THE THOMAS WOLFE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM -

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Creative Writing Program and Department of English are happy to announce the Thomas Wolfe Scholarship, which provides one incoming student with complete financial support for four years.

THOMAS WOLFE

Thomas Clayton Wolfe was an American novelist who lived in the early 20th century (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938).

In addition to numerous short stories, plays, and novellas, Wolfe also produced four lengthy novels. He is renowned for fusing autobiographical writing with wildly inventive, poetic, lyrical, and impressionist prose. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Wolfe wrote and published books that vividly represent American culture and social mores as seen through his sensitive, intellectual, and hyper-analytical lens.

Wolfe may have been the finest genius of their generation because he set his sights higher compared to any other writer, according to contemporary novelist William Faulkner, who made this claim after Wolfe passed away.

Jack Kerouac, another member of the Beat Generation, as well as authors Ray Bradbury and Philip Roth, among others, were all influenced by Thomas Wolfe. Being one of the pioneers of autobiographical fiction, he continues to be a significant figure in contemporary American writing and is regarded as North Carolina’s most well-known author.

The Thomas Wolfe Scholarship provides financial assistance on par with the renowned Morehead Scholarships offered by the University. The Thomas Wolfe Scholarship aims to find and honor students with unusually focused literary skill and promise, in contrast to the Morehead Scholarship, which places a broad focus on a candidate’s great leadership, community work, academic brilliance, and physical strength.

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

The Thomas Wolfe Scholarship recipient will be chosen in large part based on the literary work they have submitted. The main selection criterion is artistic merit. Students who produce creative nonfiction (personal essays, memoirs, travel and environment essays, literary reporting, and lyric essays), as well as poetry, fiction, plays, and creative nonfiction, are all eligible. Submissions from different genres are also welcomed. Each student may only submit one application.

HOW TO APPLY

A portfolio of between forty (40) and fifty (50) sheets of original, English-language creative work must be submitted as part of the application process. Any genre, as well as a genre or genres, may be represented in this work (for example a short story, a short memoir, and three poems). Candidates must include a five hundred word personal essay titled “Why I Write” along with their application.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The maximum age for applicants to The Thomas Wolfe Scholarship is twenty-two (22) years old. Undergraduate college students who want to transfer from another university to UNC-Chapel Hill are not eligible for the scholarship. Each applicant must either be an American citizen or a resident of the country at the time of submission.

Each year, a new recipient of the prize may be chosen by the Thomas Wolfe Scholarship Board of Advisors. However, the Board of Advisors reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to decide not to grant the scholarship in any given year owing to financial restrictions, the caliber of candidates, or for any other justifiable reason. The Board of Advisors’ choice shall be final. Application submission will be considered acceptance of all terms and conditions stated above.

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Early February 2023 will see the conclusion of the preliminary screening, while early March will see the end of the final screening. A minimum of three standout applicants will then be invited to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus for interviews if the circumstances surrounding the worldwide pandemic allow; otherwise, the interviews will take place through ZOOM. Beginning in early April 2023, the next Thomas Wolfe Scholar will be decided upon.

APPLICATION RESOURCES

• To apply, submit a SINGLE WORD document online to [email protected] with the following 4 components:

• 1) A completed Thomas Wolfe Scholarship application

• 2) “Why I Write” Personal Essay, no more than five hundred (500) characters, in which the candidate defines themselves as a writer, reader, and aspirant to the writing life.

• 3) A table of contents listing the titles, genres, and pages for the writing sample

• 4) A writing sample that is organized in the same manner as the Table of Contents and comprises forty (40) to fifty (50) pages of truly original writing written in English. Any genre can apply to this work (poetry, fiction, plays, and creative nonfiction such as memoir or literary journalism). You are welcome to submit multiple works in various genres. If you are submitting a section from a larger work, please offer an overview of the entire thing. The type size for all work must be 12 points, double-spaced. Please give each page a number.

• IN ADDITION: Ask for three (3) letters of reference from people who can comment on your creativity and ambition, one (1) of which should come from a teacher who is acquainted with your work and can attest to the uniqueness of your submission. Recommendation letters:

Each recommendation must be on letterhead and sent separately from the application.
To apply for the Thomas Wolfe Scholarship, send an email to [email protected].
Must include the student’s name in the email’s subject line.
Entries must be received by November 15, 2023, at the latest.

When you submit your submission electronically, it MUST BE COMPLETE. Requests for changes, edits, or additions won’t be granted. The candidate will be automatically disqualified for incomplete submissions. By November 15, 2023, at 11:59 p.m., all documents must be sent to [email protected].