Writer's Opportunities

Minnesota: McKnight Fellowship Guidelines for the 2010 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Writers, Loft Awards in Poetry and Spoken Word and Loft Award in Children's Literature / Younger Children will be available in early September. The deadline for both awards is 5 p.m. on Friday, October 23rd. For more information visit www.loft.org

National: Kundiman and Alice James Books will be accepting submissions of poetry manuscripts for The Kundiman Poetry Prize postmarked between November 15 and January 15, 2010. The Kundiman Poetry Prize welcomes submissions from emerging as well as established Asian American poets. Entrants must reside in the United States. For more information visit www.kundiman.org

Additional deadlines of note:

Poets & Writers California Writers Exchange Contest
Deadline: August 31, 2009
Two prizes of $500 each are awarded every three years to a poet and a fiction writer living in California. Each winner also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to give a reading and meet with writers, editors, and agents. California poets and fiction writers who have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying are eligible. Submit four copies of up to 10 pages of poetry or 20 pages of fiction by August 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the Web site for complete guidelines. www.pw.org

Illinois Arts Council Artists Fellowship Awards
Deadline: September 1, 2009
Fellowships of $7,000 each are given annually to Illinois writers. Finalists receive grants of $700 each. The awards, which alternate yearly between poetry and prose, are given to Illinois residents who have lived in the state for at least one year prior to the application deadline and who are not enrolled in any degree- or certificate-granting program. This year’s competition is open to fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers. Submit 15 to 30 pages of prose completed within the past four years, proof of residency, and a resumé by September 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the Web site for the required entry form and complete guidelines. Web site: www.state.il.us/agency/iac/guidelines/guidelines.htm

Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grants
Deadline: September 1, 2009
Grants of up to $2,500 each are given by the Leeway Foundation three times a year to support women poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area who need financial assistance to work on a project involving art and social change. Women and transgender writers living in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties who are 18 years of age or older and who are not full-time students in an arts program are eligible. Applicants must have a project commitment from an organization or mentor. Submit an entry form by September 1. There is no entry fee. Call, e-mail, or visit the Web site for complete guidelines: www.leeway.org.

Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards
Deadline: September 1, 2009
Grants of $5,000 and $10,000 are awarded annually to Ohio poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Writers who have been residents of Ohio for one year prior to the application deadline and are not enrolled in a degree- or certificate-granting program are eligible. Online submissions only are accepted. Submit 10 to 15 pages of poetry or 20 to 30 pages of prose completed within the past three years by September 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the Web site for the required entry form and complete guidelines: www.oac.state.oh.us/grantsprogs/guidelines/individualcreativity.asp