The applicant must be an American author who has published at least one full-length work — fiction or nonfiction — that has been published by a mainstream publisher. Applicants cannot have eligibility determined by a work that they paid to have published. A work may have been published in eBook format only, or in hardcover or softcover format, or in more than one format.
If you believe you qualify for a grant, you should take the next step and register with the site. After you are registered with your email address and a password, you may then proceed to the Online Application section to fill out your application. Be sure to fill out the form completely. We do not want a box number but a street address. We want to know where you live.
An applicant must demonstrate need; the emergency may be because of illness or some other urgent need or emergency such as fire, flood, hurricane, etc. Documentation must be included with the application: a doctor’s letter or other proof of the emergency situation, such as the first two pages of the 1040 (redacted). If you have difficulty attaching documentation, email it to carnegiefundforauithors@gmal.com, and we’ll upload. But applicants who do not supply documentation cannot be considered.
If you have received a grant from Carnegie Fund within the past five calendar years, you cannot apply.
Once you complete your application, please keep in mind that the process can take a while. Before the pandemic, it often took at least six weeks for an application to be processed. We now cannot give out an estimate. Rest assured that we are working as quickly as we can, so please don’t slow us down further with emails. Do not contact us. That does not speed us up; it slows us down. We realize that it can be difficult to be patient, but please do so.
Supporting Documents
We cannot accept applications without documentation. Please upload relevant files that can help us understand your need for a grant; you may submit a physician's letter, the first two pages of your 1040 (redacted), or other documentation. Do not send books, CVs, reviews, or manuscripts.