Emerging Writers Grant
All Writers Grants offered by the Peterson Literary Fund are awarded in two-year cycles, in even-numbered years.
The Emerging Writers Grant is designed for new writers who have not yet been published in book form. Grants are given to writers of both works of fiction and non-fiction, written in English or Ukrainian, whose subject matter promotes a better understanding of the Ukrainian experience or is deemed relevant to the global Ukrainian community.
Submissions are made by writers or publishers
Value
The size of a grant ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 Canadian dollars, depending on the complexity of the project. The size of the grant will be determined by the Awards Jury.
An accompanying publication support grant of $3,000 CAD will be provided towards the publication of each grant-winning manuscript to support the publication and distribution of the books.
Depending on the number and quality of submissions received, the Peterson Literary Fund may award several Emerging Writers Grants in a given year. The number of grants awarded in a single year shall be within the discretion of the Awards Jury. An individual writer cannot apply for more than one Writers Grant per cycle.
Requirement
Applicants for the Emerging Writers Grant must have a minimum of one professionally published work to their credit written in English or Ukrainian, namely, at least one of the following:
one article, published in a recognized periodical or journal, (humanities or social sciences) or
10 published poems, or
one short story
Eligibility of the Submission
A short or book-length manuscript written in Ukrainian or English
The manuscript should be a written work of fiction or nonfiction with a minimum of 30,000 words
In the case of poetry books, the collection of poems must contain a minimum of 10,000 words of original poetry
An Emerging Writer Grant applicant may not have had a book published under an ISBN
Restrictions
An author may submit only one manuscript per cycle
A manuscript may be submitted for consideration only once (i.e. no repeat submissions)
Ineligible Submissions and Exclusions:
Manuscripts previously submitted and rejected
Manuscripts written by a ghostwriter
Manuscripts whose content has been plagiarized
Conference proceedings, coffee-table books, testimonials, collected letters, directories, bibliographies, reference books, health, fitness, or cookbooks, craft or home decorating books, and self-help books
Submission Dates: March 1 to March 31, 2024
Submission Dates: March 1 to March 31, 2024 (11:55 pm EST)
Successful applicants notified: Fall of 2024
Completed Manuscripts Due: July 31, 2025 (For grants approved in 2024)
Submission Procedure
Applicants must use our online submission platform (Read How to Submit a Grant Application)
When filling out the online submission, the writer will be asked to provide:
A Word file containing either a completed manuscript OR the first 10,000 words of a manuscript whose writing is in progress
A short synopsis of the proposed book
The curriculum vitae of the writer
If the submission is being made by a publisher, attach all relevant information about the publisher
REGISTER & APPLY FOR GRANT
How to Submit a Grant Application
To apply for an Established Writers Grant, you must register on our online application platform, by creating a username and password.
Once your registration is confirmed, you can log into your online profile and fill out the submission form. You can save and go back to the form at any time, so long as you complete and submit the form before the deadline.
Awards Jury and Grant Approval Process
The Awards Jury is comprised of professionals, who may, from time to time, include a mix of writers, editors, journalists, academics, literary translators, and other professionals who are based in Canada and qualified to undertake a balanced review and assessment of Ukrainian and English-language works of fiction and non-fiction.
In addition to their professional qualifications, members of the Awards Jury are selected with consideration to fair representation of gender, age, language competency, community engagement, and global awareness.
Manuscripts will be evaluated by taking into consideration factors such as:
how the subject-matter is handled
its originality
how it engages the reader
the author’s ability to balance lexical richness with readability
its relevance to Ukrainians in Canada or Ukrainians worldwide
Timing of Grant Disbursements
Grants are usually disbursed in two tranches. Authors of manuscripts-in-progress will receive the first 50% of the grant upon approval of their submission, and the remaining 50% upon completion.
The sooner successful writers complete their manuscript, the sooner they receive the full grant. Winning manuscripts approved in 2024, must be completed by July 31, 2025.
Terms and Conditions
Electronic copies of non-winning, manuscript submissions shall be archived by the Peterson Literary Fund at BCU Foundation to ensure that future submissions are not duplicated
Manuscripts of authors of winning Emerging Writers Grants are expected be published within two years of the manuscript’s completion
Authors of winning manuscripts must consent to participate in all reasonable promotional events and publicity related to the Stanley Peterson Literary Fund, including media appearances, interviews, receptions, and public readings
Authors and publishers of winning manuscripts will be required to acknowledge receiving support from the Peterson Literary Fund. The acknowledgement should say: This book has been published with the support of a grant from the Peterson Literary Fund at BCU Foundation.