Grants, Scholarships & Awards
THE ANGELA JOHNSON SCHOLARSHIP FROM VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS
This scholarship is for new students of color of an ethnic minority for VCFA’s MFA program.
VAUNDA MICHEAUX NELSON SCHOLARSHIP FROM HAMLINE COLLEGE
Annual award given to a new or current student in the program who shows exceptional promise as a writer of color
OCTAVIA E. BUTLER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
This fund enables writers of color to attend the Clarion writing workshops where writer Octavia Butler got her start.
This award is given to two unpublished writers or illustrators from ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in children’s literature in America and who have a ready-to-submit completed work for children.
Annual award given to an unpublished author of color for a picture book manuscript. The winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and Lee & Low's standard publication contract.
Annual award given to an unpublished author of color for a middle grade or young adult fantasy, science fiction, or mystery novel. The winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and Tu Books’ standard publication contract.
The offers multiple scholarships to help bring more diversity of all kinds into the children's literature field and are currently offered to folks who identify as LBGQTI, having a disability, being a person of color, or being low income.
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY MFA IN WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
The Vaunda Micheaux Nelson scholarship provides $5,000 to a new or current student of color, annually. The Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors scholarship is a $1,000 biannual award for new students of color entering the program.
ELEANOR TAYLOR BLAND CRIME FICTION WRITERS OF COLOR AWARD
This one time grant is awarded to an emerging writer of color of crime fiction.
ZELLERBACH FAMILY FOUNDATION FOR BAY AREA PROJECTS
The foundation is accepting applications for its Community Arts Program, which supports local artists who are creating new and innovative work that is representative of the diverse cultures and communities of the Bay Area. Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to projects in the areas of dance, theater, visual arts, music, festivals, poetry, literature, and publications. Priority will be given to contemporary performance-oriented. To be eligible, applicants must be a nonprofit arts-serving organization doing its work in San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties (west of the Caldecott Tunnels). Individual artists must work under a fiscal sponsor in order to be funded.
THE SLF $500 DIVERSE WRITERS AND $500 DIVERSE WORLDS GRANTS
The SLF annually offers, since 2014, two diversity-centered grants: Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds, both intended to foster the creation of speculative fiction work rich in diversity. The $500 Diverse Writers grant is intended to support new and emerging writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, etc. — those whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing / publishing process. The $500 Diverse Worlds grant is intended for work that best presents a diverse world, regardless of the writer’s background.
Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards is an award established in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. and in honor of Coretta Scott King for her continuation in peace work. This award is given to African American authors and illustrators who have written books for children and young adults that reflect the African American experience. The award encourages the artistic and literary expression of black experience, history, biography and social existence. The candidate will be a U.S. citizen or have dual-citizenship/residency, and the book must have been published between January and December of the year preceding the year of award. Applicants should send three copies of the book to American Library Association for Literacy and Outreach Services and include the "Author-Illustrator Information Guide." A copy of the book should go to all of the CSK Book Awards jury members by December 1.
Fellowships of $3,500 each are given annually to Oregon writers to initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. One Women Writers Fellowship and one Writer of Color Fellowship of $3,500 each are also given. Submit three copies of up to 15 pages of poetry or 25 pages of prose with the required entry form by July 8.
