Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant Applications Open

The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $40,000, which is awarded annually to up to eight writers for book projects requiring significant investments of deep and focused thinking, research, and writing, is now in its fourth year—and newly available to a wider range of applicants with a signed publishing contract in hand.

The program is intended for multi-year book projects as they reach a crucial point mid-process, after significant work has been accomplished but when an extra infusion of support can make a critical difference in the ultimate shape and quality of the work. Until now, the Foundation had required that applicants be two years into a contract. After several years of conversations with industry leaders and writers, and recognizing that many projects do not secure publishing contracts until they are at an advanced stage, the Whiting Foundation is now opening the grant to any writer with a signed contract from a publisher (excluding self-published books).

Applications are due by April 22, 2019, at midnight ET. Whiting welcomes submissions for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, the sciences, philosophy, criticism, food or travel writing, and personal essays, among other categories.