Best Writing Grants for 2026
Updated November 2026 · Top 10 · Ranked automatically from live listings
Grants are the rare writing money you don't pay back and don't compete for with a finished product — many fund work in progress. This list ranks the best writing grants currently accepting applications, ordered by award size, with deadlines shown and expired grants dropped automatically.
- 1
organization hidden — members only Foundation Books Program Grants
The organization is offering grants to authors researching and writing books that help the general public understand science and technology, including subjects where the science is confusing or controversial, profiles of important figures in science and…
Up to $60,000Open · closes Jan 1, 2027Free to enter - 2
Public Scholars
The organization is offering grants to individual nonfiction authors for research, writing, travel, and other activities leading to the creation and publication of well-researched books in the humanities for general readers, open to writers with or without…
$60,000Opens Jan 15, 2027 · closes Apr 14, 2027Free to enter - 3
Open Fund for Individuals
The organization is offering project grants of £500–£50,000 for freelance and self-employed writers living in Scotland to research, develop, and deliver creative work in poetry, creative non-fiction, graphic fiction, hybrid prose/poetry, spoken word, and…
£500–£50,000OngoingFree to enter - 4
The Emerging Playwrights Fund
The organization commissions up to five emerging playwrights each cycle to write and develop an original audio play, with possible development and production support, casting help and studio access, for writers 18 and older living in the US or UK who submit…
$25,000Open · closes Nov 18Free to enter - 5
Paul Engle Prize
The organization is offering the Paul Engle Prize, honoring a writer who has shown a pioneering spirit through writing, editing, publishing, or teaching and who has contributed to the betterment of the world through active engagement with the issues of the…
$25,000Open · closes May 1, 2027Free to enter - 6
Literary Translation Grant
The organization is offering translation grants that cover translator fees based on national rates in the translator's country of residence, with additional support for illustrated children's and youth literature, for literary translators of any nationality…
Up to CHF 25,000OngoingFree to enter - 7
Artistic Creation Grant (Explore and Create)
The organization is offering research and creation grants to support individual writers with funding for the creative research, creation, and development of new full-length literary works across fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and spoken word, open to…
Up to $25,000 CADOngoingFree to enter - 8
Caribe Literature
The organization is offering Caribe Literature grants for writers, performance poets, illustrators, spoken word and slam artists, literary translators, and playwrights based in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius…
Up to €25,000Open nowFree to enter - 9
Literary Individual Project Funding
The organization is offering project funding for Alberta-based individual writers and literary artists to develop new work in genres including novels, short fiction, poetry collections, plays, graphic novels, young adult literature, and literary nonfiction…
Up to $18,000Open · closes Mar 1, 2027Free to enter - 10
Aspiring organization hidden — members only Scholarship (organization hidden — members only)
The organization is offering up to five Aspiring the organization Scholarships for unpublished writers, each providing $2,000 in cash plus roughly $15,000 in education, classes, conferences, and coaching alongside a 12-month mentorship program and workshops…
$17,000Open · closes Mar 31, 2027Free to enter
How this list works
This ranking is recomputed automatically from CozyJobs' live opportunity data — no editorial picks. Larger awards rank first, free-to-enter programs rank ahead of fee-based ones at the same award level, and the soonest deadlines break ties. Opportunities past their deadline drop off automatically.
Frequently asked questions
How do writing grants differ from contests and fellowships?+
Grants fund your work directly — often work-in-progress — with no publication requirement. Contests award prizes for finished pieces. Fellowships typically pair funding with a program, residency, or institutional affiliation. Writers routinely apply across all three.
What do writing grant applications require?+
Typically a writing sample (10–25 pages), a project description, and sometimes a budget or artist statement. Unlike contests, grants rarely charge application fees — be wary of any 'grant' that does.
How is this list ranked and how often does it update?+
Rankings are recomputed automatically from live data: larger awards first, then free-to-enter programs, then the soonest upcoming deadlines. Closed or past-deadline opportunities drop off automatically, so every entry is open at the time you're reading.
Does CozyJobs list opportunities with entry fees?+
Yes, contests and residencies with modest entry fees are included when the award justifies it, and each listing shows the fee up front. Free-to-enter opportunities are ranked ahead of fee-based ones at the same award level.
Related lists
- Best Writing Contests for 2026The best writing contests open right now — fiction, poetry, and essay prizes ranked by award size, with deadlines, entry fees, and who can enter.
- Best Journalism Fellowships for 2026The best journalism fellowships open for applications — funded reporting, investigative, and mid-career programs ranked by award, with deadlines.
- Best Artist Residencies for 2026The best artist and writer residencies open for applications — funded time and space to work, ranked by award and support, with deadlines.