Are you an editor seeking to develop your skills, chart a new career path or otherwise advance your professional prospects? Do you lack training opportunities through your employer? Do you work as a freelancer or contractor, managing your career on your own?
And when we say “editor,” we mean someone who makes decisions that help a piece of writing fulfill its potential and provide an audience with clarity and meaning.
If you see yourself in those first two paragraphs, we encourage you to apply for the Richard S. Holden Diversity Fellowship.
Applicants for the Holden Diversity Fellowship must have at least three years of full-time professional editing experience. We define editing, broadly, as preparing written materials for dissemination. That could mean work in journalism, publishing, public relations, marketing, design or another communications industry, or a communications-focused role with editing responsibilities in another industry. Editing should be a significant part of an applicant’s duties, regardless of job title or industry.
Internships served after completion of a bachelor’s degree may count toward the three-year minimum requirement for professional experience. Undergraduate internships and participation in student media organizations do not. However, applicants are encouraged to list significant student experience that includes advocacy for diversity or roles in leadership.
Fellows will be awarded a two-year membership in ACES; current membership in ACES is not required.
Preference will be given to editors who lack employer support for career training. Applicants will be asked to submit a preliminary action plan and proposed budget. They may select established training programs on their own or choose from a menu of possibilities listed below.
Awarding of the Holden Diversity Fellowship is no guarantee of admission to any program. Successful applicants are responsible for pursuing such opportunities and providing proof of acceptance. Funds will be disbursed on an approved schedule based on fellows’ registration, tuition, travel and other financial obligations. Holden fellows will have up to 18 months in which to use their awarded funds.