Apply for the Pulliam Fellowship.

So you dream of working on a long-term project, but it's all you can do to crank out cogent editorials between the irate calls from letter-writers and the day-to-day routine.

Then applying for the Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship is for you.

It may be that special idea is writing a book. Or perhaps it's a series of investigative articles on a long-ignored problem. Or, just maybe, you need some downtime to read, think, and study in a manner impossible amidst daily pressures.

Then the Pulliam is for you, too.

The Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship began in 1978. It is sponsored by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, an arm of the Society of Professional Journalists. The award gives $40,000 to one editorial writer annually.

Yet inexplicably, the number of qualified applicants for this prestigious award has declined in recent years.

Last September, I won the fellowship and will soon begin a leave of absence from my newspaper to write a series on the impact of gambling on women and teenagers. Recent fellowship winners have pursued topics ranging from agricultural issues to child welfare. Applications for this unique opportunity should be soaring, not declining.

To apply, editorial writers with at least three years full-time experience should outline a specific plan for study or travel and an explanation of how it would enhance their professional careers. Mail the statement along with a one-page biography, a summary of professional experience, five samples of editorials, and a supervisor's letter of support to: Pulliam Fellowship, care of Stephanie Berry, Development Director, Society of Professional Journalists, 3909 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis IN 46208. The deadline is July 6, 2001.