The Horror Spotlight team is excited to announce the 4th LOHF Writers Grant! This will be the last year the grant will be a "Ladies of Horror Fiction" grant. Read on for more details from Steve Stred!
Letter from Steve Stred
The End (?)
Way back in 2018, I had an idea.
Back then – pre-Covid times – I saw
constant chatter on the various social media platforms that numerous awards
were always going to “old white dudes.” It’s true. If you go take a look a
historical winners of book awards, music awards, movie awards, TV awards, heck
even sports awards – white dudes clean up. And the same was so for
Grants/Scholarships etc.
So, I had an idea. I had been thinking of
releasing a book and giving the profits to a worthy cause. At first I was
thinking Autism research because my awesome nephew, Gabe has high functioning
Autism. After chatting with my sister, she said that while it was a nice
gesture, the reality was, if the donation wasn’t massive, it wouldn’t
accomplish much. True.
And then I swung my sights back to the
world of books. I wanted to help. People needed help. How could we connect the
dots?
Back then, I was DMing with Toni from LOHF
and threw it out there – would the LOHF partner up with me to offer a Grant? I
wanted a Grant that had no caveats or attachments to it. Cash in hand. Many
Grants and Scholarships (and no ill-will towards them when I say this) have
specific actions attached. You must use the funds to pay for a writing course,
or a conference registration and so on and so forth.
That’s fine and great. But to me, I wanted
this help to go to whatever aspect the recipients needed help. It could be
editing costs, cover art costs, writing software or, at the end of the day,
groceries, bills or babysitting to free up time. Whatever the need, some funds
to help.
So, when Toni replied that the LOHF would
be on board, I was OVER THE MOON! As much as this little essay so far seems to
be STEVE based, I never wanted this to be about me. I wanted this to be about
the awesome writers out there and something to help them achieve their goals
and dreams.
In year one, we had one Grant. Each year
since, it’s grown.
But so too has the LOHF, who’re – at this
exact time – metamorphosing and transforming into something bigger, brighter
and even more spectacular. That group and I, share a similar philosophy, which
ultimately boils down to this; ‘More We and less I.’ We’re stronger as a group
when we all work together to help and make sure we all succeed.
Over the years, the recipients have done
some amazing things, and that wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless
work of the LOHF crew. Some have come and gone and others have been there since
the start, so I won’t try and list them all here – instead, I’ll just say –
from the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking this on. From creating the
application form to sharing the application links and reading through the
submissions and ultimately choosing who would receive them each year – wow! So
much work and you’ve all done it behind the scenes and making sure things went
off without a hitch.
To every single author who applied – thank
you as well. I wish I was a bajillionaire and every application would’ve been
able to be chosen – but thank you for putting yourself out there as well as
sharing and telling others about this.
To the Grant recipients – thank you for
applying and believing in us as well.
To all of the Grant Sponsors – a huge, huge
thank you! I funded the first one on my own and then sponsored a Grant in each
year since. But to all of you who stepped up and sponsored additional Grants
each year, just know it brought a tear to my eye. You’re all a bunch of solid
folks.
Which brings us to the beginning of what I
wrote here and the ending. This will be the final year of the LOHF Writers
Grant. With the changes occurring, it made sense for us to end it here. As
such, with things changing, this year we decided to keep the sponsors
anonymous. We always want things to be transparent and fair, but with the
changes happening, this was the only way, and to us it made sense.
Applications will open and recipients will
be chosen and awarded as with the last years.
Then what?
I’m not sure. At this point, I’d like to
keep doing something similar. The reality is – I simply can’t take on an entire
Grant system on my own. I run on a bare minimum of time and energy as is and I
really can’t manage to do that as well, and I also wouldn’t want myself to be
the only one determining the Grants.
I’ll be reaching out to a few different
places and see what we can figure out.
In closing, thank you to everyone who
embraced this crazy fun Grant over the last four years. Likes, shares,
retweets, tags, applications, recipients, etc. It was all a blast and I’m so
happy with how this came together.
Good luck to those applying!
Until we meet again.
Steve
Eligibility Requirements
The LOHF Writers Grant is inclusive to all women and non-binary femmes who have reasonably demonstrated a commitment to writing in the horror genre. All grant provided funds must be used in a manner that will help develop the applicant’s career.
The applicant must not have received the LOHF Writers Grant within the previous three years.
Application Process
In order to apply for the LOHF Writers Grant, you must fill out the LOHF Writers Grant Application by 11:59pm CST August 31, 2022.
Selection Process
Grant recipients will be selected by members of the LOHF Writers Grant Committee consisting of non-disclosed members of Horror Spotlight.
Grant Disbursement
Grant recipients will receive the LOHF Writers Grant in the amount of $100. The Horror Spotlight team will announce the recipients of the LOHF Writers Grant on September 15, 2022. At that time, the LOHF Writers Grant Committee will also notify Steve Stred of the recipients.
Contribute to the Writers Grant
If you would like to contribute to this year's LOHF Writers Grant or future grant projects, contact Steve Stred via email for more details.
The Horror Spotlight team assists with the selection of the LOHF Writers Grant recipients. All funding and disbursement of funds are at the sole discretion of the grant donors.
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