The Literary Arts Fund was established in 2025 to dramatically increase funding 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 in grants to the nonprofit literary arts field over the next five years, concluding in 2031. Literary arts nonprofits based in the U.S. whose primary mission is presenting, publishing, and/or otherwise supporting contemporary writers of creative nonfiction, fiction, hybrid literary forms, or poetry are invited to apply.
The Literary Arts Fund will hold open calls for two opportunities: general operating grants and innovation project grants.
The Literary Arts Fund hosted an information session about its 2026 general operating and innovation project grants on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 2 p.m. EST.
A recording of the information session is available to view on the Literary Arts Fund’s YouTube channel here.
Literary arts nonprofits (including fiscally sponsored literary arts organizations, presses, and publications) based in the U.S. and whose primary mission directly supports creative writers and their artistic work in any one of the following ways are eligible to apply for the Literary Arts Fund’s 2026 general operating and innovation project grants:
- Present them at public events such as festivals, readings, open mics, spoken word performances, lectures, or conversations;
- Publish their work in print or digital publications such as books, chapbooks, literary journals, magazines, websites, or zines;
- Provide them with writing residencies, retreats, mentorships, or workshops;
- Build their readership and following through digital or print feature articles, interviews, reviews, online archives, or podcasts; and,
- Recognize their artistic achievement through awards, fellowships, or prizes.
Furthermore, to be eligible to apply, literary arts nonprofits must:
- Serve adult creative writers and audiences;
- Have been established for three years or more, based on the year of incorporation or contracted partnership with a fiscal sponsor (as of December 19, 2025, for 2026 general operating grant applications);
- Have a current executive director who has served in their role for at least twelve consecutive months (as of December 19, 2025, for 2026 general operating grant applications); and
- Have an annual operating budget of at least $50,000, in excess of in-kind (i.e., non-cash) contributions. For fiscally sponsored organizations and publishers: the organization or publisher, not the fiscal sponsor, must meet this requirement.
The Literary Arts Fund’s grantmaking strategy does not include the following:
- Nonprofit organizations and publishers whose primary mission is not focused on the literary arts and creative writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction (distinguished from journalism or scholarship), or hybrid works.
- Literary arts nonprofits, publishers, initiatives, and projects that are part of and funded by a college or university.
- Nonprofit literary organizations and publishers whose primary mission is to present, publish, or support young writers.
- Arts education organizations that focus on increasing K-12 students’ access to the arts and learning through the arts, in or out of school.
- Literacy organizations that focus on developing or strengthening youth or adult reading and writing skills and abilities.
- Academic, research, school, and public libraries.
- Trade and service organizations whose mission is focused primarily on serving other literary arts nonprofits.
Updated November 17, 2025
2026 General Operating Grants
- General operating grants provide unrestricted funding to support a literary arts nonprofit’s mission, activities, and administrative needs. These grants are disbursed to nonprofits in a single payment and intended for use over a five-year period.
- Organizations and publishers applying for a general operating grant must first complete an eligibility quiz on Submittable.
- Literary arts nonprofits that are eligible to apply must submit an application form on Submittable by December 19, 2025, at 8:59 p.m. PST / 9:59 p.m. MST / 10:59 p.m. CST / 11:59 p.m. EST.
- A downloadable guide to the grant application is available here to assist with application preparation.
- Literary arts nonprofits wishing to modify their application must withdraw their initial submission on Submittable and reapply before the deadline.
- The Literary Arts Fund is not responsible for applications not received by the deadline due to user error. Applicants may visit the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable for questions about using the platform and technical support.
- Grant applicants and recipients will be notified about the results by May 30, 2026, via their Submittable account and email.
- The Literary Arts Fund’s decisions regarding eligibility are final.
- For questions, visit the Literary Arts Fund’s FAQ page or email grants@literaryartsfund.org.
2026 Innovation Project Grants
- Innovation project grants provide funding to literary arts nonprofits for projects that may be collaborative and that aim to address critical challenges in one or more literary arts nonprofit organizations, presses, or publications that, if improved, would directly benefit creative writers’ artistic work and ability to share it with readers and audiences. These grants are disbursed to nonprofits in a single payment and intended for use during the project period.
- Literary arts nonprofits awarded a general operating grant in 2026 are ineligible to apply independently for an innovation project grant until twelve months after the general operating grant was awarded. They may, however, participate in a collaborative application for an innovation project grant in the same year they received a general operating grant.
- Organizations and publishers applying for an innovation project grant must first complete an eligibility quiz.
- Literary arts nonprofits that are eligible to apply must submit an application form on Submittable by the deadline in August 2026 (TBD).
- Literary arts nonprofits wishing to modify their application must withdraw their initial submission on Submittable and reapply before the deadline.
- The Literary Arts Fund is not responsible for applications not received by the deadline due to user error. Applicants may visit the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable for questions about using the platform and technical support.
- Grant applicants and recipients will be notified about the results in November 2026 (TBD) via their Submittable account and email.
- The Literary Arts Fund’s decisions regarding eligibility are final.
- For questions, visit the Literary Arts Fund’s FAQ page or email grants@literaryartsfund.org.
Innovation project grant applications will open in June 2026 (TBD).
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