Creative Fellowship

By applying to our 2023 Creative Fellowship, you’re taking your first step to helping eradicate illiteracy by 2030 with NABU.

Welcome to NABU. We’re so glad you are considering applying to become a Writing or Illustration Fellow at NABU. Our vision is a world where every child will have inclusive and equitable access to the resources they need to become literate, and we need you to help us achieve this goal.

For our 2023 Summer Creative Fellowship, we are calling on passionate and talented artists of Haitian heritage to help us meet the need for bilingual Haitian Creole children’s books, for children in Florida and beyond. The books that you create will be published on NABU’s free reading app, for anyone to download, anywhere in the world. The best work will also be selected for print publishing opportunities.

Through this residential program based out of our creative Lab in Miami, you will be exposed to our global creative team that has trained over 150 artists around the world. We will support you to take your artistic skills to a whole new level, whilst giving back to your Haitian community. We can’t wait to get started working with you!

Who should apply? 

We have Fellowships available for 10 illustrators of Haitian heritage, with some digital drawing experience. You will be required to provide your portfolio as part of your application, and we are looking for early career artists who want to develop their creative skills and expression. There is no language requirement for the Illustration Fellowship.

We also have Fellowships for 5 writers of Haitian heritage, who have some knowledge of spoken Haitian Creole, and preferably can write in Haitian Creole, though this is not a strict requirement to apply. We welcome aspiring storytellers with some writing experience, from all backgrounds. Students, teachers, parents, authors - anyone with a story to tell is welcome to apply.

What are the benefits of the program?

• A 12-week paid Fellowship, with a $2,000 stipend (minimum attendance requirements apply)
• A creative space and state-of-the-art devices provided by HP at the NABU Creative Lab at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Centre in Miami
• Curriculum and mentorship provided by Michael Ross, NABU Creative Director, as well as other members of NABU’s senior creative team
• Major print and digital publishing opportunities available after the Fellowship for selected titles with NABU’s publishing partners
• Your opportunity to be part of a mission to create authentic books for children and families in underserved mother tongue languages, increasing literacy by preserving and sharing culture
• Become part of a global community of creators powering this mission
  

What is the commitment required?

This is not a virtual program! The Fellowship runs in-person for 12 weeks from Thursday June 8th, with an end date on Thursday August 24th.

The Fellowship will take place at the NABU HP Creative Lab located inside the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center. There is a time commitment of 5 hours per week (two 2.5 hour sessions) including one mandatory class on Monday mornings and a working session on Thursday early afternoons. Fellows will be required to be in-person at our Miami Lab and there is a minimum attendance requirement to maintain your Fellowship.

The Lab will also be open from 9 am to 5 pm during the Fellowship for those that wish to come and use the devices or get more support from NABU's Program Manager.

What are the outcomes?

By the end of the Fellowship, you will have found your artistic voice, and gained the skills required to publish world-class quality children’s books. In addition, as a cohort, together you will write and illustrate at least 30 chidlren’s books that are ready to be published by the end of the Fellowship! Each author will work on about six manuscripts, whereas illustrators will illustrate about three books each.

We aim to support your artistic development and authentic discovery, as well as helping you reach beyond the limits of what you thought possible! Immediately after the Fellowship, your books will be published on the NABU app, reaching millions of children around the world.

In addition, NABU does not limit learning and networking to solely in-house opportunities. We grant a number of community events and offer exposure for our Fellows to grow as they learn. And, our Post Fellow Plan will allow Fellows who join our Fellow Alumni to scope more opportunities. Your options don’t end with the cohort!

There’s a lot of work to do and we can’t wait to get started. Please follow the steps to complete the application you’d like to move forward with. If you have any questions, please contact rachelle@nabu.org, and we will make sure to get back to you within 24 hours to help with any inquiries.

NABU is creating a lot of new reading material for children, and we need all hands on deck!

Applications are due by Sunday May 21st, 2023, at 11.59pm EST.

Apply to Be an Author

Apply to Be an Illustrator