INDEX, together with PEN Ukraine, Truth Hounds, the New York Literary Festival, 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 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.
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.
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.
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).
Deadline: 4 January 2026
Announcement of selection results: 20 January 2026
Programme partners: PEN Ukraine, Truth Hounds, the New York Literary Festival, INDEX.
Should you have any additional questions, please contact at communications@index-ukraine.org