DEADLINE: Watchdog Writers Group Book Fellowship

The Watchdog Writers Group (WWG) is a nonprofit journalism fellowship program and teaching lab based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The WWG has a dual mission: to financially support authors as they write a deeply reported nonfiction book in the public interest, while simultaneously training the next generation of young reporters.

The WWG’s centerpiece program is a top-tier fellowship for established journalists who are writing a book. The program will give fellows an annual stipend of at least $50,000 for two years, supporting them as they step away from their day jobs to conduct the type of time-consuming, onerous reporting that falls through the cracks in over-stressed newsrooms.

Here's how WWG works.

The Group was launched in early 2020 with a three-year, $1.1 million grant from the Schmidt Family Foundation. The WWG is also funded through the generous support of the William T. Kemper Foundation in Kansas City, Mo. Because it is based at the Missouri Journalism School, the WWG has access to world-class faculty and student reporters, making it a vitally important hub for print journalism and training in the heart of the Midwest.

Deadline to apply for the 2025-2026 academic year is Apr 24, 2025. Apply here.