Grants For Authors, Writers and Poets
Funding to support the literary arts.
Hey creators!
We are back again with another playlist, specifically for authors/writers and poets.
To gain exclusive access to this list of (14) grants for authors/writers and (4) for poets, as well as other funding opportunities, consider joining Grants For Creators (GFC) as a paid subscriber for $10 per month or $100 per year.
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We will continue to update this playlist, so bookmark this page and circle back often.
Grants For Authors/Writers
1. [NEW] The 2026 Black List Unpublished Novel Award for Fiction
This award celebrates stellar unpublished manuscripts in four distinct categories: Children’s & Young Adult, Literary, Commercial Fiction (including Romance, Thriller/Suspense, and Crime/Mystery), and Speculative Fiction (including Horror and Sci-Fi/Fantasy). A panel of esteemed judges with experience in book publishing will select one exceptional manuscript in each category to receive a $10,000 grant to support its journey to publication.
Deadline: July 13, 2026
2. [NEW] The Pride Award for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers
This is a $2,000 grant for an emerging writer in the LGBTQIA+ community. Applicants must submit an unpublished work of crime fiction, aimed at readers from children’s chapter books through adults. This may be a short story or the first chapter(s) of a manuscript in progress of 2,500 to 5,000 words, a resume or biographical statement, and a cover letter/artist statement that gives a sense of the applicant as an emerging writer in the genre and briefly states how the award money would be used. (How the funds might be used is not a deciding factor in the judges’ decision.) All writing submissions must be the original work of the author.
Deadline: July 31, 2026
3. [NEW] The Protopian Public AI Prize - For Fiction Writers
Submit your original short fiction imagining a positive future for humanity that foregrounds the potential of AI designed to serve the public good—and actionable steps to get us there. Applicants should submit previously unpublished short stories of 500 - 6,000 words. You may submit only one story to the contest. $5,000 will be awarded.
Deadline: July 31, 2026
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