Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship 2026: £18,000 Over 12 Months for African Writers
The Miles Morland Foundation’s 2026 Writing Scholarship offered published African writers £18,000 in monthly payments to write a new English-language book. Applications closed on 22 September 2026; the next cycle has not been announced.
Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship 2026: £18,000 Over 12 Months for African Writers
Historical reference: the Miles Morland Foundation’s 2026 Writing Scholarship application period has closed. The Foundation’s official entry requirements give the final submission date as 22 September 2026, and its 2026 announcement says winners will be announced in November. At the time of this update, the Foundation has not announced a later application cycle on the official pages checked for this update. Do not treat the old application form as an open call; use the Foundation’s announcements and entry requirements pages to check for a future round.
The scholarship supports writers who have already published prose and want a protected period to create a new book. The Foundation’s offer for this cycle was a grant of £18,000 paid monthly over twelve months. At its discretion, the Foundation may provide additional support to non-fiction scholars who need research time, with a total scholarship period of up to eighteen months. This page records the closed 2026 opportunity so writers can understand what the programme asked for and prepare if the Foundation announces another cycle.
2026 cycle at a glance
| Item | 2026 details |
|---|---|
| Programme | Morland African Writing Scholarships |
| Organiser | Miles Morland Foundation |
| Grant | £18,000, paid monthly across twelve months |
| Possible non-fiction extension | At the Foundation’s discretion, additional support for up to eighteen months |
| Application period | 1 July to 22 September 2026; closed |
| Announced selection timing | Shortlist at the end of October; winners announced in November |
| Eligible work | A new English-language adult fiction or non-fiction book, at least 80,000 words |
| Application route | Foundation’s online Writing Scholarship Application Form |
| Next round | Not announced on the official pages checked for this update |
The official entry requirements remain the best reference for the programme rules. The Foundation’s 2026 announcement confirms the opening and closing dates and says that four new scholars would be selected. Its application form records the documents and attestations requested for this round. Since the application period has ended, these details describe the 2026 call and should not be assumed to carry over unchanged to a future cycle.
What the scholarship funded
The grant was intended to give a writer time to produce the first draft of a complete book. The Foundation specified £18,000, paid monthly over twelve months. The monthly structure provided support through the writing period rather than a single award payment. For non-fiction projects that required more research, the Foundation could, at its discretion, provide an additional grant over a longer period, up to eighteen months.
The programme accepts fiction and non-fiction proposals, but the proposed work must meet the Foundation’s format and subject rules. It must be an English-language, adult, full-length book of at least 80,000 words, and it must be a new project the applicant has not begun writing. The Foundation does not accept collaborative writing or short story collections. Poetry, plays, film scripts, and children’s books are also outside the stated scope. Academic or scientific research and works of special interest such as religious or political writing do not qualify under the published entry requirements.
The scholarship is not residential. Scholars decide their own living arrangements. The Foundation does not promise to edit, publish, or find an agent for the book. It says scholars may be offered mentoring by an established author or publisher, generally after the book and scholarship period are complete, and may receive advice about finding agents and publishers.
Who could apply in 2026
Applicants had to write in English and meet the Foundation’s African birth or parentage rule: the writer must have been born in Africa, or both of their parents must have been born in Africa. Writers living outside the continent could qualify through their own African birthplace or the birthplace of both parents; the scholarship is not limited to people currently living in Africa.
The FAQ describes a narrow exception for an applicant who was not born in Africa and has only one African-born parent. That applicant could qualify by showing documentary proof of being a full-time resident of Africa at the time of application. The Foundation defines that as having spent at least nine of the previous twelve months in Africa. Applicants using the parentage route were expected to provide evidence of the relevant birthplace or birthplaces. Because documentation rules matter, prospective applicants should check the latest FAQ before relying on this exception in a future round.
Applicants also needed a qualifying publication. The sample had to be English-language prose of 2,000 to 5,000 words, previously published and offered for sale. The Foundation specifically asks for clear evidence of publication and sale. Under the FAQ, publication in a book, journal, or magazine can qualify when offered for sale; a free blog or free magazine does not meet that requirement. The FAQ says Kindle publication is acceptable as the online medium. Poetry, plays, and film scripts are not suitable as the published sample, even if the proposed book itself would otherwise fit the programme.
The proposed book had to be genuinely new, not merely unfinished. The rules define a new work as one the writer has not yet begun. The scholarship was meant to help produce a first draft, not to finish a manuscript already underway or one already completed and under consideration by a publisher. Both fiction and non-fiction were welcome, provided the project satisfied the length, language, format, and subject requirements.
Materials requested for the closed application
The 2026 form asked applicants to submit the materials below. The form’s checklist includes an AI attestation as well as the writing and background documents, so writers considering a future round should verify its requirements afresh.
- Signed AI attestation. Applicants had to upload an attestation, signed with their full name, stating that they had not used AI in any way in composing or preparing the submission or book proposal. The entry requirements say use of AI in composing the submission or proposal would result in disqualification.
- Published writing sample. A Word document containing one prose excerpt of 2,000 to 5,000 words from a single piece of previously published work. The work had to be in English and offered for sale.
- Proof of publication and sale. The form requested evidence that the sample had been published and offered for sale. It allowed a URL link or file upload for the publication and asked for proof of sale.
- New-book description. A proposal of 400 to 1,000 words for the book the applicant intended to write. It had to be for a new, unstarted project and meet the full-length requirement.
- Proof of African background. A scan or image of an official document showing the applicant was born in Africa or that both parents were born in Africa. Applicants relying on the one-parent exception needed to document the residency requirement described in the FAQ.
- Short biography. A biography of 200 to 300 words about the applicant and their background. The FAQ discourages sending a job-application-style CV instead.
- Referral source. The online form asked applicants how they heard about the Morland Writing Scholarships.
The Foundation’s form was online and accepted specified uploads, including Word documents and common image or PDF formats for the attestation. Its application instructions said to upload the requested materials through the website’s Writing Scholarship Application Form. The online form was specific to the 2026 scholarship and is not evidence that submissions remain open now.
How selection and scholarship work
The Foundation says submissions are assessed by a panel of readers and judges and judged solely on literary merit. The excerpt demonstrates the writer’s prose; the proposal explains the new book the writer intends to make. The Foundation says shortlisted applicants are asked for a further 3,000- to 4,000-word chapter from the proposed book. Its entry requirements say shortlisted writers would be notified at the end of October and then have fifteen days to return that chapter. The FAQ describes further questions about personal circumstances and writing plans for shortlisted applicants.
For the 2026 round, the Foundation’s public announcement said it expected to select four scholars and would announce winners in November. Its FAQ also says the shortlist is published in November, while the entry requirements specify shortlist notification at the end of October. Because those pages phrase the timing differently, applicants should have followed direct Foundation communications for the actual schedule rather than treating every date as a separate public announcement date.
During the scholarship, scholars must send the Foundation at least 10,000 new words by email at the end of each month until their book is finished or their scholarship term ends. If a first draft is completed before the year ends, monthly payments continue while the scholar edits and refines the manuscript. Scholars may choose to start at any time from January through June in the year after the award; payment and the monthly word submission requirement begin at the same time. The Foundation does not review or comment on monthly submissions as they arrive.
The Foundation asks scholars to donate 20% of what they later receive from the book written during the scholarship, including film rights, serialisation, or other related income. It describes this as a debt of honour rather than a legally binding obligation and says the funds support other promising writers. Applicants should understand this undertaking before applying and consult the Foundation’s current terms if a future call is published.
Status and checking for a future round
The 2026 application period ran from 1 July to 22 September 2026. The Foundation states that applications submitted outside that period will not be considered. This page is therefore an archive of that cycle, not an active scholarship listing. The official pages checked for this update continue to identify 2026 materials and do not announce a subsequent application period. No future deadline should be inferred from the programme’s annual pattern.
Writers interested in a later opportunity can monitor the Foundation’s scholarship announcements, its entry requirements and FAQs, and the Foundation homepage. A future call may alter the dates, checklist, or other rules. When a new cycle appears, use that cycle’s form and instructions rather than sending materials to the closed 2026 form.
For reference, the 2026 call asked writers to prepare well-supported evidence of publication and sale, a concise and specific proposal, and a sample showing the quality of their prose. Those points describe the closed round only; they do not establish that the next round will ask for the same documents. The Foundation directs scholarship enquiries to [email protected]. Its stated contact details and application instructions should be checked on the official site before making contact or submitting anything.