In the aftermath of recent events, we believe that marginalized voices need to be heard more than ever. We are offering a space for marginalized and underrepresented writers to receive grant funding for their talents. Grants are monetary (or otherwise beneficial) gifts for writers to help them free up their time to create. Grants tell writers that their work is valued. The money does not get paid back (It is not a loan.), and the author only has to apply and fulfill the specific requirements.
IF YOU CAN AFFORD TO GIVE A GRANT:
Any individual, group, ethical corporation or business, small press, or otherwise, may give a grant in any amount (minimum $100) for any general or specific group of marginalized voices. Yes, YOU can give a grant. Grants can be given in honor/memory of someone, have special dedications, or feature sponsor logos, links, photos, and more. We will also take gifts of residencies, travel funds, paid reading tours, physical prizes worth at least $100, writing packages or tools, etc. We need you, and we will work with your wishes. WHAT CAN YOU OFFER? Will someone match your funds? If you are able to give an annual micro or major grant, please SIGN UP HERE or email alt.current {at} gmail.com for details. If you just want to donate, click below, and your donation will go to strengthen our own Alternating Current grant levels.
IF YOU ARE A MARGINALIZED WRITER:
Grants will be listed as they are available, in alphabetical order. They will all have specific guidelines and come from different sources, but we will try to keep the guidelines as simple as possible so writers are not discouraged from applying. Some will be limited to specific voices only, and some will be more open to all marginalized writers. For the fairness of all underrepresented writers, please ONLY submit to the grants that apply to you, and please only apply to each grant once per cycle.
All grant applications are free.
All work is read blind.
Prepare your work before you begin your application process.
Do not apply to grants that don’t apply to you.
All grants are read by different judges from different organizations, so if your statement or pieces fit more than one grant, feel free to submit the same material to multiple grants.
Climate Observers Award
Available for: Marginalized Writers on the Front Lines of Climate Change
Award: $300, Editorial Support, + Publication
Presented by: Places Journal
Submission Deadline: May 31, 2017
Recipient Selected: July 31, 2017
Age Restrictions: 18+
Notes: This grant is for marginalized writers living in communities that are directly and immediately affected by climate change. (Applicants can be marginalized by virtue of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, income, or education status. Indigenous persons are strongly encouraged to apply.) The editors are looking for writers to report from the front lines of climate change; that is, from communities that confront rising seas, desertification, drought, or other change in environmental conditions. They seek personal essays or reported narratives that examine how climate change is affecting the community and how the community is responding. The award recipient(s) will have their submission essay(s) published online in Places, a leading journal of public scholarship on the built environment. Submissions will be blind-reviewed by Places’ editors, and the award recipient(s) will be announced by Places Journal and Alternating Current.
Submit in ONE FILE: 1.) Brief personal statement, 100 to 300 words, about your background and the place where you live.
2.) An unpublished work of NONFICTION, 2000 to 5000 words, that meets the project description.
PUT THESE BOTH IN ONE DOCUMENT, and submit as DOC, DOCX, RTF, PDF, or ODT. Name the file: COA2017FirstNameLastName (Example: COA2017JaneSmith.docx). Do not put your name within the file.
Neuri Award
Available for: All Marginalized Writers
Award: $100 + Publication potential
Presented by: Radiant Crown Publishing, LLC
Submission Period: October 1-15, 2017 (11:59 EST)
Recipient Selected: October 31, 2017 (Halloween)
Age Restrictions: None, but parents or legal guardians must collect payment for minors.
Runners-Up: Runners-up may have publication potential if editors choose.
Eligibility: If you have won the award before, know the Radiant Crown staff personally, or have been published by or signed by Radiant Crown, you are ineligible to apply. Authors and poets must identify with one or more marginalized identities, such as gender, ability status, age, race, or religion.
Notes: The Neuri Tribe was recounted by Herodotus in The Histories, rumored to transform into wolves once a year, and looked down upon for living strange, other-worldly, and “savage” lives; the Neuri Award looks to this tribe as yet another example of tweaking the perception of the “uncivilized” world. Decolonizing our worldview begins with being introduced to new societies and ways of thought, which has a direct correlation to the kinds of literature we hope to see. Radiant Crown Publishing seeks dark, diverse, subversive stories with unexpected protagonists, and their scholarship fund will support marginalized writers of dark and diverse genre fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, so you can write your own histories and legends into a new canon. Radiant Crown Publishing, LLC, will read and select their own recipients according to their guidelines, and a winning announcement will be made on their website. There are no obligations after winning the award, but Radiant Crown would appreciate your involvement or enthusiasm in the future of the press and to hear from you regarding your progress with your writing after winning your award. Cash prize will be awarded via PayPal, and winner additionally receives a Paper Wolf and a chance to have work featured in one of RCP’s magazines, on RCP’s website, or published by RCP. Applications that don’t meet eligibility requirements or that are submitted outside of the reading period will not be reviewed. Radiant Crown’s staff judges entries based on a). clarity b). creativity c). purpose. If selected as the winner, a photo will be requested.
Submit: A statement answering the following questions in no more than two double-spaced, numbered pages (500 words or fewer): 1.) How will the Neuri Award benefit you and/or others? 2.) What are you currently working on (Example: book, workshop, research paper)? 3.) What is standing in the way of reaching your goal?
PUT THIS ALL IN ONE DOCUMENT, and send to subs {at} radiantcrownpublishing.com as a DOC, DOCX (preferred), or RTF attachment. The subject line should read: NEURI AWARD: Your Name: Your Cause (Example: NEURI AWARD: Jane Smith: Attending a Workshop). Do not put your name elsewhere within the attachment.
Include a cover letter in the body of your email. It should contain your legal name, pen name (if applicable), contact information, recent publications (if any), and a bio of 150 words.
Oblaye Award
Available for: Great Plains and Midwestern Native Americans
Award: $100 + Publication
Presented by: Alternating Current Press
Submission Deadline: August 31, 2017
Recipient Selected: October 9, 2017 (Indigenous Peoples Day)
Age Restrictions: 18+
Runners-Up: Two runners-up may receive $25 each and publication potential.
Notes: Oblaye is a Lakota Sioux word for a prairie, a plain, or a level place. There is no stipulation on subject, theme, style, or genre. No CV or past publication credits required. We do not make requirements for what constitutes being Native American, but we will be looking for some kind of Indigenous connection. Recipient will have a piece published on The Coil for Indigenous Peoples Day (October 9, 2017) and American Indian Heritage Day (November 24, 2017), and will have the possibility of a standard contract to publish a manuscript (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) through Alternating Current Press. Pieces with a historical bent (not required) will additionally be considered for Footnote #4: A Literary Journal of History for 2018 publication. Recipient will be invited (without obligation) to read at a reading event in Boulder, Colorado, in 2018 (Travel expenses not paid; free guest room and parking available; free local vehicle service and airport transportation available; some meals provided.). Award is given as a paper check, along with a certificate. Notable runner-up applicants may be offered publication on The Coil.
Submit in ONE FILE: 1.) Up to 1-page statement of your background and life experience as a Great Plains or Midwestern Native American.
2.) A writing sample of no more than 10 pages. It can be a mix of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or hybrid; or it can be a sample from a single longer work, or any combination thereof.
PUT THESE BOTH IN ONE DOCUMENT, and submit as DOC, DOCX, RTF, PDF, or ODT. Name the file: OA2017FirstNameLastName (Example: OA2017JaneSmith.docx). Do not put your name within the file.
Still I Rise Grant
Available for: Black or African American Women/Women-Identified
Award: $100 + Publication
Presented by: Alternating Current Press
Submission Deadline: April 30, 2018
Recipient Selected: June 19, 2018 (Juneteenth)
Age Restrictions: 18+
Runners-Up: Two runners-up may receive $25 each and publication potential.
Notes: This grant is for American black women or black persons identifying as women at the time of recipient selection. There is no stipulation on subject, theme, style, or genre. No CV or past publication credits required. Recipient will have a piece published on The Coil for Juneteenth (June 19, 2018), Martin Luther King, Jr., Day (January 21, 2019), and Black History Month (February 2019), and will have the possibility of a standard contract to publish a manuscript (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) through Alternating Current Press. Pieces with a historical bent (not required) will additionally be considered for Footnote #5: A Literary Journal of History for 2019 publication. Recipient will be invited (without obligation) to read at a reading event in Boulder, Colorado, in 2019 (Travel expenses not paid; free guest room and parking available; free local vehicle service and airport transportation available; some meals provided.). Award is given as a paper check, along with a certificate. Notable runner-up applicants may be offered publication on The Coil.
2018 Donors: Barrett Warner
Submit in ONE FILE: 1.) Up to 1-page statement of some facet of your life experience as a black woman in America.
2.) A writing sample of no more than 10 pages. It can be a mix of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or hybrid; or it can be a sample from a single longer work, or any combination thereof.
PUT THESE BOTH IN ONE DOCUMENT, and submit as DOC, DOCX, RTF, PDF, or ODT. Name the file: SIRG2018FirstNameLastName (Example: SIRG2018JaneSmith.docx). Do not put your name within the file.
Unsilenced Grant
Available for: Muslim American Women
Award: $100 + Publication
Presented by: Alternating Current Press
Submission Deadline: July 31, 2017
Recipient Selected: September 2017 (Hajj or Eid al-Adha dates, if preferable to author)
Age Restrictions: 18+
Runners-Up: Two runners-up may receive $25 each and publication potential.
Notes: This grant is for Muslim American women or Muslim American persons identifying as women at the time of recipient selection. There is no stipulation on subject, theme, style, or genre. No CV or past publication credits required. Recipient will have two pieces published on The Coil in the last quarter of 2017, and will have the possibility of a standard contract to publish a manuscript (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) through Alternating Current Press. Application and writing sample must be in English, though small sections of the writing sample that are not English are acceptable. We apologize, but we do not have the staff to handle translations at this time. Pieces with a historical bent (not required) will additionally be considered for Footnote #4: A Literary Journal of History for 2018 publication. Recipient will be invited (without obligation) to read at a reading event in Boulder, Colorado, in 2018 (Travel expenses not paid; free guest room and parking available; free local vehicle service and airport transportation available; some meals provided.). Award is given as a paper check, along with a certificate. Notable runner-up applicants may be offered publication on The Coil.
Submit in ONE FILE: 1.) Up to 1-page statement of some facet of your life experience as a Muslim woman in America.
2.) A writing sample of no more than 10 pages. It can be a mix of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or hybrid; or it can be a sample from a single longer work, or any combination thereof.
PUT THESE BOTH IN ONE DOCUMENT, and submit as DOC, DOCX, RTF, PDF, or ODT. Name the file: UG2017FirstNameLastName (Example: UG2017JaneSmith.docx). Do not put your name within the file.
