Getting your book published is difficult, and unfortunately it tends to be much harder when you’re a Person of Color. While there are more diverse books being published, there’s still a lot of work to do!
Fortunately there are awards and grants out there help writers of color achieve their publication dreams.
We’ve created a list of awards and grants to help you get started!
New Voices Award – Established in 2000, is for the unpublished author of color for a picture book manuscript.
New Visions Award – Modeled after LEE & LOW’s New Voices Award, this award is for Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Mystery middle grade or YA novels.
SCBWI Emerging Voices Grant – This award is given to two unpublished writers or illustrators from ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in children’s literature in America and who have a ready-to-submit completed work for children.
The Angela Johnson Scholarship from Vermont College of Fine Arts – This scholarship is for new students of color of an ethnic minority for VCFA’s MFA program.
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson Scholarship from Hamline College – “Annual award given to a new or current student in the program who shows exceptional promise as a writer of color.”
We Need Diverse Books Short Story Contest – This short story contest was inspired by Walter Dean Myers’ quote, “Once I began to read, I began to exist.”
The Scholastic Asian Book Award – This award is for Asian writers writing books set in Asia aimed at children 6-18 years of age.
Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund – This fund enables writers of color to attend the Clarion writing workshops where writer Octavia Butler got her start.
SLF Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants – These grants are new works and works in progress. The Diverse Writers Grant focuses on writers from underrepresented and underprivileged backgrounds, and the Diverse Worlds Grant is for stories that best present a diverse world, regardless of the author’s background.
Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award – This one time grant is awarded to an emerging writer of color of crime fiction.
NYFA Artists’ Fellowships – These fellowships are for residents of New York State and/or Indian Nations located in New York State.
Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature – These annual awards recognize emerging African writers and illustrators.
The Sillerman First Prize for African Poets – This prize is for unpublished African poets.
The Highlights Foundation Diversity Fellowship in Children’s Literature – This 24-month professional mentorship program is designed for People of Color and Indigenous authors or illustrators who are actively pursuing publication within the children’s publishing industry and includes a robust professional development curriculum, one-on-one professional coaching, and more.
What other awards and grants do you recommend for authors of color?
