These grants, residencies, and fellowships pay up to $90,000 per year. They are for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, and journalism. Some of the deadlines are approaching quickly. — S. Kalekar
Princeton Arts Fellowship
This is for artists in many disciplines, including literary, whose achievements have been recognized as demonstrating extraordinary promise in any area of artistic practice and teaching. This is a two-year program and there is a teaching duty attached. Writers do not have to be US citizens to apply. You can apply for this fellowship twice in a lifetime.
Value: $90,000 per year ($180,000 for the two-year fellowship), residency at Princeton
Deadline: 12 September 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Princeton: Hodder Fellowships
Potential Hodder Fellows are composers, choreographers, performance artists, visual artists, writers, translators or other kinds of artists or humanists who have “much more than ordinary intellectual and literary gifts”; they are selected more “for promise than for performance.” Most writers have had their first book published. The Hodder is designed to provide Fellows with the “studious leisure” to undertake significant new work. There are no formal teaching duties attached. Fellows have access to shared spaces on campus at Princeton, for the duration of their fellowship.
One does not have to be a US citizen to apply for this fellowship. Also, Fellows need not reside in the US during the fellowship (see FAQ; scroll down to Hodder Fellowship Details).
Value: $90,000, additional $5,000 for research
Deadline: 12 September 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Fondation Jan Michalski Residencies for Writers
These are residencies at the foot of the Jura mountains in Montricher, Switzerland. It is open to all types of writers engaged in literary creation. While they give priority to writers and translators, they are also open to any other discipline as long as writing is at the heart of the project. There are no age or nationality restrictions. Writers working on a project with a collaborator can apply in pairs. Applications can be in English or French. Excerpts from your writing, both current and previous, can be in any language, not necessarily English or French.
Value: Round-trip travel, CHF400 per week
Deadline: 14 September 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
Harvard University: Radcliffe Institute Fellowships
These are for various disciplines, including creative arts – which include, but are not limited to, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, as well as journalism, and playwriting. Their guidelines also say, “Applicants may apply as individuals or in a group of two to three people working on the same project. We seek diversity along many dimensions, including discipline, career stage, race and ethnicity, country of origin, gender and sexual orientation, and ideological perspective. Although our fellows come from many different backgrounds, they are united by their demonstrated excellence, collegiality, and creativity.” The fellowship pays $78,000, and an additional $5,000 for project expenses in 2023-24; fellows also get an office at Harvard University, additional funds for moving expenses, childcare and housing, etc. The deadline for some disciplines, including creative arts, is in mid-September.
Value: $78,000; additional funds for project expenses, and other things
Deadline: 14 September 2023
Open for: Published writers and journalists
Details here, here, here, and here.
Fund for Investigative Journalism Grants: FIJ “Seed” Grants for Early Reporting
There are for US-based journalists, including freelance. Grants are for preliminary reporting for specific projects. The grants cover early reporting that can lead to full investigative projects. This includes, for example, open-records requests and initial reporting trips to identify and interview sources. These grants are $1,000 to $2,500; and journalists who receive seed funding can apply for full grants (up to $10,000) once they conduct the preliminary reporting and secure a commitment from a media outlet to publish or broadcast the story.
Value: $1,000 to $2,500
Deadline: 15 September 2023
Open for: US journalists and writers
Details here.
Fulbright Scholarships
This is a program for US citizens. Their website says, “The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world.” There are opportunities for higher education faculty and administrators, professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, and independent scholars outside of the academy. Applicants can opt for teaching, research, teaching/research, and professional projects, in various countries. The opportunities range from a few months to a year. The awards for the 2024-25 cycle can be found here.
Value: Various
Deadline: 15 September 2023
Open for: US Citizens
Details here.
Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship
This is for published fiction and non-fiction writers who were born in Africa or whose parents were born in Africa (see ‘Do I need to prove my African birth place?’ in FAQ). The money is paid monthly over a course of a year. For non-fiction writers, additional funds can be made available, and given over a period of 18 months. A published writing sample is part of the application (see guidelines). One of the scholarship requirements is, writers have to submit 10,000 words of writing every month (see guidelines). They also say, “The Foundation will not review or comment on the monthly submissions as they come in. However, each Scholar will be offered the opportunity to be mentored by an established author or publisher. In most cases the mentorship will begin after the book has been finished and the Scholarship period has ended.” Writers are asked to donate a percentage of earnings from sales of what they have written in the scholarship period to the Miles Morland Foundation – a moral obligation, though not a legally binding one.
Value: £18,000 for fiction writers, possible additional funds for non-fiction writers, mentorship
Deadline: 18 September 2023 (see ‘Important Dates’ in the entry requirements here.)
Open for: African writers
Details here (entry requirements) and here (application form).
Guggenheim Fellowships
These are for people in various disciplines, including literature, who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. No special conditions are attached to the fellowships. Also see their FAQ.
Value: Varies
Deadline: 21 September 2023
Open for: US and Canadian citizens
Details here (application timelines), here (how to apply), here (application resources), and here (submission materials).
American Academy in Berlin Fellowship
This is for US-based people (including collaborators) who wish to engage in independent study, for a semester (occasionally, for a full academic year). Academy fellows are established and emerging scholars, writers, and professionals who wish to engage in independent study. Applicants working in most other fields—such as journalism, filmmaking, or public policy—must have a significant record of publication or production. Writers of fiction and nonfiction must have published at least one book with a reputable press at the time of application (composers, artists, and poets are by invitation only). Candidates should explain how their projects will benefit from a residency in Berlin, but they need not be working on German topics. Past recipients have included historians, economists, filmmakers, art historians, journalists, legal scholars, musicologists, public-policy experts, former government officials, NGO leaders, and writers. Most accommodations are also suitable for couples; they also offer accommodations for a limited number of families with children.
Value: Round-trip airfare, $5,000 per month, residency near Berlin
Deadline: 29 September 2023 for application; to submit letters of reference, it is 8th October 2023.
Open for: People permanently based in the US
Details here, here, and here.
New York Public Library: Cullman Centre Fellowship
This is for writers whose project draws on the collection housed in The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (formerly the Humanities and Social Sciences Library). Visual artists can also apply (see guidelines).
Value: $85,000 and residency
Deadline: 29 September 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
Speculative Literature Foundation’s Working Class Writers Grant
This grant is to help writers of speculative literature. This grant is awarded annually to assist working class, blue-collar, poor, and homeless writers, and writers from these backgrounds, who have been historically underrepresented in speculative fiction due to financial barriers. One of the submission requirements is a writing sample, of poetry, drama, fiction, or creative non-fiction (see guidelines); the submitted work must be speculative. Unlike their other grants, writers may receive this grant anonymously or pseudonymously. They also have other grant submission periods coming up.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 30 September 2023
Open for: All writers from working class background
Details here (Working Class Writers Grant) and here (schedule for all grants).
The Camargo Core Program
This residency at Cassis, France is for artists (including writers, playwrights and translators) and scholars/thinkers, to think, create and connect. Applicants should have a publication and/or grant track record. They welcome spouses/partners and dependent minor children. Fellowships span 10 weeks.
Value: $350 per week, basic coach class travel (see guidelines)
Deadline: 1 October 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here.
PEN America: US Writers Aid Initiative This is intended to assist fiction and non-fiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists. To be eligible, applicants must be based in the United States, be professional writers, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping them to address an emergency situation. Writers do not have to be PEN members to apply.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline: 1 October 2023
Open for: US writers
Details here.
Getty Scholar Grants
These are for researchers of all nationalities who are working in the arts, humanities, or social sciences, for established scholars and writers who have achieved distinction in their fields. Recipients can pursue their own projects free from academic obligations and make use of Getty collections. There are three-, six-, and nine-month residencies. The annual theme for this cycle is Extinction. Also see the African American Art History Initiative Fellowship on the program page. Also see their FAQ.
Value: $21,500-65,000, residency
Deadline: 2 October 2023
Open for: Established scholars and writers
Details here and here.
Canada Council for the Arts’ Explore and Create Grants: Research and Creation Grants
These are for Canadian artists, curators and writers (literature includes fiction, poetry, drama, graphic novel, young people’s literature, literary non-fiction, exploratory literary works using new technologies, spoken word creation, storytelling and literary performance). There are various types of grants and sub-categories. Research and Creation Grants (within Explore and Create) provide support for creative research, creation and project development. Individuals who self-identify as Deaf or disabled, including those living with mental illness, or a First Nations, Inuit or Métis artist facing language, geographic and/or cultural barriers, and require to pay someone to help them with the application process, may be eligible for application assistance.
Value: Up to CAD25,000 per year (up to CAD50,000 for 2 years) for Research and Creation grants
Deadline: 4 October 2023 for Research and Creation grants
Open for: Canadian writers
Details here and here.
(They also have Professional Development for Artists, Concept to Realization Project Grants, and more within Explore and Create Grants, some with October deadlines for Canadian artists – see here.
And see all Canada Council for the Arts’ grants for individuals, groups, and organizations here. One of the categories is the Arts and Cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.)
American Antiquarian Society: Fellowships for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers
These are fellowships for historical research by the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester, Massachusetts, for those who wish to produce “imaginative, non-formulaic works dealing with pre-twentieth-century American history.” Room fee will be charged if staying in the Society’s scholars’ housing. Fellowship projects may include (but are not limited to) historical novels, documentary films, TV programs, radio broadcasts, plays, screenplays, illustration and other graphic arts, magazine or newspaper articles, and non-fiction works of history for a general audience, either for adults or for children.
Value: $2,000 (less room fee of $500-700 in some cases – see guidelines), residency
Deadline: 5 October 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here and here
The McGraw Business Journalism Fellowship
The McGraw Fellowship provides editorial and financial support to journalists who need the time and resources to produce a significant investigative or enterprise story that provides fresh insight into an important business, financial or economic topic. They accept applications for text, photo, audio, or short-form video pieces, and they encourage proposals that take advantage of more than one storytelling form to create a multimedia package. This is not a residency Fellowship. All Fellows work from their own offices. It is open to anyone with at least five years professional experience in journalism (you do not have to be a business journalist to apply; many of their many of their previous Fellows have been generalists, or cover beats such as health care, education or the environment). Freelance journalists, as well as reporters and editors currently working at a news organization or a journalism non-profit, may apply. The application includes a story proposal. They accept applications twice a year. The deadline to apply for Fall 2023 Fellowships is October 6, 2023. Applications for the Spring 2024 Fellowships will be due March 31, 2024. Also see their FAQ.
Value: Grants of up to $15,000
Deadline: 6 October 2023 (will also consider time-sensitive projects on a case-by-case basis outside of the deadline periods)
Open for: Anyone with at least five years of experience in journalism
Details here.
One Story: Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship
This fellowship is for an early-career writer of fiction who has not yet published a book and is not currently nor has ever been enrolled in an advanced degree program (see guidelines). “We are seeking writers whose work speaks to issues and experiences related to inhabiting bodies of difference. This means writing that centers, celebrates, or reclaims being marginalized through the lens of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, religion, illness, disability, trauma, migration, displacement, dispossession, or imprisonment.” Apart from the stipend and tuition to attend One Story’s week-long summer writers’ conference, it offers free tuition for all One Story online classes and programming; a full manuscript review & consultation with One Story Executive Editor Hannah Tinti (story collection or novel in progress up to 150 pages/35,000 words). A fiction writing sample of 3,000-5,000 words is part of the submission requirement.
Value: Stipend ($2,000) and free admission at their writers’ conference, other benefits (see above)
Deadline: 12 October 2022
Open for: Early-career fiction writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship
This is for a poet of American birth, who is willing to spend a year outside the continent of North America. While many recent winners have been published poets, there is no requirement that applicants have previously published their work. Applications have to be mailed. One of the requirements is a poetry sample.
Value: Approximately $71,000 adjusted for inflation
Deadline: 15 October 2023 (must be received by this date)
Open for: Poets of American birth (see guidelines)
Details here (application instructions), here (FAQ – includes link to application form), and here (home page).
The Haven Foundation Grants
These grants were instituted by Stephen King after he suffered a debilitating accident. They give financial assistance to help freelance artists and writers who have suffered disabilities or a career-threatening illness, accident, natural disaster or personal catastrophe. Applications have to be mailed. Also see their FAQ.
Value: Varying
Deadline: 20 October 2023 (must be received by this date)
Open for: Legal US residents
Details here.
PEN America: Screenwriters Emergency Financial Assistance Fund
This is for US-based emerging/early-career screenwriters who are able to demonstrate a financial need (see guidelines). Their website says, “PEN America recognizes the financial hardship that many screenwriters are experiencing due to the work stoppage in the industry. To demonstrate our support for film and television writers and their families, we have launched the Screenwriters Emergency Financial Assistance Fund, a new, short-term program of PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative. This emergency fund will serve early career screenwriters with one-time, rapid-response grants to help meet essential financial needs, such as housing, food, utilities, and health care. Grants in amounts of $500 or $1000 will be distributed on a first-come-first serve basis to eligible screenwriters.”
Value: $500-1,000Deadline: 30 October 2023
Open for: US-based screenwriters
Details here.
Black Mountain Institute: Shearing Fellowship
This is a residential fellowship for emerging and distinguished writers who have published at least one book with a trade or literary press. Apart from the cash stipend, this fellowship includes: a semester-long letter of appointment; eligibility for health coverage; office space in the BMI offices on the campus of UNLV; free housing (fellows cover some utilities) in a unique and vibrant arts complex in the bustling district of downtown Las Vegas. While there are no formal teaching requirements, this is a “working fellowship” (see guidelines).
(The page also has details of City of Asylum fellowships, now closed, which provides safe haven for writers whose voices are muffled by censorship, or who are living with the threat of imprisonment or assassination; these are associated with the International Cities of Refuge network, which serves as an umbrella organization and information clearinghouse for local asylum programs worldwide – also see their Residencies, Scholarships, and Grants list; the information is dated, but it is a great resource for artists at risk.)
Value: $40,000 over 9 months, residency
Application period: 15 September – 1 November 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Patrick Henry Fellowship
This fellowship is from the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. It is for those working on American history and/or legacy. The residential fellowship supports work on the subject by both scholars and non-academics in many genres. Applicants should have a significant project currently in progress — a book, film, oral history archive, podcast series, museum exhibition, or similar work. The project should address the history and/or legacy – broadly defined – of the U.S. founding era and/or the nation’s founding ideas.
Value: $45,000, health benefits, book allowance, faculty privileges, residency
Deadline: 15 November 2023
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Speculative Literature Foundation’s Gulliver Travel Grant
This grant is to help writers of speculative literature (in fiction, poetry, drama, or creative non-fiction) in their non-academic research. It is to be used to cover airfare, lodging, and/or other travel expenses. Writing samples (speculative literature) are part of the application requirement (see guidelines). This grant is awarded on the basis of interest and merit. Applicants need not have prior publishing credits to apply. The application portal for this grant will open during the submission period. They also have other grant submission periods coming up.
Value: $1,000
Submission period: 1-30 November 2023
Open for: All writers
Details here (Gulliver Travel Grant) and here (schedule for all grants).
Ohio University: E.W. Scripps School of Journalism – 2024 Kiplinger Fellowship
This is an international journalism fellowship, and will open in October for applications. “The Kiplinger Fellowship will be held April 14-20 at Ohio University and the Scripps School of Journalism. This upcoming fellowship will focus on the critical reporting topic of Immigration and Migration. If you are a working journalist with at least five years of experience covering this issue, please consider applying. The fellowship is made up of a combination of international and U.S. journalists. Kiplinger will pay all of your lodging and training for the week. We will cover most of your meals and a large percentage of your travel.”
Value: Unspecified; covers training, lodging, meals and some social events + travel stipend
Open for: Journalists in all media
Application period: 16 October – 2 December 2023
Details here.
San José State University: Center for Steinbeck Studies – The Steinbeck Fellows Program
This awards writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. The creative writing fellowship does not require that there be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck’s. The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University’s creative writing program.
Value: Up to 6 fellowships of $15,000 each
Deadline: 5 January 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here.
Society of Authors: Dursilla Harvey Access Fund
These are small grants for UK-based writers, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. Usual grants will be under £100 and no more than £350. The fund will be open all year round and claims under £150 will be assessed on a rolling basis (usually within two weeks) with larger requests processed on a quarterly basis.
Value: Up to £350
Deadline: Rolling
Open for: UK/British writers
Details here.
(All of the Society of Authors’ grants are here.
Also see the Early Career Bursaries for London Writers, which provide three London writers on a low income a year with bursaries each of £10,000 cash and £5,000 towards development opportunities. The deadline is 25 September 2023; details here.)
Pulitzer Center: Connected Coastlines Grants
This is an opportunity for US-based journalists. The Pulitzer Center is seeking applications from journalists who want to report stories as part of Connected Coastlines, a nationwide climate reporting initiative in U.S. coastal states. This initiative is building a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across the U.S. to report on the local effects of erratic weather patterns on coastal populations using the latest climate science. Their guidelines say, “We are eager to receive proposals from staff journalists and freelancers who wish to report on coastal stories, underpinned by recent climate science, data, or research, for publication or broadcast by small and regional news outlets in U.S. coastal states.” They prioritize proposals that can be completed, including publication, in 1-4 months. The ideal range for most awards will be $2,000 to $8,000. Grants are open now and approved on a rolling basis.
Value: $2,000-8,000
Deadline: Open now, approved on a first come, rolling basis
Open for: US-based journalists
Details here.
Bonus: Writers Omi Residency
This residency is at Ledig House, a couple of hours north of New York City. It has an impressive alumni list, including Booker, PEN/Faulkner Award and Commonwealth Prize winners. Guests may select a residency of one week to two months; about ten writers at a time gather to live and work in a rural setting overlooking the Catskill Mountains. There is no cash award. They also have a translation lab. Published writers and translators can apply; the deadline is 15 October 2023. Details here and here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached he
