In 2013-14 the Charles Pick Fellowship South Asia, offers a bursary for a writer from South Asia to spend six months at the University of East Anglia in the UK.

The fellowship will give support to the work of a new and, as yet, unpublished writers of fictional or non-fictional prose. The Fellowship's dual purpose is to give a promising writer the opportunity complete a major work and to develop his/her talents. The fellowships is for six months, starting on 1 October. The award is £10,000 and includes accommodation on campus at the University of East Anglia.

The Charles Pick Fellowship is dedicated to the memory of the distinguished publisher and literary agent, Charles Pick, whose career began in 1933 and continued until shortly before his death in January 2000. He encouraged young writers at the start of their careers with introductions to other writers, and offered practical and financial help.

The Charles Pick South Asian Fellowship seeks to continue this spirit of encouragement by giving support to the work of a new and, as yet, unpublished writer of fictional or non-fictional prose based in South Asia. The writer should be from South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Burma/Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), but does not need to be domiciled there.

Applicants for the Fellowship must be writers of fictional or non-fictional prose in English who have not yet published a book based in South Asia (please note that for the purposes of this Fellowship non-fiction prose includes, for example, biography, memoir and travel writing, but not critical or historical monographs based on academic research). The Fellowship would be for the purposes of completing a major work. Applicants must be from South Asia, but do not need to be domiciled there. Applicants can be any age.

Deadline for applications (see website for all details): 31 January 2013

Image: Shubhangi Swarup - Charles Pick South Asian Fellow 2012-13