University of East Anglia, UK announces Sonny Mehta India Scholarship

for budding Indian writers

    Fully paid Scholarship worth £28,500 for MA Creative Writing: Prose, Poetry or Scriptwriting Course

    The scholarship will cover tuition fee, living cost and cost of relocating to the UK for the course

    Endowed by Ms Gita Mehta in memory of her husband, The Sonny Mehta Scholarshipwill support talented writers from Indian subcontinent, North Africa and Middle East.

New Delhi, 21st January 2021: The University of East Anglia (UEA), one of the UK’s top 25 universities, has announcedafully-funded annual Sonny Mehta India scholarship for its Creative Writing MA programme 2021 worth £28,500.

The scholarships have been endowed by Gita Mehta,who wanted to establish the scholarships in memory of her husband Sonny Mehta, editor-in-chief of US publishing house Alfred A. Knopf and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Group.

Mr Mehta died in December 2019 and over the course of his career published some of the most successful and influential authors of all time, including eight literature and one economics nobel laureates. From Toni Morrison to John Le Carre and UEA graduate Sir Kazuo Ishiguro OBE.Mr Mehta’s portfolio was broad and diverse, including popular titles such as Jurassic Park and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, as well as Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch and memoirs by former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

The Sonny Mehta India Scholarship will be available for creative writing students from India, the Indian sub-continent, North Africa and the Middle East and will cover tuition fees and living costs, as well as a grant to cover the cost of relocating to the UK for the course. Candidates who self-identify as Roma in the application form under ethnicity will also be considered.

Under this postgraduate scholarship program, UEA will offerscholarships worth £28,500 for those meeting the entry criteria namely the aspirants should be self-funded and demonstrate genuine financial need as also outstanding creative writing potential.

These scholarships will enable Indian students to realize their dream of studying at UEA by providing substantial financial support at the post-graduate level. 

UEA’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof David Richardson, said “This is a wonderful contribution to UEA’s Creative Writing programme and we are immensely grateful to Gita Mehta for making this possible. 

“Sonny Mehta was the most influential editor and publisher of his generation. His wisdom and range transformed the literary landscape. At UEA we will continue to champion that call for excellence and inclusivity, and enable more brilliant voices to be heard.” 

UEA’s Director of Creative Writing, Prof Henry Sutton, said, ‘Our programme seeks and welcomes exciting new voices from around the world. Contemporary writing should be without borders, boundaries and prejudices. It strives to make sense of our world, and for all. Enabling students who might otherwise not have been able to develop their voices and be heard could not be more crucial.’”

Celebrating the 50th birthday of Creative Writing this year, UEA launched its MA Creative Writing programme marking half a century of nurturing talented new writers. UEA’s creative writing programme was the first course of its kind in the UK and has produced more published and prize-winning authors than any other UK programme.

Applicants can submit their application until14th May 2021.

For details on application and eligibility please visit: https://www.uea.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/scholarships-finder/scholarships-a-z/the-sonny-mehta-scholarship-for-writers

About the University of East Anglia

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a UK Top 25 university and is ranked in the top 50 globally for research citations. Known for its world-leading research and good student experience, it was awarded Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework and is a leading member of Norwich Research Park, one of Europe’s biggest concentrations of researchers in the fields of environment, health and plant science. www.uea.ac.uk