What is the Ministry of Culture grant for young writers?It’s a program that funds writing by young Taiwanese nationals aged 20 to 40; novels, essays and poetry collections can all apply. Selected works can be labeled “Awarded by the Ministry of Culture,” and there’s a matchmaking event afterward. Utsudo was selected as a first-time applicant in 2021, with a grant amounting to several hundred thousand NT dollars.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

I was selected for the Ministry of Culture grant

　　Yes, I really was selected!

　　When a friend told me the news in early 2021, I could hardly believe it. After all, it’s essentially a competition, and a fiercely contested one — writers from both popular fiction and literary fiction scramble for it. And me, a first-time applicant who’s never had luck with contests, actually got in. Could this be the legendarybeginner’s luckQQ

　　When I saw my name on the website, for a while I thought I was dreaming. I checked it every few dozen minutes to make sure it wasn’t my imagination.

About this award

　　Let me tell you about this award.

　　This awardfunds writing by young people with Taiwanese nationality aged 20 to 40, so novels, essays, poetry collections and more can all be selected. If you pass, once the whole process is done, the finished work can not only be submitted to publishers but can also apply for follow-up publishing subsidy programsand so on — all benefit and no harm.

　　Any work that comes out of this program can carry the label “Awarded by the Ministry of Culture,” which is a mark of honor. Also, there’s a matchmaking event at the end — I hear it’s a lively gathering where you can see publishers competing for talent.

　　Senior writers told me that at the literary matchmaking events, they have actors perform a portion of each work’s plot rather than just reading it aloud. Just imagining it sounds so fun — I wonder if that tradition will continue this time XD

　　And a single grant amounts to several hundred thousand NT dollars — a considerable sum for us poor (?) creators. The feeling of being able to create wholeheartedly without worrying about survival, which we’ve dreamed of, is truly wonderful.

　　Of course, for other professions this may not be much money, but it should be plenty for ordinary living expenses — just don’t blow it all in a few days.

Writing and research after the award

　　After winning, I feel more grounded, and with peace of mind come better ideas and more courage. Of course, besides the awarded work, I’ll keep writing other novels, and even want to take on more projects — and I can also fulfill my little dream of traveling to places I want to research.

　　When this post goes up, I should be doing research near Sun Moon Lake. I’d meant to take the chance to enjoy that scenic place, but it turned out there’s a severe drought — reportedly less than 5% of the beautiful lake’s water remains. It’s a bit sad. I hope the drought ends soon and Sun Moon Lake returns to its former beauty.

Opportunity favors the prepared

　　Frankly, as a popular-fiction writer, I never imagined I’d one day apply for this program and win. I even thought it had nothing to do with me in this lifetime — I just figured if it didn’t pass, oh well, I’d take the manuscript back and keep writing.

　　But we can’t figure out how they select — this time quite a few frequent award-winning big names missed out. I think my getting in this time was really mostly luck QQ

　　But whatever the case, I’ll treat this work with special care so as not to let the judges down, and create something I myself consider one of my life’s masterpieces. From now on, I’ll keep creating with that same spirit.

　　Admittedly, the application process is a bit tedious, and those never-before-seen forms will probably scare off quite a few people — that’s how I felt when I saw them years ago.

　　Opportunity comes to those who are prepared. I hope everyone gives this path a try — if you try, you have a chance.

FAQ

Further reading (in Chinese)

• Previous: #75 (in Chinese)
• Next: #77 (in Chinese)
• Start from the beginning: #01 — Utsudo’s debut
• Column introduction
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.

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