20 Apr Money for Authors: Grants, Fellowships, and More!
At Page One Media, we do our best to support underserved writers and authors with their publishing pursuits. There are several reasons for this, but among the most important are: authors who don’t succeed with their first book often aren’t able to sell a second, academics can’t attain tenure if they are seeking it without regularly publishing, and pursuing writing as a career is impossible without sales success. Given the long history of keeping people of color out of tenure track positions, it is core to our mission to help right this wrong if we can.
We want to help as many authors as possible, but we are small and have limits. We can’t provide grants for every author who needs and deserves one through our own grant program, but there are other sources where an author can access funding for promotion. It helps to start early, so let’s dive in and find some money for authors!
There are numerous grants available for writers and authors to support their creative and professional pursuits. These grants may be provided by government agencies, non-profit organizations, foundations, and other institutions. Some of the common types of grants for writers include:
-
-
- Fellowships: These are usually awarded to writers who have demonstrated exceptional talent in their field. Fellowships can provide financial support to enable writers to focus on their craft without worrying about financial concerns.
- Residencies: These programs allow writers to spend time in a specific location, such as a retreat center, to work on their writing projects. Residencies may provide accommodation, meals, and sometimes a stipend to support living expenses.
- Project-based grants: These grants support specific writing projects, such as a book or play, and may provide funding for research, travel, and other expenses related to the project.
-
Here we’re going to focus specifically on project-based grants and fellowships with monetary awards that could potentially be used for something like book promotion or to promote an author’s work more broadly. Also keep in mind research budgets, that can be used to fund the type of work we do, are sometimes available to academics. You would have to dive into your specific subject area to find these or ask your department head about ways research budgets can be used to help raise your professional profile or promote one of your books.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive list but an assortment of ideas to show the variety of grants and fellowships out there for writers, and to help them start pursuing their own research into grants or monetary awards that suit their writing and interests. The descriptions below are pulled directly from the websites referenced. Visit each to learn more.
Cullman Center Fellowship
Award: $75,000
A Cullman Center Fellow receives a stipend of up to $75,000, the use of an office with a computer, and full access to The New York Public Library’s physical and electronic resources. Fellows work at the Center for the duration of the Fellowship term, which runs from September through May. Each Fellow gives a talk over lunch on his or her current work-in-progress to the other Fellows and to a wide range of invited guests, and may be asked to take part in other programs at the Library.
Grant: Working Class Writers Grant
Url: https://speculativeliterature.org/grants-3/the-slf-working-class-grant/
Award: $1,000
Since 2013, the Working Class Writers Grant has been awarded annually to speculative fiction writers who are working class, blue-collar, financially disadvantaged, or homeless, who have been historically underrepresented in speculative fiction due to financial barriers which make it hard to access the writing world. Such lack of access might include an inability to purchase a computer, books, and tuition, or to attend conventions or workshops. Often, these writers, many of whom work more than one job, have less time to write. The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) seeks to bring more of these marginalized voices into speculative fiction.
Shearing Fellowship
Url: https://blackmountaininstitute.org/fellowships/
Award: $20,000 paid over a four-month period
For emerging and distinguished writers who have published at least one book with a trade or literary press, this fellowship includes a semester-long letter of appointment; eligibility for optional health coverage; office space in the BMI offices on the campus of UNLV; housing (fellows cover some utilities) in a unique and vibrant arts complex in the bustling district of downtown Las Vegas—home to The Writer’s Block, our city’s beloved independent bookstore; and recognition at BMI as a “Shearing Fellow.”
Disability Futures Fellowship
Url: https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/investing-in-individuals/disability-futures-fellows/
Award: $50,000
Created by, for, and with disabled practitioners, Disability Futures is an initiative—developed in partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by United States Artists—to spotlight the work of disabled creatives across disciplines and geography and amplify their voices individually and collectively.
NYFA Artist Fellowship
Url: https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/artist-fellowships/
Award: $8,000
This grant is awarded in fifteen different disciplines over a three-year period (five categories a year) and the application is free to complete. The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is not a project grant, but is intended to fund an artist’s vision or voice, at all levels of their artistic development. This fellowship is open to current residents of New York State and/or one of the Indian Nations located in New York State.
Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award
Url: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/EleanorTaylorBland
Award: $2,000
This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. The Eleanor Taylor Bland grant is administered by Sisters in Crime, a 4000+ member international organization of mystery authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers, and librarians.
Cintas Fellowships
Url: https://cintasfoundation.org/fellowships
Award: $20,000
The Cintas Fellowships acknowledge creative accomplishments and encourage excellence in architecture & design, creative writing, music composition and the visual arts. Eligibility is limited to artists of Cuban citizenship or direct descent.
The Bard Fiction Prize
Url: https://www.bard.edu/bfp/
Award: $30,000
Awarded to a promising emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application. In addition to a $30,000 cash award, the winner receives an appointment as writer in residence at Bard College for one semester, without the expectation that he or she teach traditional courses. The recipient gives at least one public lecture and meets informally with students.
Sustainable Arts Foundation Grant
Url: https://apply.sustainableartsfoundation.org/
Award: $5,000
Awarded to artists and writers with at least one child under the age of 18 and a strong portfolio. We are inspired by anyone making creative work while raising a family. Given the intense demand for these awards (we typically receive 2,000-3,000 applications), and the fact that the awards are based on demonstrated excellence in your discipline, we don’t recommend that artists or writers just beginning their creative careers apply to this program. While we don’t require that applicants have published or exhibited their work, the rigor and critique involved in that process can certainly benefit the portfolio.
ASC Founders Grant
Url: https://artsandscience.org/founders-grants/
Award: $50,000
Distinct from other funding opportunities ASC provides for creative individuals, this award is intended to celebrate the commitment of Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) creatives to the community they call home and are intended to award their vision. As such, the applicants are not required to submit a budget or specify how they would leverage the resources. This is first and foremost an award celebrating the creative individual’s vision. ASC welcomes applications from Mecklenburg County-based creative individuals who pursue their creative practice as their primary occupation. ASC will award up to five $50,000 Founders Grants.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
-
-
- Poets & Writers Individual Artists Fellowships: https://www.pw.org/writing_contests/individual_artist_fellowships
- Poets & Writers Literary Artists Fellowships: https://www.pw.org/writing_contests/literary_artist_fellowships
- Speculative Literature Grants: https://speculativeliterature.org/grants/
-
-
-
- Poets & Writers Grants Database: https://www.pw.org/grants
- National Endowment for the Arts: https://www.arts.gov/grants
- National Endowment for the Humanities: https://www.neh.gov/grants
- American Academy in Rome: https://www.aarome.org/apply
- New York Public Library: https://www.nypl.org/help/get-what-you-need/grants-and-funding
- Black Mountain Institute Fellowships: https://blackmountaininstitute.org/fellowships/
- Funds for Writers: https://fundsforwriters.com/grants/
-
Sarah Russo is the founder of Page One Media. You can connect with her on Twitter @sarahrusso, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can follow the work of Page One Media on LinkedIn, @pageonem on Twitter and @pageonem on Instagram.