Writing Competition: Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant

Click here to view the online application form. Application guidelines are below.

The 2025 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $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. It is intended for multiyear book projects requiring large amounts of deep and focused research, thinking, and writing at a crucial point mid-process, after significant work has been accomplished but when an extra infusion of support can make a difference in the ultimate shape and quality of the work.

Whiting welcomes applications for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories. Again, the work should be intended for a general, not academic, adult reader. Self-help titles, historical fiction, textbooks, books primarily for a scholarly audience, and books for young readers are not eligible. Examples of the wide range of previous grantees can be found here.

Projects must be under contract with a publisher in Canada, the UK, or the US by April 23 to be eligible. Contracts with self-publishing companies are not eligible.

Writers must submit the materials listed below via the online application form by 11:59pm ET on Wednesday, April 23. The application form includes detailed instructions for each requested item.

• The original proposal that led to the contract with your publisher

• Up to 25,000 words from your draft. Please submit full-length draft chapters, rather than short excerpts from across your book, to the extent the word count allows

• A statement of work yet to be completed

• A plan for use of funds

• A signed and dated contract (please note that to be eligible, books must be under contract with a Canadian, UK, or US publisher – unfortunately, we can make no exceptions to this requirement)

• A current resume

• A list of grants, fellowships, or other funding received for the book

• A letter of support from your publisher or editor

Each project under submission will have two first-round readers who will evaluate for substance and execution (while understanding that they are reading a work in progress). Finalists will be considered by a separate panel of judges who will evaluate for need in addition to substance and execution. Readers and judges will consist of experts in the field from Canada, the UK, and the US, and they will serve anonymously to shield them from any external pressures. The grantees will be announced in December.

The Foundation hosted two online information sessions to answer questions and offer guidance on applying for the grant. You can watch a recording of an info session here.

If you have any questions about the eligibility of your project or the application process, please contact us at:

nonfiction@whiting.org