We are now accepting donations to The Marsha Dunlap Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Please send your tax-deductible donation (payable to SCBWI-WI) to: SCBWI - WI c/o Pamela Beres, 3446 Hazelnut Lane, Milton, WI 53583

The scholarship, which enables one chapter member to attend the fall conference, is open to writers who have attended at least one previous SCBWI-WI conference, but have not yet been published in book form.  Details about applying for the scholarship will be printed in the conference mailer, usually sent in the spring or early summer.

The scholarship was created to honor Marsha Dunlap, a talented professional illustrator who evolved into an author-illustrator through her involvement with SCBWI-WI.  She began creating work for children while living in Green Bay.  “You know Marsha, she just got into your heart and stayed there,” said long-time friend Cindy Schumerth, who got to know her through the critique group that met at Butterfly Books.  “We encouraged each other and she inspired me.  She had the kindest heart of anyone I ever knew, and her gentleness made her so safe to be around.  She was the person who always knew what to say and when to say it.  I feel honored to have known her, and blessed to be someone she called ‘friend.’”

Marsha made more friends by attending SCBWI-WI conferences.  In 1996, a small group of us began holding annual weekend retreats.  The first retreat is memorable for the blizzard that hit on Friday while we were all trying to reach the inn we’d rented.  Marsha drove alone, and almost got stranded in whiteout conditions.  Finally, “Marsha flung the door open, snow dusting her colorful cap and scarf, and cried, ‘I made it!’” recalled Amy Laundrie.  “Like the tiger’s eye gem, her eyes sparked with warmth, fire, and life.  I would note that same vibrancy and passion through all the years I was privileged to know her.”

After moving to the Madison area, Marsha participated in a monthly critique group whenever her health permitted.  Group member Gayle Rosengren thinks of a variety of words when she remembers Marsha:  “‘Friend,’ because she was such a dear one to all who were blessed to have her in our lives; ‘Artist,’ because it was through her artist eyes that she looked at this chaotic world and tried to make it understandable for children, and to show the beauty we might have overlooked; ‘Talent,’ because she had it such abundance; ‘Passion,’ because talent without passion is like a seed without water—it will never grow and bloom; and ‘Fighter.’  A gentle, loving soul, she was endowed with the heart of a warrior, and she fought as valiantly for her art as she did for her life.  She never gave up, despite the many frustrations and disappointments connected with trying to get published.  When I think of Marsha, I believe all good things are possible.”

Together, we critiqued our stories and grew as writers.  Together, we celebrated good news and bad, in both our professional and our personal lives.  In the years that Marsha lived with cancer, her passion for art and writing never dimmed.  The last time the group was all together, at her house, she was painfully thin and weak.  “But the spark and passion were still in her eyes,” Amy wrote later.  “She told the group that she’d spent a few minutes that day working in her studio.  I know my jaw dropped.  Here she was, dealing with all the pain and grief of preparing to leave this world, and she had gone into her studio.  I know now why women go to such extraordinary lengths to create.  Marsha helped me understand.”  Echoed group member Katie Mead, “I was constantly awed by Marsha’s inner strength and grace in battling cancer.  Her tenacity, perseverance, and commitment to her art inspired us all.”

The scholarship fund was established before Marsha left us, and I had the chance to ask her how she wanted it to be structured.   Since she had spent years creating beautiful picture books, I had thought she might want it to support picture book writers.  Despite being in pain, and despite feeling hazy from the drugs, her answer instead reflected her typical thoughtful, compassionate self.  Marsha knew how it felt to work hard and yet not quite realize that most precious dream of holding her own book in her hands.  She asked that the scholarship support and encourage writers who had reached that often-frustrating place between years of work and a book contract.

“It’s fitting that the scholarship should be awarded to someone who has already displayed some measure of talent and determination,” Gayle noted.  “But I can’t help feeling that a far more valuable spiritual gift might accompany the scholarship—that some of the inspiration of Marsha’s own boundless passions and determination might be passed along as well.  What a truly amazing gift that would be!”

Marsha was a talented artist, a thoughtful critiquer, an incredible inspiration, and a treasured friend.  The memorial scholarship allows some of her joyful spirit to stay with SCBWI-WI, and continue to nurture others.

 - Kathleen Ernst

Previous Winners:

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2005 -

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