Organizer Information
Kometa is an independent French media publication dedicated to long-form journalism, documentary storytelling, photography, and literary reporting. Operating without advertising, major shareholders, or editorial affiliations, Kometa focuses on covering complex social, political, and cultural realities through immersive field-based reporting. The publication supports authors who work directly with communities and environments that are often underrepresented in mainstream media coverage.
To further its editorial mission, Kometa has launched the Kometa Fellows Program, a funding initiative designed to support ambitious journalistic, photographic, and literary projects requiring substantial fieldwork. The fellowship seeks to provide authors with the financial resources necessary to pursue challenging stories in difficult environments, while encouraging original perspectives and deep engagement with the subjects they document.
Title & Description
KOMETA FELLOWS – First Fellowship Cycle 2026
The Kometa Fellows 2026 program is an international fellowship opportunity for independent journalists, documentary photographers, photojournalists, and writers. Through this inaugural cycle, Kometa will award funding to six selected projects that explore urgent contemporary issues through original field-based investigation and storytelling.
Applicants are invited to submit projects under one of two editorial themes:
Theme 1: Disinformation – Mechanisms and Counter-Narratives
This theme seeks investigative reports, documentary projects, literary narratives, and photographic essays examining how disinformation is produced, circulated, and resisted. Applicants are encouraged to explore the social, political, and human consequences of misinformation while highlighting individuals and communities confronting it.
Theme 2: The Gulf Region Beyond Stereotypes
Projects may focus on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, or Iran. Kometa seeks nuanced portrayals that move beyond economic statistics and geopolitical headlines to reveal everyday lives, social transformations, cultural realities, and underreported stories from the region.
The fellowship prioritizes projects grounded in direct field experience and encourages applicants to present original narratives capable of expanding public understanding of complex issues.
A total of six fellows will be selected, with three projects funded under each thematic category.
Categories
- Journalism
- Investigative Reporting
- Documentary Photography
- Photojournalism
- Literary Nonfiction
- Narrative Writing
- Documentary Storytelling
- Visual Storytelling
- Multimedia Reporting
Eligibility
The fellowship is open internationally. Eligible applicants include:
- Independent journalists
- Freelance reporters
- Documentary photographers
- Photojournalists
- Writers and literary nonfiction authors
- Individual applicants
- Co-applications from two collaborators
There are:
- No nationality restrictions
- No residency restrictions
- No upper age limit
- No requirement to hold a press card
- No requirement for previous publication with Kometa
Projects already underway may be submitted if they have not secured a confirmed editorial commission or production contract.
Ineligible Applicants
The following are not eligible:
- Agencies
- Media companies
- Production companies
- Associations or organizations
- Collective entities
- Permanent newsroom staff applying through their employment position
- Projects already completed
- Projects already supported through a confirmed editorial commitment
- Projects substantially generated through artificial intelligence
Program Benefits & Awards
Kometa will support up to six fellows. Each selected project receives:
- €10,000 gross funding
- Editorial support from the Kometa team
- Publication opportunities through Kometa
- Visibility through Kometa’s communication channels
- Professional recognition as a Kometa Fellow
The grant is provided as an advance against author rights and may be combined with other professional funding sources, provided the project does not already have a firm editorial commitment at the time of application.
Payment Schedule
Funding is paid in two installments:
- 50% upon signing the fellowship agreement
- 50% after submission and validation of the completed project
Applicable social and tax deductions may apply depending on the fellow’s legal and professional status.
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit a complete PDF application package containing:
1. Project Intent Statement
- Maximum one page
- Description of the proposed project
- Personal connection to the topic or region
- Current stage of development
- Intended use of fellowship funding
2. Detailed Project Presentation
- Maximum five pages
- Project context
- Research and reporting approach
- Proposed fieldwork
- Communities or individuals involved
- Narrative methodology
- Significance and originality of the project
3. Preliminary Timeline
Including:
- Fieldwork schedule
- Research period
- Writing and production phases
4. Estimated Budget
Including projected expenses such as:
- Travel
- Accommodation
- Fixers and interpreters
- Equipment
- Post-production
- Professional fees
- Additional funding sources (if applicable)
5. Curriculum Vitae
- Maximum two pages
- Professional background summary
6. Work Samples
Applicants must submit:
- Three to five representative works
- Published or unpublished material
- French or English submissions accepted
Photographers should submit a coherent portfolio rather than unrelated images.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 31 July 2026
- Eligibility Review Period: 3–24 August 2026
- Fellowship Winners Announced: 21 September 2026
Location
Additional Details
- AI-generated texts and AI-generated images are strictly prohibited in final fellowship deliverables.
- Limited auxiliary use of AI tools (translation, research assistance, brainstorming, proofreading, formatting) is permitted if disclosed in the application.
- Fellows must provide monthly project updates to Kometa.
- Selected fellows are required to contribute once per month to La Comète, Kometa’s newsletter, through field notes, images, diaries, or reporting fragments.
- Fellows must acknowledge Kometa’s support in any future publication, exhibition, or dissemination of the funded work.
- Kometa retains the right to publish excerpts or the entirety of completed projects according to the fellowship agreement.
- Unsuccessful projects may be resubmitted in future fellowship cycles, provided they continue to meet eligibility requirements.
- Jury decisions are final and are not accompanied by individual feedback.
- Kometa reserves the right not to allocate all available funding if submitted proposals do not meet the required standards.