About The Writing Co-op

The Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship funds an annual 5-day summer Writing Co-op to provide Calvin University faculty with a protected space in which to advance or complete a specific writing project.

Quick links

Applicants must have a discrete writing project that is intended for publication, and the project should be that they can make meaningful progress over the course of 5 days. (In other words, applicants should propose working on a book chapter or article rather than a full book manuscript.) “Writing” may be understood to include music, code, and other media, as well as words.

Collaborative as well as single-authored applications are welcome.

Expectations

Participants must agree to engage fully with the program from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, including working in the Hekman Library sans email and other electronic distractions and participating in the communal lunches and conversations. They should not schedule any other commitments or visit their offices during the program hours. Participants are expected to spend the vast majority of their time actually writing and revising, not reading or preparing to write, although opportunities for brainstorming and peer feedback are possible.

Upon successful completion of the Writing Co-op Week and turning in an evaluation, participants will receive a $500.00 stipend.

The deadline for submission is for the May 20-24, 2024 Co-op is May 15, 2024

Participants will be informed of their acceptance by May 16, 2024. For questions, please contact Craig Mattson craig.mattson@calvin.edu or David Urban dvu2@calvin.edu well in advance of the deadline.

The deadline for submission is for the July 22-26, 2024 Co-op is July 17, 2024

Participants will be informed of their acceptance by July 18, 2024. For questions, please contact Craig Mattson craig.mattson@calvin.edu or David Urban dvu2@calvin.edu well in advance of the deadline.

Department Chair Endorsement Form

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the online chair endorsement form is submitted by his or her department chair (or, in special circumstances, the academic dean) two weeks before the start of the Co-op session.

 

200-300 word Project Description in PDF Format

The project description should include the following

  1. Description of the project
  2. Proposed publication venue
  3. Proposed completion date
  4. Current word-count and projected final word-count for the project
  5. Proposed daily writing goals (assessed in terms of word-counts, revisions, or any other reasonable metrics)

 

2-10 First Fruits Pages

Upload up to 10 pages of writing that represents the first fruits of your project. This may be as sketchy as a narrative outline or as developed as a complete draft.

 

Curriculum Vita

Upload a 2 page CV that highlights conference presentations and publications.

 

Online Application

Complete the online application by 5:00 pm on May 16, 2023 or July 18, 2024, depending on which session you wish to participate in.

 

Concluding Report and Responsibilities

Each Writing Co-op Recipient must complete a 200-400 word report at the conclusion of the funding period in order to receive the stipend. All products that result from the CCCS Writing Co-op should acknowledge the support of the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship for the project.