Typetrigger Grant Program Starting March 1

Good Morning! Or, afternoon. We can't tell because we are still tired from last night's amazing launch party at Sole Repair in Seattle. It was great to meet many of you and to feel the incredible excitement about what is going on with Typetrigger. It was fun to put faces to names and to see people talk who had previously only known one another by their writing.

For our live trigger writing contest, we had guest write trigger suggestions on overhead projectors. Once the winning trigger (world music pants guy) was selected, people wrote trigger responses in 30 words or less and taped them to the wall for a live action mini Typetrigger experience.

The biggest news of the night:

The Typetrigger Grant Program

This June, Typetrigger will award our first $500 grant to a member whose writing inspires and amazes us. This program will be open to all members, writing in all genres. We will begin accepting applications on March 1, 2011.

Here's how it will work:

In order to apply, you will need to throw your hat in the ring. A simple application (no fee) must be submitted by May 1st, 2011. Application details will be posted on March 1st.

To qualify, applicants must participate on Typetrigger for the quarter leading up to the award by writing 3 or more times a week (we might make some small exceptions). This is not a word count requirement, but a post requirement of about 32-40 submissions over a three month period. On June 1st, we will review all applicants and a panel of writers and artists will come together to make the final decision on the winner, which will be announced in mid-June.

The grant is open to writers in all genres. We love that we have fiction writers, memoirists and poets here on Typetrigger, and we love to see when writers experiment with form. There is no penalty in this program for genre jumping. The winner of the first grant will become a panel judge in the next go round, allowing writers to pay it forward. Grants will be awarded again in September and December of 2011, and it March, June, September and December of 2011.

At the end of the year, we plan to publish an anthology of the year's four grant winners, and their work will be featured prominently on Typetrigger throughout the year.

Stay tuned for more details!