ADAM KOLTON ALASKA STORYTELLING GRANT

Photo Credit: Florian Schulz

Guidelines and Application

2024 APPLICATIONS CLOSED

Adam Kolton portrait

Established in 2022 in memory of Alaska Wilderness League’s late executive director, the Adam Kolton Alaska Storytelling Grant is a $20,000 annual award to a professional storyteller with experience living in Alaska who tells a uniquely Alaskan story.

Adam dedicated his career to protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and led Alaska Wilderness League as its executive director from 2017 to 2021. The Storytelling Grant aims to acknowledge the memory of Adam, who recognized the power of promoting stories from Alaska, including those shared by Indigenous Gwich’in partners and members of Alaska’s Tribal nations. In particular, Adam believed in the power of storytelling to create a meaningful and lasting memory of Alaska and its environment. The grant is supported by contributions made to the Adam Kolton Memorial Fund.

Read more about Adam’s impact on Alaska conservation here.

Past grant recipients:

2022: Polly Andrews (Project and Background here & here)

2023: Bjorn Olson (Project and background here).

AWARD AND APPLICATION INFORMATION

The Adam Kolton Storytelling Grant is a merit-based, unrestricted award of $20,000. The awardee (or awardees, if applying as a team) will be a practicing professional storyteller of exceptional talent and ability who has experience living in Alaska and who tells a uniquely Alaskan story. Additionally, Honorable Mention awards may be given.

The award is open to artists and storytellers who are currently writing and/or performing their work, and it acknowledges that stories can be shared in a variety of formats in addition to spoken word, including photography, film or visual art. It will include a plan to work with Alaska Wilderness League to promote and distribute the awardee’s (or awardees’) stories.

The awardee will be an individual artist, storyteller, or team who creates and/or performs their work. This work may range from experimenting with new approaches to carrying on the tradition of heritage storytelling.

Applications will be accepted until midnight Alaska time on September 8. Funding decisions will be made in early October, with applicants notified at that time regarding the status of their applications.

SELECTION CRITERIA

  • Artistic excellence in traditional or contemporary storytelling as recognized by the artist’s community or the public
  • Storytelling background and experience of the artist in publishing and/or performing the art form
  • Artist’s continued dedication and exploration of his or her work, with an interest in sharing the stories with the Alaska community or the general public
  • Connection to the mission of Alaska Wilderness League, which is to “protect Alaska's wild lands and waters by inspiring broad support for federal policy action.”

APPLICANTS MUST BE:

  • 18 years of age or older
  • Former or current Alaska State residents who developed their art form after formative experiences in Alaska
  • Individual storytellers (or teams of up to four persons) who are the originators of the work

APPLICANTS MUST NOT BE:

  • Students whose storytelling work is part of their degree program
  • Board members or staff of Alaska Wilderness League, members of the Adam Kolton Alaska Storytelling Grant Selection Committee or their immediate families

SELECTION PROCESS

All applications will be submitted electronically and include samples of the storyteller’s work, via video or audio clips or in print. Applications will be reviewed and selected by a six-person Selection Committee made up of Alaska Wilderness League board and staff, and representatives of the Kolton family.

Award finalists may be asked to participate in a brief interview as part of the selection process, after the application deadline.

The awardee (or awardees, if applying as a team) will be expected to share an update on their work supported by this award via one interim report and one final report to the Selection Committee. The awardee is also expected to showcase their work at an annual event in the fall. Details regarding these reports, including deadlines, will be outlined in the award agreement.

The Committee will be asked to review all applicants through a lens of racial equity and consider geographic diversity and a range of styles, both traditional and contemporary.

Alaska Wilderness League believes in “Inclusion:  Fostering a sense of belonging by centering, valuing and amplifying the voices, perspectives and styles of those who experience more barriers based on their identities.”

Please contact Alaska Wilderness League at info@alaskawild.org or 202-544-5205 with any questions.

APPLICATION CONTENTS

Interested and eligible applicants can apply here.

Preview the application questions and required documents here.