I applied for the Katherine Bakeless Nason Scholarship in Nonfiction for this year’s Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. From the Bread Loaf website –

New for 2017 – Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Scholarships

Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Scholarships support the conference’s goal of fostering a writing community that gives voice to writers of all backgrounds, ages, and experience. While literary merit is the main consideration for these scholarships, writers who meet one or more of the following criteria are encouraged to apply: a member of a historically underrepresented group; an individual who is in particular need of financial and creative support; a first-time Bread Loaf participant; or an applicant with a nontraditional literary or educational background.

I received my rejection over the weekend:

Dear Trace Ramsey:

I am sorry to let you know that we are unable to offer you a Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Scholarship in Nonfiction for the 2017 Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.

Each year we receive applications from many more writers than we can invite. To give you an idea of the competitiveness of this year’s applicant pool, we were able to offer an award to 4 percent of those who applied for financial aid, and we were able to invite 29 percent of those who applied as general contributors.

We greatly appreciate your interest in the conference and truly wish we could host all of the deserving writers who apply.

I wish you luck with your work and hope to see you another time.

Sincerely,
Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference