Scholarship Application

The Scholarship application window is the same as the Michelle Begley Mentor Program application window: October 1 - October 31, 2023

Please note that the Mentor Program is a matching program, therefore we cannot guarantee your first or second choice of mentor,

but we will work to make sure you are matched with a mentor within your area of work.

This is an anonymous process, so please do not put your names in any of the PDFs that you submit for consideration.

How to Apply:

Step 1: Prepare your Application Responses PDF (2 pages)

On the FIRST PAGE, double-spaced page, please share the following:

• 1. why you want to participate in the mentor program

  2. how you hope to improve your work

  3. any other relevant information you’d like to share, including whether your work is fully drafted if you are a novelist

On the SECOND PAGE, double-spaced, answer one of the two scholarship application questions below. 

• 1. 1. Michelle was passionate about giving back to her community and volunteered for a number of local organizations, including SCBWI. In what ways do you contribute to the community of writers, both locally and/or globally?

     2.  Michelle's writing was inspired by many authors, and Kate DiCamillo was one of her favorites. Tell us about a children’s author or illustrator who has inspired you and how he or she has influenced your work.

Combine both of these pages as a single PDF named ApplicationResponses.PDF. Do not put your name in the file name of the PDF nor in the PDF itself.

Step 2: Prepare your Work Sample(s) in a single PDF

ILLUSTRATORS

Your work sample should include eight to ten pieces total:

• two black and white drawings 

• two featuring animals 

• four to six pieces that represent the best and favorites of your art 

• author-illustrators should include the text of one of your manuscripts along with a few corresponding pictures/book dummy

AUTHORS: Chapter Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult 

• Submit the first 20 pages maximum in proper manuscript format (see manuscript formatting instructions below).

• Include a synopsis of no more than 2 pages (follow the same instructions for manuscript formatting).

AUTHORS: Picture Books

• Submit up to two complete picture book manuscripts (see manuscript formatting instructions below).

Again, please do not include your name in the file or within the illustrations/pages.

Manuscript Formatting Instructions

• Include your title at the top in all caps (but not your name)

• 1" margins all the way around

• Double-spaced (no spacing between paragraphs)

• Times Roman 12pt or similar

• If you have a rhyming manuscript or one in verse, you may format it as single-spaced stanzas rather than double line spacing. Put a space between stanzas.

Step 3: Email your submission to Claudia Mills, cmills@colorado.edu, with the subject line Roosters Scholarship Application 2024. Your first and last name should appear in the body of the email only. Make sure to attach both PDFs – the Application Responses and your Work Sample. Please also include the following sentence:  I understand that, if I receive the scholarship, I am not guaranteed my first or second choice of mentor, but I know the program will match me with a mentor within my area of work.

Due Date:

Scholarship applications are due by 11:59 pm MT on October 31, 2023. You will receive a confirmation email upon receipt of your application.

Notifications:

Recipient of the $540 scholarship will be notified in late November.