Forum Storytelling Fellowship

Applications are currently closed. The next application cycle will likely open in late summer or early fall 2026.

The FORUM Storytelling Fellowship convenes new and emerging writers to share stories that need to be told about Alaska. This Fellowship cohort lasts for 6 months. Fellows will be paid $2,500 for completion of the Fellowship.

For this cohort, we’re looking for creative nonfiction stories/personal essays that explore the theme: Remembering Together. Rooted in Fellows' own communities and experiences, stories will explore defining moments in Alaska – what are the untold stories from the last 250 years that have shaped this place and its people? Fellows will then shift to stories that look forward, documenting real examples of how communities are learning from the past and growing into the future.

We are running this special cohort as part of the national initiative By the People: Conversations Beyond 250. By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Stories produced through this cohort will be archived at the Smithsonian Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archive and Collections and made accessible to the public.

Over the course of the Fellowship, Fellows will:

1. Create and edit three stories, to be published in print and on the FORUM digital platform. For this Fellowship, we typically focus on nonfiction stories and personal narratives. Fellows will gain writing experience and build their skills in submitting pitches and working with an editor and publisher. Please note that fellows are also asked to provide at least two images to accompany each story. There will be some time to work on stories during monthly gatherings, but the majority of writing will take place outside of the gatherings. Please ensure you have the time to dedicate to writing three stories.

2. Connect with other Alaskan writers through 3-hour virtual cohort gatherings once per month. A typical gathering will include community building, a skill-building workshop with a guest storyteller, and time for pitching and getting feedback on stories from the cohort.

3. Participate in a live reading at the conclusion of the cohort, to share their stories with a public audience.

Meet the fellows!

Cohort 3 (March 2026-August 2026)

Cohort 2 (February 2025-July 2025)

Check out the Fellows' stories in our digital library, or order a physical copy of the print magazine!

• Katyaaq: A Brief History, By Tessa Unaliin Baldwin

• Along the Trail, by Yatibaey Evans

• Persistent Perseverance, by Yatibaey Evans

• Names, by Yatibaey Evans

• Healing, by Yatibaey Evans

• Welcome to Alligator Acres, by Katie Basile (coming soon)

• The Insurrection of Joy, by Itzel Zagal

• Hasta que la dignidad se haga costumbre! & do not settle for tacos without salsa, by Itzel Zagal 

Cohort 1 (August 2024-December 2024)

Check out the Fellows' stories in our digital library, or order a physical copy of the print magazine! 

• Between Memory and Land: Learning and Healing from The Great Death, by April Tan'gerpak Hostetter

• The Land is a Beloved Elder, by April Tan'gerpak Hostetter

• A Path to Moving Forward with Pride, by Shaelene Grace Moler

• Kake Clam Garden, by Shaelene Grace Moler

• It Should Be Known as the Kake Bombardment, by Shaelene Grace Moler

• Bringing the Tundra Back With Me, by Desiree Hagen

• Sleeping through Storms, by Desiree Hagen

• Awareness, Fall Ptarmigan, by Emily Maurveluviiluq Brockman

• Seagull Egg Hunting, by Ilegvak

• Life Briefly Without Internet, by Ilegvak.

• Beneath the Sand: Thirty-Five Years Later, by Robin McKnight

• Ken’aq qaillun stuuluq caskiumaqaq kentaqan cumi, by Robin McKnight