National Endowment for the Arts
Creative Writing Fellowships
Note to PIs
The following program summary is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It does not replace the sponsor’s actual funding opportunity announcement. Always review the most recent version of the sponsor’s full announcement to verify that the deadline has not changed and to identify the most current program requirements.
About the Program
The National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowships program offers $25,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry to published creative writers that enable recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. Applications are reviewed through an anonymous process in which the only criteria for review are artistic excellence and artistic merit. To review the applications, the National Endowment for the Arts assembles a different advisory panel every year, each diverse with regard to geography, race and ethnicity, and artistic points of view.
The program operates on a two-year cycle with fellowships in prose and poetry available in alternating years. For FY 2020, which is covered by these guidelines, fellowships in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) are available. Fellowships in poetry will be offered in FY 2021 and guidelines will be available in December 2019. You may apply only once each year.
Eligibility
You are eligible to apply in Prose if, between January 1, 2012, and March 6, 2019, you have had published: At least five different short stories, works of short fiction, excerpts from novels or memoirs, or creative essays (or any combination thereof) in two or more literary journals, anthologies, or publications that regularly include fiction and/or creative nonfiction as a portion of their format; or a volume of short fiction or a collection of short stories; or a novel or novella; or a volume of creative nonfiction. To qualify, work must have been first published with an eligible publisher between these dates, not only reprinted or reissued in another format during this period.
Award Amount/Award Period
$25,000.
Application Deadline
Literature Fellowships: Prose: March 6, 2019.
Award Type
Fellowship