Individual Grants for Publishing a First Book
A search for writing grants can be discouraging for the first-time author. Many grants are awarded for second books, to established authors or even as recognition of lifetime achievement. However, there is funding available for writing, even if you have never had a book published. You will not have a large body of work to recommend you, polish your writing samples, excerpts from your work in progress and your writing resume before you submit.
Other People Are Reading
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Fiction
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If you are a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), you are eligible to submit a summary of and an excerpt from your novel to The Work in Progress grant competition. The recipients of the grant receive $2,000. There are three SCBWI grants for works in progress including one for a general work in progress, one for nonfiction and one for a contemporary novel for young people. There is one winner in each of these categories, and a fourth award, from a pool containing the applicants to the other three, is given to one unpublished author. A second sponsor to consider is the National Endowment for the Arts. If you have published at least five short stories in at least two literary magazines, then you may apply for a $25,000 grant for fiction writing. They also have creative nonfiction and poetry divisions.
Nonfiction
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Many grants are given to various categories, so a nonfiction grant will be given at the same time as a fiction grant, as in the case of the National Endowment for the Arts grants. In other cases, like the SCBWI grants, one grant will cover both fiction and nonfiction. You can also apply to grants that were established specifically for nonfiction writers. If you have at least 100 pages written, you can apply to the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, which gives publication and a $12,000 advance to one work each year. Applications are accepted in June.
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Poetry
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Aspiring poets can also get grants for books that are not yet published. If you have a complete manuscript between 50 and 100 pages, you can submit it to the Academy of American Poets for consideration for their Walt Whitman Award. If you have never published more than 500 copies of a book of poetry that was more than 40 pages long, your manuscript is eligible. The winner receives publication by the Louisiana State University Press, $5,000 and a residency at the Vermont Studio Center for one month.
Translation
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If you are working on a book-length translation, you can apply for a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship to aid in its progress if you have already published some translations. You must have 20 pages of translations published in journals, anthologies or books within a period specified in the grant guidelines each year. Each application must include between 10 and 15 pages of the original work accompanied by your translation of that excerpt. The grants award $12,500 or $25,000 based on the merit of the project.
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