Since 1997, WLA’s scholarly journal Western American Literature has offered graduate students enrolled in the graduate program at Utah State University a competitive stipend and the opportunity for training in the field of academic publishing. Two full editorial fellowships are available every year:

The Thomas J. Lyon Fellowship, named in honor of the journal’s second editor, and the Western Literature Association Fellowship are offered in alternate years.

A third fellowship, the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation Book Review Fellowship (offered since 1998), is a part-time, editorial fellowship.

These fellowships are opportunities for students who are looking for a master’s program with an emphasis in western American literature or cultural studies. The editorial fellow has to be enrolled at Utah State University. If you are considering a second master’s degree in this field, see below. If you know someone considering graduate work in western American studies, please refer them to this page. The editorial fellows are also eligible to apply for travel funding to attend the Western Literature Association Conference.

After a WLA fellowship, students have gone on to:

• publish scholarly essays on such subjects as folklore, environmental literature, and Canadian literature
• work as freelance editors
• enroll in PhD programs
• finish PhDs and start tenure-track positions at a university
• become human resource directors
• become public relations and marketing specialists
• teach as adjunct faculty members in an English Department
• launch an online humor magazine.

Learn more about our current and former fellows.