Women’s Writing Grants, Funding & Sponsorship

Here’s a list of organizations that financially support women writers through fellowships, scholarships, and grants.

This list is very much a WIP given the ever-changing landscape that is funding for the arts. As always, I welcome any updates! If you find a non-working link or discover a fund no longer exists, please let me know.

Thank you!

— Nicole Melanson

 

The Artist Enrichment Grant — The Kentucky Foundation for Women (USA)

The Artist Enrichment grant provides opportunities for feminist artists and arts organizations to further their artistic development to create art for positive social change. Open to feminist social change artists who reside in Kentucky.

 

The Arts and Change Award — Leeway Foundation (USA)

The Art and Change Grant (ACG) provides project-based grants of up to $2,500 to women and trans* artists and cultural producers in greater Philadelphia to fund art for social change projects.

 

The Arts Meets Activism (AMA) Grant — The Kentucky Foundation for Women (USA)

The Art Meets Activism grant supports feminist artists and organizations in actively engaging individuals and communities in artmaking that is directly focused on positive social change in Kentucky. Open to feminist social change artists who reside in Kentucky.

 

Aspiring Literary Scholar Award — Go On Girl Book Club (USA)

The winner of this award receives $1,000, an invitation to accept the award at our annual awards ceremony, promotion on our website, and a feature of their work in our Magajournal and quarterly newsletter. Candidate must be a full-time freshman, sophomore or junior student attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) with a cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 or better.

 

The Barbara Deming Memorial Fund — Money for Women (North America)

Small artist support grants ( $500 – $1500 ) to individual feminist women in the arts who are citizens with primary residence in the U.S and Canada.

 

Daisy Pettles Women’s Writing Contests Awards and Prizes (USA)

$1000 Cash Grant Award and 1 month of expense-free living (a $2,500 value), PLUS a Certificate as Honorary Writer in Residence in the Daisy Pettles House vintage 1920s arts and craft bungalow for the year awarded. Finalists and semi-finalists awards also available.

 

The Diverse Writers Grant — Speculative Literature Foundation

The $500 Diverse Writers grant is awarded annually to assist 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 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship

Open to female writers horror writers. Each Scholarship is worth $2500, which may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship.

 

The Shirley Holden Helberg Grants for the Mature Woman — National League of American PEN Women (USA)

$1000. Must be age 35 or older to receive this grant.

 

The Transformation Award — Leeway Foundation (USA)

The Transformation Award provides unrestricted annual awards of $15,000 to women and trans* artists and cultural producers living in greater Philadelphia who create art for social change and have done so for the past five years or more, demonstrating a long-term commitment to social change work.

 

Unpublished Writer Award — Go On Girl Book Club (USA)

The winner of this award receives $1,000, an invitation to accept the award at our annual awards ceremony, promotion on our website, and a feature of their work in our Magajournal and quarterly newsletter.