Thank you for your interest in applying for an Access Fund spot in one of our Yearlong Writing Project cohorts! Please use the form below to complete the application. 

If you have questions or if this virtual form is a barrier for you, please contact education staff at 612-379-8999 or edu@loft.org for assistance. 

The Loft is committed to equity in our programming by creating opportunities for folks who face barriers to participation in artistic career development. We encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply, including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, low-income individuals, and people with disabilities. We anticipate far more applications from highly qualified candidates than we can possibly accept. Please know our scholarship committee reads every application we receive and evaluates them holistically based on four central factors (in no particular order):

1. Your current writing project. What is your current writing project about and how can the Loft community help you achieve your goals? Why are you interested in working with this particular teaching artist? Why the Loft, why now?
2. Demonstrated interest in the art and craft of writing. What experience do you have with writing and writing workshops? How have you demonstrated a commitment to the craft, whether professionally or personally?
3. Desire for resources and community. What other resources or opportunities have you had (or not had) access to? Why do you seek the community a small, intensive cohort provides? 
4. Experienced financial and lived barriers to participation in artistic career development The Loft understands that financial barriers are not the only barriers to participation in writing development opportunities. Have other factors impacted your ability to participate in similar programs? Do you identify as part of a historically marginalized community? Please describe what factors impact your need for financial assistance. Are you enrolled in a public assistance program, such as TANF; MFIP; General Assistance; WIC; Medicaid, Medical Assistance, or Minnesota Care; SSI (disability, not retirement); food stamps; Section 8 Housing? If not, what factors impact your need for financial assistance to take a Loft class?

Application Timeline

• October 21, 2026: Application opens
• December 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM CT: Application closes
• December 4, 2026 - January 7, 2027: Selection committee will review applications and Loft will reach out to Access Fund finalists to schedule interviews
• January 27, 2027: Finalists will be notified of their status no later than this date

The Loft's Access Fund Pool is open for programming taking place in September 2026 - August 2027.  The Loft's Access Fund model allows you to submit a single online application, which Loft staff will review within a time period of about 1 month. If accepted, you will be invited to join the Pool for a period of 3 years. The following programs are eligible for Loft Access Funds:

• Adult and youth education classes and workshops
• Year-Long Writing Project (separate application)

These opportunities are meant to reduce financial barriers to participation in Loft classes and are available to individuals who are experiencing financial hardship and to whom the cost of tuition is a barrier to participation. Once accepted to the Access Funds pool, students may request available seats in Loft classes at any time (each class has about 2 seats reserved). To ensure Adult classes are accessible for as many as possible, we ask that prospective students limit their requests to one single-session course and one multi-session course per student per term (Winter/Spring, Summer, Fall).

Loft Education staff will also email a newsletter to all Access Fund recipients highlighting available classes once every other month. After requesting a class, you will be given a promo code (applied during checkout) that will provide a 75% or 90% reduction in class fees. The Access Fund recipient is responsible for the remaining 25% or 10% cost, which will vary depending on the regular price of the class. 

The Loft is committed to equity in our programming by creating opportunities for folks who face barriers to participation in artistic career development. While Loft class Access Funds are focused on reducing financial barriers, we want to strongly encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply, including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, as well as low income individuals.

It is not mandatory to provide proof of financial hardship, but if you would like to provide documentation**, please submit documentation that includes: 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application below.

 More questions? Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). 

**Optional documentation, if provided, should include 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application. 

Examples of Accepted Public Assistance Programs:

• TANF
• MFIP
• General Assistance
• WIC
• Medicaid,  Medical Assistance, or Minnesota Care
• SSI (Disability, Not Retirement)
• Food Stamps
• Unemployment
• Section 8 Housing
• Free or Reduced Price School Meals

ATTENTION: this form is no longer up to date. Please apply through this form instead. 

The Loft's Access Fund Pool is open for programming taking place in June 2025 - August 2026.  The Loft's Access Fund model allows you to submit a single online application to join the Pool and learn about Loft programs as they become available. The following programs are eligible for Loft Access Funds:

• Adult and youth education classes and workshops
• Year-Long Writing Project (separate application)

These opportunities are meant to reduce financial barriers to participation in Loft classes and are available to individuals who are experiencing financial hardship and to whom the cost of tuition is a barrier to participation. Once accepted, available seats are emailed out as they become available, about 1-2 times a month. These email alerts will give you access to a list of offerings that are access fund viable. If you are interested in any of these offerings, you will need to follow the given instructions to request a seat in the class. Seats for most offerings are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If a seat is available, you will be given a promo code (applied during checkout) that will provide a 75% or 90% reduction in tuition for a class. The access fund recipient is responsible for the remaining 25% or 10% cost, which will vary depending on the regular price of the class. 

The Loft is committed to equity in our programming by creating opportunities for folks who face barriers to participation in artistic career development. While Loft class access funds are focused on reducing financial barriers, we want to strongly encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply, including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, as well as low income individuals.

It is not mandatory to provide proof of financial hardship, but if you would like to provide documentation**, please submit documentation that includes: 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application below.

 More questions? Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). 

**Optional documentation, if provided, should include 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application. 

Examples of Accepted Public Assistance Programs:

• TANF
• MFIP
• General Assistance
• WIC
• Medicaid,  Medical Assistance, or Minnesota Care
• SSI (Disability, Not Retirement)
• Food Stamps
• Unemployment
• Section 8 Housing
• Free or Reduced Price School Meals

Thanks for your interest in volunteering with the Loft! Volunteers work closely with staff, author/personalities, and the literary community to execute Loft programming and events. The Loft primarily seeks volunteers interested in helping with literary events and occasional administrative projects. Please complete this form to tell us about yourself and what activities you'd be most interested in supporting as a volunteer. 

Thank you for your interest in teaching with the Loft! This proposal form is accepting applications on a rolling basis while this project is live.

For top consideration for Winter/Spring 2027 classes, please submit by September 8, 2026. 

On our website, we have resources and FAQs to assist you in submitting proposals. Before contacting the Education Manager Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with questions, please review the following:

• Reference Guide for Teaching Artists
• Inclusion, Equity, and Antiracism
• Loft Code of Conduct
• Submittable Guide

We offer optional office hours for proposal-related questions or application feedback to answer any questions. RSVP here for an upcoming teaching artist information session. Email edu@loft.org with any questions about the proposal process.

Loft’s Mission & Vision

The Loft advances the power of writers and readers to craft and share stories, to create and celebrate connections, and to build just, life-sustaining communities.

We envision a world where the power of the word liberates minds, deepens relationships, and inspires movements for people and planet. As an antiracist organization, the Loft develops literary experiences for writers, readers, and storytellers because racism dehumanizes people, and poetry and stories deepen our connection to our shared humanity. Recognizing the relationship between race, power, and resources, we prioritize the engagement of BIPOC/marginalized  communities and work for the equitable distribution of our power and resources. The Loft is dedicated to offering classes that are imaginative, multicultural, and responsive. We seek reading lists, class content, and approaches to discussions on craft that are inclusive and diverse, as well as timely, contemporary and accessible (readily available online, not out of print).

Teaching Statement

You must include a strong, considered statement on how your class plan and teaching strategies will align with the Loft’s goal to be equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist in its classrooms and with its programming. Here are some suggested resources—especially if you need help leading and navigating classroom discussions of student work as they relate to these topics:

• How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• A Good Time for the Truth, edited by Sun Yung Shin
• Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses
• Anti-Racism Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez
• Appropriate: A Provocation by Paisley Rekdal

Online Learning Resources:

For an idea of how the Loft continues to build knowledge and capacity on this, please visit Team Dynamics.com and IDIInventory.com National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) ASDICircle.org. These are just a few of the many resources available on creating an inclusive learning environment in your classroom; if you are unsure of how to do this, or don't understand how to articulate how your lesson plan and teaching strategies will create this kind of environment in your classroom, feel free to connect with the Loft's Education Manager before you propose your class - Marianne Manzler <mmanzler@loft.org>.

The Loft delivers classes in two formats:

• In-Person Classes take place at Open Book, in downtown Minneapolis, in a Loft classroom space.
• Online/Zoom Classes via Zoom. Multi-week Online/Zoom classes also come with the optional Google Classroom supplement to make materials available to students.

What We're Looking For

Some of the offerings in high demand (or specific offerings we’ve been asked for) are:

• Memoir/personal essay workshops and work-generating classes
• Intermediate & Advanced/workshopping classes in all genres, but especially Poetry
• Playwriting
• Genre writing, but especially romance and horror
• Writing accountability groups
• Writing for lapsed writers/non-creative writers
• Afro-futurism
• As usual, classes across all genres, skill levels, and lengths

If your class idea is not represented in the above list, please still send it my way. I’m always happy to talk via Zoom or email about what you’d like to teach and how it can fit into our programming and organizational artistic vision.

Strong and flexible lesson plans. Loft classes give writers opportunities to engage with their teaching artist and one another, while also providing instruction on craft, engaging discussion, and in-class writing activities, as well as writing prompts students can work on between class meetings. Teaching artists are encouraged to give their students a syllabus or overview of the class on day one, as that gives them a sense of what to expect.

Single Session Classes. If this is your first time teaching a class with the Loft (or if you haven't taught a class with the Loft in the last five years), please only propose a single, 3-hour or 4-hour class. From there, we will gauge audience interest and can work together to see if a multi-week format is right for your class. Thank you!

Multi-week (4 week, 8 week, or 12 week) genre workshops that focus on craft and readings, generative writing exercises, community-building opportunities, and feedback-based workshops with written and verbal feedback and participation. Core values to emphasize: curiosity and creativity.

Please refer to the Loft’s Teacher Guide to see if your class might be a fit.   

What we are not looking for

We have not had success with classes that feel academic in nature (e.g., assigning academic writing texts, theoretical texts, reading lists that are too long, reading workshops built around classics) or are too niche (e.g., somatic writing, writing in translation). Please get to know our catalog and current offerings to see what we do at loft.org.

Fall Class Proposal Timeline

Fall class proposals accepted April - May.

June - July | Education team selects classes and selection notification begins

July | Fall Registration Opens Online

Early September  - mid December  | Fall Session   

Winter Proposal Timeline

Winter class proposals accepted June - August.

August-October | Education team reviews classes and selection notification begins

November | Winter registration opens online

Winter session: Late January 21 - mid April

Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis   

Summer Proposal Timeline

Summer class proposals accepted Jan - March.

March - April | Education team reviews classes and selection notification begins

April | Summer registration opens online

Summer session: mid June - late August

Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis

Thank you for your interest in applying for an Access Fund spot in one of our Yearlong Writing Project cohorts! Please use the form below to complete the application. 

If you have questions or if this virtual form is a barrier for you, please contact education staff at 612-379-8999 or edu@loft.org for assistance. 

The Loft is committed to equity in our programming by creating opportunities for folks who face barriers to participation in artistic career development. We encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply, including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, low-income individuals, and people with disabilities. We anticipate far more applications from highly qualified candidates than we can possibly accept. Please know our scholarship committee reads every application we receive and evaluates them holistically based on four central factors (in no particular order):

1. Your current writing project. What is your current writing project about and how can the Loft community help you achieve your goals? Why are you interested in working with this particular teaching artist? Why the Loft, why now?
2. Demonstrated interest in the art and craft of writing. What experience do you have with writing and writing workshops? How have you demonstrated a commitment to the craft, whether professionally or personally?
3. Desire for resources and community. What other resources or opportunities have you had (or not had) access to? Why do you seek the community a small, intensive cohort provides? 
4. Experienced financial and lived barriers to participation in artistic career development The Loft understands that financial barriers are not the only barriers to participation in writing development opportunities. Have other factors impacted your ability to participate in similar programs? Do you identify as part of a historically marginalized community? Please describe what factors impact your need for financial assistance. Are you enrolled in a public assistance program, such as TANF; MFIP; General Assistance; WIC; Medicaid, Medical Assistance, or Minnesota Care; SSI (disability, not retirement); food stamps; Section 8 Housing? If not, what factors impact your need for financial assistance to take a Loft class?

Application Timeline

• September 22, 2026: Application opens
• November 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM CT: Application closes
• November 5, 2026 - January 7, 2027: Selection committee will review applications and Loft will reach out to Access Fund finalists to schedule interviews
• January 27, 2027: Finalists will be notified of their status no later than this date

The Loft Literary Center invites Minnesota early career poets, fiction, creative nonfiction, and children's and young adult literature writers to apply to the 2027 Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose. This program offers advanced criticism and professional development opportunities to twelve writers: three each in the genres of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and children's and young adult literature.  

THE PROGRAM 

Twelve early career writers are selected through a competitive judging process to work intensively with eight nationally acclaimed writers of prose and poetry. The four local mentors spend an extended period of time working with the entire group and conduct genre-specific workshops and individual conferences with the three writers in their genres. The four visiting mentors come in for intensive weekends of craft seminars with the full group and individual manuscript conferences with the writers in their genre. All participants are featured in a public reading—three fellows with two mentors—throughout the course of the program. 

Eligibility  

• Work must be in the genres of fiction, creative nonfiction, children's literature, or poetry. Creative nonfiction may include memoir, personal essay, literary journalism, and biography. It does not include reportage, blogs, or opinion pieces.
• You may apply in more than one genre, but can only win in one. If you are applying in more than one genre, you must submit different work samples for each application.
• You must be a resident of Minnesota for a minimum of 12 months on the date of your application, which means you filed US federal taxes as a resident of Minnesota for 2025.
• You must not have published (traditional or self-published) more than one book in any genre.
• You may submit work previously published in magazines, journals, or anthologies.
• Artists who have been in the field for longer than 10 years (excluding any time in a degree-granting program or time away from working as an artist due to circumstances–e.g., having children, caring for family members, long-term illness, etc.) are not eligible, even if they feel under-recognized. For more information, please see the Jerome Foundation's definition of an early career artist (https://www.jeromefdn.org/defining-early-career-emerging-artists). If you have artistic achievements (e.g. publications, fellowships, grant awards, etc.) preceding November 2016 and have taken time off from working as an artist at some point since earning these achievements to still qualify as an early career artist, please explain this gap(s) in more detail in your one paragraph Artistic Bio.
• You must not be an enrolled part-time or full-time student in a degree-granting program (including K-12, college, graduate or post-graduate studies) at the time of the application and/or during the Mentor Series fellowship period.
• If you are full-time tenured faculty at any college, university or institution of higher learning, you are not eligible.
• Loft Mentor Series alumni are ineligible. 
• Board and staff members of the Loft Literary Center and/or the Jerome Foundation are ineligible.

Fellows are selected on the basis of the strength of their manuscripts and project plans and will receive an award of $2,800 that may be used to defray the potential costs of program participation (transportation, book purchases, child care, etc.). Fellows are required to prepare for and attend all program-related meetings, seminars, readings, workshops, manuscript conferences, and social activities. These activities are primarily in-person at the Loft Literary Center, with some virtual options. At least four activities throughout the year will take place during regular business hours. 

All program dates are tentative and subject to change. Orientation for fellows is currently scheduled for mid-January of 2027.

If you have questions about eligibility, please send inquiries to awards@loft.org, or call 612-215-2593. More information is available on our website: www.loft.org. The last day to send an inquiry for it to be resolved before the application deadline is Nov. 12, 2026.

Judging Process  

The two mentors in each genre will confer and select three winners and two honorable mentions.

 DEADLINE: 

• All entries must be submitted by November 16, 2026 by 11:59 PM Central Time. Late applications will not be accepted. 
• Winners will be notified by the beginning of January 2027 by phone. All other applicants will receive an email. 

The Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose is made possible through the support of the Jerome Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Loft Friends. 

The Mentor Series application process requires applicants to complete an eligibility quiz (below) prior to gaining access to the application. This is meant to avoid ineligible artists investing valuable time and energy in completing an application. Loft staff is also available by email and phone to answer questions and help determine eligibility.