Walter Grants for Unpublished Diverse Writers

Deadline: until they've received 300 entries OR until June 30th, 2020, whichever comes first
Update 6/23/20: They are still accepting applications, the limit hasn't been reached! **Black applicants may apply until June 30th even if they reach the application cap.**

Walter grants provide financial support to promising diverse writers who are currently unpublished.  Ten grants will be awarded for $2,000 each. Applicants must identify as diverse (defined below) unpublished illustrators and/or authors. This includes both trade publishing and self-publishing. Essays, short stories, and articles do not render an applicant ineligible. Applicant must be working toward a career as a children’s author and/or illustrator, and must be a U.S. resident or a refugee living in the United States.

Applicants must identify as one or more of the following: person of color, native american, LGBTQIA+, person with a disability and/or marginalized religious or cultural minority.

One of the inaugural 2015 grant awardees, Angela Thomas, used her grant to purchase a computer to complete her Black Lives Matter-inspired YA manuscript. Titled The Hate U Give, it went on to sell in a 12-house auction, received 8 starred trade reviews, and is a #1 New York Times’ Best Seller and a major motion picture.

For additional information including the application criteria, please visit the website, read the Walter Grant FAQs and direct any questions to waltergrant@diversebooks.org.