Victoria Amelina Fellowship 2026: Open Call
INDEX announces the second open call for the Victoria Amelina Fellowship programme for creative non-fiction writers. Two Fellows will join us in Amelina’s native city of Lviv in April-June 2026 to work on their own documentary projects. The projects should explore the roots and consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Victoria Amelina’s Legacy
Victoria Amelina was a Ukrainian writer and founder of the New York Literary Festival in the settlement of New York, eastern Ukraine. After Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Amelina retrained as a war crimes researcher and started documenting the consequences of the Russian invasion as part of the Truth Hounds team. Amelina travelled around the world inspiring audiences from Colombia to Albania, Germany, France, Latvia, Norway, Poland, and the UK with her pursuit of justice.
Victoria Amelina's documentation work informed not only her international advocacy but also her nonfiction book Looking at Women Looking at War: A War & Justice Diary (published in 2025 and awarded the George Orwell prize for Political Writing) and her collection of poetry Testimonies (Svidchennia, 2024). Both books were published posthumously. On 27 June 2023, Victoria Amelina sustained critical injuries in a Russian missile strike on a restaurant in Kramatorsk. She died on 1 July 2023.
To continue the labour of witnessing and the fight for justice that drove Victoria Amelina, the Fellowship named after her will also advance the internationalist aspect of her work by engaging nonfiction writers from Ukraine and abroad.
About the Victoria Amelina Fellowship
After the open call, the selection committee will choose two Fellows — one from abroad and one from Ukraine. During the programme, they will receive:
Accommodation in a flat in the centre of Lviv;
Office space at INDEX (Fellows’ room in the INDEX premises);
Stipend ($1200 per month for three months);
Research seminars, peer review sessions, and workshops;
Media outreach (interviews and podcasts with the media partners of INDEX and PEN Ukraine);
Participation in the rich programme of cultural and academic events in Lviv and other Ukrainian cities, organised by INDEX and institutional partners;
Voluntary documentary trip to de-occupied territories or territories close to the frontline in partnership with PEN Ukraine;
Study visits to local cultural institutions;
Victoria Day 2026, a flagship event in Lviv featuring two Victoria Amelina Fellows. Watch the Victoria Day 2025 recordings here.
Expected outcomes:
New documentary work created by each Fellow (a completed book manuscript, libretto, poetry collection, screenplay, etc.)
One essay or column reflecting on their experiences during the programme.
Who Can Apply?
Writers who are interested in human rights and documentation of wartime experiences. The writers should have at least one published book by the time of application.
In 2025, the programme’s Fellows were Kateryna Iakovlenko and Eva Peek — find out more about them via the link.
Selection Committee
The Selection Committee of the Victoria Amelina Fellowship consists of nine members. Four members participate in the work of both Ukrainian and International Selection Committees.
General:
Tetyana Teren (Founder and director of Tereny cultural agency);
Sasha Dovzhyk (Head of INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange);
Yaryna Grusha (Author, translator, Member of the Executive Council at PEN Ukraine);
Alex Amelin.
Ukrainian:
Hryhoriy Baran (Social Capital Program Director at International Renaissance Foundation);
Oleksandra Matviichuk (Head of Center for Civil Liberties);
Olena Stiazhkina (Writer and historian);
Olga Rusina (Writer, member of the New York Literary Festival);
Sofia Cheliak (Partnership manager at Veteranka).
International:
Askold Melnyczuk (Editor and publisher at Arrowsmith Press);
Charlotte Higgins (Chief culture writer at The Guardian);
Francesca Melandri (Writer);
Maria Tumarkin (Writer and Professor of Creative Writing, University of Melbourne);
Markus Lux (Vice President of Robert Bosch Stiftung, Special Division Ukraine).
How to Apply?
The candidates should submit:
A short CV;
A one-page proposal for the project they will be pursuing during their Fellowship;
One published piece of writing (a chapter, essay, selection of poetry).
The decision will be made based on the literary merit and cross-cultural sensitivity of their work.
Application form for Ukrainian writers: https://forms.gle/4ffQwEM59MqGKEE3A
Application form for international writers: https://forms.gle/jtHA5hwzaBCj2xWi9
Deadline: 4 January 2026
Announcement of selection results: 20 January
Should you have any additional questions, please contact us at communications@index-ukraine.org
Programme partners: PEN Ukraine, Truth Hounds, and the New York Literary Festival, INDEX.
Note regarding safety: In light of the risks associated with Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, those international writers who choose to travel to Ukraine assume personal responsibility and are encouraged to purchase travel insurance. INDEX will not be held liable to any emergency that might occur during their stay.
This publication was compiled with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It’s content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
The work of INDEX is supported by Robert Bosch Stiftung.