Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop is funded in part by donations made by graduates, grantors, and other supporters, and in part by application fees and tuition.
The application fee is $50. Applicants in the US can pay via check, bank draft, or PayPal. International applicants can pay via bank draft in US dollars or via PayPal in US dollars. You will be guided through that process when you fill out the application.
The tuition, $3600, includes a custom textbook and several physical mailings of materials to students.
The tuition cost quoted above is the discounted rate for US students paying by check or bank draft, and for international students paying by bank draft in US dollars. Students have the additional option of paying tuition through PayPal, which allows you to charge the cost on a credit card. Those using PayPal need to pay the full rates, which are about 4% higher. For those interested in financial aid, several scholarships are available.
Financial aid and scholarships are made available by supporters, alumni, various organizations, and Odyssey itself. We are very grateful for those who have donated to reduce the financial burden on students. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need, merit, or the specific criteria listed below. They range in size from several hundred dollars to full tuition. NOTE: Several of the scholarships below require that you fill out the Odyssey Financial Need Statement. Contact Director Jeanne Cavelos for the form, which is due April 10.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Walter & Kattie Metcalf Singing Spider Scholarship
Funded by Pam Metcalf Harrington, Odyssey class of 2001, the Walter & Kattie Metcalf Singing Spider Scholarship is offered in honor of Pam’s parents, who encouraged a lifelong passion for reading and writing fantasy. The scholarship is also named for the infamous singing spiders, fictional characters who appeared in a novel excerpt submitted at Odyssey 2001. The scholarship will be awarded to a fantasy writer whose novel excerpt shows great skill and promise. A successful fantasy novelist spins a web of wonder, adventure, and intrigue that captivates readers and holds them spellbound through the lyrical flow of the prose. The novelist is, in essence, a ‘singing spider.’ To be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10 and indicate on the form that you are interested in the Walter & Kattie Metcalf Singing Spider Scholarship. You must also use a novel excerpt as the writing sample with Your Personal Odyssey workshop application. A panel of three judges will select the winner using those novel excerpts. The scholarship covers full tuition.
Travis Heermann Memorial Ronin Writer Scholarship
Funded by the friends and family of Travis Heermann, this scholarship is offered in honor of Travis’ unwavering commitment to his dream, his broad array of works and talents, and his devotion to supporting beginning writers on their journey. A ronin is a Japanese word for a samurai with no master, and Travis’ blog of this same name explored the truths, triumphs, and tragedies of life and work as an independent writer. In that spirit, this award will focus on creativity and independent thought when judging the submissions. Travis was born and raised in rural Nebraska, and was familiar with the unique struggles of being a creative person outside of the art hubs of the big city. He always honored and remembered where he came from, and we would like to honor other writers who face similar joys and struggles. Therefore, preference will be given to the following applicant categories, in this order: #1 – Residents of Boyd County, Nebraska; #2 – Residents of Nebraska; #3 – Residents of rural communities (as defined by FAR codes, with most rural taking precedence); #4 – Former residents of Nebraska or rural communities. You don’t have to demonstrate financial need to be considered for this scholarship, but you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10, indicate on the form that you are interested in the Travis Heermann Memorial Ronin Writer Scholarship, note which of the preference groups you belong to, if any, with a brief explanation if applicable, and write a brief (<100 word) paragraph describing how you are an independent writer. In years when no scholarship applicant fulfills #1-4, this paragraph will be the main basis for the scholarship award, considered along with the writing sample you submitted with your workshop application.
(If you qualify based on living in a rural community, please include your town’s FAR level. To get your score, go to this website, https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/am-i-rural, enter your address in the Am I Rural? – Tool and hit locate, then mouse over to the dialog box on the map and click the Run Report button. Then scroll down to Frontier and Remote Area [FAR] and enter the number provided. If the report reads “Not located in a Frontier and/or Remote area.” you would not qualify for applicant category #3. For applicants outside the US, include in the Odyssey Financial Need Statement information that shows you live in a rural area.) A panel of three judges will select the winner. The scholarship covers half of the tuition for the workshop, $1800.
The Fresh Voices Scholarship
Funded anonymously by an Odyssey graduate, this scholarship provides support to an outstanding writer of color each year. Those eligible include African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, writers of color from outside the U.S., and others. The Fresh Voices Scholarship seeks to offer opportunities for underrepresented racial and ethnic minority writers to learn at Your Personal Odyssey and enrich the fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres as a result. To be considered, you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10, indicate on the form that you are interested in the Fresh Voices Scholarship, and provide your race/ethnicity. A panel of three judges will select the winner using the short story or novel excerpts sent with the workshop applications. The scholarship awards $2,000 toward Your Personal Odyssey tuition.
The Enchanted Bond Scholarship
Funded anonymously by an Odyssey supporter, this scholarship provides support to an outstanding fantasy writer each year. When readers are immersed in a fresh, vivid, believable fantasy world; engaged with compelling characters; involved in a suspenseful situation; and living, moment by moment, through an experience that could never occur in reality, the author has succeeded in creating an enchanted bond between reader and story. To be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10 and indicate on the form that you are interested in the Enchanted Bond Scholarship. A panel of three judges will select the winner using the short story or novel excerpts sent with the workshop applications. The scholarship awards $1,000 toward Your Personal Odyssey tuition.
The Quantum Entanglement Scholarship
Funded anonymously by an Odyssey graduate, this scholarship provides support to an outstanding writer of science fiction each year. According to quantum mechanics, when a pair of particles interact, they become entangled. Entangled particles remain connected so that the state of one determines the state of the other, even when the particles are far apart. Albert Einstein famously referred to this as “spooky action at a distance.” Powerful science fiction not only presents a compelling novum (new idea) based on science and builds a world consistent with that novum; it draws readers in past the science to a moving human story with characters that readers can care about and a conflict in which every twist and turn has an impact on readers’ emotions. When that happens, the author has succeeded in entangling readers and story, an effect that may last long after the story is finished and put away. To be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10 and indicate on the form that you are interested in the Quantum Entanglement Scholarship. A panel of three judges will select the winner using the short story or novel excerpts sent with the workshop applications. The scholarship awards $1,000 toward Your Personal Odyssey tuition.
The Diverse Perspectives Scholarship
The purpose of this scholarship, funded anonymously by an Odyssey supporter, is to encourage diversity. Outstanding writers of color, writers with disabilities, LGBTQ writers, and neurodiverse writers are eligible to apply. Diverse voices too often go unheard. The Diverse Perspectives Scholarship seeks to help diverse voices to be heard by providing support for a writer from an underrepresented group to learn at Your Personal Odyssey. To be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10, indicate on the form that you are interested in the Diverse Perspectives Scholarship, and share what makes you a diverse writer. A panel of three judges will select the winner using the short story or novel excerpts sent with the workshop applications. The scholarship awards $1,250 toward Your Personal Odyssey tuition.
The Halcyon Prize for Emerging Voices in Speculative Fiction
The Halcyon Prize for Emerging Voices in Speculative Fiction is awarded to a writer whose work demonstrates exceptional imagination, originality, and narrative promise. This prize recognizes emerging talent in speculative storytelling—fiction that challenges the boundaries of reality and envisions new possibilities. To be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10 and indicate on the form that you are interested in the Halcyon Prize for Emerging Voices. A panel of three judges will select the winner using the short story or novel excerpts sent with the workshop applications. The scholarship awards $1,000 toward Your Personal Odyssey tuition.
Space Cowboy Books Working Class Writers Scholarship
Funded by the award-winning Space Cowboy Books, which has the mission to spread the love of science fiction, literature, literacy, and print media, the Space Cowboy Books Working Class Writers Scholarship is offered to provide financial support for a working-class or impoverished writer to attend Your Personal Odyssey. To be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the Odyssey Financial Need Statement by April 10 and indicate that you are interested in the Space Cowboy Books Working Class Writers Scholarship. A panel of three judges will evaluate the financial statements and select the winner. The scholarship covers $300 toward tuition.
Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop is funded in part by donations made by graduates, grantors, and other supporters, and in part by application fees and tuition.
