The SCBWI Work-In-Progress (WIP) Grants assist children’s book writers and illustrators in the completion of a specific project currently not under contract, and are made possible by a generous grant from Amazon.com.
Award: Seven Grants of $2,000 will be awarded annually, one in each category. Seven Runner-Up Grants of $500 will also be awarded, one in each category. Authors of other projects cited by the judges as noteworthy will receive a Letter of Merit. In any given year, the SCBWI Grant Committee reserves the right to withhold the grant for that year.
Deadline: Applications may be submitted March 1-March 31
Eligibility: The grant is open to authors with a current work-in-progress. Illustrators can apply for one of the Don Freeman Grants
Categories:
Text Only:
-Picture Book Text (Barbara Karlin Grant)
-General Fiction
-Contemporary young adult novel
-Multi-cultural fiction
-Nonfiction research
Additional Text Awards (you may apply for these in addtion to the text categories above):
Karen Cushman Grant (for an unpublished author over 50)
Anna Cross Giblin Award for Nonfiction (you do not send an additional application, this is chosen from all applications submitted to the Nonfiction category)
Unpublished Author Award (you do not send an additional application, this is chosen from all applications by unpublished authors across all the other text categories)
For Illustrators:
Don Freeman Illustrator Grants
Guidelines:
1. You must be an SCBWI member through September of the application year.
2. Only electronic submissions in the form of ONE PDF will be accepted. No snail mail.
3. You may not submit a work that is under contract. If the work becomes under contract before the winner is announced, you will become ineligible.
4. You may submit to only one WIP grant category per year.
Application Procedure:
All applications must be submitted electronically as a single PDF
Title the PDF with your name (first_last.pdf). Make sure you put the category you are applying to (General, Contemporary, Multi-cultural, Nonfiction) in the subject line of the email.
The email address to send your application will not be available until the grant opens on March 1st.
YOUR APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE:
1. A one page cover letter with a synopsis.
The cover letter must include the following:
Your name
Manuscript Title
Grant Category
If you are Published or Unpublished
A double-spaced synopsis
The letter must be the first page of your application and be formatted as in the template below:
WIP Cover Letter Template
Sample WIP Cover Letter
2. The first 10 pages of your completed manuscript.
Your manuscript must be double spaced and cannot exceed 10 pages.
The email address to send your application will not be available until the grant opens on March 1st.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Other questions? Write to [email protected]
Award: Seven Grants of $2,000 will be awarded annually, one in each category. Seven Runner-Up Grants of $500 will also be awarded, one in each category. Authors of other projects cited by the judges as noteworthy will receive a Letter of Merit. In any given year, the SCBWI Grant Committee reserves the right to withhold the grant for that year.
Deadline: Applications may be submitted March 1-March 31
Eligibility: The grant is open to authors with a current work-in-progress. Illustrators can apply for one of the Don Freeman Grants
Categories:
Text Only:
-Picture Book Text (Barbara Karlin Grant)
-General Fiction
-Contemporary young adult novel
-Multi-cultural fiction
-Nonfiction research
Additional Text Awards (you may apply for these in addtion to the text categories above):
Karen Cushman Grant (for an unpublished author over 50)
Anna Cross Giblin Award for Nonfiction (you do not send an additional application, this is chosen from all applications submitted to the Nonfiction category)
Unpublished Author Award (you do not send an additional application, this is chosen from all applications by unpublished authors across all the other text categories)
For Illustrators:
Don Freeman Illustrator Grants
Guidelines:
1. You must be an SCBWI member through September of the application year.
2. Only electronic submissions in the form of ONE PDF will be accepted. No snail mail.
3. You may not submit a work that is under contract. If the work becomes under contract before the winner is announced, you will become ineligible.
4. You may submit to only one WIP grant category per year.
Application Procedure:
All applications must be submitted electronically as a single PDF
Title the PDF with your name (first_last.pdf). Make sure you put the category you are applying to (General, Contemporary, Multi-cultural, Nonfiction) in the subject line of the email.
The email address to send your application will not be available until the grant opens on March 1st.
YOUR APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE:
1. A one page cover letter with a synopsis.
The cover letter must include the following:
Your name
Manuscript Title
Grant Category
If you are Published or Unpublished
A double-spaced synopsis
The letter must be the first page of your application and be formatted as in the template below:
WIP Cover Letter Template
Sample WIP Cover Letter
2. The first 10 pages of your completed manuscript.
Your manuscript must be double spaced and cannot exceed 10 pages.
The email address to send your application will not be available until the grant opens on March 1st.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Other questions? Write to [email protected]
http://www.scbwi.org/awards/grants/work-in-progress-grants/
