A collaboration between Dzanc Books and the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) has made possible four full fellowships for writers of Luso descent from North America to attend the DISQUIET ILP's Writing the Luso Experience workshop in Lisbon in 2027. 

To be eligible for the fellowship, entrants must be residents of the United States or Canada who have a genealogical link to a Lusophone country.      

The four winners will receive accommodations, a travel stipend, and full tuition to the 2027 ILP in Lisbon to attend the multi-genre workshop “Writing the Luso Experience” (June 27-July 9) with other writers from Portugal and North America.  Runners-up will be offered partial tuition discounts.      

What to submit: 

1) A 250-word statement about your background and what the fellowship would mean to you. 

2) A maximum ten page writing sample in any genre (poetry, fiction, nonfiction). Excerpts from longer works are welcome.      

There is no reading fee.    

Deadline: January 4, 2027      

Multi-genre award for the best poetry, fiction, or nonfiction on any subject. First prize in each genre will be awarded to a writer who has not yet published a book, or who has not yet published more than one book with a major publisher. Please contact info@disquietinternational.org if you have questions about eligibility.  

Entries must be in English. Entries may not be previously published.   

Winners in each genre will be published:   

- Poetry in The Common 

-Nonfiction in NinthLetter.com   

- Fiction TBA

One grand prize winner will receive a full fellowship (airfare stipend, tuition, and housing included) to the 2027 DISQUIET International Program in Lisbon, Portugal (taking place June 27-July 9, 2027). Genre winners will receive a tuition waiver to DISQUIET 2027 in addition to publication. Winners who are unable to attend the program in Lisbon may elect to receive a $1000 cash prize in lieu of the tuition waiver.

One entry may include up to six poems (to a maximum of 18 pages) or a single prose piece up to twenty-five double-spaced pages in length. Entries should be the work of a single author. Stand-alone excerpts from longer works are welcome. Multiple entries must be accompanied by multiple reading fees.   

Please note that your contest entry does not guarantee placement in or consideration for the DISQUIET program. If you’d like to  be considered for participation in the program regardless of the outcome of the contest, you must submit a general application by December 15, 2026.

Extended deadline: January 4, 2027

 Submissions will close at 11:59 PM EST on January 4

      Questions: info@disquietinternational.org