2025 Emerging Voices Workshop LA Application

PEN America’s Emerging Voices Workshop in Los Angeles will select 15 emerging writers for a one-week writing workshop intensive hosted by the Unlikely Collaborators Foundation in Santa Monica, California during 2025. 

The Emerging Voices Workshop provides an in-person workshop for early-career writers from communities underrepresented in the publishing world. The program is committed to cultivating the careers of Black writers, and serves writers who identify as Indigenous, persons of color, LGBTQ+, immigrants, writers with disabilities, and those living outside of urban centers. Writers have the option to apply with a writing project in either fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. The week-long intensive will feature in-depth craft workshops in the morning. Afternoons will feature exclusive workshops visiting authors, editors, digital marketing experts, and literary agents. 

A part of the growing Emerging Voices portfolio of writing programs, the 2025 workshop in Los Angeles is designed to nurture creative community, deepen professional skills, and demystify the path to publication—with the ultimate goal of diversifying the publishing and media industries. Fifteen writers will be chosen for the Summer Workshop, and fifteen writers will be chosen for the Winter Workshop of 2025.

PEN America Emerging Voices Workshop in Los Angeles Timeline:

The one-week workshop is centered on supporting early career writers as they refine a writing project, learn new skills, and build literary community with fellow writers and publishing industry professionals. 

March 1: Applications Open

April 10: Applications Close

June 9-13, 2025:  Summer Emerging Voices Workshop in Los Angeles

November 17-21, 2025: Winter Emerging Voices Workshop in Los Angeles
 

Eligibility

• PLEASE NOTE: Applicants from the greater Los Angeles area will be prioritized in workshop selections. 
• Applicants must be 21 years of age or older at time of application.
• Applicants do not need to be a U.S. permanent resident and/or citizen but must be residing in the United States at the time of applying for, and during the duration of, the workshop.
• Applicants must be available to participate actively in all dimensions of workshop programming, including morning craft workshops, afternoon professional development workshops. Attendance at evening events, meals, outings, and open mics will be optional. PEN America is dedicated to making our programs fully accessible, and will make all reasonable accommodations necessary to ensure the accessibility of the workshop.
• Applicants with advanced degrees in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry, such as an MFAs or PhDs, may be considered, but workshop acceptance for those without these degrees will be prioritized.
• As a program dedicated to early career writers, applicants with books published through major or independent publishers, university presses, or established presses, or those with books under contract are not eligible.
• Chapbooks or work published in literary journals will not impact eligibility.
• Former workshop attendees or Emerging Voices Fellows are not eligible.

Selection Criteria and Process:

Given the highly competitive nature of the selection process for this workshop, we advise using care in your project application. Though the application will be assessed as a whole, workshop participants will be selected primarily based on the strength of the writing sample by a committee of established writers and publishing professionals, former fellows, and PEN America staff. We encourage you to submit writing that best showcases your work.

Closely review all required materials listed below. Please be mindful of the specific application requests. Failure to follow instructions carefully will result in disqualification. Late applications will not be accepted. We suggest you submit early to avoid technical issues. Applicants may only submit in one genre to the 2025 Los Angeles Workshops.

The selection decisions of PEN America will be final and not subject to review. We regret that due to the volume of applications, we will not be able to provide any individualized feedback at any point during or after the application process. General questions about the application process sent to losangeles@pen.org will be answered at the discretion of PEN America.

The submission fee is $25 per application. Notification regarding acceptance to the program will be issued at least 2 weeks before the beginning of the program. 

NOTE: Application fee waivers are available for any applicant in need. Please contact losangeles@pen.org to request a waiver.
 

PEN America does not discriminate based upon age, color, national origin, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, status as a veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.