Scholarship Opportunities
The William Faulkner Society offers two scholarships for graduate students or nontenured scholars to support the study of William Faulkner. These awards are funded by annual dues from members of the Society. The number of awards depends on current funds, and we invite donations to help fund these important scholarships.
Faulkner & Yoknapatawpha Scholarship
The scholarship funds attendance (with the possibility of additional funding depending on available resources) to the annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference in Oxford, Mississippi.
William Faulkner Travel & Research Award
The scholarship funds attendance (with the possibility of additional funding depending on available resources) to other conferences, including but not limited to ALA or MLA, or other research-related trips pertaining to the study of William Faulkner and his oeuvre.
Requirements
William Faulkner Society members and others may apply directly or be nominated by a faculty member for either scholarship. Each application should include:
- A brief letter from the student or faculty member explaining how their work can be enhanced by attending the conference.
- An up-to-date C.V.
Email all items, with the title of the scholarship in the subject line, to the Faulkner Society Executive Board.
Testimonials
I am incredibly grateful to the William Faulkner Society for a travel award that enabled me to attend the 2026 William Faulkner and Louise Erdrich Conference, where I presented my paper, “Communicating a Vision of Transcendence in The Sound and the Fury.” This opportunity was invaluable to my personal and professional development; I made wonderful friends and heard from brilliant Faulkner scholars from around the world.
Melody Goh, Baylor University
The William Faulkner Travel & Research Award enabled me to attend the annual Faulkner & Yoknapatawpha Conference at Ole Miss. It was an incredible experience, allowing me to spend four days engaging with colleagues working in Faulkner studies. I presented research that I continue to develop as part of my PhD project, focusing on Faulkner’s relationship with experimental regionalisms in South America and Mexico.
Luciana Colombo,
University of Pennsylvania
I was awarded the John W. Hunt Memorial Scholarship in 2022 during the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha annual conference: ‘Faulkner’s Modernisms’. My talk at that year’s conference was titled “‘And, Being Myriad, One’: Faulkner’s Onto-Epistemological Impulses and How They Contribute to a Faulknerian Ethics.” This paper dealt with Faulkner’s problematisation of philosophies emphasising the mutability of meaning and truth via a vision present across his fiction of an immutable, universalist onto-epistemology. This work was an offshoot of my at that time newly completed PhD and is consistent with interventions I am still making in Faulkner studies. Being awarded the Hunt Scholarship at this pivotal point in my career offset conference expenses but also offered a gift that many academics in their early careers need very much: a vote of confidence from the wider scholarly community. I am very appreciative of the William Faulkner Society, as always, for support of this kind.
Bernard Joy,
Independent Scholar
In July 2023, I was awarded the Hunt Scholarship by the William Faulkner Society. This scholarship supported my paper “Queering the Couple in The Hamlet,” which was delivered at the “Queer Faulkner” 2023 Yoknapatawpha Conference. The grant helped me cover the cost of the journey from France to Mississippi, which gave me the truly enriching opportunity to engage with international scholars in Oxford, Faulkner’s home.
Astrid Maes,
l’Université Clermont Auvergne
I will forever be thankful to the William Faulkner Society for their generosity in awarding me the John W. Hunt Scholarship for Faulkner Studies. I received the award the same month that my first monograph, William Faulkner and Mortality, was published. The coincidence of these two milestones was immeasurably important to me during my early career, and I look back at that time with fondness and appreciation.
Ahmed Honeini,
Royal Holloway, University of London
Being a recipient of the William Faulkner Travel & Research Award not only helped me cover travel costs to Oxford, Mississippi, but also put a spotlight on my scholarly work and helped to bolster my confidence as an emerging scholar. Through this award, I felt recognized by and welcomed into the intense community of Faulkner scholars who routinely gather at Ole Miss to study his Yoknapatawpha County.
Brock Rustin,
Claremont Graduate University
The William Faulkner Travel Award supported my attendance at the 37th American Literature Association Annual Conference in Chicago from 20-23 May 2026, where I presented a paper drawn from a chapter of my PhD thesis, titled ‘The Double Consciousness of Benjy’s Neurodivergence in The Sound and the Fury’. At a stage when I was beginning to gain a sense of direction and confidence in my research, the award was an encouragement, making me feel that I could take up my own space in a wider scholarly conversation.
Kaiyue Hou,
University of Bristol, UK
