Welcome to the Jilleen Dolbeare Scholarship for Indie Fantasy Authors.

Welcome to the Jilleen Dolbeare Scholarship for Indie Fantasy Authors.

Jill passed away in October 2025, and the world has lost an utterly brilliant storyteller. Let me tell you a little about her, and her legacy.

My dearest friend, Jilleen Dolbeare, published her first book in September 2021, knowing little about the publishing world, only that she had a story bursting to be told. Marketing was new to her, but she was eager to learn.

Her debut series, The Shadow Winged Chronicles, wove rich Alaskan lore into fast-paced urban fantasy. When she finished that passion project, she set her sights on a more market-focused series that could grow her readership and bring financial freedom.

To her delight, she succeeded. Splintered Magic has earned over 3,000 reviews with an average of 4.5 stars. For context, most self-published authors sell about 250 books in their lifetime, and only around 5% of readers leave a review. That means roughly 60,000 people read – and loved – her book.

Next, she teamed up with me, Heather G Harris, to co-write The Portlock Paranormal Detective Series. And it took off. Out of more than 60 million books on Amazon, we reached rank 67.

Together, Jill and I were PB and J, wine and cheese, fish and chips. Whatever our secret sauce was, it worked, and we loved every minute of working together.

Jill was her own toughest critic, but endlessly warm and encouraging to others. Her honesty made her feedback invaluable; if she said your work was good, it truly was. She mentored countless new authors, sharing her hard-won wisdom so they could avoid the pitfalls she’d faced.

Now, in her memory, I want to continue that legacy.

The Jilleen Dolbeare Scholarship will support emerging indie fantasy authors, whether through new covers, editing, or a marketing budget to help your stories find their readers.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Applicants must have been self-published for fewer than five years.

  • Applicants must have at least one self-published fantasy title available for sale (or a planned release within the next 12 months).

  • Applicants must be writing within the fantasy genre (including subgenres such as urban fantasy, romantasy, epic fantasy, paranormal fantasy, etc.).

  • Applicants should be early-career authors who would significantly benefit from financial or professional mentoring support.

  • Scholarship funds will be paid directly to service providers (for example, editors, cover designers, or advertisers) rather than given as a lump sum to the recipient.

  • Funds must be used only for the agreed purposes as outlined in the scholarship agreement.

Selection Process

  • Applications for funding across 2026 will close on 31st December 2025. If there is sufficient interest, the applications will reopen for funding for 2027.

  • Applicants can apply across multiple years.

  • The Scholarship aims to benefit a few authors in a significant way, to have a meaningful impact on their career, rather than helping a higher volume of people but having little impact.

  • Financial hardship will be taken into account, but is not the sole element that will be considered.

  • The writing submitted will play a pivotal role in the selection process.

  • The Scholarship will include mentoring as well as financial support, to be given by an experienced self-published author. Hellhound Press has already had a number of other authors volunteer to assist in that regard, so be aware that you may not get Heather G. Harris as your mentor, though she will retain oversight over all aspects.

  • The selected authors will be notified in January 2026.

Apply for the scholarship here: https://forms.gle/fciQyCJakrKhytvc7

Gift money towards the scholarship here: https://www.gofundme.com

Hellhound Press Limited will match all donations raised on GoFundMe up to £2500 per annum.

**Every penny goes towards helping the authors, not a single penny goes towards me.