$40K U.S. Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant now available to Canadian writers

For the first time in its history, Canadian authors are now eligible to apply for the U.S.-based Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant. The annual $40,000 ($50,842 Cdn) award has expanded its eligibility criteria to include authors from Canada and the U.K., the Whiting Foundation announced this week.

Launched in 2016, the initiative by the New York-based Whiting Foundation is aimed at supporting writers working on multi-year, book-length nonfiction projects.

The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant has been awarded annually to up to eight writers for book projects requiring significant investments of "deep and focused thinking, research and writing."

In 2022, up to ten grantees will be selected and writers with books under contract in the U.S., U.K., or Canada may apply. 

"While great writing doesn't know boundaries, different cultures are drawn to different questions and ways to approach them," said Courtney Hodell, director of literary programs for the Whiting Foundation.  "We're so excited to encounter exceptional work from British and Canadian writers alongside those from the U.S." 

The program is intended for multi-year book projects as they reach a crucial point mid-process, after significant work has been accomplished "but when an extra infusion of support can make a critical difference in the ultimate shape and quality of the work." 

Past winners of the Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant include American author Sarah M. Broom, who earned acclaim as a new voice on the literary scene for her memoir The Yellow House. The memoir won the 2019 National Book Award for non-fiction, the National Book Critics Circle's prize for first book, and was named by The New York Times as one of the five best nonfiction titles of the year.  

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Much like American authors, Canadian writers also have big ambitions and big stories to tell, Hodell told CBC Books.

"We're living in a time when we need people who are asking difficult questions, who have a deep attachment to truth-telling, but who are also looking at life in a fresh way…We're really excited to meet talented Canadian writers on the page and to see if we can help support some of that great work."

Each project will be reviewed and assessed by anonymous readers who are experts in their field, with the top 15 candidates going on to a panel of judges, Hodell told CBC Books. "We'll be reaching out to include British and Canadian readers for this project. I think that's very important for inclusivity," added Hodell. 

Writers with a signed contract from a U.S., U.K., or Canadian publisher are eligible to apply. Unlike the Whiting Awards, writers must apply to be considered for the Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant.

Writers must submit by April 25, 2022. Works of works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, the sciences philosophy and more are eligible. The foundation is providing two online information sessions (Feb. 17 and March 16) for writer questions about the application process.

More information can be found on the foundation's website.