2026 Innovation Project Grants

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2026 Innovation Project Grant Application Guidelines

  • The Literary Arts Fund will award a total of $1 million in grants in 2026 to literary arts nonprofits for new, one-time, and forward-thinking projects that aim to address critical structural challenges that, if improved or solved, would ultimately strengthen literary arts nonprofits’ abilities to serve creative writers. Proposed projects, which may be collaborative, should align with this description and goal and have impact beyond the project timeline. This opportunity is anticipated to be highly competitive.

  • Nonprofit (or fiscally-sponsored) literary arts organizations or publishers that meet the fund’s full eligibility requirements may apply independently or as the lead of a collaborative project.

  • Only one nonprofit may apply for collaborative projects. This lead applicant will have an opportunity to list collaborators in the application. If these collaborators are allocated sub-awards (project funds) in the project budget, they must meet all of the Fund’s eligibility requirements. The lead applicant is responsible for verifying and confirming that each collaborator receiving a sub-award from the project budget meets all of the Literary Arts Fund’s eligibility requirements.

  • Literary arts nonprofits awarded a general operating grant in 2026 are ineligible to apply independently for an innovation project grant until twelve months after the general operating grant was awarded. They may, however, be a participant in a collaborative application for an innovation project grant in the same year they received a general operating grant and would be eligible to receive sub-awards as noted in the project budget.

  • Grant requests may range from $25,000 to $100,000 as determined by the project budget. Matching funds are not required, nor is other funding for the project, pending or committed.

  • Should an innovation project grant be awarded, funds will be disbursed in a single payment to the nonprofit that applied independently or as the lead applicant. Lead applicants would then be fully responsible for disbursing sub-awards.

  • Innovation project grant funds are to be used during the project period per the timeline and project budget submitted with the application.

  • Projects must commence some time after January 1, 2027, and conclude before or by December 31, 2027.

  • Interested literary arts nonprofits may submit an application via Submittable from June 8, 2026, to August 17, 2026, at 8:59 p.m. PDT / 9:59 p.m. MDT / 10:59 p.m. CDT / 11:59 p.m. EDT. 

  • Organizations and publishers applying for a general operating grant must first complete an eligibility quiz on Submittable.

  • A downloadable guide to the grant application is available here to assist with preparation.

  • The use of generative AI to produce any part of the application narrative is not permitted.

  • The Literary Arts Fund is not responsible for applications not received by the deadlines or due to user error. Applicants may visit the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable for questions about using the platform and technical support.

  • Application updates will be sent through Submittable and email to the individual who submitted the application on behalf of the literary arts nonprofit. Notifications about the results will be sent in this manner by December 31, 2026.

  • The Literary Arts Fund’s decisions regarding eligibility are final.

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.
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