ELIGIBILITY:

The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers offers fellowships to people whose work will benefit directly from access to the research collections at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. Renowned for the extraordinary comprehensiveness of its collections, the Library is one of the world’s preeminent resources for study in anthropology, art, geography, history, languages and literature, philosophy, politics, popular culture, psychology, religion, sociology, sports, and urban studies.

The Cullman Center’s Selection Committee awards fifteen fellowships a year to outstanding scholars and writers—academics, independent scholars, journalists, creative writers (novelists, playwrights, and poets), translators, and visual artists.

Foreign nationals conversant in English are welcome to apply.

Candidates for the fellowship will need to work primarily at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building rather than at other divisions of the library. People seeking funding for research leading directly to a degree are not eligible.

The Cullman Center looks for top-quality writing. It aims to promote dynamic communication about literature and scholarship at the very highest level—within the center, in public forums throughout the library, and in the fellows’ published work.

The Library expects Fellows to work at the Cullman Center five days a week, Monday through Friday, for the duration of the Fellowship term, which runs from September through May. Each Fellow gives a talk over lunch on his or her current work-in-progress to the other Fellows and to a wide range of invited guests and may be asked to take part in other programs at The New York Public Library.

Visual artists at work on a book project are also welcome to apply. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE 2027-2028 FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION. 

https://www.nypl.org/about/fellowships-institutes/cullman-center-scholars-writers

BENEFIT:

A Cullman Center Fellow receives a stipend of $90,000, the use of an office with a computer, and full access to the library’s physical and electronic resources.