2027 Jesuit Media Lab Fellowship

Fellows will:

• Participate in monthly Zoom gatherings during the 2027 calendar year. Gatherings will combine community building, discussion of creative practice, opportunities to share work and conversations with guest creators.
  • Zoom meetings will be held from 8-9 p.m. ET on Wednesday evenings each month of 2027:
    • January 27
    • February 24
    • March 24
    • April 28
    • May 26
    • June 23
    • July 28
    • August 25
    • September 22
    • October 27
    • November 17
    • December 15
      
• Participate in the 2027 JML Creators Festival from August 5-7 in Washington, DC (travel and program costs covered for fellows)
• Contribute at least three original pieces to the Jesuit Media Lab during the year. Contributions may take any form suitable for the JML platform, including written work, video, audio, visual art or another creative form.
• Work with the Jesuit Media Lab team to plan and carry out at least one event, course, workshop or other program, either online or in person.
• Offer thoughtful participation in a community of creators, including engaging with the work and ideas of other fellows.

The fellowship is open to writers, artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, podcasters and creators working in other forms.

Applicants should be interested in the intersection of creativity, faith, spirituality, culture and community. They do not need to work explicitly on religious subjects, but they should have experience in and openness to engaging with Ignatian spirituality and participating in a reflective, collaborative creative community.

Previous participation in Jesuit Media Lab programs is preferred but not required. Published work is also not required. Applicants may submit published or unpublished creative samples.

Because the fellowship is collaborative, applicants should be able to participate consistently in Zoom gatherings (missing no more than one), attend the 2027 JML Creators Festival, and complete the fellowship’s creative and programmatic commitments.

There is no stipend for participation in the fellowship itself.

Pieces accepted for publication by the Jesuit Media Lab will be compensated according to JML’s standard contributor rates. Fellows who develop and lead courses, workshops or other programs may also be compensated according to JML’s usual rates and contracting practices.

The Jesuit Media Lab team expects to select approximately six fellows for the 2027 cohort.

Applications will be considered based on:

• The applicant’s interest in and alignment with the Jesuit Media Lab’s mission
• The strength or promise of the applicant’s creative practice
• The applicant’s interest in collaboration and community
• The potential contributions the applicant could make to the cohort and the wider JML community
• The range of creative forms, experiences and perspectives represented across the full cohort

Selected finalists will be invited to a brief Zoom interview in mid-October.

Michael O’Connell, Ph.D.
Jesuit Media Lab Fellow

Michael is a writer, editor and educator who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since earning his Ph.D. in American literature from Loyola University Chicago, he has spent over a decade teaching literature and humanities courses at the university level, both online and in person. He is the author of “Startling Figures: Encounters with American Catholic Fiction” (Fordham University Press, 2023), editor of “Conversations with George Saunders” (University Press of Mississippi, 2022) and co-editor of The Journal of David Foster Wallace Studies. His essays have appeared in a wide array of peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as literary journals and websites. You can also find his writing on Substack at Nothing Gold.

Renée Darline Roden
Jesuit Media Lab Fellow

Renée is a journalist and playwright currently living at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Worker in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Notre Dame twice over with an undergraduate degree in theatre and theology and a graduate degree in theology. She is also a graduate of Columbia Journalism School. Her writing has appeared in The Nation, Religion News Service, The Associated Press, Sojourners, America and U.S. Catholic, among others. You can learn about that reporting and more at her website. You can also visit her literary test kitchen at Sweet Unrest on Substack.

Applications open: August 10, 2026
Application deadline: October 1, 2026
Finalist interviews: Mid-October 2026
Applicants notified: By November 15, 2026
Fellowship term: January–December 2027

Apply now for the 2027 Jesuit Media Lab Fellowship.
Applications are due by October 1, 2026.