{"id":2637,"date":"2011-12-29T09:31:26","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T14:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/julijasukys.com\/?p=2637"},"modified":"2012-01-19T08:31:05","modified_gmt":"2012-01-19T13:31:05","slug":"show-me-the-money-where-to-look-for-writers-grants-and-other-kinds-of-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/julijasukys.com\/?p=2637","title":{"rendered":"Show Me the Money: Where to Find Writers’ Grants"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Platita<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I couldn’t have written Epistolophilia<\/a><\/em> without writers\u2019 grants and research fellowships. <\/strong>A number of different arts agencies and institutions — these are listed in the Acknowledgements to my book — helped me pay for plane tickets, get paper for printing, buy time for writing, and (perhaps most importantly) they confirmed that my writerly hunch might be a good one.<\/p>\n

I’ve applied for hundreds of grants over the years — so many that it’s now become part of my creative process. Entering grant competitions is one more way for me to work out ideas, test the waters, and see if a project has legs. I’ve had a lot of success partly because I’ve learned how to talk about my work in a way that makes sense to granting agencies; and in part because of the numbers — the more grants I apply for, the better my chances.<\/p>\n

I’ve had a few queries regarding grants recently: how to find them; what they fund; how the system works. So, I thought I’d give an overview here.<\/p>\n

By far the best resource for grant, fellowship and residency announcements I\u2019ve come across is Mira\u2019s List<\/a>, <\/strong>a\u00a0blog kept by the extraordinary writer Mira Bartok (soon I\u2019ll be interviewing her about her new book The Memory Palace<\/em>, so stay tuned). I recommend signing up for her mailing list or checking her site frequently.<\/p>\n

There are a few things to keep in mind when applying for grants. First, grants beget grants. That\u2019s to say that every grant you receive increases your chances of getting another one. <\/strong>Second, granting agencies want to feel confident that they\u2019re backing a winner, so be prolific. Finish your projects and publish them!<\/p>\n

So what kind of funding is there to be had?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, there are the big and prestigious awards <\/strong>like: the Guggenheim Foundation<\/a>, Canada Council for the Arts<\/a>, and the National Endowment for the Arts<\/a>. These awards are generally for established writers and artists, and even to oft-published authors, applying for them can feel like a lottery. Unless you\u2019re very senior indeed, it\u2019s best to treat them as long-shots, and expect to be turned down so you can be pleasantly surprised (or ecstatic) when you win an award.<\/p>\n

Easier to win are geographically determined awards<\/strong>, like the New York Foundation for the Arts<\/a>, the CALQ (Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Quebec or Quebec Arts Council<\/a>), and the Ontario Arts Council<\/a>. Most states and provinces have their own granting agencies, so check out yours. Many cities (Toronto<\/a> and\u00a0Kansas City<\/a> are two examples ) have artists\u2019 grants available to their residents, so check those out too, and mark deadlines on your calendar. Obviously, the smaller the geographic area defining the competition, the better your odds.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to check out the Fulbright<\/a> Program\u00a0if you\u2019re a US citizen, have a scholarly affiliation, and need to do research abroad.<\/p>\n

Artists\u2019 Residencies <\/strong>are a good way to go for short periods (weeks or months) of uninterrupted work away from home. Some cover all costs; others ask artists to kick in a share of the cost. Sometimes there are small application fees, which annoys me, but perhaps it won’t bother you. There are well-known colonies like Yaddo<\/a>,\u00a0the\u00a0Vermont Studio Center<\/a>, and the\u00a0Banff Centre for the Arts<\/a>. (Here’s a good resource to check out for more artist residencies.) <\/a> Universities,\u00a0like McGill University<\/a> in Montreal, often have writers-in-residence, so keep an eye out for those too.<\/p>\n

Library grants<\/strong> can be very useful for those of us doing research. Many public and specialized libraries offer fellowships to writers. A few examples include the\u00a0New York Public Library Fellowships<\/a>, Chicago’s\u00a0Newberry Library<\/a> Fellowships, and the\u00a0Laman Library Writers Fellowship in Arkansas<\/a>. Around Montreal, where I live, public libraries offer fellowships to local writers. See if this is the case in your community.<\/p>\n

Other aspects to consider are subject matter and genre.<\/strong> There may be grants available to fund work in a specific genre or on a particular subject area:\u00a0Yiddish culture<\/a>, the Holocaust<\/a>, biography<\/a>,\u00a0American history<\/a>, and poetry<\/a> are just a few examples of areas in which targeted funding is available.<\/p>\n

Finally, don\u2019t sniff at small grants<\/strong> like the awards of between $500 and $1,500 offered by\u00a0Money for Women\/Barbara Deming Memorial Foundation<\/a>. I won this one just as I was finishing my book, and it paid for the daycare I needed to get the final version of my manuscript ready for review at the press.\u00a0Remember, grants beget grants, so the very fact of winning a small award improves your position in the next round of competitions.<\/p>\n

When writing grant proposals, be as specific as you can.<\/strong> If you can give chapter breakdowns, do so. If you\u2019ve written half the book already, then say so. If you have a publisher interested, underline that. Demonstrate how your project is new, innovative, and important. Show that it contributes to knowledge or culture. Point to your past accomplishments to underscore the fact that you finish what you start.<\/p>\n

Above all, don\u2019t despair.<\/strong> The grants system can be capricious and unjust. Brilliant projects can get rejected and duds occasionally get funded. Write the application, put it in the mail, then forget about it and get back to your work.<\/p>\n

Which is, after all, the whole point.<\/p>\n

[Photo:\u00a0Cati Kaoe<\/a>]<\/p>\n

This post is part of a weekly series called “Countdown to Publication” on <\/em>SheWrites.com<\/a>, the premier social network for women writers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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