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Writing and Translation Grants, Fellowships and Residencies

Currently 18 active paid writing and translation grants, fellowships and residencies. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Every entry is funded, no exposure-only calls. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.

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Open calls

  1. Letras Boricuas Fellowship 2026 (5th and final cohort)

    Flamboyan Arts Fund, in partnership with the Mellon Foundation · Puerto Rico and its diaspora (remote; writers with sustained ties to Puerto Rico) · Deadline: 22 May 2026 · Award: $25,000 unrestricted award to each of 24 fellows. No application fee.

    Fifth and final cohort of the Letras Boricuas Fellowship, awarding unrestricted support to writers with deep, sustained ties to Puerto Rico and its diaspora. ELIGIBILITY: emerging and established writers across fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, spoken word and playwriting, who demonstrate a sustained connection to Puerto Rico and its diaspora. Apply via the Flamboyan Arts Fund portal.

  2. PEN Presents x SALT: Sample Translation Grants 2026 (South Asian languages)

    English PEN, in partnership with SALT · Remote (worldwide translators; source works in South Asian languages) · Deadline: 31 May 2026 · Award: GBP 500 to each of 24 shortlisted translators for a 5,000-word sample translation; 12 winners additionally receive editorial support and promotion. No application fee.

    Special PEN Presents round in partnership with SALT, funding sample translations from South Asian languages to help unpublished works find English-language publishers. The scheme pays for the sample-translation work that is usually unpaid. ELIGIBILITY: individual literary translators at any career stage, working from source languages of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. Apply via the English PEN PEN Presents page.

  3. Wonju UNESCO City of Literature / Toji Cultural Centre Residency 2026

    Wonju UNESCO City of Literature and Toji Cultural Foundation · Toji Cultural Centre, Wonju, South Korea (eligibility restricted to writers nominated from a UNESCO City of Literature) · Deadline: 31 May 2026 · Award: Round-trip airfare, accommodation, meals and local transportation are all covered. NO artist fee or honorarium.

    Eight-week fully funded residency at the Toji Cultural Centre in Wonju, South Korea, hosted by Wonju UNESCO City of Literature. ELIGIBILITY: one writer per cycle, nominated from a UNESCO City of Literature network (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Manchester, Edinburgh, Krakow, Reykjavik, Lillehammer, Iowa City, etc. - see the full UNESCO Creative Cities Network list); 5+ years writing experience required. Open to fiction, nonfiction and poetry. PROCESS: selection by 21 July 2026; residency runs 1 September - 31 October 2026. Apply through your local UNESCO City of Literature coordinator before 31 May 2026. Confirm the exact application route on the Wonju City of Literature site before applying.

  4. Whiting Foundation: Nonfiction Grant for Works-in-Progress 2026

    Whiting Foundation · Canada, UK, or US (project must be under contract with a publisher in one of these three countries) · Deadline: 31 May 2026 · Award: $40,000 to each of ten writers ($400,000 total).

    Annual grant from the Whiting Foundation supporting writers completing deeply researched, imaginatively composed book-length nonfiction for a general adult readership. Ten grants of $40,000 each, intended for the mid-process stage of multiyear projects after substantial progress but before the final work is complete. Eligible categories include history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays. Excluded: self-help, historical fiction, textbooks, books for a scholarly audience, books for young readers, and self-published projects. Hard eligibility constraint: project must be under contract with a publisher in Canada, the UK, or the US by 31 May 2026, with a fully executed contract uploaded; no extensions are granted for contracts not signed by both parties by the application deadline. Application includes the original proposal, up to 15,000 words from the draft, statement of work yet to be completed, plan for use of funds, three written responses on premise/research methods/narrative approach, signed contract, 2-4 page resume, list of prior funding for the book, and a required letter of support from the publisher (plus optional letters of recommendation). Free to apply. Grantees announced December 2026 / January 2027.

  5. Sonic Acts: The Walls Have Ears - Sound Studies Writing Residency 2026 (Amsterdam)

    Sonic Acts (with De Ateliers / Woonhuis) · Amsterdam, Netherlands · Deadline: 14 Jun 2026 · Award: EUR 3,000 artist fee plus accommodation in Amsterdam, up to EUR 500 EU travel reimbursement, and Sonic Acts Biennial tickets. No application fee.

    Funded one-month sound studies writing residency in Amsterdam from Sonic Acts at De Ateliers / Woonhuis. This is a residency for sound-art practitioners and scholars who write about sound (sound studies, criticism, theory) - it is a writing residency, not a sound-production residency. ELIGIBILITY: EU-based artists, researchers and scholars with at least one prior publication in sound studies or sound-art writing.

  6. PEN America Literary Grants 2027

    PEN America · United States (US-based writers) · Deadline: 15 Jun 2026 · Award: Varies by grant (e.g. PEN/Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History, PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship), generally in the $5,000 to $10,000+ range. No application fee.

    PEN America's suite of literary grants and fellowships supporting individual writers and works in progress across genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, oral history and more), each with its own focus and criteria. ELIGIBILITY: varies by grant; generally US-based writers, with several open to writers and translators at different career stages. Distinct from the PEN/Heim Translation Fund and PEN Presents. Review individual grant criteria and apply via the PEN America literary grants page.

  7. Kate Medina Fellowship for Literary Narrative Nonfiction 2026 (NYPL)

    New York Public Library, in partnership with Random House · New York City, USA (on-site research at the NYPL Schwarzman Building) · Deadline: 15 Jun 2026 · Award: $30,000 stipend for four continuous months of research (September 2026 to March 2027). No application fee.

    Fellowship from the New York Public Library and Random House for writers of literary narrative nonfiction whose projects engage NYPL's archival and special collections. ELIGIBILITY: writers of narrative nonfiction with a project requiring on-site access to the collections at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in New York. Apply via the NYPL fellowships page.

  8. Logan Nonfiction Program (Carey Institute) - Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 cycles

    Carey Institute for Global Good (Logan Nonfiction) · Hybrid: residential at the Carey Institute upstate New York, USA, plus virtual engagement · Deadline: 15 Jun 2026 · Award: Free residency: lodging, meals and workspace covered. NO cash stipend or honorarium. No application fee.

    Logan Nonfiction Program is a free hybrid residency for working long-form journalists, writers, podcasters and photojournalists pursuing a long-form non-fiction project (article, book, podcast, film). Two cycles per year: Fall 2026 cycle (residency October-December) deadline 15 June 2026; Spring 2027 cycle (residency February-April) deadline 15 October 2026. The residency is hybrid - residential at the Carey Institute for Global Good in upstate New York combined with virtual engagement. ELIGIBILITY: working journalists, writers, podcasters and photojournalists at any career stage; international applicants welcome.

  9. PEN America: PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants 2026

    PEN America · Worldwide (translators of any nationality; project must translate a book-length work into English) · Deadline: 15 Jun 2026 · Award: USD 4,000 per project (up to 10 awards per year). No application fee.

    PEN America's annual grants for in-progress book-length literary translations from any language into English. Up to 10 grants of USD 4,000 each. Preference for early-career translators and works from underrepresented languages and regions. Eligible genres include fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and drama. ELIGIBILITY: translators of any nationality; the project must be a translation of a book-length work into English; previous PEN/Heim recipients are eligible after a waiting period. No application fee. Apply by 15 June 2026 via PEN America's grants portal.

  10. Tractor Beam: Issue 6 'The Water Issue' - Call for Submissions

    Tractor Beam · Online publication (remote submissions; geographic eligibility not stated) · Deadline: 30 Jun 2026 · Award: $1,000 USD per accepted submission. Accepted work is considered for publication online (Tractor Beam website and Substack) and, in some cases, for one-off printed editions. Stories may also be considered for the Protopian Prize with contributor consent. No submission fee mentioned.

    Tractor Beam's sixth issue, themed around water in soil, growth, land and ecosystems large and small, is open for submissions. Editors are seeking anti-apocalyptic visions that explore the future of water in farming and food production, island ecologies, hybrid sea-soil technologies, the people who move water and the people water moves, plus stories about drought, diaspora and what gets carried downstream. FORMAT: stories under 6,000 words; comics 12-16 panels. Submissions accepted via the call page on Tractor Beam's Substack.

  11. Society of Authors: Authors' Foundation and K Blundell Trust Grants (July 2026 round)

    Society of Authors (UK) · UK / international writers contracted with a British publisher · Deadline: 01 Jul 2026 · Award: Up to GBP 6,000 per grant. Two streams: Authors' Foundation (open to all writers with a UK-publisher contract) and the K Blundell Trust (for writers under 40 working on socially aware projects). No application fee.

    Biannual works-in-progress grants from the Society of Authors. The Authors' Foundation supports writers contracted with a British publisher across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama and scripts. The K Blundell Trust adds a parallel stream specifically for writers under 40 working on socially aware or politically engaged projects. Both schemes share the same two-round-a-year schedule: 1 February and 1 July deadlines. ELIGIBILITY: writers (UK or international) with a contract for the next book with a British publisher; for K Blundell, also under 40 and writing on a contemporary socially aware theme.

  12. Nederlands Letterenfonds: Project Grants for Literary Translators (August 2026 round)

    Nederlands Letterenfonds (Dutch Foundation for Literature) · Worldwide (literary translators with a contracted translation from or into Dutch) · Deadline: 15 Aug 2026 · Award: Project-based subsidy. Income cap EUR 52,500 for primary income. Standard minimum rates: EUR 0.0802/word for prose; EUR 2.92/line for poetry. No application fee.

    Project subsidies from the Nederlands Letterenfonds for advanced literary translators with a current publishing contract for a translation from or into Dutch. The next round closes 15 August 2026; decisions are made approximately four months after the deadline (December). ELIGIBILITY: literary translators with a substantial published portfolio and a contracted translation project; primary income must be below EUR 52,500.

  13. Fondation Jan Michalski: Writers' Residency 2027

    Fondation Jan Michalski pour l'ecriture et la litterature · Montricher, Switzerland (treehouse-style writers' studios in the Jura foothills) · Deadline: 31 Aug 2026 · Award: Free residency 2 weeks to 3 months; all travel costs covered; CHF 400/week stipend (approximately USD 475). No application fee.

    Writers' residency at the Fondation Jan Michalski in Montricher, Switzerland (Jura foothills), one of the most generously funded literary residencies in Europe. Open to writers of all nationalities, languages, genres and career stages: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, translation, hybrid forms. The residency provides a free stay of 2 weeks to 3 months in the foundation's distinctive treehouse-style writers' studios, plus all travel costs and a CHF 400/week stipend (approximately USD 475). ELIGIBILITY: international writers across all genres and career stages. Applications open 2 June 2026 and close 31 August 2026 for residencies in 2027. No application fee.

  14. Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship 2027

    Miles Morland Foundation · Worldwide (writers born in Africa, or with both parents born in Africa, writing in English) · Deadline: 22 Sep 2026 · Award: GBP 18,000 paid monthly over 12 months (GBP 1,500/month) plus mentorship support throughout the scholarship year. No application fee.

    Annual writing scholarship from the Miles Morland Foundation for African-born writers working in English on a full-length book project (80,000+ words for fiction; equivalent for nonfiction). One of the largest single-author African writing grants. Application window opens 1 July 2026 and closes 22 September 2026; applications outside that window are not read. ELIGIBILITY: writers born in Africa, or with both parents born in Africa, writing in English; nationality is not the criterion. Existing publication record is helpful but not strictly required.

  15. Translation House Looren: Translators' Residencies and Pro Helvetia Stipends 2027

    Uebersetzerhaus Looren · Wernetshausen, Switzerland (Zurich region) · Deadline: 15 Oct 2026 · Award: Free residency stay (apartments at the translation house). Six competitive CHF 4,000 translation grants per year, each tied to a one-month residency. Pro Helvetia residency programme separately funded. James Joyce Scholarship and Looren Residency 2027 has its own conditions. No application fee.

    Translators' residency at Uebersetzerhaus Looren in Wernetshausen near Zurich. Looren offers a free residency for literary translators with a current contract, including six competitive CHF 4,000 stipend grants per year tied to one-month residencies. The Pro Helvetia residency programme (separately funded) has a 2026-10-15 deadline for 2027 stays. The James Joyce Scholarship and Looren Residency 2027 closes 2026-10-31. General free residencies are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. ELIGIBILITY: literary translators with substantial published work and a current translation contract; any language combination is welcome. Apply via the application page on looren.net. No application fee.

  16. Nederlands Letterenfonds: Ontwikkelbeurzen voor Literaire Makers (Development Grants)

    Nederlands Letterenfonds (Dutch Foundation for Literature) · Netherlands (Dutch-language literary creators - writers, illustrators, translators) · Deadline: Rolling / undated · Award: EUR 500 to EUR 2,500 per grant. No application fee.

    Development grants from the Nederlands Letterenfonds (Dutch Foundation for Literature) for starting and advanced Dutch literary creators - writers, illustrators and translators - to fund training, coaching, editorial support, or travel and research abroad linked to a literary project. EUR 500 to EUR 2,500 per grant. ELIGIBILITY: Dutch-language literary creators (Dutch or Flemish-speaking world); see funder's application page for full eligibility criteria. CYCLE: applications are reviewed on a ROLLING basis (the scheme has been open since February 2026 and there is no fixed deadline). No application fee.

  17. Vertalershuis Amsterdam (Translators' House): Residency

    Nederlands Letterenfonds (Vertalershuis Amsterdam) · Amsterdam, Netherlands (five private apartments at the Vertalershuis) · Deadline: Rolling / undated · Award: Private apartment for 2 weeks to 2 months, plus EUR 1,000/month grant (approximately EUR 115/month deducted to cover utilities). No application fee.

    Residency for literary translators of Dutch literature into any language, hosted by the Nederlands Letterenfonds at the Vertalershuis (Translators' House) in Amsterdam. Five private apartments, available for stays of 2 weeks to 2 months. Residents receive a EUR 1,000/month grant (approximately EUR 115/month deducted to cover utilities) on top of the accommodation. CYCLE: applications accepted on a ROLLING basis. ELIGIBILITY: literary translators on the Letterenfonds or Flanders Literature approved-translators list with a current publishing contract for a Dutch-to-foreign-language translation. Apply via the page linked below. No application fee.

  18. Critical Playground: Freelance Writer Commissions

    Critical Playground · Remote · Deadline: Rolling / undated · Award: Paid commissions

    Commissioned long-form writing at the intersection of design, technology, art and culture. Editorial themes: designing with AI as cultural and infrastructural system; responsive and adaptive materials; politics of platforms and creative-infrastructure governance; post-digital hybrid making; designing for collapse and continuity; creative research as practice. In-depth pieces only, no press releases or promotional copy.

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