The Blue Club Media Fellowship For Writers, 2020 [3 Months, Stipend Rs. 30K]: Apply by Oct 15

About the Blue Club

The Blue Club is a grassroots media organization that brings marginalized voices to the forefront. Led by an all-women team, their organization strives to pass the mic and amplify the voices of the suppressed who have been deliberately silenced and muffled for generations –  specifically the marginalized women from regions of high poverty rates.

The Blue Club was founded in 2015, in a small corner of the largest slum in Chennai.

About the Fellowship

The Blue Club Media Fellowship For Writers 2020 is a one-of-a-kind opportunity exclusively for Dalit women and Dalit queer writers with minimal or no publication experience to develop their writing skills.

It’s a three-month intensive writing fellowship that aims to identify, mentor and empower emerging, diverse, and intersectional voices in anti-casteist and feminist spaces. Also, the fellowship welcomes complex arguments and refuses to ignore the contradictory and often uncomfortable realities of gender and sexuality amongst ourselves.

Who can Apply?

• If you are a Dalit Woman/Dalit Queer person, writing in English*, who is an Indian citizen living in India, with minimal or no publication experience.
• If you are passionate about subject areas such as Caste and Gender and willing to learn how to write on these topics.
• If you are a writer who wants to learn writing about politics, education, environment, law and health from an anti-casteist feminist perspective.
• If you are a socially concerned writer still exploring your area of interest.
• If you feel your voice has been muffled by caste-gender majorities and is looking for a sisterhood of writers.

​Although they believe that language should not be a barrier, owing to some limitations, we are able to conduct the 2020 fellowship, including the application, medium of instruction, and writing assignments only in English.

However, the 2020 Fellowship is designed to accommodate a range of fluency in English among the fellows, as there will be mentoring and workshops building English language skills for media. Therefore, we urge any Dalit woman or Dalit queer person with moderate English skills and a keen interest in the purpose of the 2020 fellowship to apply now

What will you be doing during the 3-month fellowship?

• Write a minimum of four articles (two short and two long) for The Blue Club in the topic areas given. The articles can be reports, analytical pieces, advocacy-focused articles, and multimedia content.
• Participate in 8 Zoom discussions each month with the fellowship Director, Manager and other facilitators as determined by TBC.
• Dedicate solid hours every week to read and write about selected topics.
• Receive mentorship in choosing, writing, editing and publishing articles from the given topic areas.
• Make great connections within the anti-casteist and feminist-media community.
• Receive an Rs.30,000 stipend for the three-month fellowship.

Topic Areas

Caste, Gender, Sexuality, Politics, Education, Environment, Law, Health, Art and Culture

Application Guidelines

Applicants have to fill out an Online Application, where they have to upload: ​

• A cover letter on ‘Why are you interested in The Blue Club Media Fellowship For Writers 2020?’ between 400 – 600 words.
• Two relevant writing samples between 600 – 1000 words each (published or unpublished).

Deadline

The last date for application is 15th October 2020. Please ensure to carefully read the following guidelines, and then click on the “Form” button here to start your application.

For full details of the fellowship, click here.