Applications open for Creative Nonfiction Grant

Funding Information

• The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $40,000 will be awarded to as many as ten writers in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general adult readership.

Eligibility Criteria

• Whiting welcomes applications for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories. Again, the work should be intended for a general, not academic, adult reader. Self-help titles, historical fiction, textbooks, books primarily for a scholarly audience, and books for young readers are not eligible.
• Projects must be under contract with a publisher in Canada, the UK, or the US to be eligible, and the fully executed contract signed by all parties must be uploaded as part of the application. Contracts with self-publishing companies are not eligible.

Evaluation Criteria

• Each project under submission will have two first-round readers who will evaluate for substance and execution (while understanding that they are reading a work in progress).
• Finalists will be considered by a separate panel of judges who will evaluate for need in addition to substance and execution.
• Readers and judges will consist of experts in the field from Canada, the UK, and the US and will serve anonymously to shield them from any external pressures.
• The grantees will be announced in December.

Application Requirements

• The application form includes detailed instructions for each requested item:
  • The original proposal that led to the contract with your publisher
  • Up to 25,000 words from your draft. Please submit full-length draft chapters, rather than short excerpts from across your book, to the extent the word count allows
  • A statement of work yet to be completed
  • A plan for use of funds
  • A signed and dated contract (please note that to be eligible, books must be under contract with a Canadian, UK, or US publisher – unfortunately, we can make no exceptions to this requirement)
  • A current resume
  • A list of grants, fellowships, or other funding received for the book
  • A letter of support from your publisher or editor.

For more information, visit Whiting Foundation.