Announcing the 2026 FSG Writing Fellow: Sydney Mayes
The Fellowship has been awarded to poet Sydney Mayes, whose term will begin in January and run through December 2026. Many congratulations to Sydney and to the four finalists, William Hawkins, Tassity Johnson, Young Rader, and Maggie Wang. Read more about their work here.
The Award
$15,000 paid over two installments: half paid at the start of the Fellowship program, half paid in June 2026
Plus:
- Mentorship with an FSG house author
- Guidance from two in-house editors, who will offer line and structural feedback on the fellow’s work throughout the year
- Opportunities for meet-and-greets with representatives from other departments—including Publicity/Marketing, Art, Subsidiary Rights, and Managing Editorial—to discuss their areas of expertise, answer questions, and help build a broader understanding of the publishing business
- Support with networking beyond FSG
The Fellow and finalists will also receive a collection of FSG classics.
The Fellow agrees to offer to FSG the Fellow’s first book-length work before submitting to, or soliciting offers from, any other publisher.
Apply
2026 Applications Closed
11:59 PM EST, July 23, 2025
Information about applying to the 2027 Fellowship will be posted here by May 2026. Please see terms below.
Eligibility
- The applicant must not have published a book-length work in any genre, have a book under contract, or be negotiating a contract either in the United States or abroad by the time the Fellowship begins. Having published short poetry chapbooks will not exclude an applicant from eligibility
- Applicants must submit in only one category (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry)
- The applicant must be a U.S. Permanent Resident (green card) or U.S. Citizen
- There are no experience, degree credentials, or location requirements. This fellowship will take place remotely
- The applicant should be writing for an adult audience in the English language
- The applicant must be over 18 years of age
- The applicant cannot be an employee or family member of an employee of FSG or any other Macmillan affiliate
- The applicant may not use generative AI or work from AI-generated text for their samples and statements
Requirements
Applicants must submit:
- A sample of work—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—aimed at an adult audience
- For fiction and nonfiction, the sample must be between 40 and 50 double-spaced pages
- For poetry, the sample must be between 8 and 12 pages
- The sample can include previously published work and does not need to be from a single section of the work
- A Statement of Purpose of no more than 500 words
Please note: The applicant’s name and contact information must not be anywhere on the writing sample or the Statement of Purpose—this includes within the uploaded file name.
The Judging Process
The FSG community will conduct the first review of applications and select twenty semifinalists for consideration by the judges. The Fellow will be chosen by FSG from among five finalists selected by the judges. The first two stages of the selection process will be anonymous.