About

Culture is how communities make meaning — through music, food, language, memory, art, and everyday life. Muslim journalists are telling these stories with urgency and depth. And they are doing so at significant personal and professional risk, in a moment when journalists are being targeted, newsrooms are contracting, and Muslim voices are being pushed out of the field by force and by choice.

The stories that most need telling are often the hardest to sustain a career on. Pillars Bylines exists to change that. Through this fellowship, we support early-career freelance Muslim journalists focused on culture with the funding, community, and professional development needed to do this work — and keep doing it.

This cycle, we will select 10 fellows based in the U.S. and offer:

  • $35,000 unrestricted award

  • Workshops and peer learning in craft, pitching, audience engagement, and ethics

  • Professional development and editing, pitching, and publication support

  • Exclusive industry connections

  • Three fully funded in-person retreats

Who is this Fellowship for?

Pillars Bylines is for early-career Muslim freelance journalists — writers, reporters, producers, photographers, and critics — who treat culture as essential coverage. Arts, music, food, religion, language, and identity are not soft subjects; they're the story.

We seek journalists with cultural fluency who understand how narratives are made, who gets to make them, and what changes when Muslim voices lead. Fellows are selected on journalistic craft, cultural vision, and alignment with Pillars' mission.

What are the Eligibility Requirements?

We're looking for Muslim freelance journalists committed to covering culture and who meet the following criteria:

  • 3-5 years of professional journalism experience

  • Live in the U.S. and territories (citizenship is not required)

  • Report, publish, produce in English (multilingual journalists welcome)

  • Published work within the last 3 years

The fellowship also prioritizes journalists who:

  • Are digital-first with a clear reporting practice, beat, or area of inquiry

  • Bring lived experience, community connection, and strong editorial judgment to their work

  • Engage culture as a site of insight, power, and social change — not apart from journalism, but central to it

  • Are committed to journalism as a long-term practice and to building toward leadership in the field

See our FAQs below for more details.

Apply for the Fellowship

Applications for Pillars Bylines are open April 1 at 12:00 pm CT through May 15, 2026 at 12:00 pm CT.

To apply, you’ll need a short bio, resume, five-minute personal video essay, two brief prompted reflections, and two work samples.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions below and register to attend an information session to learn more.

Apply Here (opens April 1 • noon CT)

Info Session:

🗓 April 22, 2026
🕛 12:00 p.m. CT

2:00 p.m. AST

1:00 p.m. ET

12:00 p.m. CT

10:00 a.m. PT

Frequently Asked Questions - General

    • Muslim freelance journalists who engage culture as a site of interest, power, and social change and

      • with 3-5 years of professional journalism experience

      • who live in the U.S. and territories (citizenship is not required)

      • who report, publish, produce in English (multilingual journalists welcome)

      • who have published work within the last 3 years

  • We will be accepting 10 fellows for the 2026-27 fellowship cycle.

  • This fellowship is open to Muslim freelance journalists who are reporting, producing, and sharing information with the public across all media formats—such as print, digital, audio, video, and broadcast and covering topics ranging from news and politics to culture.

  • Yes, anyone committed to working in or alongside Muslim communities is welcome here. At Pillars, we seek to honor the unique, multidimensional experiences of our people and communities, and we welcome journalists of all from the full range of our communities to join our fellowship. If you would like to be in touch about any concerns, please email us at journalism@pillarsfund.org.

  • Yes, the fellowship only requires applicants to be residents of the U.S.—citizenship is not required. Please note that domestic travel is required for participation in the fellowship.

Frequently Asked Questions - Selection

  • To apply, you’ll need a short bio, resume, five-minute personal video essay, two brief prompted reflections, and two work samples.

  • Attend our information sessions to hear directly from our team. Be sure to also check out our website and social media channels where we post information about the fellowship.

    • Work samples must be published in a media outlet

    • Substack or independent blog submissions are not eligible for this fellowship

    • Work samples must be published in English or have English subtitles and/or translation

    • Work samples can be submitted as text articles/essays, videos, data journalism piece, radio/audio piece, photo essay.

    • Without exception, these are the only types of samples we accept

  • Yes–we are accepting applications from journalists reporting and/or producing content across all media formats, including but not limited to video and photo.

  • Your samples can be submitted by completing the full application on Submittable.

  • Our selection committee will begin reviewing applications in May. All applicants will be notified of their status by Fall 2026.

  • Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept any late submissions, except in the case of pre-approved accommodations (see below).

  • We are happy to work with applicants to ensure an accessible application process. Please email journalism@pillarsfund.org to request an accommodation.

  • We're looking for early-career journalists who bring a Muslim lens to culture — and understand what shifts when they do. Fellows should have a distinct editorial voice, curiosity, and genuine cultural fluency, and be as invested in collective learning in a cohort format as they are in their own journalistic practice.

Frequently Asked Questions - Award & Commitment

    • An unrestricted award of $35,000

    • Accommodations and airfare paid for three boutique in-person retreats that provide opportunities to learn, connect, and create. 

    • High-quality professional development through targeted workshops and peer learning (topics include investigative reporting, digital storytelling, audience engagement, pitching, ethics)

    • Reporting and publication support, including guidance and pitching, editing, placing stories

    • Exclusive

    • Pillars Bylines consists of three multi-day in-person gatherings, taking place in December 2026, April 2027, and June 2027. During our last retreat, we will host a journalist showcase during which fellows will present a short pitch to a room of industry professionals to introduce their work and launch the fellows into the next phase of their careers.

    • Fellows will also be asked to contribute a piece of journalism as a capstone project, which will be included in a multimedia volume produced at the end of the fellowship.

    • Beyond the in-person retreats, fellows will have access to virtual workshops, 1:1 coaching and mentorship, and small group programming throughout the year. Attendance at most virtual offerings is optional, with the exception of scheduled coaching and mentorship sessions.

    • Sign up for the Pillars newsletter to be the first to know about our latest updates.

    • Follow us on Instagram (@pillarsfund) to keep the conversation going.