Our first teaching fellowship for queer and trans fiction writers!

Catapult’s Creative Writing Teaching Fellowship is a pilot program designed to help emerging writers who lack teaching experience and pedagogical training to gain skills and hands-on experience as a teaching fellow in our 12-month manuscript generator programs, which are year-long classes devoted to the development of a full-length manuscript in a specific genre.  We are […]

Catapult’s Creative Writing Teaching Fellowship is a pilot program designed to help emerging writers who lack teaching experience and pedagogical training to gain skills and hands-on experience as a teaching fellow in our 12-month manuscript generator programs, which are year-long classes devoted to the development of a full-length manuscript in a specific genre. 


We are currently looking for a fellow for our two online novel generators for queer and trans writers, led by A.E. Osworth. One generator cohort meets on Tuesdays from 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT, beginning September 28, 2021 (through September 2022), and the second cohort meets on Mondays at the same time beginning February 7, 2022 (through February 2023). 


Fellows can expect to work closely with our generator instructors to assist with class preparation, offer individual student support/feedback as needed, and eventually facilitate or co-facilitate some class sessions. Fellows will also receive one-on-one mentorship from Catapult’s head instructor Gabrielle Bellot (she/her) and director of writing programs Atom Atkinson (they/them), $3000 in honoraria with successful completion of the program, and further benefits outlined below.

Fellow Eligibility

These cohorts include queer and/or trans writers only, so this teaching fellowship is reserved for a queer and/or trans candidate and is specifically designed to help the selected emerging queer and/or trans writer elevate their teaching experience and enhance their broader professional resumé. 


This fellowship is open to writers both with and without an MFA, living either within or outside the U.S. It is aimed at offering more classroom experience and professional development for a writer with a strong record of publication who has not previously had the opportunity to teach creative writing to adults. 


In addition, a successful candidate for this fellowship will have:

  • a desire to work within a queer and trans affinity space and an understanding that such a space does not make workshop less serious or rigorous;

  • experience writing a novel (though not necessarily experience publishing one);

  • a substantial record of publication in fiction (again, doesn’t need to be a novel);

  • history as a participant in other workshop spaces (with participation in all-queer spaces prioritized);

  • strong organizational skills and habits;

  • a brave communication style (the ability to speak up kindly and clearly, even when it would be more comfortable to stay quiet).


Fellow Responsibilities

This teaching fellow can expect the following responsibilities during their experience:

  • reading as much of the assigned novels, excerpts, and craft assignments as their bandwidth allows and contributing discussion questions;

  • a weekly touch-base to go over the lesson plan for the following week;

  • reading and providing feedback on student submissions within the modality of the workshop (again, bandwidth dependent; we will be in communication to make sure they’re not averaging more than ten hours of work a week);

  • providing a workshop letter (or diagram) for each participant specifically geared toward something that was not substantively discussed in workshop (the fellow’s letters/diagrams will be due the week after workshop and not the week of workshop);

  • coordinating scheduling, assigning workshop partners and groups, and, eventually, serving as a first-responder for questions outside of class.


These responsibilities will be necessarily informed by the fellow’s particular strengths and goals; this list should not be read as exhaustive, but rather as a jumping-off point, and they may change over the course of the fellowship as we begin to understand how we work best together.


Both novel generators are held entirely online; please pay attention to time zones when applying from outside the U.S. to ensure you can make all meetings. 

Fellow Honorarium and Benefits 

The fellowship includes:

  • a $3,000 honorarium ($1,500 per generator, paid in installments throughout the 3 phases of each respective generator);

  • after at least 6 months, the (paid) chance to teach shorter classes with Catapult;

  • access to the 50% Catapult staff discount rate on Catapult classes (up to 8 weeks in length);

  • twice a month check-in and/or instructional meetings with Gabrielle Bellot and/or Atom Atkinson;

  • development of an essay on teaching and/or craft with the Catapult digital editorial team for (paid) publication in Don’t Write Alone.


In addition to the standard support provided to all fellows, A.E. is committed to joining Gabrielle and Atom in providing the following additional support:

  • assistance in developing a pedagogical philosophy and drafting a teaching statement;

  • a check-in (once in each of the three sections) on the fellow’s own writing process and/or teaching goals, via phone or Zoom;

  • assistance in conceptualizing and drafting pitches for the fellow’s own shorter-form classes and/or articles;

  • pedagogical and logistical advice and support throughout their teaching opportunities, including any that might take place inside either of the generator virtual classrooms.


A.E. will also provide the following support individually, should either of these be desired/applicable:

  • a read on the fellow’s novel with feedback from the instructor;

  • a read on the fellow’s agent query letter with feedback from the instructor.

Apply!

To apply, please email to head instructor Gabrielle Bellot at gabrielle.bellot@catapult.co by 11:59 p.m. PT, Wednesday October 6:

  • CV, including publications and any relevant experience

  • Statement of interest (1-2 pages, double spaced: let us know why you’re a good fit for this program, how you feel about teaching creative writing, what you would like to leave the fellowship having gained, and how you hope to use the skills you develop in the future)


Applications will be reviewed by Gabby, Atom, and other members of Catapult’s writing programs team. Select candidates will interview with team members and A.E. Osworth. People of color and disabled candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Atom Atkinson is the director of writing programs at Catapult and has previously served as the inaugural director of literary arts at Chautauqua Institution, the poetry and hybrid genres instructor at Interlochen Arts Academy, a mystery and suspense instructor at Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and a literary arts instructor at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. They hold degrees in creative writing from Carnegie Mellon University and Louisiana State University and are currently completing a PhD in literature and creative writing at the University of Utah.


Gabrielle Bellot is the head instructor at Catapult, where she also works as a staff contributing editor; she is also a staff writer at Literary Hub. She holds both an MFA and PhD in Creative Writing from Florida State University, where she taught undergraduate courses in literature and writing for many years. She has also taught writing workshops and led reading groups at a variety of institutions around New York City, including Catapult, Gotham Writers Workshop, and The Center for Fiction, and and she has appeared as a panelist and lecturer at events put on by PEN America, The Library of America, and other organizations.