The de Groot Visiting Fellowship
Application and Frequently Asked Questions
Fellowship Details
Residency Period: One month, between September and June. Fellowships are not available in July or August due to the Library’s programming hiatus.
Stipend: $5,000 USD paid prior to the Fellowship period to cover travel and expenses in Paris.
Accommodation: Whenever possible, the fellowship provides accommodation for the duration of the Fellowship in a one-bedroom apartment located a 10-minute walk from the Library. Otherwise, Fellows may use their stipend to cover alternative accommodation.
Eligibility: Open to writers, researchers, journalists, poets, screenwriters, playwrights, directors, and documentary filmmakers. International applicants are welcome.
Please note, applicants cannot be enrolled in a degree-seeking program (including doctoral candidates) during the residency season for which they are applying.
What is Letters Home?
In addition to working on their own project, Fellows present a public program during their residency that engages our audience and members around a central theme.
The theme for 2026-2027 is Letters Home, from the American Library in Paris, a theme that explores the love language of letters and the many voices who write about home from far away, whether home is a place, a person, or a time. Letters Home encourages Fellows to explore different perspectives—nostalgic, questioning, tender, critical—in the return through ink and imagination to places left behind. Programs could be around topics such as the changing meaning of “home,” literary letters and the creative force of nostalgia, exile and the epistolary voice, or the politics of correspondence.
The Fellowship Includes
- An orientation day that includes meeting Library staff, a guided tour of the collections and archives, and lunch.
- A Library membership with full access to the Library’s collections, archives, and e-resources.
- A commitment to spend at least three half-days per week in the Library during the residency working on your personal creative project.
- Dedicated time and space to work independently on a self-guided creative project.
- The opportunity to develop and deliver a one-hour public program tied to the theme Library’s programming theme. This program could be a talk, workshop, panel, performance, or other creative format.
- Opportunities to attend fundraising dinners, cocktail gatherings, or exclusive events as a representative of the Fellowship.
- Participation in filming promotional material for the Library and your Fellowship experience.
- A final exit interview to share feedback and insights about the Fellowship experience.
- An expectation to acknowledge the Library and Fellowship in any publications or media resulting from the project.
How to apply
Applications for The de Groot Visiting Fellowship require:
- A single PDF file (maximum 5 pages) containing:
- A one-page cover letter addressing your work, your reasons for applying to the de Groot Visiting Fellowship at the American Library in Paris specifically, and why this moment in your career is the right one.
- A one-page narrative description of your personal creative project, including its timeline, current stage, what you hope to achieve, and how the Fellowship at the Library will contribute to its success.
- A CV of no more than two pages.
- Three brief proposals (maximum 50 words each) for a public program tied to Letters Home.
- Two professional references (names and contact information).
- A €30 non-refundable application fee.
The de Groot Visiting Fellowship is sponsored by The de Groot Foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, your personal project does not need to directly tie to the theme. However, your project should have a meaningful connection to being in France, particularly Paris. The residency is designed to support projects that are enriched by the unique cultural, historical, or artistic environment of Paris or that benefit from being developed in this vibrant setting. Your project should make it clear why being in Paris is essential or adds value to your work.
The Fellowship is open to writers, researchers, journalists, poets, screenwriters, playwrights, directors, multimedia artists and documentary filmmakers working on creative projects with a strong written component. International applicants are welcome. Please note the Library does not help arrange visas for applicants.
No, Fellows are expected to be present in Paris during the period of the Fellowship.
Yes. We give equal weight to applications from France-based creatives.
While you do not need to be a published author to apply, many of our Fellows have one or more previous publications under their belts and often have a publishing contract secured for their next project.
No, we do not accept dual or joint applications. Each applicant must apply individually, with a project that reflects their own work and goals.
No. Applicants must not be enrolled in any degree-seeking program during the residency season they are applying for—including those still completing a PhD. The fellowship is designed for writers and researchers who have either finished their studies or are pursuing work independently, outside of an academic program.
The $5,000 stipend is intended to cover travel and living expenses while in Paris.
Whenever possible, the fellowship provides accommodation for the duration of the Fellowship in a one-bedroom apartment located a 10-minute walk from the Library. Otherwise, Fellows may use their stipend to cover alternative accommodation.
Fellows are also strongly encouraged to purchase travel insurance for their time.
In your cover letter, you should introduce yourself and your work. You might also like to add why you are interested in spending time at the American Library in Paris and its community (in Paris) in particular.
In the interest of fairness, we are unable to advise potential applicants on their materials.
References will only be contacted for applicants who make the shortlist. If you are shortlisted, the selection committee will schedule brief calls (10–15 minutes) with your professional references. You will be notified in advance before any outreach to your references takes place.
No. Once an application is received, you cannot swap or add materials.
The American Library awards two de Groot Visiting Fellowships each year.
In addition, the Selection Committee may award up to three Scholar of Note distinctions annually to applicants whose work merits special recognition.
The application fee is 30€. You will be prompted for payment once you complete the application and press submit.
Applicants experiencing significant financial hardship or those who are unable to pay the fee are encouraged to email fellowship@americanlibraryinparis.org with “Fee Waiver Request” in the subject line.
Requests for fee waivers will be reviewed once the application opens until three days before the application deadline.
All applicants can expect to hear back from us with a final decision by July.
Visiting Fellows are chosen through an application process. Writers-in-Residence are invited directly by the Library, and are typically more senior or established authors. We do not consider proposals for Writers-in-Residence.
Visiting Fellows are chosen through an application process. Cultural Fellows are invited directly by the Library, and are more senior and established multi-disciplinary artists working across mediums. We do not consider proposals for Cultural Fellows.
Please contact fellowship@americanlibraryinparis.org if you have any other questions.