These are grants, residencies, and fellowships for writers in various disciplines, and journalists, with cash awards up to $100,000. Many of them have geographic restrictions. They’re open now, or will open soon. – S. Kalekar
The Jessie Kesson Fellowship
This is a Scotland-based residency for UK-based writers. “Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre invites established writers to apply for the 2024 Jessie Kesson Fellowship. … The Jessie Kesson Fellow receives time and space to develop their work, as well as opportunities to expand their practice. This includes delivering creative writing workshops based on or inspired by Jessie Kesson’s life and work, with local youth groups, libraries, or community groups.” Winner gets to live on-site in the cottage at Moniack Mhor from 26th August –14th September 2024, and receive a stipend of £350 per week (up to 3 weeks), plus travel and accommodation. The fellowship is open to established writers of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, song-writing, or playwriting. Applicants must have had at least one major piece of work published by a UK publishing house (see guidelines). It is also desirable that applicants have experience of delivering workshops, or working with children and young people and/or community groups.
Value: £350 per week (up to 3 weeks), residency
Deadline: 15 February 2024
Open for: UK-based writers
Details here.
A Public Space Editorial Fellowship
This is a program for aspiring editors; the fellowship period is approximately four months, from June 3, 2024 through October 6, 2024. The Fellows will work on their own schedule, and will have responsibilities of approximately fifteen hours weekly. They must be able to attend up to two weekly meetings (virtual and in person) during regular office hours; they must be residents of New York City for the duration of the fellowship. (Also, “Unfortunately, A Public Space is unable to sponsor work visas.”) “Some experience in editorial work is preferred but not required. Preference will be given to aspiring editors who have not worked extensively in literary publishing, and who may have limited access to career opportunities in the industry.” And, “Two Editorial Fellows will be selected to work alongside the editorial staff at A Public Space on various aspects of the magazine, including evaluating submissions, researching, developing, and soliciting work, editing, copyediting, proofreading, production, and promotion. They will also have the opportunity to oversee an Open Call and serve as the lead editor on a piece for the magazine.“ They have some eligibility and application requirements.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 15 February 2024
Open for: Aspiring editors who can reside in New York City for the duration of the fellowship
Details here and here.
Reuters Institute Journalist Fellowship Program
This is a scheme for “practising, mid-career journalists to take some time out from their day jobs to explore journalism in depth. Journalists joining us in Oxford will further their understanding of journalism through seminars, networking events, discussions with peers and working on a personal project. This is a programme for working journalists and editors who will return to journalism after spending a few months with us.” They accept around 30 Journalist Fellows from around the world each year. And, “Most journalists on the programme are fully funded. Successful applicants get their fees covered and receive a monthly stipend of £2,000, which will be enough to cover the cost of accommodation, food, and general living expenses. We will also cover the cost of travel to and from the UK and any visa costs. Fellows should refrain from professional work during the fellowship.” You must have a minimum of five years’ journalistic experience, or in rare cases demonstrate the equivalent level of expertise.
Value: Monthly stipend of £2,000, and more (see above)
Deadline: 19 February 2024
Open for: Mid-career journalists
Details here and here.
International Thriller Writers Scholarships
They are awarding two separate scholarships for ThrillerFest: the Fresh Perspectives Scholarship for any underrepresented author, published or unpublished, and the Undiscovered New Voices Scholarship for any unpublished author who is writing a mystery/thriller novel (80-100k words). Each scholarship recipient will receive a cash stipend and a free pass to attend ThrillerFest XIX, which takes place May 28 – June 1, 2024 in New York City. One of the application requirements is a writing sample. Application is via a form.
Value: $1,000 stipend, ThrillerFest pass
Deadline: 23 February 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center: Writer in Residence
The residency includes lodging at a loft apartment in Piggott, Arkansas. The writer-in-residence will also have the opportunity to work in the studio where Ernest Hemingway worked on ‘A Farewell to Arms’. The writer is expected to serve as mentor for a week-long retreat for writers at the educational center. Candidates with an MA or MFA in a relevant field are preferred. Submission requirements include a writing sample of roughly 20 pages (in any genre).
Value: $1,000, residency
Deadline: 28 February 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Words Without Borders: Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators
They have announced the second annual Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators; literary fiction and nonfiction for a trade audience are eligible genres. It is “intended to facilitate the completion of a substantial sample of a book-length work of prose translation suitable for submission to English-language publishers, and will be awarded to an individual translator who has not yet received a book-length contract for translation work into English. We particularly welcome submissions from translators from historically underrepresented cultures and backgrounds.” The emerging translator need not live in the United States. A couple of the application requirements are a 2,500-word translation sample, and a 500-word project description.
Value: $3,000
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Open for: Translators who have not yet received a book-length contract for translation work into English
Details here and here.
Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize
This is for US-based non-fiction authors; apart from a cash advance, author of the winning manuscript also gets a stipend for helping them complete the work. “A $20,000 advance and publication by Graywolf Press will be awarded to the most promising and innovative literary nonfiction project by a writer not yet established in the genre. The winning author will also receive a $2,000 stipend intended to support the completion of their project. (The prize) emphasizes innovation in form and content, and we want to see projects that push the boundaries of literary nonfiction. The Graywolf editors are particularly interested in new approaches to the personal essay, cultural and literary criticism, creative scholarship, and books exploring complex ideas from unexpected angles. … Please note that we are not interested in straightforward memoirs or journalistic reporting. … The prize will be awarded to a manuscript in progress.” One of the submission requirements is a long sample from the manuscript (see guidelines). Applicants for this prize must live in the United States; have published at least one piece of nonfiction in a literary journal or magazine – reviews, interviews, reportage, and other similar pieces do not qualify; have not yet authored a book of literary nonfiction – authorship of other kinds of nonfiction books is not disqualifying.
Value: $20,000 advance, publication + $2,000 stipend to support the completion of their project
Deadline: 29 February 2024
Open for: US-based nonfiction writers (see guidelines)
Details here and here.
The Shenandoah Fellowship for Emerging Editors
This will open in March 2024. They say, “Through this editorial fellowship, we’re committed to expanding the roster of people we work with and to discovering new voices to amplify and empower. Selected fellows will receive a $1000 honorarium and will curate a selection of published work in a genre of their choosing for a single issue of Shenandoah, working with the Shenandoah staff to guide the work to publication. This opportunity will give fellows the chance to learn about all aspects of a small literary publisher and create connections with peers and potential future employers in the industry and in academia. … A single fellow will be selected for each issue of Shenandoah going forward, alternating genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics) as we see fit. Working with the editorial staff, fellows will curate a suite of work for their issue. Each fellow will receive a $1000 honorarium for their work. We welcome writers and editors of all experience levels. No previous editorial experience is necessary, but we are looking for applicants who are passionate and informed about the literary community.” This fellowship will open on 1 March 2024, on a rolling basis. Their submission portal will have a section for the fellowship during the application period.
Value: $1,000
Opens on: 1 March 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (see the fellowship announcement date near the top of the page, under Open and Upcoming Submission Periods, and details of the fellowship by scrolling to the middle of the page).
Poets & Writers: Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award
This is an award for one poet and one fiction writer; applicants must be U.S. residents and an enrolled members of a Native American tribe in the US or Alaska (see guidelines), and have never published a book or have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying. Winners get a $500 honorarium; an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with editors, agents, publishers, and other writers, and to give a public reading, hosted by Poets & Writers; and a one-month residency at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Wyoming.Value: $500 each, residency, meetings with agents, editors, and more
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: US Indigenous writers (see above)
Details here.
Alpine Fellowship Prizes
They have a Poetry Prize, a Writing Prize, a Theatre Prize, as well as Music, Philosophy, Refugee Scholar, and Visual Arts prizes. Please read the guidelines for each genre carefully. The theme for this year is ‘Language’ and the work must address that theme; you can read more about the theme here. Winner receives a cash prize in each category, and a stipend to attend the symposium.
Value: Varies; cash awards of £3,000, £1,000, £500 for winners in creative writing categories (poetry, writing, theatre), £500 travel stipend to attend the symposium
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here (click on individual tabs for various genres).
Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships
These are fellowships for US poets laureate. They are for poets of literary merit appointed to serve in civic positions and to support them in creating new work, as well as to enable them to undertake projects that enrich the lives of their neighbors, including youth, through poetry activities. There are some eligibility requirements, including: appointed as an official poet laureate of a state, city, county, U.S. territory, or Tribal nation by a Governor, State Arts or Humanities Council, State Poet Laureate Commission, Tribe President, Mayor, City Council, City Poet Laureate Commission, City Arts Board, County Arts Board, or a city’s public library system; your service as poet laureate, carried out in good community standing, occurring sometime between January 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025; and published one or more full-length poetry collection(s) and/or chapbook(s) or substantial history of public spoken word performances. Some of the submission requirements are a poetry sample, and a description of your proposed civic project(s), including a timeline for the project(s) you would conduct, that engages youth and/or addresses important statewide or local issues.
Value: $50,000 (see guidelines)
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: US poets laureate
Details here and here.
(Also see other awards by the Academy of American Poets that are open now, including fee-free ones; see their Submittable here for details.)
Edward R. Murrow Press Fellowship
Applicants must have covered international news as a working journalist for print, broadcast, or online media widely available in the United States, and must be US citizens. They must have distinguished credentials in journalism; two of the selection criteria are, professional experience as a foreign correspondent or editor, and firm grounding in foreign policy. The Fellow spends 10 months full-time in residence at the Council for Foreign Relations’ headquarters in New York. The program enables the Fellow to engage in sustained analysis and writing, expand his or her intellectual and professional horizons, and extensively participate in CFR’s active program of meetings and events.
Value:$100,000 and a modest travel grant
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: US citizens
Details here.
University of Colorado: Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism
Their website says, “Five Ted Scripps Fellowships are awarded each year. The fellowship is open to full-time journalists working in any medium who are interested in advancing their knowledge of environmental issues. It is aimed at outstanding journalists committed to a career in professional journalism. Applicants must have five years of full-time professional journalism experience and must also have a BA or BS college degree, at minimum. Applicants may include reporters, editors, producers, photojournalists, documentarians, and feature writers. Both salaried staff and full-time freelancers are welcome to apply. Prior experience in covering the environment is not required.” And, “We welcome applications from international journalists; however, please be advised that you must hold a current visa and be authorized to work in the United States at the time of application to be considered for this position.” Fellows audit classes, pursue an independent project, attend weekly seminars, and participate in field trips to world-renowned institutions to learn what’s new in the realm of environmental science and policy. Fellows pay for their own housing and make their own housing arrangements. They receive a stipend, and will travel (expenses paid) to the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference.
Value: $80,000
Deadline: 1 March 2024
Open for: Full-time journalists authorised to work in the US (see guidelines)
Details here and here.
International Women’s Media Foundation Grants
International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has several grants/awards for women and non-binary journalists; some of them are open now, including the international Courage in Journalism Awards (deadline 3rd March 2024); international Howard G. Buffet Fund for Women Journalists (rolling deadline); and US-based Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, Transgender People (rolling deadline).
Value: Varies
Deadline: Varies
Open for: Women and non-binary journalists
Details here.
(Click on IWMF’s Opportunities and Awards tabs on this page for more.)
Poetry Foundation: Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships
These grants, which will open for applications in early March, are for US poets ages 21-31 years. Applicants have to register on their online portal. Poets can also apply for alternative formats to submit applications. One of the application requirements is a writing sample, up to 10 pages of poetry. The application period will open on 4th March 2024.
Value: $27,000
Submission period: 4th March to 15th April 2024 (deadline to apply for alternative formats is 1st April, and deadline to register on the online portal is 8th April – see guidelines).
Open for: US writers
Details here.
Fitzcarraldo Editions/Mahler & Lewitt Studios Essay Prize
This is a prize for unpublished writers in the UK. Their website says, “the prize awards £3,000 to the best proposal for a book-length essay (minimum 25,000 words) by a writer resident in the UK & Ireland who has yet to secure a publishing deal. In addition to the £3,000 prize the winner will have the opportunity to spend up to two months in residency at the Mahler & LeWitt Studios in Spoleto, Italy, to work on their book. The book will then be published by Fitzcarraldo Editions.”
Value: £3,000, residency
Deadline: 17 March 2024
Open for: Unpublished UK/Ireland writers (see guidelines)
Details here.
ALTA Travel Fellowships
Each year, several fellowships are awarded to emerging translators (someone who does not yet have a book-length work of translation published or under contract) to help them pay for hotel and travel expenses to the annual American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) conference. Part of the application requirement is up to 10 pages of translated work (poetry or prose – see guidelines). “While the Travel Fellowships are open to all applicants, we especially encourage applications from translators of color, translators with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ translators.” They also have the Peter K. Jansen Memorial Travel Fellowship, which is preferentially awarded to one emerging translator of color or a translator working from an underrepresented diaspora or stateless language (apply using the ALTA Travel Fellowship application, and check the Jansen Fellowship eligibility box in the application form – see guidelines). Also see ALTA’s other awards for published works, including the international ALTA First Translation Prize, inaugurated in 2024, for emerging literary translators and their editors – $2,000 to the translator and $1,000 to the editor – open to all genres, awards one debut literary translation from any other language into English published in the previous calendar year.
Value: $1,000 each
Deadline: 18 March 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here and here (scroll down).
(Also see ALTA’s Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, the deadline for which has passed.)
Robert B. Silvers Foundation: Silvers Grants for Work in Progress
Anglophone writers of any nationality may apply for their grants to support long-form essays (essay-length or book-length) in the fields of literary criticism, arts writing, political analysis, and/or social reportage. Grants may not be used to fund translation. Applicants should have an editorial agreement with a publication or publishing house for the work under consideration. Some of the submission requirements are a writing sample, project description, and a full responses to their financial questionnaire. And, “Your responses to the financial questionnaire should include all anticipated costs and should state other sources of funding, including book advances. Priority is given to projects that have not been supported by a significant advance.
The writing sample can be from the writer’s work in progress or from a previously published essay, article, or book.”
Value: Up to $10,000
Deadline: 31 March 2024
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. Various deadlines are listed for 2024, and the next one is 1st April. Other deadlines are in July and October. Writers do not have to be PEN members to apply.
Value: Unspecified
Deadline:1 April 2024
Open for: US writers
Details here.
(Some of PEN America’s other initiatives are open now, including the PEN America Free Expression Essay Competition, a US-based student essay competition with cash prizes, deadline 30 April 2024; see their Submittable for details.)
The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers
These three-month fellowships are to afford writers uninterrupted time to focus on their work at an apartment in Carson McCuller’s childhood home in Columbus, Georgia. A spouse or companion is welcome. The application includes a writing sample of up to 20 pages.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: 1 April 2024
Open for: Unspecified
Details here (scroll down to Academic Opportunities and click on Fellowships).
Fund for Investigative Journalism Grants
Their regular grants are for articles by US journalists that break new ground and expose wrongdoing – such as corruption, malfeasance, or abuse of power – in the public and private sectors. FIJ encourages proposals written for ethnic media as well as those submitted by journalists of color. “The Fund provides grants for print and online articles, television and radio stories, documentaries, podcasts, and books.” Also, “foreign-based story proposals must come from US-based reporters or have a strong US angle involving American citizens, government, or business; all stories must be published in English, in a media outlet in the United States.”
Value: Up to $10,000
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Open for:U.S.-based journalists or those working on a story with a strong U.S. angle
Details here.
Waterston Desert Writing Prize
This prize is for a proposed book of literary non-fiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy – with the desert both as subject and setting. Writing samples about deserts and natural settings are more likely to be reviewed favorably. Apart from the cash award, there is also a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake and a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon.
Value: $3,000, residency
Deadline: 1 May 2024
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
CINTAS Foundation: Fellowship in Creative Writing
This is a creative writing fellowship for writers having Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (having a Cuban parent or grandparent). Applications can be in English or Spanish. Fellows who are not U.S. citizens and who are living abroad must provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment. The foundation also offers fellowships for other disciplines – architecture & design, music composition, photography, and visual arts (click the ‘Fellowships’ tab on the page).
Value: $20,000
Deadline: 1 May 2024
Open for: Writers having Cuban citizenship or direct lineage
Details here.
Academy of American Poets: James Laughlin Award
This is for a second full-length poetry manuscript by a US poet, contracted by a publisher. Manuscripts have to be 48-100 pages long. Translations and new editions of previously published books are not eligible. Apart from a cash prize, the poet also receives an all-expenses-paid weeklong residency at The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.
Value: $5,000, residency
Deadline: 15 May 2024
Open for: US poets (see guidelines)
Details here and here.
(Also see other awards by the Academy of American Poets that are open now, including fee-free ones; see their Submittable here for details.)
Speculative Literature Foundation Grants
These are grants for writers of speculative literature, and they have various grants in the coming months: The Older Writers Grant for writers who are at least 50 years old, pays $1,000, open for applications 1-31 May; The Diverse Writers Grant, for writers from an underrepresented and underprivileged backgrounds, pays $500, open 1-31 July; The Diverse Worlds Grant, for work that best represents diversity, regardless of the writer’s background, pays $500 also open 1-31 July; they also have other grants listed. The grants have different eligibility and submission guidelines, please read them carefully before applying. Please send submissions only during the specific grant application periods.
Value: $500-1,000
Reading periods: Various (see guidelines)
Open for: Writers of speculative literature
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 US coastal states. Started in 2019, this initiative is building a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across the US 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 in 1-4 months. The ideal range for most awards will be between $2,000 to $8,000.
Value: $2,000-8,000
Deadline: Ongoing
Open for: US-based journalists
Details here.
(The Pulitzer Center also has several other resources, including grants and fellowships – click on the ‘Grants & Fellowships’ tab on this page.)
The Sidney Hillman Foundation: Labor and Workforce Reporting Grants
Their guidelines say, “Please submit a well-focused story proposal of no more than three pages. Think of it as a pitch, much like you would submit to an editor: give us enough preliminary reporting and documentation to demonstrate that the story is solid. The proposal should highlight what’s new and significant about the story, why it matters now, any unique access or documents you may have, and what its potential impact might be.” Journalists must have an outlet already attached. This foundation also administers the Hillman Prize for Journalism for US and Canadian journalists, the deadline for which has passed for this year.
Value: Up to $5,000
Deadline: Ongoing
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Society of Authors: Dursilla Harvey Access Fund
These are small grants for UK-based/British writers, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. Usual grants will be £150 or less. They are accepting applications on an ongoing basis.
Value: Up to £150
Deadline: Ongoing
Open for: UK/British writers
Details here.
(Society of Authors also has awards for works in progress as well as contingency funds – all their grants are here.)
Poetry Bulletin Submission Fee Support
This is a confidential, poet-to-poet fee support for “Poets who cannot otherwise afford to submit their manuscripts to publishers. Poets who face barriers of time, access, or energy. Poets who have historically been underrepresented.” They cover submission fees for poetry chapbooks and full-length poetry manuscripts only. They grant a maximum of three submissions per poet.
Value: Submission fee for poetry chapbooks/full length poetry manuscripts
Deadline: Rolling
Open for: See above
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here
