Currently 5 active writing and translation grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the US. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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Pedantic Arts Residency opens applications for its Summer 2027 and Fall 2027 programmes in Pittsburgh: two four-week residency cohorts and two research grants. THE RESIDENCY houses three creatives at a time (a visual artist, an organizer and a writer) in a collective four-week programme that emphasizes exploration, exchange and community connection over production. Residents get free furnished housing in a shared apartment, a USD 2,000 stipend to cover living expenses (half on arrival, half on completion), a Pittsburgh-based guide working in their field, tickets and institutional passes, and introductions across the city's creative community. THE RESEARCH GRANT invites an individual visual artist, curator or writer for a one- to two-week independent stay to conduct Pittsburgh-related research, with a free private bedroom at the Pedantic Apartment, a USD 500 or USD 1,000 honorarium usable at the grantee's discretion, and help establishing relevant connections. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be 18 or older and not Pittsburgh residents at the time of application; travel costs are the participant's own. Residency attendance and staying in the provided housing are required. APPLICATION: applications are free until 28 September 2026 at 23:59 EST; a USD 20 fee applies from then until the final deadline of 15 October 2026 at 23:59 EST.
The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin awards research fellowships for on-site work in its collections spanning literature, photography, film, art, performing arts, music and cultural history, supporting scholarly articles, dissertations, creative works, digital humanities projects and exhibition proposals. FELLOWSHIP TYPES: Postdoctoral Fellowships of USD 3,500 per month for one or two months, open to holders of a PhD or terminal degree (MFA, MLIS), current or former faculty, and similarly qualified researchers without institutional affiliation; Dissertation Fellowships of USD 2,500 for graduate students with doctoral dissertations in progress; and Travel Stipends of USD 2,000 open to graduate students, current or former faculty and independent researchers including journalists and artists (not combinable with other Ransom Center fellowships). International recipients in all categories receive an additional one-time USD 500 stipend toward visa and travel costs. Fellows spend most days in the Reading Room consulting the collections, with access to a shared office, during a residency period between 1 June 2027 and 31 August 2028. APPLY with a three-page proposal PDF and letters of recommendation; recommendation letters are also due by the deadline. DEADLINE: 6 November 2026, 5:00 PM CST.
The Nieman Foundation brings around two dozen journalists to Harvard each year for two semesters of study, reflection and community, one of the oldest and best-known midcareer journalism fellowships in the world. Fellows design their own course of study, audit classes across Harvard's schools and take part in Nieman's own seminars and master classes; many use the year to deepen a beat such as technology, AI accountability, science or press freedom. WHAT YOU GET: a USD 87,500 stipend paid over the nine-month academic year (2026-27 figure), plus allowances toward housing, childcare and health insurance. WHO IS ELIGIBLE: working journalists, staff or freelance, in any medium, with at least five years of full-time media experience; open to applicants from any country. Freelancers may use a recent supervising editor for one of the three required recommendation letters. Special fellowships within the program include the Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellowship in Journalism Innovation. TO APPLY: applications for the class of 2028 open in the first week of October 2026 and require two essays (personal statement and study proposal), work samples and three recommendation letters. DEADLINE: 1 December 2026 for international applicants; 31 January 2027 for US citizens.
The J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards, given jointly by Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation at Harvard, are open for 2027 submissions. Two annual awards of USD 25,000 each help writers complete a book-length work of narrative nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern; books on science, technology and media accountability have won in past years. Applicants need a fully executed contract with a US-based publisher for the book in progress. There is no entry fee for the Work-in-Progress awards; note that the Lukas Book Prize and the Mark Lynton History Prize run on the same portal with the same deadline but carry a USD 75 entry fee. TO APPLY: submit via the Columbia Journalism Awards Submittable portal. DEADLINE: 3 December 2026, 11:59 PM ET.
Four resident biography fellowships plus the Levy/Sloan Fellowship, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, for a biography of a figure in science or technology; separate Sherwin fellowship for nuclear-age history. Open to writers of all nationalities, with explicit preference for first-time biographers who have not yet held a biography fellowship, though mid-career and senior writers are welcome; independent writers eligible. Fellows join monthly seminars and the center's public events. Apply with CV, career narrative, project description, writing sample and two references (agents, editors and publishers are discouraged as referees). No application fee.