Find answers to frequently asked questions about the Literary Arts Fund, including information on the nonprofit literary arts field, grant opportunities, and contributing to the fund.
Updated April 8, 2026
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the Literary Arts Fund, including information on the nonprofit literary arts field, grant opportunities, and contributing to the fund.
Updated April 8, 2026
The nonprofit literary field comprises hundreds of charitable organizations and publishers that serve writers and readers in ways that are distinct from commercial publishing. These organizations, presses, and publications champion established writers, critical first-time and historically underrepresented authors, and provide a home for the intellectually rigorous and artistically adventurous voices whose work deepens and challenges our culture.
Literary arts nonprofits bring literature to communities nationwide—hosting book festivals and events that connect authors and readers across the country; broaden the reach of writers by publishing works in translation; mentor and encourage authors through retreats and residencies; and celebrate artistic achievement through literary awards and fellowships.
Together, these efforts sustain the vitality and independence of American literature and ensure that a wide spectrum of voices and ideas continues to shape our collective imagination.
The Literary Arts Fund was initiated in 2023 by the Mellon Foundation as a collaborative effort with the Ford Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Lannan Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation, each of which made a one-time lead gift to establish the fund.
Over more than two years, these seven foundations collectively studied articles and research about the nonprofit literary arts field, and met with and heard from writers and leaders in the field. This work has underscored the little funding the nonprofit literary arts field has annually received and has in part informed the priorities and strategies of the Literary Arts Fund.
According to the Literary Arts Fund’s research, literature continues to be the least-funded artistic discipline in the United States, receiving just 1.9% of the $5 billion in grants given to the arts, according to 2023 data collected from Candid, an organization that tracks information about nonprofits. Additional challenges to the literary arts field have included rising operational costs and the ongoing pressures of a shifting publishing and funding landscape.
The Literary Arts Fund aims to dramatically increase financial support for and the visibility of the nonprofit literary arts field toward ensuring a healthy and more robust U.S. literary culture in support of creative writers.
The Literary Arts Fund will award at least $50 million to the nonprofit literary arts field over the next five years (concluding in 2031), aligning with its mission and focusing on areas in which it might have the greatest impact; hold open calls for general operating and innovation project grant applicants; conduct peer-learning sessions with grantees; develop and release field scans and reports on the literary arts field; and continue fostering the development of the Literary Arts Funders Collaborative, an affinity group.
Please sign up for the Literary Arts Fund newsletter or email info@literaryartsfund.org.
The Literary Arts Fund is conducting two open calls: one for general operating grants and another for innovation project grants. To learn more, visit the Grants page.
To be eligible, applicants must be literary arts nonprofits (including fiscally-sponsored literary arts organizations or publishers) based in the U.S. that directly serve creative writers, including organizations that present, publish, and/or otherwise support creative writers’ artistic work, and meet all of the other eligibility requirements.
Literary arts organizations and publishers with 501(c)(3) status granted by the IRS, or that are fiscally sponsored by an organization with the same designation, are eligible to apply if they meet all of the other eligibility requirements.
Yes, if there was no gap in time from fiscal sponsorship to nonprofit status. Please include this in the application narrative and upload documentation.
To be eligible, nonprofits must have a primary mission of presenting, publishing, and/or otherwise directly supporting contemporary creative writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid literary forms, as demonstrated in part by more than 50% of its programs being literary. It must also meet the other eligibility requirements.
If the nonprofit’s programming also includes artists from other disciplines, the application may be less competitive than those of nonprofits that focus solely on creative writers.
Nonprofits interested in applying for the Literary Arts Fund’s grants must have a mission of directly serving creative writers, including presenting, publishing, and/or otherwise supporting them, as well as meeting all of the other eligibility requirements. In addition, organizations interested in applying must demonstrate that a majority, or more than 50%, of their programs are literary.
Yes, however, the nonprofit would need to meet all of the other eligibility requirements.
Yes, as long as its activities primarily support adult creative writers and meet all of the other eligibility requirements.
Yes. Having received funding from a foundation that supports the Literary Arts Fund has no bearing on eligibility or grant outcomes. In addition, founding and contributing funders to the Literary Arts Fund do not make grant decisions.
Your nonprofit will also need to meet all of the Literary Arts Fund’s eligibility requirements.
Yes, as long as your nonprofit meets all of the other eligibility requirements.
A literary journal or magazine (print, digital, online) publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction (as opposed to scholarship or journalism), or hybrid works (i.e., literary works that blur these genres and may incorporate an additional element). Other characteristics include: having an editorial process, taking submissions, sharing contact information and submissions information on a website, and publishing content that is predominately not by one’s own staff and editors.
Creative writers are individual artists who create poems, works of fiction and literary prose (as distinguished from scholarship or journalism), and hybrid works (which blend these genres and which may incorporate an additional element).
“Adult” creative writers are ages 21 and up.
No. The Literary Arts Fund has two competitive grant opportunities, one for general operating support and one for innovative projects.
No. The Literary Arts Fund only makes grants to nonprofits (or fiscally-sponsored organizations or publishers) and does not fund individuals.
Yes, if each director meets the eligibility requirement of having served in their role for at least twelve consecutive months, and if the nonprofit meets all of the other eligibility requirements. Please list both of the directors’ names on the Executive Director line in the application form, and include the length of service for the director that has served in their role for the least amount of time.
Yes, if the nonprofit meets all of the other eligibility requirements. The Literary Arts Fund understands that not all nonprofits use the term “Executive Director” to describe the staff person with equivalent administrative and operational responsibilities.
No, the Executive Director and staff can be full-time, part-time, or volunteer. Please note: nonprofits will need to meet all of the other eligibility requirements.
No.
The financial and programming data in the application should be from the applicant’s most recently completed fiscal year.
No.
For questions about general operating and innovation project grants, please email grants@literaryartsfund.org. For general inquiries, please email info@literaryartsfund.org.
The application window for 2026 general operating grants opened on November 10, 2025, and closed on December 19, 2025. An open call for 2027 general operating grant applications will be announced in January 2027. To learn more, visit the Grants page.
Applications are screened for eligibility by Literary Arts Fund staff; reviewed by a team of readers; and then assessed by a panel of published creative writers and experts in the literary arts field.
Founding and contributing funders to the Literary Arts Fund do not make grant decisions.
No.
Literary arts nonprofits applying for a general operating grant need not request an amount. General operating grant awards will range from $40,000 to $500,000 and may be based on the nonprofit’s annual operating budget.
Applicants were notified about the results of the 2026 general operating grant opportunity by May 31, 2026, through Submittable and email to the individual who submitted the application on behalf of the literary arts nonprofit.
No.
No. Applicants may use any budget presentation they like. Here is a budget template if you need one: https://literaryartsfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Literary-Arts-Fund-Annual-Operating-Budget-Templates-for-Organizations-and-Publishers.xlsx.
The application window for innovation project grants will open on June 8, 2026. Literary arts organizations or publishers applying for an innovation project grant need to complete and submit their application online, via Submittable, by August 17, 2026.
Please sign up for the Literary Arts Fund newsletter to stay apprised of open calls and announcements.
No. Only one literary arts nonprofit applies on behalf of a collaborative. This lead applicant would receive grant funds for the project if awarded.
A lead applicant is the nonprofit that completes and submits the application for a collaborative innovation project grant. Lead applicants must meet the stated eligibility criteria in order to apply and are responsible for executing the project and managing the project budget.
A collaborative project is one in which several organizations or publishers (“collaborators”) work together to undertake a project, each playing different and complimentary roles.
No, only those that are allocated sub-awards (project funds) in the project budget.
A sub-award is an amount allocated to a collaborator in the project budget to cover its costs related to fulfilling their part of the project.
No. The Literary Arts Fund only makes grants to nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status per the IRS or those with fiscal sponsors per its eligibility requirements.
No. However, it can be a part of a collaborative project and may be allocated a sub-award. Organizations or publishers that have received a general operating grant from the Literary Arts Fund will not be eligible to apply independently for an innovation grant until twelve months after the general operating grant was awarded.
Applications will be screened by Literary Arts Fund staff and a team of reviewers, then assessed by a panel. Reviewers and panelists include creative writers and experts in the literary arts field.
Founding and contributing funders to the Literary Arts Fund do not make grant decisions.
Literary arts nonprofits applying for innovation grants may request between $25,000 and $100,000 as determined by the project budget. These grant awards may also be informed by the annual operating budget(s).
The Ford Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Lannan Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation.
Each foundation made a one-time gift outside of their regular giving. The Literary Arts Fund is an independent project and founding funders do not make grant award decisions.
Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Fund of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, Barr Foundation, Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Houston Endowment, Jerome Foundation, and McKnight Foundation.
Each foundation made a one-time gift outside of their regular giving. The Literary Arts Fund is an independent project and contributing funders do not make grant award decisions.
The Literary Arts Fund is grateful for additional contributions from foundations in support of its efforts. Please email giving@literaryartsfund.org to learn more.
The Literary Arts Funders Collaborative is a new affinity group that includes foundations contributing to the Literary Arts Fund and those that are interested in literature, reading, and creative writers, and in learning more about the nonprofit field that supports them.
The Literary Arts Funders Collaborative welcomes new members. To inquire, please email LAFC@literaryartsfund.org.