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 (U.S. or international based) 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 in: Atlanta (December 2026), Puerto Rico (March 2027) and San Francisco (July 2027).
Apply for the Fellowship
Applications for Pillars Bylines are open April 1 at 12:00 pm CT through May 15, 2026 at 11:59 pm CT.
Who is this Fellowship for?
Bylines is for early-to-mid-career Muslim freelance and “permalance” journalists — including print, audio, and video reporters, producers, photographers, and critics — who see culture as essential coverage. Applicants should have 3–5 years of professional journalism experience, have published work within the past three years, and be based in the U.S. or its territories (citizenship not required). All fellows must report and produce in English, though multilingual journalists are encouraged to apply.
We’re looking for journalists who bring strong editorial judgment, cultural fluency, and deep community connection to their work. You understand culture — across arts, music, food, religion, language, and identity — as a site of power, insight, and social change, not a peripheral “soft” beat. You’re attentive to how narratives are shaped, whose voices are centered, and how storytelling shifts when Muslim perspectives lead.
This fellowship prioritizes those committed to journalism as a long-term practice, with a clear investment in growing their craft and stepping into leadership within the field.
See our FAQs below for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions - General
-
Muslim freelance/ “permalance” journalists - of any discipline - whose main beat is culture reporting.
with at least 3-5 years of professional journalism experience
who has U.S. residency (citizenship is not required)
who report, publish, produce in English (multilingual journalists welcome)
who have published work - of any dicipline- within the last 3 years
If you are full-time staff reporter you do not qualify at this time.
-
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.
-
Regretfully at this time, applicants must hold at least U.S. residency. This requirement allows Pillars to effectively assist our fellows with their travel needs during our in-person cohorts.
-
Yes! We recognize that the freelance economy means many of you hold multiple reporting skills for various mediums. We welcome and value these various expertise across mediums.
Frequently Asked Questions - Selection
-
To apply, you’ll need a short bio, resume, five-minute story pitch video , four prompted reflections, and two work samples.
-
Work samples must be published in a media outlet and have gone through an internal editing process.
Substack or independent blog submissions are not eligible for this fellowship at this time.
Work samples must be published in English or have English subtitles and/or translation. This ensures that your application is able to be thoroughly reviewed with the care and nuance it deserves. Our reviewers cannot translate your samples and if you don’t provide subtitles your application may be disqualified. There are many free subtitling services that are useful for this purpose.
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.
-
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.
-
To qualify, your publishing experience must include work with journalism organizations that utilize a formal editorial review process (revisions, fact-checking, copy edits, etc.) before publication. Simply using aggregator or self-publishing sites does not meet this requirement, as these are not considered journalism organizations with built-in editorial oversight. If your experience is limited only to self-publishing, you are unlikely to be a good fit at this time.
-
Yes. We understand that your editorial and/or technical skills are integral to the published work. Please ensure that, for each of your submitted samples, you thoroughly detail your specific contributions. This will give us a clearer understanding of your journalistic focus, the nature of your involvement, and how that shapes your current journalistic practice.
-
Yes. We welcome journalists whose journalistic expertise extends to international stories, topics and communities. A series also qualifies.
-
Yes, we will accept the application, but we require that your two other writing samples be from the last three years. It is important for us to see evidence of your active reporting and publishing work. If you have a particularly strong sample that is slightly older than the required three years, you may include it, but be sure to prioritize your strongest and most recent work overall.
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 industry connections
-
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.
-
Retreat 1 - Atlanta : December 7-9, 2026
Retreat 2 - Puerto Rico: March 22-24, 2027
Retreat 3 - San Francisco: July 12-14, 2027