The Fran Abrams Creative Writing Award (Abrams Award) is a competitive award open annually to all Montgomery County high school juniors.
Donor Name: Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County
State: Maryland
County: Montgomery County (MD)
Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 01/15/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
This award is available to high school juniors enrolled in a public or non-public high school in Montgomery County who demonstrate a commitment to creative writing.
The mentorship provides award winners an opportunity to learn from a professional writer, gain insights about the creative writing process and careers centered on creative writing. The schedule and scope of the mentorship will be collaboratively designed and mutually agreed upon by the awardee and the mentor.
The 2023-2024 Abrams Award will be presented to three recipients following a juried selection process that is based upon the merit of original submitted work and the applicant’s commitment to the creative writing discipline, not financial need.
Award
The awardee who receives the highest average panel score is given an award of $1,500, a mentorship with a professional writer, and the opportunity for the awardee to read their own work during an award ceremony. In addition, two runner-up awardees will receive $750 each and a one-on-one meeting with the mentor.
Eligibility Criteria
Students eligible to apply must have met all the following eligibility requirements by the published deadline:
- Resides in Montgomery County, MD;
- Is able to provide AHCMC with a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) prior to receiving the award disbursement;
- Is enrolled full-time during the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024 of their high school junior year in a public, private, or home school located in Montgomery County, MD; and
- Will be graduating high school in the spring of 2025.
Creative Writing Disciplines
The work submitted must demonstrate the applicant’s proficiency in any one or combination of the following creative writing disciplines:
- Poetry
- Fiction
- Songwriting
- Scriptwriting
- Creative Nonfiction
Work samples in the above disciplines may include but are not limited to:
- Novels
- Poems
- Short stories
- Song lyrics
- Memoirs
- Personal essays
- Screenplays for film or television
- Scripts for theater, podcasts, or radio
For more information, visit AHCMC.