Apply For A Strand Bookseller Fellowship


2027 Strand Bookseller Fellowship application period opens on September 15th

Deadline to apply: December 15

We’re here to help. If you have questions or need clarification, please reach out by email to schedule a time to speak with program staff.

Craigardan is honored to partner with New York’s Strand Bookstore to create the Strand Bookseller Fellowship.

The Strand Bookseller Fellowship supports artists and scholars of any discipline currently on staff at Strand Bookstore, New York City's largest independent bookstore. A bookstore is more than a place for people to pick up their latest reads, it is also an incubator for writers, artists, and scholars seeking a foothold in the literary world. To celebrate their 100th anniversary, Strand Bookstore is proud to recognize the writers and artists on staff by sponsoring a two week residency for one Strand staff member.

This is a fully-funded fellowship for one artist, writer, or scholar. The awardee receives a fellowship valued at $2700 from the Strand Bookstore and $1900 from Craigardan towards a two-week residency.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

  • SEPTEMBER 15: The application period opens on September 15th for 2027 summer residencies. The application fee is waived.

    DECEMBER 15: The deadline to apply for summer residencies is December 15th at 6 pm EST. All applications received after 6 pm on December 15th will be reviewed for the waitlist. All applicants on the waitlist will be notified in the event of a residency opening, which do occur unexpectedly throughout the season.

    JANUARY 15: All final notifications for residencies, internships, scholarships and fellowships are made via email to applicants no later than January 15th. Accepted residents receive a link to the next steps which includes onboarding information and access to the residency handbook.

    FEBRUARY 1: For the accepted fellowship applicant, signed forms are due by March 1st to secure the residency.

  • Awardees receive a $2700 fellowship from The Strand Bookstore, and a $1900 fellowship from Craigardan to cover the cost of a two-week residency. Only one Strand Bookseller Fellowship is awarded each summer. Applicants must be employees of The Strand Bookstore. Please email program@craigardan.org to inquire.

  • The deadline to complete the application form is December 15. All applications are reviewed by a rotating selection committee with diverse expertise in a variety of fields and media. To be considered by the selection committee, a complete application must include:

    Supporting Materials

    • Your Resume or CV: We want to learn more about you! This can be a professional resume, arts resume, or a combo of the two (PDF only).

    • A Letter of Intent including: how you plan to use your residency, what you hope to contribute to the community, why are you specifically applying to Craigardan, and how a residency at Craigardan will benefit you. Please include details on space and materials requirements if necessary. (PDF only)

    • Lastly, examples of your work:

      5-10 images of recent work, and an image script that includes the title, medium, size, and date of each image (PDF only)

      -or- 3 different writing samples, each 2000 words or less (PDF only)

      -or- 2 or more sample menus (culinary artists only) (PDF only)

      -or- examples of publications, exhibitions, or research materials (PDF only)

      and/or- links to any other video, publication, etc. that best portrays your work (PDF file with link(s) 

    Application Form

    Before you begin, please ensure that all your supporting materials are readily available. Complete the application form and be prepared to upload your supporting materials. It's important to note that the form only accepts supporting material files in the specified formats such as PDF and JPG. Our application deadline is Dec 15th. 

    The application fee is waived for this fellowship.

    Next Steps

    Upon submitting your application form, you can expect to receive a confirmation email. It's important to take a moment to review the information and instructions provided in the email. Please email program@craigardan.org if you do not receive your confirmation email. You may need to check your spam folder.

    Award Notifications. All final notifications for residencies, scholarships, and fellowships are made via email to applicants no later than January 15th. Accepted residents receive a link to the next steps which includes onboarding information and access to the residency handbook.

    ***Incomplete applications will not be considered. ***

  • This fellowship is for a 2-week residency. All residencies start and end on a Monday.

    In the application form, applicants have the opportunity to note:

    • which months they are available (May, June, July, August, September, and/or October)

    • preferred timing or any unavailable dates. Please be specific.

    We do our best to accommodate preferences. The selection committee awards this residency and assigns dates based on a number of factors. If your availability changes at any time after you submit your application, it is your responsibility to notify us! This prevents receiving a residency during a time that you cannot attend.

APPLY FOR A RESIDENCY

step 1: prepare application materials

Please follow these instructions closely for your application to be accepted. Gather all of the necessary application materials together in the correct format: We can accept PDFs only. Name each document accordingly with your last name and the document name. Example: Smith-Resume.pdf, Smith-Statement.pdf, Smith-Writing Samples.pdf, etc. See information of supporting materials above.

To fill out the application you will need to prepare the following:

  1. Your preferred residency dates and availability

  2. Your short bio (200 words or less)

  3. Resume or CV in PDF format

  4. Statement of Intent in PDF format

  5. Supporting materials as relevant to your work in PDF format:

    • 3 writing samples -or-

    • 10 images of your work and a list of descriptions -or-

    • 2+ sample menus (culinary arts) -or-

    • examples of publications or research materials (can be included as links within a PDF)

    • any additional required information to assist with fellowship applications such as sample course or workshop descriptions

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: December 15 at 11:59pm EST

step 2: fill out and submit the application form for summer residencies

After December 15th, you may apply to join the waitlist. We Recommend Using Google Chrome on a Laptop/Desktop

You will receive an email reply confirming our receipt of your complete application. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.