The sixth edition of the Gabriel García Márquez Fellowship in Cultural Journalism is issuing a call for reporters from around the world that publish in print or online media. On this occasion, the fellowship will take place in Cartagena, Colombia from February 28 to March 6, 2018 and will revolve around a topic that Gabo was passionate about and involved in through different roles: cinema. Apply here.
We give you five reasons to apply for one of the 15 spots.
To be guided by four masters of journalism
Participants will enjoy six days of joint writing clinics and personalized sessions with master lecturers and fellowship directors Héctor Feliciano (Puerto Rico) and Jonathan Levi (United States) as well as guest lecturers David Trueba (Spain), journalist and Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and Stephanie Zacharek (United States), Time magazine critic and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
The lecturers will support fellows throughout their process, from topic selection to final editing. They will read and re-read the daily drafts in order to, together, refocus and polish the texts.
This is how Jorge Fabricio Hernández, the rapporteur for the Gabo Fellowship in 2017, described the sessions: “In the tutoring sessions, each fellow makes progress in polishing their copy, abandoning their ego or the personal presence that can obscure the subject like a shadow cast on typography.”
To do intensive field reporting
During the fellowship, the work sessions with the lecturers are complemented with daily field outings in Cartagena to do reporting and interviews, look for stories, and write two pieces in real time, to be published after the fellowship on the FNPI website: one work of film criticism, and one long-form reportage. Read the pieces produced during the Gabo Fellowship 2017.
“What stays with me from the fellowship is the intensity, not only in terms of writing —we were required every day to have something ready, something reported on— but also the experience of being the city, because I feel that that has been largely lost in the practice of journalism,” says Sara Malagón, editor in Revista Arcadia and fellow in 2016.
To experience the FICCI
The fellowship is an invitation to explore the film industry by telling stories from one of the most important screening events in Latin America, the Cartagena Film Festival, known as FICCI, it’s Spanish acronym.
Created in 1960, it is the oldest film event in Latin America, one that García Márquez was involved with from its beginnings. He assisted the festival on several occasions, the most memorable being in 1966 when he was part of the Mexican delegation.
Specifically, Puerto FICCI will be the ideal space for the fellows to explore the stories behind the films. It is a meeting place where programmers, critics, distributors, exhibitors, producers, festival directors, actors, production companies, film personalities, academics, composers, and others gather in spaces for promotion, training, and networking.
To have exchanges with journalists from around the world
The Gabo Fellowship is an international journalistic training and creation program that allows journalists from the five continents to exchange experiences and strengthen their capacities in cultural journalism. Out of the fifteen fellows, five will be Colombian, five Latin American, and five from other continents.
For Smriti Daniel, a journalist from Sri Lanka, the Gabo Fellowship in 2017 was her first contact with Latin America. “I can honestly say that it changed by life. I had never been in Latin America and it was the first time I was surrounded by Spanish speakers. It was an incredible way to be introduced to this unique and extraordinary culture.”
To be accompanied by photojournalists
In your outings as a reporter, you will enjoy the support of experienced photojournalists that will take the pictures for the final works.
See the photos that accompanied the works produced during the Gabo Fellowship 2017.
About the Gabo Fellowship
The sixth edition of the Gabriel García Márquez Cultural Journalism Fellowship is organized by the FNPI (Gabriel García Márquez New Journalism Foundation), the Colombian Ministry of Culture, and the Cartago Foundation, with the support of the Cartagena Chamber of Commerce.
Gabo Fellowship 2017, held in Cartagena, Aracataca, and Barranquilla: