The Big List of Deadlines for Nonfiction Writers

2025 grants, fellowships, prizes, and more

Welcome to The Big List of Deadlines for Nonfiction Writers!

This is a regularly updated resource for nonfiction writing grants, fellowships, residencies, and prizes throughout the year. I hope you find it useful as you work toward publishing more stories and doing the work you love.

I regularly update this resource, and paid subscribers (who make this work possible!) receive weekly updates on new opportunities and upcoming deadlines, along with writing events and random bits of inspiration.

Consider upgrading to a paid subscription so I can keep improving The Big List of Deadlines for Nonfiction Writers—and so you won’t miss an update!

Fishtrap Fellowship | Fishtrap Fellowships recognize and encourage writers who show promise at an early stage in their career. The primary benefit of this award is an opportunity to attend the 38th Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers, July 7-13, 2025 at Wallowa Lake. In keeping with Fishtrap’s mission, “To cultivate clear thinking and good writing in and about the West,” applicants should live in the Western US or write about themes surrounding the West. Deadline: 1/1

Mississippi Review Prize | Prizes of $1,000 in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Winners and finalists will make up next summer's print issue of the national literary magazine Mississippi Review. Deadline: 1/1

The Jacobs/Jones African-American Literary Prize | This prize honors Harriet Jacobs and Thomas Jones, two pioneering African-American writers from North Carolina, and seeks to convey the rich and varied existence of African-American/Black North Carolinians. Sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network and administered by the Creative Writing Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Winner receives $1,000 and possible publication of the winning entry in The Carolina Quarterly. Deadline: 1/2

Jack Hazard Fellowship | For Summer 2025, fellowships of $5,000 will again be awarded to creative writers who are full-time educators teaching in accredited high schools in the United States. Deadline: 1/3

Steinbeck Fellowships in Creative Writing | The program offers the opportunity to interact with other writers, faculty, and graduate students, and to share your work in progress by giving a public reading during the fellowship. Fellowships include a stipend of $15,000. Award recipients will be required to reside within the counties of the San Francisco Bay Area or adjacent counties of the California central coast or central valley during most of the fellowship period, approximately September - May. Deadline: 1/5

Hearst Journalism Fellowships | This is the premier two-year newspaper fellowship in the country. Our goal is to recruit, train and retain the best of the next generation of journalists – top-notch multi-media professionals with a broad range of skills. The program consists of two 12-month rotations at our top metro papers and websites. Deadline: 1/6

Leon Levy Biography Fellowships | The Leon Levy Center for Biography offers four resident fellowships and one Sloan fellowship for a biography in science. Awards include writing space at the CUNY Graduate Center, full access to research facilities, research assistance and a stipend of $72,000. The period of the residencies is September – May of each year. Deadline: 1/6

The Trace’s Editing Fellowship | The Trace, America’s only nonprofit newsroom devoted exclusively to covering the gun violence epidemic, is seeking applicants for its editing fellowship. The one-year program is geared toward early- to mid-career journalists who are looking to establish themselves as editors, but have not had the opportunity to pursue editing full time. Deadline: 1/9

Earth Journalism Network Story Grants | Story grants of $1,500 - 2,000 to journalists to produce stories on transnational conservation crimes in the Amazon Region and the threats faced by Indigenous peoples and local communities in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Deadline: 1/10

The Georgia Review Prose Prize | The best short story and essay will both be published in The Georgia Review. This year the overall winner, chosen between the two, will also receive $1,500. The runner-up will receive $600. Deadline: 1/15

Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition | Encourages the creation of lasting nonfiction that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians. Subjects may include traditional categories such as reviews, travel articles, profiles or interviews, place/history pieces, or culture criticism. The first-, second-, and third-place winners will receive $1,000, $300, and $200 respectively. Winning entry considered for publication by Ecotone. Deadline: 1/15

Ellen Meloy Fund Desert Writers Award | One $5,000 award in the spring of each year. Only proposals for literary or creative nonfiction book projects will be considered. The Fund supports writing that combines an engaging individual voice, literary sensibility, imagination and intellectual rigor to bring new perspectives and deeper meaning to the body of desert literature. Deadline: 1/15

The Chautauqua Janus Prize | Celebrating an emerging writer’s single work of short fiction or nonfiction for daring formal and aesthetic innovations that upset and reorder readers’ imaginations. In addition to receiving a $5,000 award plus a travel expense, the winner gives a lecture on the grounds during the summer season and appears in a forthcoming issue of the literary annual Chautauqua. Deadline: 1/15

Indigenous Community Media Fund | Promotes partnerships and provides funding to strengthen the infrastructure and transmission systems of Indigenous community media and radio stations, as well as training opportunities for community journalists. Grants up to $8,000 for individuals and $12,000 for groups. Deadline: 1/26

Grist Climate Solutions Fellowship | With the mentorship and support of Grist’s newsroom, the Climate Solutions Fellow will be expected to research and write stories examining the development and implementation of climate solutions. This fellowship is a full-time position and will run for 12 months, beginning May 5, 2025 and ending April 30, 2026. The annual base pay for this position is $58,750. Deadline: 1/27

Fund for Investigate Journalism Grants | Grants up to $10,000 and other support for reporters to produce high-quality, unbiased, nonpartisan investigative stories that have an impact. Deadline: 1/27

Money for Women, Barbara Deming Memorial Prize | Support grants ($500 - $2000) to individual feminist women in the arts. Money for Women is the oldest ongoing feminist granting agency in the US and Canada. Grants from the foundation give monetary support and encouragement to feminist writers and visual artists who are women (cis, transgender, or nonbinary). Deadline: 1/31

swamp pink Prizes | Previously known as the Crazyhorse Prizes, the swamp pink Prizes award $2,000 and publication for the winners in each genre, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Deadline: 1/31

Iowa Review Awards | Each January since 2003, The Iowa Review has invited submissions to The Iowa Review Awards, a writing contest in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Winners receive $1,500; first runners-up receive $750. Winners and runners-up are published in each December issue. Deadline: 1/31

Fish Publishing Short Memoir Prize | A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,056) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short memoir. Deadline: 1/31

Nieman Fellowships at Harvard | Harvard and Nieman offer the rare gift of time to think, learn, plan and create in a rigorous academic environment. Nieman is the only fellowship program that also houses an array of publishing and convening initiatives focused on journalism. Deadline: 1/31

February

UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship | $10,000 grants to report in-depth print and audio stories on the science, policy, business and culture of this new era of psychedelics. Deadline: 2/1

Slippery Elm Prize | $1000 prizes in Poetry & Prose. 2025 Judges are Timothy Geiger in Poetry and Lara Lillibridge in Prose. Deadline: 2/1

Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing | Up to four months of unfettered writing time for a writer working on a first or second book in any literary genre. The residency provides lodging in Bucknell's "Poets' Cottage" and a stipend of $5,000. Deadline: 2/1

Hypatia-in-the-Woods Residency | Hypatia-in-the-Woods provides and maintains Holly House, a residential retreat center for women of all creative talents, in a serene environment in Shelton, Washinton, free of the distractions of everyday life. Application windows are quarterly. First deadline: 2/15

Allbritton Journalism Institute Reporting Fellowships | The fellowship offers aspiring journalists a two-year educational program that prepares them for careers as credible, non-partisan reporters in the nation’s capital or wherever their work may take them. Students learn core skills from respected professional reporters and editors in a classroom setting, and they gain real-world experience by working as reporters at AJI’s publication, NOTUS. Students are paid an annual stipend of $60,000 so that they can live in the D.C. area and devote their attention and energy to the fellowship. Deadline: 2/19

UC Berkeley’s California Local News Fellowship | A multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities. Each year, the program places up to 40 early-career journalism fellows in newsrooms throughout the state for two-year, full-time reporting positions.

Allen Shoup Memorial Fellowship | A fellowship for writers and communicators interested in learning more about Washington wine. The goal of the Allen Shoup Memorial Fellowship is to grow consumer awareness and the perception of Washington wine by identifying and elevating emerging wine writers and communicators and making these new voices part of a community of lifelong ambassadors. The fellowship includes two trips to Washington, a $3,000 stipend, publication in Decanter magazine, and more. Deadline: 2/28

Spreading Love Through the Media Grant | With funding from the John Templeton Foundation, the GGSC will distribute grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 to two dozen journalists and media producers who approach the topic of love from a variety of angles and across a range of media, including articles, videos, radio stories, podcasts, social media content, and more. Deadline: 2/28

March

Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Arts Fellowship | MAC’s Artist Fellowship program is focused on honoring Mississippi artists who demonstrate the ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field. The agency awards fellowships of up to $5,000 in multiple categories each year. The program is not project-based and does not require a cash match. Professional artists living and working in Mississippi are eligible to apply. Deadline: 3/1

Waterman Fund Alpine Essay Contest for Emerging Writers | Writers who have not published a major work of fiction or narrative nonfiction on topics of wilderness, wildness, or the ethics and ecology of environmental issues are eligible. The Waterman Fund provides generous prize money of $3,000 for the first-place essay selection and $1,000 for a runner-up. Deadline: 3/1

Alabama State Council Literary Arts Fellowships | The Alabama State Council on the Arts makes cash awards to individual writers in the literary arts based on merit of work, career achievement, career potential and service to the state. Usually two $5,000 Fellowships are awarded each year. Deadline: 3/1

Banff Center for Arts & Creativity Summer Writers | This two-week self-directed residency offers time and space for writers to focus, reconnect, and re-energize their writing practice. In addition to a single room and a small private studio, writers will be able to engage with other writers on the program. Deadline: 3/5

Wild Women Story Contest | Stories about finding the Wild, reclaiming the Wild, experiencing the Wild, being the Wild, staying Wild. They especially love stories about the ways women use their power to create and shape the world, and stories about discovering—or remembering—this power in the first place. Stories can be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. $1,000 and publication in Tulip Tree Review awarded to one winner in each genre. Honorable mentions are also published in an issue of Tulip Tree Review. Deadline: 3/8

n+1 Editorial Fellowship | Based in Brooklyn, starting in March. New part-time position will last for one year with the possibility of extension into a second year. Offers an early-career editor a wide-ranging introduction to the editorial and operational work of a small magazine. Compensation will range from $20,000 to $25,000, with a time commitment between fifteen and twenty hours a week.

National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships | $50,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry to published creative writers that enable recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. Deadline: 3/12

Food Season Food Stories Fellowship Award | The British Library Food Season Food Stories Fellowship Award will fund a writer to spend at least two weeks with the British Library’s collections in London to inform an article which will be published in Vittles magazine. The winner will be awarded £1500 intended to support around 2-weeks travel to and research at the British Library in London. Deadline: 3/24

How to Cover Aging Reporting Workshop | A free, two-day intensive reporting workshop to be held at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in New York City, from June 4-6, 2025. This training is open to journalists who have at least three years of full-time experience or the equivalent. | Deadline: 3/24

Impact Fund for Reporting on Health Equity and Health Systems | This fund from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism supports investigative or explanatory projects on systemic racism in public health, health care policy and the practice of medicine. Grantees receive a $2,000-$10,000 grant to help with reporting costs, five months of professional mentorship, and more. Deadline: 3/26

The Awesome Foundation Grant: Conservation and Climate | A global community advancing the interest of awesome in the universe, $1000 at a time. Each chapter of the Awesome Foundation is volunteer-run and self-funded by a group of people who pool their money to form micro-grants that fund meaningful projects. This chapter is focused on nature conservation and climate change. Deadline: 3/28

The McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism | The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Center for Business Journalism provides experienced journalists with grants up to $15,000 and the editorial support needed to produce deeply reported enterprise and investigative stories that delve into critical economic, financial or business issues across a wide array of subjects. Deadline: 3/31

The 19th News Fellowship | Named for the “mother of African-American journalism,” the program was launched in 2022 to provide recent graduates, mid-career alums and former students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities with yearlong, salaried fellowships with full benefits in reporting, audience engagement and news product management. Deadline: 3/31

A Public Space Writing Fellowships | The Writing Fellowships at A Public Space support writers who embrace risk in their work and their own singular vision. Writers who have not yet published a book are invited to apply. The three Fellows selected annually receive editorial support to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine; a $1,000 honorarium; complimentary access to all A Public Space Master Classes during the fellowship year; the opportunity to meet virtually with members of the publishing community and to participate in a public reading. Deadline: 3/31

April

The American Library in Paris Visiting Fellowship | Offers writers, researchers, and creators the unique opportunity to spend a month in Paris working independently on their own creative project while contributing to the cultural life of the Library, along with a $5,000 travel stipend. Fellows present a public program during their residency that engages our audience and members around a central theme. The theme for 2025-2026 is Ways of Seeing. Deadline: 4/1

Terry Tempest Williams Creative Nonfiction Prize | Submit all forms of creative nonfiction including the lyric essay, the hermit crab essay, the braided essay, the memoir, the personal essay, literary journalism, and everything in between. Food essays, travel writing, nature essays, sports writing, and literary criticism will also be considered but should have a personal component. The Williams Prize welcomes previously unpublished nonfiction essays on any subject so long as it is well executed. The winning entry, runner-up, and any honorable mentions will be offered publication in the North American Review’s fall issue. Prize: $1,000. Deadline: 4/2

The Rosalyn Carter Journalism Fellowships | The yearlong, nonresidential fellowships equip journalists with the resources necessary to produce compelling and solutions-based stories on mental health and substance use issues. Fellows develop the skills to effectively report on difficult but important topics across evolving and emerging platforms. Deadline: 4/2

USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism National Fellowship | Helps journalists and their newsrooms report deeply and authoritatively on the health, welfare and well-being of children, families and communities. The program prepares fellows to report a major enterprise health or social well-being reporting project in the months that follow our initial week of intensive learning in Los Angeles. Deadline: 4/9

The Kerouac Project Writing Residency | The Kerouac Project provides six residencies a year to writers of any stripe or age, living anywhere in the world. We encourage BIPOC and LGTBQ writers to apply. In the past, we have accepted writers with no formal writing education alongside those with MFA’s and impressive résumés. You will be judged on the quality of the writing sample you submit. Each residency consists of approximately a two-month stay in the cottage where Jack Kerouac wrote his novel Dharma Bums. Utilities and a food stipend of $600 are included. Deadline: 4/14

Fourth Genre Steinberg Memorial Essay Prize | The contest highlights outstanding writers and their work. The first place winner receives $1000 and publication in the following year's spring issue. judge this year is Sonya Huber. Deadline: 4/15

The Florida Review Editor’s Prizes | Submissions accepted in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Each winner receives publication in The Florida Review and $1,000 upon publication. Deadline: 4/15

New Ohio Review Literary Prizes | Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Deadline: 4/15

Business Insider’s Fellowship Program | Business Insider's fellowship program is designed to give early-career journalists an opportunity to make a big impact in a digital newsroom whether they're writing stories, creating videos, editing, researching, designing, or anything else. Fellowship is full-time for six months and pays $20/hour. Deadline: 4/15

"Real People, Real Struggles, Real Stories" Fellowship at The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow | Designed to support a writer working on a short or long-form non-fiction project that explores personal experiences with mental illness. The fellowship winner will be awarded a two-week residency at WCDH. Deadline: 4/21

Freshwater Storytelling Grants from National Geographic Society | Provides funding for “storytellers interested in creating and disseminating content that raises public awareness and engagement of important issues around the sustainable use of freshwater resources.” The grant is open to a variety of content formats, including photography, film and video, mapmaking, data visualization, written word, and spoken word. Deadline: 4/22

The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant | $40,000 will be awarded to as many as ten writers in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general adult readership. Deadline: 4/23

Earth Journalism Network Biodiversity Story Grants | Up to ten reporting grants will be awarded, with an average budget of 1,000-2,000 EUR each, to journalists to support the production of in-depth stories on biodiversity in countries classified as low- or middle-income by the World Bank. Deadline: 4/29

Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award | The Sharon Begley Award comprises a career prize, recognizing the accomplishments of a mid-career science journalist, and a grant of at least $20,000 to enable the winner to undertake a significant reporting project. Deadline: 4/30

Tadpole Press 100-Word Writing Contest | A prize of $2,000 is given biannually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Submit a work of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction of up to 100 words. Deadline 4/30

May

Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop | Join a community of writers, improve your craft, and reimagine how you think about nature. Guided by award-winning instructors, the Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop provides an intimate space to connect with writers, artists, and editors, spark creativity, and renew, illuminate, and deepen your relationship with place. Takes place June 15-20 in Rhinebeck, New York. Deadline: May 1

Waterston Desert Writing Prize | The Waterston Desert Writing Prize (the Prize) was established in 2014 and inspired by author and poet Ellen Waterston’s love of the High Desert, a region that has been her muse for more than 40 years. The Prize provides financial and other support to writers whose work reflects a similar connection to the desert, recognizing the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative. Winner receives a $3,000 cash award and a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon on September 25, 2025. Deadline: 5/1

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest | Submit stories and essays on any theme, up to 6,000 words each. The winning story and essay will each receive $3,500. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $500 each. The top 12 entries will be published online. Mina Manchester is the final judge. This contest is proudly co-sponsored by Duotrope, which will award two-year gift certificates to the top two winners, a $100 value. Deadline: 5/2

Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition | One grand prize winner will receive $5,000 in cash, a paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, a Pitch Slam slot at the Writer's Digest Conference where the winner will receive one-on-one attention from editors or agents, and publication of their winning piece on WritersDigest.com. Hundreds of winner will receive smaller prizes. Deadline (early bird): 5/5

The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant | To support emerging and established writers who write about contemporary visual art. Ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 in three categories—articles, books, and short-form writing—the grants support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. Deadline: 5/7

The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis’ (RAC) Artist Support Grant | Funds support one’s practice or for a specific project in a variety of artistic disciplines, for writers based in St. Louis city or county. Maximum grant amount is $10,000. Deadline: 5/12

Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Contest | In the spirit of the journal’s founding mission, the Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Contest recognizes work by an emerging writer in each of three genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. One winner in each genre per year will receive $2,000 and publication in the literary journal. Deadline: 5/15

Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award | $1,000 and publication for a book of creative nonfiction of up to 80,000 words, open to writers at any stage of their career, in any form of creative nonfiction. Deadline: 5/16

Ann LaBastille Memorial Writers Residency | The Adirondack Center for Writing offers a free, two-week residency annually in autumn to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers at a lodge on Twitchell Lake in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Deadline 5/19

Michigan Quarterly Review James A. Winn Prize | Each year’s winner receives $1500 and publication of their essay or nonfiction hybrid work in MQR. Submissions are open annually April 1-May 31 and all submissions will be considered for publication. Elizabeth Goodenough will serve as the prize’s 2024 judge. Deadline: 5/31

June

Hawthornden Brooklyn Residency | During the six-week residency, Hawthornden provides writing space, a stipend, meals, and time to focus on writing projects. Residents have an opportunity to connect with other writers, benefit from peer-supported activities, and participate in valuable and collaborative shared experiences. As a non-residential residency, Hawthornden Brooklyn does not provide housing. Each participating writer will be offered a stipend of $5,000 to help defray the costs that attending the residency may entail. Deadline: 6/1

Blydyn Square Books’ First Chapter Contest | Send the first chapter of your unpublished work in progress or finished book. The winner will get a contract to have the completed book published. Two runners-up will receive a free manuscript critique. Fiction or nonfiction. Deadline: 6/1

Writing the Unseen: Multi-genre workshop with Laura Marris | An online workshop through Orion with author of The Age of Loneliness, Laura Marris. “Places are almost always more than they appear. Beneath the surface of familiar, local landscapes lie vast environmental histories, some shaped by people, and others by living communities that are invisible to the human eye. In this generative, multi-genre workshop, we will approach the literature of the unseen through buried environmental changes, like stories of toxicity, underground rivers, or animal routes beneath highways; as well as through the stories of other species whose presences are often camouflaged, secret, or otherwise hidden from view.” Deadline: 6/5

The Master’s Review Best Emerging Writers 2025 | The Masters Review’s long-running anthology series returns for the fourteenth year. Open to writers of fiction or creative nonfiction who have not yet published a novel or memoir with a major press. Each of the ten winners will receive a $700 award and a print copy of the book. Deadline: 6/9

David Burnham-TRAC Data Reporting Fellowship | ProPublica is looking for a motivated early-career investigative data journalist to join our editorial team as the David Burnham-TRAC Data Reporting Fellow, specifically focused on investigating the federal bureaucracy. This is a new fellowship, meant to provide up-and-coming data journalists the opportunity to learn from some of the best data and investigative reporters in the business and to give them the space to shed light on both the inner workings of the government and impacts of federal policy. Deadline: 6/16

Artist Trust Grants for Artist Projects | Unrestricted project-based grants of $1,500 awarded to 65 artists working in all disciplines across Washington State. Deadline: 6/23

The Master’s Review Reprint Prize | Any fiction or creative nonfiction published prior to June 1, 2024, is eligible. We want to offer a new home to stories and essays no longer available online or in print, or that are looking for another opportunity to find a new audience. Deadline: 6/29

July

Essential Voices Editorial Fellowship | The Essential Voices Editorial Fellowship gives an editor the resources and assistance to bring an anthology into the world. Green Linden Press intends to tailor the Fellowship to the editor of the selected project: so previous editorial experience is not required, and those with editorial experience are encouraged to apply. Deadline: 7/2

Ucross Residency | Ucross is dedicated to fostering the creative spirit of working artists by providing uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations, and the experience of the majestic High Plains, while serving as a responsible steward of our historic 20,000-acre ranch in northern Wyoming. Deadline: 7/25

August

Willapa Bay AiR Writing Residency | Month-long, self-directed residencies to emerging and established artists, filmmakers, writers, playwrights, scholars, singer/songwriters, and musical composers. The Residency provides lodging, meals, and work space, at no cost, to six residents each month from April 1 through October 28 of the year. Applications are evaluated by selection committees comprised of working artists and professionals in the applicants' respective fields of discipline. Deadline: August 31

October

Millay Colony for the Arts Residency | Founded in 1973 and located at “Steepletop,” the historic estate of poet/activist Edna St. Vincent Millay (one of the first women to win a Pulitzer Prize), Millay Arts is a nonprofit organization that offers multidisciplinary artists residencies on our campus as well as in the community. Fall Deadline: October 1

More coming soon…

If you know of any opportunities that should be included here, please email me at britany.robinson@gmail.com, and I will add them!