Writing Grants

 Before I left prison, I was thinking about how to fund this writing thing I have been doing. The federal government gave me time and food and shelter and clothing and healthcare, so I could have the time to write. Not that I am sure they thought that was what they were doing. During his last visit, my PO again surveyed the boxes of paper that dominates my room, and then asked if I did all this during prison. When I said, "What else was I supposed to do?", he did not have a reply. Anyway, grants were on my mind. What I found early on required me to be published. I was not then, but I am now published. What follows is what I have found to date.

The Arkansas International Emerging Writer's Prize in Fiction: 

Contest Guidelines:

-    Open to writers who haven’t yet published a full-length book, and who have no book forthcoming before May 1, 2023. Writers with chapbooks are allowed. Writers with a self-published book with a print run under 500 copies are allowed.
-    All work will be considered for inclusion in the print magazine.
-    Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
-    The contest will be judged blindly, so please DO NOT include your cover letter, your name, or any contact information in your uploaded document.
-    Submit your double-spaced work as a single .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
-    Close friends of the judge, as well as anyone recently affiliated with the University of Arkansas, which includes those who have studied or worked there within the past 4 years, are ineligible.
-    $20 entry fee includes an issue of The Arkansas International (free to current subscribers).

Speculative Fiction Foundation

Sources for the above are as follows. There are grants which I did not qualify for, or which are residencies (leaving the State of Indiana will involve too much bureaucratic red tape to make them worthwhile for me, such is the life of a moral leper), and so you might find something useful to you. I suggest you check out the site first, as I found two right of f the bat which were discontinued. The numbering is the order I read them, nothing more.

1. 20 Great Grants for Writers, Plus Tips for Applying 2020
2. Funds for Writers Grants Page
3. 6 Grants for Writers to Help You Pursue Your Dream 
4. Grants.gov 
5. The Elizabeth George Foundation (unpublished writers)
6. 12 Fellowships and Grants for Emerging Writers
7. 23 Gold-Mone Grants for Writers 2017
8. Write or Die Magazine: Writing Grants To Apply For In 2022 
9. Poets & Writers Grants
10. How to Find and Qualify for Writing Grants 
11. 32 Grants and Fellowships for Writers (Up to $75,000) 2021 -2022

12. NEA CREATIVE WRITING FELLOWSHIPS 

     3/8/23 deadline; 1/2024 NEA performs its part 

     You are eligible to apply in Prose if you meet the following requirements:
    
    You are a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
    You have not received two or more Fellowships (in poetry, prose, or translation) from the National Endowment for the Arts. If you have received any award from the National Endowment for the Arts, you must have submitted acceptable Final Reports to the NEA by their due date(s).
    You have not received any National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship (in poetry or prose) or Translation Fellowship on or after January 1, 2015 (FY 2015).
    This is your only application to the NEA for FY 2024 individual support. You may not apply for both a Literature Fellowship under this deadline and a Translation Project under the January 12, 2023 deadline.
    You have had published, between January 1, 2016, and March 8, 2023:
    At least five (5) different short stories, works of short fiction, excerpts from novels or memoirs, or creative essays (or any combination thereof) in two or more literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or publications that regularly include fiction and/or creative nonfiction as a portion of their content; or
    A novel or novella; or
    A volume of short fiction or a collection of short stories; or
    A volume of creative nonfiction.
    Work must have been published for the first time with an eligible publisher between these dates, not only reprinted or reissued in another format during this period. Eligible publishers have a competitive selection process and offer some service or services to their writers, such as editing and proofreading; formatting and design; and/or promotion, marketing, and distribution. Student-led publications and publications that primarily print work by persons who are affiliated with a particular academic institution are not eligible.
    You may use digital, audio, or online publications to establish eligibility, provided that the publisher has a competitive selection process and offers professional editing. If the online publication or website no longer exists, you must provide, upon request, sufficient evidence that your work once appeared online. If sufficient evidence cannot be provided, the online publication will not be eligible.
    

And here is where I gave up. There is some overlap in the lists, and that seemed a good reason to quit.

What I cannot understand is why there is no grant for Indiana writers. This is the closest I can come, and I miss it by several counties:

Robert D. Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowship: This annual fellowship awards two burgeoning artists of any disciplne with $3,500 each. 

sch 12/11/22