Morland African Writing Scholarships 2026

The Miles Morland Foundation gives four African writers a year the one thing that is hardest to find: paid time to write a book.

What you get. £18,000 paid monthly across twelve months, so you can write full time. Non-fiction writers may have the award extended up to eighteen months at the Foundation's discretion. In return you send the Foundation 10,000 new words each month, and you choose when to start — any time between January and June after the award.

Who can apply. Anyone writing in English who was born in Africa, or both of whose parents were born in Africa. You will need to upload an official document that proves it. There is no age limit and no application fee.

What you submit. A sample of 2,000–5,000 words from something you have already published and that has been offered for sale, clear proof of that publication and sale, a 400–1,000 word proposal for the full-length book (at least 80,000 words) you want to write, the African birth document, a 200–300 word biography, and a note on how you heard about the scholarship.

Timing. Applications opened 1 July 2026 and close on Tuesday 22 September 2026. Winners are announced in November.

The published-and-sold requirement is the one that trips people up — an unpublished manuscript or a piece given away free will not qualify. Read the Foundation's entry requirements page carefully before you submit; applications that do not follow them are rejected without review.