Virginia Woolf famously said that if a woman is to write fiction she needs a room of her own. The Room of One's Own grant is designed to give female writers exactly that. The biannual grant of $50,000 is given to a woman who agrees that the funds will support her while she finishes a major work like a novel. In order to measure the seriousness of applicants, the application process is arduous and designed to fully test whether or not both the project and the person receiving the funds are ready to commit to finishing. The application packet requires a personal essay on the applicant's artistic life, a sample of her work, the ultimate goal that the grant will support, agreement to the moral contract of using the money for its intended purpose, a full disclosure of financial details and an examination of how the work in question benefits the larger community.
A Room of Her Own Foundation
P.O. Box 778
Placitas, NM 87043
aroomofherownfoundation.org
The Christopher Isherwood Foundation supports fiction writers with individual grants of $4000. In order to qualify for these grants, the application must have published at least one book of fiction--a novel or collection of short stories (young adult novels do not count). Grants are available only to American citizens and are highly competitive. All materials must be received between September 1 and October 1 of the year you are applying. Before sending the application packet, it is recommended that the applicant fill out the online form. This form functions as an intent to apply, and speeds up the process. The application packet must include: three copies of the application letter, three copies of your curriculum vitae, three copies of a 20-30 page sample of the applicant's work and three standard letter-sized tabbed folders.
Christopher Isherwood Foundation
125 N. Main St., Suite 500
#414
Blacksburg, VA 24060
Isherwoodfoundation.org
The general Work in Progress grant given by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is intended to help a variety of different writers secure a bit of funding to support a project. Grants available include: a general work in progress grant (intended for children's book writers), grants for a contemporary novel for young people, nonfiction research grant and grant for an author who has never been published. Of these four grants types, you may apply for the first three, but the grant for an unpublished author is selected from among that pool of applicants. Four full grants of $1500 are awarded annually, along with four runner-up grants of $500.
SCBWI Publications
W-I-P Grant Application
8271 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
scbwi.org