Application Guidelines
Process for UTV 2023
Regular acceptance to all master classes will be made on a rolling basis until all slots are filled..
Acceptance to UTV master classes is based on literary promise and/or accomplishment as demonstrated in your writing sample and the information on your application form, as well as the intent conveyed in your cover letter. We read every word you send us and do our best to ensure a good match between prospective participants and the program as a whole.
Feel free to combine your cover letter and writing sample into a single Word doc or PDF. You should be able to stop and start your application, which should save automatically as you go. You’ll be asked to select ONE master class and to fill in a couple of brief background narratives about your prior writing experience and expectations for Under the Volcano. Some applicants prepare these sections in advance and paste them in. Don’t sweat the details.
Writing Sample Requirements
Applicants in fiction and writing of witness (a.k.a. literary non-fiction): submit 10 pages double-spaced in your genre. Be sure to let us know what we are reading, i.e., if whole or part of a short story or a portion of a novel. The more you tell us the better.
Poets: submit 10 pages of poetry, single-spaced. Don’t cram multiple poems onto a single page.
Journalists: submit links to two published pieces under your byline totaling between 1000 and 2000 words.
Manuscript Seminars (fiction or memoir): submit 25 pages from the manuscript you intend to workshop and a working synopsis in addition to your cover letter. You must be well into a book-length project to qualify.
N.B. Los candidatos de lengua hispana deben de enviar su muestra de escritura y su carta de presentación en español.
For information on our full fellowships please visit the fellowships page.
Financial Aid
Under the Volcano offers partial financial aid based on proof of your past three months of monthly income and expenses. Such proof (recent tax forms, pay stubs or bank statements and receipts for housing, as well as evidence of continuing obligations such as loans) should be uploaded with your application. Due to volume we are unable to consider supporting documents submitted as email attachments or after the fact.
Please note that Under the Volcano is not able to provide complete financial aid except to full fellowship recipients. If finances will be an issue, we encourage you to seek outside funding from other sources. Upon request we will provide successful applicants with a formal letter to help them seek additional support beyond what we can provide.
For information on our full fellowships please visit the fellowships page.