley branch also sponsors an annual poetry contest. Info about the 2008 contest (deadline February 1, 2008) is here.