Finding grants as a writer: a few key resources for US and Australian writers

Applying for a grant as a writer is easy in one sense – after all, you can write a decent sentence – but very difficult in lots of other ways. There will always be more applicants for any grant than there are grants available. Your chances of success are often (not always) better if you have a significant publication or publishing history. And how do you find out what grants are available, which ones can you apply for, and when are the applications due?

I’ve decided this year to publish links on literature-related grants in the US and Australia as an information-filter for writers who have yet to dip their toes in philanthropic waters.  After all, I’ve worked in and around book publishing and the philanthropic sector for quite a while now, so it makes sense to share my knowledge to help writers.

So here’s a few links and relevant blogs on this topic to get started:

USA
Mira’s List – a comprehensive listing of grant opportunities for creative types across the spectrum, not only writers. As Mira says, “I lead you to the water, you do the rest.”

Julia Sukys offers a valuable overview in this post of the different types of grants available to writers in the US and Canada, making the point that you shouldn’t ignore grants for small amounts because “grants beget grants”.

The Foundation Center is one of the world’s leading information sources about grants. It has a fabulous online directory that is free to access if you happen to live in New York and can visit the Center’s headquarters on 5th Avenue. Visiting via the internet, individuals can pay a small fee (around $10) for one month’s searching of the comprehensive Foundation Grants to Individuals Online Directory.

AUSTRALIA
The Australia Council for the Arts is the Australian Government’s arts funding body. It awards grants in 20 literary categories. Its website is a fabulous place to lose an hour getting acquainted with what’s available. Here are the literature grants search page.

Philanthropy Australia is the Australian equivalent of the US Foundation Center. While it states that private grants to individuals are very limited in Australia, it nevertheless provides this excellent list of places to look for a small pot of gold.

If you have any questions about grants, funding, philanthropy, the whole shebang, please ask me in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them.