🛋️CozyJobs

Best Writing Grants for 2026

Updated July 2026 · Top 10 · Ranked automatically from live listings

Grants are the rare writing money you don't pay back and don't compete for with a finished product — many fund work in progress. This list ranks the best writing grants currently accepting applications, ordered by award size, with deadlines shown and expired grants dropped automatically.

  1. 1
    Canada Council for the Arts

    Creating, Knowing and Sharing — Short-Term Projects

    Canada Council for the Arts is offering grants for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis writers and collectives in Canada to pursue short-term creative projects that support the creation, production, and dissemination of Indigenous artistic practices and…

    Up to $50,000 emerging artists; up to $100,000 established artists/collectivesDeadline: Jul 22, 2026Free to enter
  2. 2
    Literary Arts Fund

    2026 Innovation Project Grants

    Literary Arts Fund is awarding a total of $1 million in grants to literary arts nonprofits and publishers for new, forward-thinking projects that address structural challenges and strengthen the field's ability to serve creative writers, with highly…

    $25,000–$100,000Deadline: Aug 17, 2026Free to enter
  3. 3
    Creative Scotland

    Open Fund for Individuals

    Creative Scotland is offering project grants of £500–£50,000 for freelance and self-employed writers living in Scotland to research, develop, and deliver creative work in poetry, creative non-fiction, graphic fiction, hybrid prose/poetry, spoken word, and…

    £500–£50,000Rolling deadlineFree to enter
  4. 4
    Arts Council England

    Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP)

    Arts Council England is offering Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) grants for individual writers working in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, graphic novels, and storytelling in England who want dedicated time and resources to advance their…

    GBP 1,000-30,000 grant (typically up to GBP 12,000); DYCP Round 24 opens June 2026Deadline: Jul 2, 2026Free to enter
  5. 5
    New Zealand Society of Authors

    CLNZ | NZSA Writers' Award

    New Zealand Society of Authors is offering the CLNZ | NZSA Writers' Award to support New Zealand citizens and permanent residents working on nonfiction projects across educational, general, and specialist genres

    NZD $25,000Deadline: Jul 16, 2026Free to enter
  6. 6
    Pro Helvetia (Swiss Arts Council)

    Literary Creation Grant

    Pro Helvetia (Swiss Arts Council) is offering a Literary Creation Grant to support Swiss authors in developing new works across fiction, poetry, drama, children's and youth literature, and spoken word, providing funding to help writers dedicate sustained…

    Up to CHF 25,000Deadline: Sep 1, 2026Free to enter
  7. 7
    The Loft Literary Center

    McKnight Artist Fellowships in Writing

    The Loft Literary Center administers the McKnight Artist Fellowships in Writing on behalf of the McKnight Foundation, awarding unrestricted fellowships to Minnesota-based writers with a sustained body of published work, alternating annually between Creative…

    $25,000 unrestricted fellowshipDeadline: Dec 1, 2026Free to enter
  8. 8
    Eccles Institute (British Library) & Hay Festival

    Eccles Institute & Hay Festival Global Writers Award (2027 cycle)

    Eccles Institute & Hay Festival is offering the Global Writers Award to two writers—one based in the UK and one based in Latin America—working on early-stage fiction or non-fiction projects relating to the Americas, providing a year-long research residency…

    £20,000 (paid in four quarterly grants) + research residencyDeadline: Sep 14, 2026Free to enter
  9. 9
    Jonathan and Barbara Silver Foundation

    Jonathan and Barbara Silver Foundation Writing Grant

    Jonathan and Barbara Silver Foundation is offering a biennial writing grant for writers producing rigorous, fresh writing on the history, aesthetics, purposes, imagination, or situation of sculpture, with recipients expected to complete their project within…

    $20,000Rolling deadlineFree to enter
  10. 10
    Alberta Foundation for the Arts

    Literary Individual Project Funding

    Alberta Foundation for the Arts is offering grants to support Alberta-based individual writers and literary artists developing new projects across genres including novels, short fiction, poetry collections, plays, graphic novels, young adult literature, and…

    Up to $18,000 (project funding for individual writers)Deadline: Sep 1, 2026Free to enter
Browse all opportunities →

How this list works

This ranking is recomputed automatically from CozyJobs' live opportunity data — no editorial picks. Larger awards rank first, free-to-enter programs rank ahead of fee-based ones at the same award level, and the soonest deadlines break ties. Opportunities past their deadline drop off automatically.

Frequently asked questions

How do writing grants differ from contests and fellowships?+

Grants fund your work directly — often work-in-progress — with no publication requirement. Contests award prizes for finished pieces. Fellowships typically pair funding with a program, residency, or institutional affiliation. Writers routinely apply across all three.

What do writing grant applications require?+

Typically a writing sample (10–25 pages), a project description, and sometimes a budget or artist statement. Unlike contests, grants rarely charge application fees — be wary of any 'grant' that does.

How is this list ranked and how often does it update?+

Rankings are recomputed automatically from live data: larger awards first, then free-to-enter programs, then the soonest upcoming deadlines. Closed or past-deadline opportunities drop off automatically, so every entry is open at the time you're reading.

Does CozyJobs list opportunities with entry fees?+

Yes, contests and residencies with modest entry fees are included when the award justifies it, and each listing shows the fee up front. Free-to-enter opportunities are ranked ahead of fee-based ones at the same award level.

Related lists