INDEX partners with PEN Ukraine to launch Victoria Amelina Fellowship

The INDEX Foundation is partnering with PEN Ukraine to launch the Victoria Amelina Fellowship Program for writers from Ukraine and abroad, as announced by the PEN Ukraine press office.

"The Fellowship will take place in Victoria Amelina’s native city of Lviv to honour her memory and carry on the ethos of her work," PEN Ukraine writes.

In 2025, INDEX will host two creative nonfiction writers in residence for three months each.

Victoria Amelina / Photo by chytomo.com

In April–June, INDEX will host a writer from Ukraine. In July–September, the programme will engage a writer from abroad. Reflecting Victoria Amelina’s international outlook, INDEX will host a joint event for the Ukrainian and international Fellows at the end of September 2025 in Lviv.

The Victoria Amelina Fellows will be offered the following opportunities:

• Accommodation in a flat in the centre of Lviv (organised in partnership with the family of Victoria Amelina)
• Office space at INDEX (Fellows’ room in the INDEX premises)
• Stipend ($1200 per month for three months)
• Covering travel inside Ukraine for outreach activities and study visits within the Fellowship programme
• Outreach events: at least two public events (readings, discussions, talks organised by INDEX with PEN Ukraine and other partner institutions)
• Media outreach (interviews and podcasts with the media partners of INDEX and PEN Ukraine)
• Participation in the rich programme of cultural and academic events in Lviv and other Ukrainian cities
• Study visits to local cultural institutions and meetings with key stakeholders
• A voluntary trip to de-occupied territories or territories close to the frontline, in partnership with PEN Ukraine
• A flagship event in Lviv at the end of September 2025 involving two Victoria Amelina Fellowship writers in residence

Who can apply?

Writers who are interested in human rights and understanding the roots and consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine. The writers should have at least one published book by the time of application.

The Selection Committee of the Victoria Amelina Fellowship consists of seven members. Four members participate in the work of both Ukrainian and International Selection Committees. Ukrainian and International Committees include three more members.

General:

• Tetyana Teren, Executive Director of PEN Ukraine
• Alex Amelin
• Sasha Dovzhyk, Programme Director of INDEX
• Yaryna Grusha, publicist, translator

Ukrainian:

• Sofia Cheliak, Programme Director of Lviv BookForum
• Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties
• Olga Rusina, writer, journalist, translator

International:

• Askold Melnyczuk, Founder of Arrowsmith Press
• Charlotte Higgins, chief culture writer for The Guardian
• Christian Rocca, Linkiesta, Editor in Chief

To apply, the candidates should submit a short CV; one-page proposal for a project they will be pursuing during their fellowship; one published piece of writing (a chapter, essay, selection of poetry). The decision will be made based on the literary merit and cross-cultural sensitivity of their work. 

Application form for Ukrainian writers.

Application form for foreign writers.

Deadline: 1 January 2025 at 6 PM (Kyiv Time)

Announcement of the selection results: 11–13 February 2025

Should you have any additional questions, please contact at [email protected]

In April 2024, the Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) resident who helped aim the Russian missile strike on the pizzeria RIA PIZZA, which killed 13 people, including Victoria Amelina, was sentenced to life in prison.

Victoria Amelina is a writer and public activist, PEN Ukraine member, founder of the New York Literary Festival in New York village (Bakhmut district, Donetsk oblast). The year the full-scale invasion began, Amelina joined the Truth Hounds team investigating Russian war crimes on the ground.