Harlequin's New Scholarship Program Fosters Diverse Voices

I am a huge fan of Harlequin the publisher that makes the world go round. Not only do they publish the most read books in the world but they are the most community minded publisher out there. Now they are sponsoring a brand new scholarship program fostering to diverse voices and have already partnered with writing programs at Seton Hill and Humber School for Writers and are looking to partner with two more in 2020.

News Release Follows:

Harlequin’s New Scholarship Program Aims to Foster Diverse Voices

Toronto, ON and New York, NY, August 25, 2020

Harlequin Diverse Voices Scholarships launch in 2020 at Humber School for Writers and Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction Program

Harlequin is developing a scholarship program that offers financial support to promising writers that want to share their diverse and own voices stories with readers. The first two schools have been selected and the publisher is looking to add two additional scholarships at U.S. schools that attract a diverse community of writers to its programs.

“Creating a scholarship program is one way we’re actively working to support greater diversity in books and publishing. We’re excited about encouraging talented writers to pursue their writing goals by accessing high-caliber programs where they can hone their craft and share their diverse perspectives and stories,” said Loriana Sacilotto, Executive Vice-President and Publisher for Harlequin Trade Publishing.

Each scholarship provides $2,000 in financial support (paid in local currency) and will be awarded annually to deserving recipients selected by program faculty. Aimed at fostering diverse voices and talent, scholarships are open to all program participants and applications are particularly welcome from people of color and members of historically underrepresented groups, members of LGBTQ+ communities, and people with disabilities. The scholarship program is part of Harlequin’s initiatives supporting increased diversity described in its Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion.

Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA Program in Greensburg, PA, will offer this scholarship to incoming students starting in January 2021 who want to specialize in the romance genre and show exceptional writing talent and passion for pursuing a writing career. An accessible, online program supported by intensive on-campus writers’ residencies, this program is designed for writers interested in commercial fiction genres, such as romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror and mystery in the adult or young adult markets. Interested applicants can request application information at HelpFinReg@setonhill.edu.

The Humber School for Writers in Toronto, ON, this year offered the first Harlequin Diverse Voices Scholarship through its Graduate Certificate Program, a one-year writing mentorship program that pairs writers with faculty mentors to complete a work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry. The first recipient at the Humber School for Writers is Mike Sholars, a journalist, podcaster, video host and writer based in Toronto. His articles on race, pop culture, technology, politics, and the intersection between those worlds have appeared in publications such as HuffPost, Kotaku, National Post, Polygon, THIS Magazine, and VICE. His first novel is titled ReMemories.

“An overlooked part of the creative process is the simple privilege of having the time and space to make something. The Harlequin Diverse Voices Scholarship gave me financial breathing room to tell my story and invest in myself,” said Mr. Sholars. “I cannot wait to see more voices like mine be given the space and safety to succeed.”

About Harlequin

Harlequin is a global publisher of commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. The company publishes more than 100 titles a month, in both print and digital formats, that are sold around the world. Home to many award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authors, Harlequin offers readers a wide choice of romance, fiction and nonfiction, including contemporary book club reads, psychological suspense and crime thrillers, historical fiction, mainstream literary novels, paranormal, fantasy and young adult fiction, plus journalism, memoir, biography and more. Harlequin is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world. Through HarperCollins’ global publishing program, Harlequin titles are published in 17 countries and 16 languages. For more information, please visit Harlequin.com and Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks. Follow Harlequin on Twitter: @HarlequinBooks

At Harlequin, we’re committed to publishing diverse and inclusive voices so that readers see themselves reflected in the books we publish. As such, we want to publish more diverse voices and stories, and are actively working to support and acquire more books by writers from underrepresented communities.

Here is an outline of the scholarship details:

• We’ve partnered with two writing programs already, Seton Hill University’s (Greensburg, PA) “Writing Popular Fiction” Program and the Humber School for Writers (Toronto, ON).
• Each scholarship provides $2000 in financial support.
• Recipients are selected by program faculty.
• Harlequin is looking to partner with two additional U.S. writing programs in the 2020 calendar year.
• Scholarship participation is open to all program participants, and applications are particularly welcome from people of color and members of historically underrepresented groups, members of the LGTBQ+ communities, and people with disabilities.