Grants for Book Publishing
Authors in the progress of writing a book can find themselves in difficult financial situations. They have to find a way to support themselves through the period of work that they hope will pay off later. To avoid distractions from literary work, some organizations sponsor grants to support promising authors.
Other People Are Reading
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Established Fiction Authors
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Fiction writers who have already been published can rely on their past work to justify a sponsor's funding their future endeavors. The PEN American Center sponsors the Robert W. Bingham Prize, which gives $25,000 each year to one writer. The prize recognizes the potential expressed in the author's first work, and it is intended to fund work on a second book. Writers can apply themselves, and agents, editors and readers can also nominate works. The entry fee is $50.
Unpublished Fiction Authors
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Even without past work on which to base grant applications, fiction authors can apply for grant funding to complete works that they have already partially written. The Wilkes University James Jones Fellowship awards $10,000 to one winner and $750 to two runners-up each year. The applicants must submit the first 50 pages of a book and an outline of its plot to the contest along with a $25 entry fee. To be eligible, writers must never have published a novel.
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Nonfiction Authors
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Some grants limit their scope to works of nonfiction or creative nonfiction. For example, the Ellen Meloy Desert Writers award gives funding to writers of creative nonfiction so that they may travel to a desert environment to do research for their work. Each year, one winner receives a $2,000 grant. Applicants must submit 10 pages of writing samples and a project proposal. Past winners have used the funds to work on books of creative nonfiction.
Children's Book Authors
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The PEN Center also sponsors the Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship. The fellowship, which carries a $5,000 monetary award, allows a children's book writer time to complete a book-length work. The grant is intended for a promising writer who has not yet achieved high book sales. Candidates must have at least two published books, and they must be nominated by another writer or an editor. The application must contain the outline of the author's current work and an excerpt of 50 to 75 pages.
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