In 2014, when one of our writer friends passed away unexpectedly, a group of us pooled our funds in order to send flowers to his funeral. Ultimately, far more came in than was needed for the beautiful spray, and so we decided at that time to set aside the surplus and use it to create a special scholarship.
“Writer Bob” Stewart was an older gentleman who attended the 2014 WU UnConference. He was well liked for his warm, friendly personality, and lifelong dedication to craft and story, and we know he’d be proud that his own story of perseverance inspired this scholarship.
If you, too, have been on a long journey with story, and have yet to meet your goal of creating a finished work you believe is ready for publication–
If you have an unrelenting passion for the craft of writing fiction–
If you’re interested in applying, please send the following three items to [email-obfuscate email=”unconferencescholarship@writerunboxed.com”]:
- A response to the question, “What is your writing-related story of perseverance?” (300 words or less, in the body of the email)
- A response to the question, “What drives you to continue writing despite challenges?” (150 words or less, in the body of the email)
- A Word document or PDF attachment showing five consecutive pages of your manuscript.
About
Writer Unboxed began as a collaboration between aspiring novelists Therese Walsh and Kathleen Bolton in January, 2006. Since then the site has grown to include ~40 regular contributors--including bestselling authors and industry leaders--and frequent guests. You can follow Writer Unboxed on Twitter, or join our thriving Facebook community.
I love how this honors Writer Bob’s spirit. In the weeks leading up it it, no one was more excited than he was about UnCon. The man actually checked himself out of the hospital to go to Salem. It delivered a shock and a sadness when he passed. But it also made it all so very “real.” As his son later said, he left us in the pursuit of his passion, and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Looking forward to congratulating the recipient. They’ll be the embodiment of a special legacy.
Vaughan, what a beautiful story. I did not know Bob but what a wonderful way to honor him. Is there a website or blog of his you can point to?
Requiescat in pace, Bob.
Here’s his website, Vijaya. Thanks for asking.
http://www.writerbobstewart.com/
Thank you! What an interesting man. His header itself made me smile. V.
I love the idea of the Writer Bob Perseverance Scholarship…it not only pays tribute to the man, but seems so fitting for the kind of community we find here at WU.
A technical question: would it be possible to post the full email address for the “early to know” list? I’m finding that clicking the link prompts my computer to try and open an email client I don’t use, and I’d rather start a fresh email from my regular email. Thanks!
Hi Alisha, yes! It’s writerunboxed (at) writerunboxed.com, and the scholarship addy is unconferencescholarship (at) writerunboxed.com.
We have to be careful not to publish email addys uncoded or risk being swamped with spam. So just replace the (at) with the @ sign, remove the spaces, and you’re good. :-)
Thanks, Therese! I certainly understand wanting to avoid the spam. :-)
This is awesome. Writer Bob sounds like a man of real passion. Thanks for the link to his website, Vaughn, and to all of you for having such big hearts!
This is a wonderful way to honor Writer Bob, his passion for writing, his generous spirit and his contribution to the Writer Unboxed community.