Most writers underestimate how much funding is actually available to them. Grants for manuscripts in progress, bursaries for writing courses you can’t afford, fellowships that cover living expenses while you write — these opportunities exist, and more of you are eligible than you’d think.

Organizations are actively looking to fund writers at all career stages, including those who are underrepresented, early-career, or simply stretching their budgets too thin.

This edition shares with you carefully vetted opportunities across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and worldwide, all with deadlines concentrated between now and July 2026.

Whether you’re completing a manuscript, launching into a new genre, or finally taking that course you’ve been eyeing, there’s likely funding here for you. You just need to know where to look — and that’s where the FWN is here to help.

The full collection with links, deadlines, and application details is available below for paid subscribers.

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Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

New writing grants, bursaries & fellowships in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom & worldwide, with submission dates from May through June 2026.

UNITED STATES & CANADA

Henry Beetle Hough Enterprise Fellowship — The Vineyard Gazette
A newly created, full-time fellowship at the Vineyard Gazette, Martha's Vineyard's award-winning independent newspaper. Named for the Gazette's legendary editor and publisher, the fellowship offers a $65,000 annual salary, housing in a fully furnished two-bedroom house on the island, comprehensive health benefits, and a 401(k) with employer matching. The minimum commitment is two years (with a possible third). The fellow is expected to cover the big issues of a small island — from conservation and development to culture and politics — with a track record of at least three years of professional reporting experience required.

Leeway Foundation Transformation Award
Unrestricted awards of $15,000 for women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming artists and cultural producers based in Greater Philadelphia (Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County) who have been creating art for social change for five or more years. Open to writers working in any form — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and beyond are all eligible.
Deadline: May 15th, 2026.

Intuit QuickBooks x Mailchimp Small Business Hero Program
A $20,000 grant for U.S.-based small businesses — awarded to businesses that demonstrate courage, perseverance, and integrity in their communities. This is a nomination-based programme: anyone (other than owners, employees, or relatives of the business) can nominate a business they believe deserves recognition. The business owner must be at least 18 years old, and the business must have been operating for at least one year. No purchase of QuickBooks or Mailchimp products is required.
Deadline: May 15th, 2026.

SLF Older Writers Grant for Speculative Fiction
A $1,000 grant from the Speculative Literature Foundation, awarded annually to writers aged 50 or over who are at the beginning of their careers in speculative fiction. Open to writers worldwide. The grant is awarded on merit and carries no restrictions on how the funds are used — writers may apply them to time, tools, research, workshops, or whatever will best serve their work.
Deadline: May 31st, 2026.

Read more

Most writers underestimate how much funding is actually available to them. Grants for manuscripts in progress, bursaries for writing courses you can’t afford, fellowships that cover living expenses while you write — these opportunities exist, and more of you are eligible than you’d think.​

Organizations are actively looking to fund writers at all career stages, including those who are underrepresented, early-career, or simply stretching their budgets too thin.​

This edition shares with you carefully vetted opportunities across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and worldwide, all with deadlines concentrated between now and May 2026.​

Whether you’re completing a manuscript, launching into a new genre, or finally taking that course you’ve been eyeing, there’s likely funding here for you. You just need to know where to look.

The full collection with links, deadlines, and application details is available below for paid subscribers.

Subscribe now

Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

New writing grants, bursaries & fellowships in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom & worldwide, with submission dates from March to May 2026.

UNITED STATES & CANADA

BINC Susan Kamil Emerging Writers Prize
Two grants of $10,000 each are awarded to unpublished writers working on a full-length manuscript, graphic novel, or book-length comic who are currently employed at a physical bookstore or comic shop in the US. Applicants must be 18 or over with at least three months of continuous employment at the store, and submit a six-page writing sample, project overview, and a letter of recommendation. Writers who have already published a full-length work are not eligible.
Applications open: March 25th, 2026.

Retraction Watch Research Accountability Reporting Fellowship
A new six-month fellowship from Retraction Watch and The Open Notebook, funded by the Center for Scientific Integrity, supporting up to six US-based local and regional journalists in reporting stories of scientific integrity at research universities or institutions in their coverage area. Selected newsrooms receive $7,500 to support the reporting project, alongside one-to-one mentorship from Retraction Watch staff and a series of virtual trainings on scientific accountability reporting. Open to reporters and editors working on staff or freelancing for a local or regional media outlet. Applications open March 26th, 2026.
Deadline: Rolling (from March 26th, 2026).

A Public Space Writing Fellowships
Three six-month fellowships for emerging fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writers who have not yet published or contracted a book-length work with a US publisher. Each fellow receives a $1,000 honorarium, editorial support to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine, a one-year subscription, and access to Master Classes and public readings. International applicants are welcome, but submissions must be in English.
Deadline: March 31st, 2026.

Silvers Grants for Work in Progress
The Robert B. Silvers Foundation offers grants of up to $10,000 to Anglophone writers of any nationality working on long-form writing in literary criticism, arts writing, political analysis, and/or social reportage. Applicants must have a publishing agreement in place for the work. Applications require a CV, one-page project description, financial questionnaire, and a 500–2,000 word writing sample. Priority given to projects not supported by a significant advance.
Deadline: March 31st, 2026.

Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers
This three-month residential fellowship (September to December 2026) affords writers uninterrupted time to work at Carson McCullers’s childhood home in Columbus, Georgia. The fellow receives a $5,000 stipend to cover transportation, food, and incidentals, and is encouraged to engage informally with students and local residents interested in writing. Open to all writers; applications require a cover letter, CV, writing sample of up to 20 pages, and two letters of recommendation.
Deadline: April 1st, 2026.

Read more

Most writers underestimate how much funding is actually available to them. Grants for manuscripts in progress, bursaries for writing courses you can’t afford, fellowships that cover living expenses while you write — these opportunities exist, and more of you are eligible than you’d think.

Organizations are actively looking to fund writers at all career stages, including those who are underrepresented, early-career, or simply stretching their budgets too thin.

This edition shares with you carefully vetted opportunities across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and worldwide, all with deadlines concentrated between now and March 2026.

Whether you’re completing a manuscript, launching into a new genre, or finally taking that course you’ve been eyeing, there’s likely funding here for you. You just need to know where to look — and that’s where the FWN is here to help.

The full collection with links, deadlines, and application details is available below for paid subscribers.

Subscribe now

Don’t want updates on grants, bursaries & fellowships? You can update your preferences using this link.

Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

New writing grants, bursaries & fellowships in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom & worldwide, with submission dates from January to March 2026.

UNITED STATES & CANADA

Nieman Fellowships for U.S. Journalists
Nine-month fellowships at Harvard University for journalists with at least three years of professional experience. Fellows receive a stipend to pursue professional development, conduct research, and audit Harvard courses while part of a global community of journalists. The program includes access to Harvard’s extensive resources, networking opportunities, and career advancement support. Applications require essays, professional profile, work samples, and three letters of recommendation.
Deadline: January 31st, 2026.

Chautauqua Janus Prize
The Chautauqua Janus Prize will be awarded for the ninth time in 2026, celebrating an emerging writer’s single work of short fiction or nonfiction that demonstrates daring formal and aesthetic innovations. Submissions may be up to 15,000 words in length but no more than 100 pages. Emerging writers are defined as writers who have yet to publish their first book (exceeding 15,000 words and/or 100 pages) in any prose genre. The winner receives $5,000 plus a travel expense, the winner receives a week-long writing residency at Chautauqua Institution. The winner will give a public lecture and reading during a celebratory event on the grounds.
Deadline: January 31st, 2026.

Black Lawrence Press - The Big Moose Prize
Each year Black Lawrence Press awards The Big Moose Prize for an unpublished novel. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The contest is open to traditional novels as well as novels-in-stories, novels-in-poems, and other hybrid forms that contain within them the spirit of a novel. The winner receives book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book.
Deadline: January 31st. 2026.

Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature
This annual award from Schaffner Press honors Nicholas Schaffner, who devoted his life to music and literature about music. The award celebrates writers whose lives and writing have been profoundly influenced by music. Open to fiction, poetry, or nonfiction (memoir, autobiography, or essay collection) in English that deals in some way with the subject of music (of any genre and period) and its influence. Complete book-length manuscripts are welcome: 75K-100K words for fiction and nonfiction, 60+ pages for poetry collections. The first-place winner receives a contract with Schaffner Press and a $1,000 advance for publication the following year.
Deadline: January 31st, 2026.

Read more

Most writers underestimate how much funding is actually available to them. Grants for manuscripts in progress, bursaries for writing courses you can’t afford, fellowships that cover living expenses while you write — these opportunities exist, and more of you are eligible than you’d think.​

Organizations are actively looking to fund writers at all career stages, including those who are underrepresented, early-career, or simply stretching their budgets too thin.​

This edition shares with you carefully vetted opportunities across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and worldwide, all with deadlines concentrated between now and February 2026.​

Whether you’re completing a manuscript, launching into a new genre, or finally taking that course you’ve been eyeing, there’s likely funding here for you. You just need to know where to look.

The full collection with links, deadlines, and application details is available below for paid subscribers.

Subscribe now

Don’t want updates on grants, bursaries & fellowships? You can update your preferences using this link.

Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

New writing grants, bursaries & fellowships in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom & worldwide, with submission dates from January to March 2026.

UNITED STATES & CANADA

Leon Levy Centre for Biography Fellowships
These fellowships provide up to $15,000 each (six fellowships total) for writers working on biographical projects. Fellows gain access to the CUNY Graduate Center’s resources and become part of a scholarly community dedicated to the art of biography. The fellowship supports research, writing time, and completion of biographical works focusing on individual lives. Applications require a project proposal, writing sample, and letters of recommendation.
Deadline: January 4th, 2026.

RIFFA Emerging Screenwriters Fellowship
This fellowship supports emerging screenwriters with mentorship, professional development, and resources to advance their screenwriting careers. Fellows receive guidance on script development, industry connections, and career navigation. The program focuses on diverse voices and underrepresented perspectives in screenwriting.
Deadline: January 10th, 2026.

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It’s a full new addition to the Freelance Writing Network, a curated collection of opportunities for writers, sorted by country. You’ll find funding options for projects, funding opps for under-represented writers and much, much more.

It’s designed to sit alongside the freelance writing jobs and pitch calls you already receive, giving you another way to grow your career, expand your practice and get your work funded. Plus, we’ll have an update of lit mags, writing prizes and other goodies coming at you in November.

You’ll need to be a paid subscriber to access the full list. If you’re not already, now’s the perfect time to upgrade!

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Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

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