Application Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in our program. Our 2020 application window is now closed.

Awards

Our awards offer unrestricted cash, and recipients can use the funds as they see fit.

Our program is an award program that rewards excellence in a creative field (note that this is different from a grant program, in which the application is focused on a proposal for new work).

Our selection process is focused almost entirely on the strength of the submitted portfolio.

Eligibility

Who Should Apply

We are inspired by anyone who is making creative work while raising a family. Given the intense demand for these awards (we typically receive over 3,000 applications), and the fact that the awards are based on demonstrated excellence in your discipline, we don’t recommend that artists or writers who are beginning their creative careers apply to this program.

While we don’t require that applicants have published or exhibited their work, the rigor and critique involved in that process can certainly benefit the portfolio. Portfolios of writing or artwork created in a more personal vein for sharing with friends and family are not suitable.

We invite you to view our list of previous awardees and follow the links to their work to get a feel for their level of craft.

Racial Equity

Disciplines

Creative Nonfiction

Early and Middle Grade Readers

Fiction

Graphic Novel/Graphic Memoir

Illustrated Children's Books

Illustrated Children's Books (Text Only)

Long Form Journalism

Poetry

Young Adult Fiction

We no longer accept portfolios of plays; please see our Residency Grantees page for information on the organizations we support that accept playwrights. We also do not accept portfolios of self-help books, academic writing, reviews (of art exhibitions, films, or books), motivational writing, cookbooks, travel and/or other kinds of guidebooks. Blog posts and short newspaper articles are also not accepted.

Visual artists may apply in one of the following categories:

Book Arts

Ceramics

Drawing

Fiber Arts and Textiles

Illustration

Installation

Jewelry

Mixed Media

Painting

Photography

Printmaking

Sculpture

Wearable Textiles

At this time we are not accepting applications in the performing arts, film/video/tv (including screenplays), and music/composition.

Please see our FAQ for more information about disciplines.

Criteria

The application consists of 3 major parts, which are summarized below. You may download a PDF copy of our application questions in case it's helpful to prepare your responses offline, but please note that our application must be completed online through this website.

Personal Information

Artistic Information

What I Do: Artist Statement

What I'd Like to Do: How I Would Use this Award

Who I Am: Biography

Typical answers to the essay questions range between a paragraph and two pages.

Do not exceed 500 words for each response.

Please do not use your name in these responses.

If you already have nicely-formatted versions of any of the above, please feel free to attach them as PDFs.

Portfolio

Please view our portfolio requirements page for specific details about portfolio requirements for all disciplines.

Application Fee

Our fee is a modest one, but we’re aware that you may be applying for many awards and grants and these costs can add up. Please contact us if you need assistance with the fee, or if you would like to contribute to a fund to cover other applicants’ fees. Due to the volume of applications, we cannot accommodate requests for assistance within 48 hours of our deadline.