Harvard Review Editorial Fellowship

The Harvard Review has partnered with Literary Careers to create an Editorial Fellowship: an opportunity for Harvard Ph.D. candidates in English Literature to conceive and produce an Editorial Feature to be published by the Harvard Review. This semester-long fellowship is designed to provide practical, hands-on experience and training in editing, copy editing, and independent publishing.

The Editorial Fellow’s Responsibilities

  • Commissioning and/or putting out a call for submissions of unpublished creative writing.
  • Reading and selecting 5-15 submissions for the Editorial Feature.
  • Editing submissions in consultation with Harvard Review editors.
  • Participating in editorial meetings.
  • Writing an introduction to the feature.
  • Conducting and editing an interview with one of the accepted writers.
  • Helping to publicize the Editorial Feature.
  • Suggesting related books for review in the Harvard Book Review.

Application Guidelines

Duration: This Editorial Fellowship is a semester-long position. In Spring 2023, it ran from January 31, 2023 through May 30, 2023. The dates for 2024 have yet to be confirmed

Compensation: The Fellow will receive compensation of $3500. If the fellow wishes to begin their work sooner or extend it longer, to spread out their responsibilities, this is an option that they can discuss with the Harvard Review leadership team.

Eligibility: Ph.D. candidates in the Department of English, Harvard University who are not taking the Dissertation Completion Fellowship in the same semester.

Timeline: For the Spring fellowship, please submit your application no later than midnight on December 15 using this Google Form.

Please Submit the Following

  • CV (2 pages, singled spaced max).
  • Cover letter describing your interest in Harvard Review and your literary aspirations (1 page, single spaced max).
  • Proposal statement (500 words max) outlining the idea and suggesting the names of a few possible target writers. This proposal should reflect a specific editorial interest or question and consist of some constellation of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction (translations welcome). We are looking for a unique editorial vision and an exciting proposal, and we encourage applicants to think creatively.

Additional Notes

If you are also applying for Literary Careers “Professional Development & Publishing Funding for PhDs” for the spring semester, please note this in both your application for the Editorial Fellowship and Professional Development Funding. As the LC Program aims to make the greatest amount of funding available to the greatest number of students, we cannot currently allow students to accept both this Fellowship and Professional Development Funding in the same semester. If you would prefer to receive one kind of opportunity over the other, you should note this in your application for your preferred opportunity.