Eligibility Notes
Literary arts nonprofits (including fiscally sponsored literary arts organizations, presses, and publications) based in the U.S. and whose primary mission directly supports creative writers and their artistic work in any one of the following ways are eligible to apply for the Literary Arts Fund’s 2026 general operating and innovation project grants:
Present them at public events such as festivals, readings, open mics, spoken word performances, lectures, or conversations;
Publish their work in print or digital publications such as books, chapbooks, literary journals, magazines, websites, or zines;
Provide them with writing residencies, retreats, mentorships, or workshops;
Build their readership and following through digital or print feature articles, interviews, reviews, online archives, or podcasts; and,
Recognize their artistic achievement through awards, fellowships, or prizes.
Furthermore, to be eligible to apply, literary arts nonprofits must:
Serve adult creative writers and audiences;
Have been established for three years or more, based on the year of incorporation or contracted partnership with a fiscal sponsor (as of December 19, 2025, for 2026 general operating grant applications);
Have a current executive director who has served in their role for at least twelve consecutive months (as of December 19, 2025, for 2026 general operating grant applications); and
Have an annual operating budget of at least $50,000, in excess of in-kind (i.e., non-cash) contributions. For fiscally sponsored organizations and publishers: the organization or publisher, not the fiscal sponsor, must meet this requirement.