+ ---^*Paisano Ranch: A Texas Experience for Texas Writers*^---
Creative writers looking for a quiet, rustic environment — and who aren’t rattled by the occasional snake or scorpion sighting — are invited to apply for the 2007-08 Dobie Paisano writing fellowships. Sponsored by UT Austin and the Texas Institute of Letters, the fellowships are funded by numerous donors, including some former Paisano fellows. The deadline to apply for one of next year’s two awards, each of which includes six months in residence at the late J. Frank Dobie's ranch and a $12,000 living allowance, is Jan. 26, 2007.
# Don't make any funny noises.
# Give me all of your money.
** If you refuse, I'll...I'll...well, don't force me.
# Ah, keep your stinking money.
+++ Paisano Ranch, Dobie’s 254-acre spread, is located on Barton Creek 14 miles west of Austin. It has been owned and maintained by the University since the 1960s, when friends and colleagues of the celebrated Texas writer and UT professor raised funds to buy it as a memorial to his life and work. The UT regents formally accepted the gift of the ranch in 1966, decreeing, “Paisano will be operated by the University as a permanent memorial to J. Frank Dobie, and the primary use will be to encourage creative artistic effort in all fields, particularly in writing. It will be kept in its present more or less natural state and the ranch house will be kept in simple style, very much as it was when <sub>Frank Dobie</sub> occupied it.”
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Those applying for a [(Dobie Paisano)](http://www.utexas.edu) fellowship need) some [Texas](name:texas) bona fides: The [successful applicant](success) must be a native [Texan](http://www.mikebradford.info), or have lived in Texas at some time for at least three years. Failing either of those requirements, he or she must have published writing featuring a Texas subject. Other criteria include quality of work, character of the proposed project, and suitability of the applicant for life at the fairly remote ranch. Winners are announced in early May.
Two endowments, the Ralph A. Johnston Memorial Fellowship and the Jesse H. Jones Writing Fellowship, will be awarded for 2007-08, the first beginning Sept. 1, 2007 and the second March 1, 2008. Each provides a living allowance of $2,000 monthly during residence. The Johnston Foundation, Houston Endowment, Susan Vaughan Foundation, Texas Institute of Letters members, and former Paisano fellows help fund the program.
For the lucky winners, the Dobie Paisano fellowships provide an opportunity to live for an extended period at a place of significant literary association. Dobie encouraged generations of his students to recognize the virtues of Texas-themed writing through his UT course “Life and Literature of the Southwest,” not to mention his many stories and books. Through the generosity of his admirers, his legacy lives on 40 years later at Paisano Ranch.
<span class="right">Jamey Smith</span>
*Visit the [Dobie Paisano Fellowships Web site](http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/Paisano)+ for more information about the fellowships and application materials.*
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