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Best Writing Grants for 2026

Updated September 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. 1
    Journalismfund Europe

    European Cross-border Grants (2026 Cycles)

    The European Cross-border Grants programme, running since 2009, supports cross-border teams of professional journalists and/or news outlets with strong ideas for cross-border investigations and research on European topics.

    €2,000–€10,000+ per project (€280,000 per call, 6 rounds in 2026–2027)Deadline: Oct 1, 2026Free to enter
  2. 2
    Canada Council for the Arts

    Creating, Knowing and Sharing — Short-Term Projects

    Canada Council for the Arts is offering grants through their Creating, Knowing and Sharing — Short-Term Projects program for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis writers and artistic collectives in Canada to pursue short-term creative projects that support the…

    Up to $50,000 emerging artists; up to $100,000 established artists/collectivesDeadline: Nov 4, 2026Free to enter
  3. 3
    Creative Scotland

    Open Fund for Individuals

    Creative Scotland 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–£50,000Rolling deadlineFree to enter
  4. 4
    Dutch Foundation for Literature (Nederlands Letterenfonds)

    Caribe Literature

    Dutch Foundation for Literature 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…

    Individual literary creators: up to 25,000 euro (cultural organisations: up to 50,000 euro)Free to enter
  5. 5
    Australian Society of Authors

    Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship

    Australian Society of Authors is offering the Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship to support Australian writers of adult fiction and biography with manuscripts in progress, requiring current Full membership and a track record of at least two traditionally…

    AU$35,000 (winner) and AU$15,000 (runner-up)Deadline: Oct 2, 2026Free to enter
  6. 6
    The Loft Literary Center

    McKnight Artist Fellowships in Writing

    The Loft Literary Center administers the McKnight Artist Fellowships in Writing on behalf of the McKnight Foundation, awarding unrestricted fellowships to Minnesota-based writers with a sustained body of published work, alternating annually between Creative…

    $25,000 unrestricted fellowshipDeadline: Dec 1, 2026Free to enter
  7. 7
    South Arts

    Southern Prize for Literature

    South Arts is offering the Southern Prize for Literature to individual writers aged 18+ who are full-time residents of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee and are developing book-length…

    $25,000 unrestricted (winner); $10,000 each (two runners-up)Deadline: Oct 7, 2026Entry fee: $25 application fee
  8. 8
    Jonathan and Barbara Silver Foundation

    Writing Grant

    Jonathan and Barbara Silver Foundation is offering a biennial writing grant for writers producing rigorous, original writing on the history, aesthetics, purposes, imagination, or situation of sculpture, with one year to complete the funded project

    $20,000Rolling deadlineFree to enter
  9. 9
    Film Independent

    Film Independent Episodic Lab

    Film Independent is offering an intensive multi-week development program with mentorship and a development grant designed to help emerging diverse international TV writers develop original pilots with scientific, mathematical, or technological themes or…

    $20,000Entry fee: $45 and up
  10. 10
    The Miles Morland Foundation

    Miles Morland Writing Scholarship

    The Miles Morland Foundation is offering annual Writing Scholarships to African-born writers or those with African parentage writing in English, providing monthly stipends over twelve months (with possible extension to eighteen months for nonfiction writers)…

    £18,000 paid monthly over twelve months (with possible extension to eighteen months for non-fiction writers)Deadline: Sep 22, 2026Free to enter
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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.

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