Essay’d is pleased to invite submissions for our inaugural Feature Writing Award: a $1500 stipend to support the publication of a longer-form feature article about Detroit’s art history and/or contemporary scene.
For almost a decade, Essay’d has produced art writing and writers through workshops, mentoring, and publishing an unprecedented survey of Detroit art, which currently includes 170 short installments by over 40 writers. Through this writing and educational project, we have broadened and deepened the audience for Detroit art, informed the decisions of leading curators and commercial galleries, uplifted artists materially and spiritually, helped build relationships of trust between writers and artists, developed new writers, and given established art writers the freedom to discover new heights.
Funded by the Michigan Humanities Council, the Feature Writing Award confers $1500 to a Metro Detroit-based art writer to continue this trajectory, providing a unique opportunity to learn how to research and publish an extended-form feature article of around 1500 words. The intention is for the article to provide an original perspective on an important aspect of Detroit’s art history or contemporary art scene.
The article will be published on the Essay’d website, but we will also encourage and support the selected recipient to publish the work in a larger circulation outlet.
Guidelines
Eligible applicants: Writers based in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties.
Submission guidelines: please use this form to provide the following information:
- A short proposal outline (max 250 words) stating what your article is about, what research you would do, and why the article is important.
- A prospective publication outlet you are considering besides Essay’d (though this can change if/when selected).
- A link to one published article or a short (1000-word max) writing sample in pdf format (max 10MB).
Decision- making process
The chosen article will be selected by a panel of notable art writers, art leaders, and artists coordinated by Essay’d’s editor-in-chief Matthew Piper based on the following criteria:
- The originality of the article and its importance to Detroit’s art historical record
- The quality of the writing sample and the likelihood of the article being published by a larger- circulation outlet
Key Dates
- Application Period Opens: June 2, 2025
- Final Date for Submissions: June 25, 2025
- All applicants notified of award decision: July 28, 2025
- Draft article submitted: no later than September 6, 2025
- Editorial process: the chosen writer will receive written comments within 2-3 weeks of submitting the article; the writer will then submit a revised article for further comments; ultimately, other than issues of factual accuracy, the writer has the final say on the finished article; if the article is submitted to a publication other than Essay’d, they may have their own editorial process.
- Full payment will be made when the article is published by Essay’d