The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Creative Writing Fellowships provide funding of up to $50,000 to published creative writers in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry. These fellowships are designed to give writers financial support to dedicate time to their craft, conduct research, travel, and advance their careers. The program operates on a two-year cycle, alternating between prose and poetry fellowships. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the available fellowships are specifically for prose writers, while poetry fellowships will be offered in FY 2027 with application guidelines available in January 2026. The selection process is highly competitive, with fewer than 2% of approximately 2,000 applicants receiving awards each year.

The primary objective of this fellowship program is to nurture and sustain a diverse range of creative writers at different stages of their careers. The NEA aims to strengthen the literary arts ecosystem and expand the portfolio of American art by funding high-quality literary work. Applications are reviewed anonymously, focusing solely on artistic excellence and artistic merit as demonstrated in the writing sample submitted. This ensures a fair and unbiased evaluation process, prioritizing the quality of writing over external credentials or affiliations.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and meet specific publication requirements to qualify. Only individuals may apply; organizations are not eligible for this funding. Each writer may submit only one application per cycle and cannot apply for both a Creative Writing Fellowship and a Translation Project Fellowship in the same year. The grant does not fund general operational expenses for organizations or institutions but is solely intended to support individual literary artists.

The application process requires significant preparation, including registration with Login.gov and Grants.gov. The estimated time for completing the full application is approximately 12 hours. Applicants must submit the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance—Individual form (SF-424) and additional required materials following detailed instructions provided by the NEA. Submission guidelines, including step-by-step instructions, are available in the Application Instructions document.

The application deadline for the FY 2026 Creative Writing Fellowships is March 12, 2025, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. A panel review will take place in the spring and summer of 2025, followed by the National Council on the Arts meeting in late October 2025. Notifications of award decisions will be sent in December 2025, with funded projects beginning no earlier than January 1, 2026.

Writers interested in applying should carefully review the Grant Program Details document, which provides essential information on eligibility, funding amount, evaluation criteria, and post-award requirements. Additionally, previous recipients’ work can be explored in the NEA’s Literary Arts Impact section to gain insight into the caliber of projects that have been funded in past years.