Writing Funders
Learn about grants for creative writing by browsing our curated list of top writing funders below. Members can also research funding opportunities by using the search tool for GrantFinder. Become a member.
Funding Trends
Nonprofits, and the philanthropic dollars that support them, are critical to a vibrant literary culture. However, philanthropic giving for writing and literature is minuscule when compared to other artistic disciplines (and even smaller as a whole).
The importance of philanthropy that supports writers and literary pursuits is only likely to grow as the publishing industry continues to consolidate, narrowing the number of titles and the types of books published commercially. Despite the need and potential for growth, funding for writing and literature is constrained.
One reason is that funders often assume that literature is commercially viable. Another is that other artistic disciplines have a denser network of nonprofits, and nonprofit literary organizations tend to be smaller and less visible within their communities than other art nonprofits.
Like many fields of philanthropy, giving is dominated by private foundations, although community foundations are major players at the local level. Recipients of philanthropic funding are broadly classified as individual writers, nonprofit literary arts organizations, and education organizations. Philanthropy plays a larger role for education organizations, which are also more likely to receive support from community foundations and corporations, than for literary nonprofits, which tend to have fewer grant opportunities available to them.
Funders have historically followed a traditional model of awards for writers and project-specific grants for organizations, but they are slowly adopting new strategies such as collaborative funding and a greater emphasis on infrastructure. Even so, emergency funding for writers and nonprofit literary organizations became a priority in the COVID-19 era, as has donor interest in writing pursuits that advance social justice and promote civic engagement.
Foundations for Creative Writing Funding
ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
The Academy Nicholl screenwriting competition funds up to five screenwriting fellowships of $35,000 each year.
AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY
AAS funds fellowships that support research on American history, arts and culture through the year 1876.
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN
This funder makes grants to women academics and supports women and girls through activism and empowerment.
ASTRAEA LESBIAN FOUNDATION FOR JUSTICE
Astraea funds “lesbian-and trans-led organizations and cultural media projects that directly address the depth and complexities of lesbian and trans issues.”
AUTHORS GUILD
This organization’s purpose is “sustaining the literary life of our country through education and advocacy.”
BARD COLLEGE
The Bard Fiction Prize supports published emerging writers with a grant and a one-semester residency.
BOGLIASCO FOUNDATION
The Bogliasco Foundation, near Genoa in Italy, provides short residencies to scholars and creative artists from all over the world.
WITTER BYNNER FOUNDATION FOR POETRY
This foundation supports the writing and translation of poetry, as well as projects that bring poetry to new audiences.
CINTAS FOUNDATION
The Cintas foundation artists and writers with Cuban citizenship or who have a Cuban parent or grandparent.
CREATIVE CAPITAL
This innovative funder awards grants 50 grants of up to $50,000 a year to writers and artists, e also offering career development services like professional development workshops, industry contact development, marketing and public relations services and fundraising workshops.
COMPTON FOUNDATION
Through its Courageous Storytelling strategy, Compton supports writers whose work has the potential to contribute to societal change and a better world.
BARBARA DEMING MEMORIAL FUND
Grants support nonfiction, fiction and poetry project that are relevant to feminist thought, the study of gender or social justice.
MAX AND VICTORIA DREYFUS FOUNDATION
This funder supports supports organizations that run creative writing programs, as well as publications, journals and lecture series about the writing process.
FORD FOUNDATION
One of the largest private foundations in the United States, Ford prioritizes projects that address inequality and foster social change.
FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS
This funder supports writing related to theater and performance art, as well as poetry.
FOUNDATION FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE
In addition to publishing its own newsletters and reports, this foundatoin supports news outlets, journalistic endeavors, and nonprofits dedicated to raising awareness of the situation in Palestine.
JOHN SIMON GUGGENHEIM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation runs a highly competitive fellowship program for artists, scholars and researchers.
HAVEN FOUNDATION
Established by author Stephen King after he was hit by a car and couldn’t work for nearly a year, Haven provides grants to writers, audio readers and other freelance artists in need.
DAVID CHARLES HORN FOUNDATION
This funder runs an annual award program that recognizes unpublished works of playwrights around the world.
RONA JAFFE FOUNDATION
The Rona Jaffe Foundation supports women writers in the early stages of their careers who work on literary fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction.
JEROME FOUNDATION
This foundation awards grants and fellowships to emerging artists, including writers, who are residents of either Minnesota or New York City.
JAPAN-UNITED STATES FRIENDSHIP COMMISSION
This funder is an independent federal government agency that supports projects that highlight the cultural, educational, and intellectual exchange between the United States and Japan.
LANNAN FOUNDATION
Literary grants aim to “increase public appreciation, understanding, and support for contemporary literature” and generally go to nonprofit publishers, distributors, literary journals, educational programs and libraries.
LOFT LITERARY CENTER
The Minneapolis-based Loft Literary Center runs awards and fellowship programs for Minnesota-based writers.
MAURER FAMILY FOUNDATION
This funder works to provide financial assistance to organizations that enrich their communities and the lives of their patrons through programs of cultural value.
ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION
Grants for the arts and humanities focus on “exceptional creative practice, scholarship, and conservation of arts and culture.”
MIDWEST WRITING CENTER
This organization supports writers, students and others throughout the Midwest with events, contests and projects related to writing and publishing.
NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION
This foundation oversees the prestigious National Book Awards and funds programs and awards related to books, reading and writing. It rims signature programs that aim to develop reading skills and the love of reading in underserved populations.
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
NEA is an independent government organization that funds art projects that celebrate American artistic excellence.
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
NEH is an independent government organization that funds projects to promote research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF AMERICAN PEN WOMEN
National League of American Pen Women seeks to increase the visibility of women artists in the art world. It’s funding priorities include music, visual arts, and writing.
NATIONAL YOUNGARTS FOUNDATION
The National YoungArts Foundation (NYAF) seeks to nurture accomplished 15- to 18-year-old artists and writers through its mentorship and scholarship programs, master classes, national recognition and other opportunities.
OHIOANA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
This association awards the prestigious Ohioana Book Awards and runs a small grant program to support young Ohio-based writers.
OPEN MEADOWS FOUNDATION
This funder supports organizations that are “led by and benefit women and girls.” Grants have gone to creative writing and publishing projects.
PEN AMERICA
In addition to its prestigious awards program, PEN America offers grants and fellowships to writers working in various styles and genres. It also runs two grantmaking programs for community projects concerning press freedom and literary engagement.
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE FOUNDATION
The charitable arm of a major publisher, this foundation runs awards programs for students, teachers and libraries. It also sponsors and donates books to events and organizations related to literature and reading.
PEW CENTER FOR ARTS AND HERITAGE
Pew awards grants and fellowships exclusively to organizations and individuals in the five-county Philadelphia region.
PLAYWRIGHTS’ CENTER
The Playwrights’ Center supports playwrights in all stages of their careers. This funder maintains strong interest in the state of Minnesota and the careers of BIPOC writers.
POETRY FOUNDATION
This foundation is affiliated with Poetry Magazine and runs award and grant programs to support poets and poetry-centric organizations in the U.S.
PUFFIN FOUNDATION
Puffin makes small grants to artists and arts organizations “who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities.” Written word grants support writers working in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism and hybrid/multimedia genres.
ROSENTHAL FAMILY FOUNDATION
This family foundation funds two annual awards for fiction.
SISTERS IN CRIME
This is a membership organization of women crime writers. It awards grants and scholarships to individual women writers and small grants to libraries and bookstores to support their role in inspiring readers and writers.
SOCIETY OF CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS
This organization offers grants and awards for published and aspiring writers who are members of the society.
SPECULATIVE LITERATURE FOUNDATION
This funder wards grants for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing.
SUSTAINABLE ARTS FOUNDATION
This foundation pursues the unique mission of supporting artists and writers trying to find a suitable balance between parenting responsibilities and creative pursuits.
UNITED STATES ARTISTS
Each year, this organization provides 50 unrestricted grants of $50,000 to artists across eight different creative disciplines, including writing.
ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION
Warhol’s Arts Writers Grant Program supports writers working on books, articles and other types of written work on “contemporary visual art” and related issues.
WHITING FOUNDATION
This funder supports ambitious creative fiction projects in a wide variety of subject areas. These grants are awarded to emerging writers so they can fully devote themselves to their literary work.
HELENE WURLITZER FOUNDATION
The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation offers three-month residencies to visual artists, writers and musical composers on its 15-acre campus in Taos, New Mexico.
Additional Resources
Grantmakers in the Arts. While there is no funder affinity group that is specific to writing and literature, many of the private foundations operating in the space are members of this funder group.
The Academy of American Poets and Community of Literary Magazines and Presses separately administers annual grants that are funded by Amazon Literary Partnerships.
PEN America administers an emergency fund for writers that was largely funded by Lannan Foundation and the Haven Foundation.
LitNet is a coalition of literary organizations that provides resources to its members but that operates on a smaller scale.
