The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent federal government agency that awards financial assistance and diverse opportunities to U.S. citizens participating in arts. NEA’s efforts revolve around boosting the creative capacity of communities so it has introduced its Literature Fellowships program.
The program awards $25,000 government grants in prose (creative nonfiction and fiction) and poetry to creative writers who are published that enable the beneficiaries to reserve some time for research, writing, travel, and overall career advancement.
The NEA Literature Fellowships program runs on a two-year cycle with fellowships in prose and poetry conducted in alternating years. Eligible applicants can apply only once each year.
Under the NEA Literature Fellowships program, prose writing candidates can apply for Creative Writing Fellowships. If you are capable of churning out creatively interesting prose and have been published at least once, whether in an online journal or printed publication, you can take advantage of applying for NEA’s Creative Writing Fellowships program.
Applicants should have at least published five different short stories. Works may include short fiction, novels or memoirs excerpts, or creative essays or in any combination published in two or more literary journals, publications or anthologies that frequently contain creative nonfiction or fiction as a part of their format.
Writers can also submit their entries consisting of a volume of short fiction or a collection of short stories; novels or novellas; or a volume of creative nonfiction.
In order to be eligible, work must have been published first with an authorized publisher between the solicitation dates, not only reprinted or reissued during the specified time period.
Applicants can also utilize audio, digital or online publications to institute eligibility, given that the publisher has good selection processes and indicated editorial policies.
If the online publication or website no longer exists, applicants must afford, upon request, adequate and satisfactory evidence that their work has appeared online. The online publication cannot be eligible if there’s no sufficient evidence provided.
Applications are undertake an anonymous process in which the solitary review standard are artistic merit and excellence. To review the applications, The NEA annually gathers a different advisory panel to review applications, where each has a diverse view in regards to race and ethnicity, geography and artistic perspectives.
Competition for fellowships is tremendously fierce. Typically, NEA gets thousands of applications each year in the prose category and grants fellowships to fewer than 5% of the applicants. As an applicant, you must carefully consider whether your work will vie at the national level.
All applicants must go to the Grants.gov website and click on “How to Prepare and Submit an Application” for further information. Applications must be submitted on time.
Take note that NEA doesn’t fund:
Individuals who have formerly received two or more Literature Fellowships (in prose or poetry) or Translation Fellowships from the agency.
Individuals who have been awarded any Literature Fellowship (in prose or poetry) or Translation Fellowship from the agency within the last decade.
Writers who engage in scholarly work. Scholarly writers can get in touch with the National Endowment for the Humanities for grant opportunities.
Work for academic degrees.
News reporters.