Grants for Gay Writers

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender writers who are seeking to fund their projects and receive career support can apply for grants from non-profit organizations. Prestigious organizations support writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenplays and plays. Judges of prizes include famous writers and well-known community activists. Grant amounts vary widely and range from little as $100 to thousands of dollars.

The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides annual grants for full-length plays, musicals, screenplays and operas that feature positive portrayals of gay and lesbian life. The novelist, playwright and filmmaker Arch Brown created the foundation to commemorate the life of his late partner Bruce Brown.

Works submitted for grant consideration must be inspired by or based on a historic event, work of art or person in gay and lesbian history. Production companies can also apply for grants to produce gay-positive work. The number of grants awarded varies each year and each winner receives $1,000. Judges include gay and lesbian writers and professors.

Submission details are available on the foundation’s website: http://www.aabbfoundation.org.

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is a philanthropic organization that disseminates a wide variety of grants for individuals and organizations around the world. The organization’s Lesbian Writers Fund is a long-running program that provides grants to emerging fiction writers and poets in the United States. The amount of money available for grants varies each year.

In the foundation’s 2009-2010 grant cycle, 12 writers received grants. The amounts ranged from $100 to $10,000. Judges for the awards include prominent lesbian writers.

Submission details are available on Astraea’s website: http://www.astraeafoundation.org.

The Publishing Triangle is an organization made up of gays and lesbians in the publishing industry. This mission of the group is to help gay and lesbian writers get published and further their careers.

Each year the Publishing Triangles hands out awards to writers of nonfiction, fiction and poetry. There is one grant for each category. Fiction and nonfiction awards are $1,000 and the poetry award is $500. The group also presents an addition $500 fiction award at its annual awards ceremony.

Nomination forms can be downloaded from the organization’s website: http://www.publishingtriangle.org.

The Lambda Literary Foundation is one of the leading organizations for LGBT writers. It produces the annual Lambda Literary Awards, “The Lammys,” at a gala ceremony and also underwrites writers grants.

The Mid-Career Novelist prize is awarded to a one male and one female writer who have written at least three novels or two novels and other works such as essays and poetry. In 2010, the award amount was $5,000.

Submission details and deadlines are available on Lambda’s website: http://www.lambdaliterary.org.