SLF Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants

The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) is to offer two new diversity-centered grants: Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds, both intended to foster the creation of speculative fiction work rich in diversity.

1. The $500 Diverse Writers grant is intended to support new and emerging writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, etc. — those whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing / publishing process.
2. The $500 Diverse Worlds grant is intended for work that best presents a diverse world, regardless of the writer’s background.

Writers may apply for either or both grants. Please note: your project does not need to center on identity issues. We also do not expect or want work that simply attempts to check off all the boxes in a tokenistic way, but rather are looking for writing that offers deep characterization, complex cultural landscapes, and strong literary quality overall.

For example, an excellent novel is Nicola Griffith’s award-winning Slow River, which features queer women protagonists; another is Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan series, whose white male protagonist deals with a host of personal disability issues, while ethnic, gender, and other issues play out in the cultural background. Other examples of diverse worlds include:

• Samuel R. Delany’s work – gender, race, orientation, class
• Karen Lord’s The Best of All Possible Worlds – gender, race, sexual orientation
• N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon – race, religion, sexual orientation

Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice – gender

Notes

• The grants are designed to foster new, in-progress work (rather than recognizing already published work). We intend that grant funds will facilitate completing the work.
• Preference will be given to book-length works (novels, collections of short stories). Nonfiction, poetry, and editorial projects are not currently eligible.
• This grant is open to all levels of publishing experience, worldwide. The grant jury will be primarily English-reading, although works that incorporate other languages (as in Keri Hulme’s The Bone People’s use of Maori) are welcome.
• Grant applications will be open for a limited reading period annually, from May 1 – July 31. Grant recipients will be announced on September 15.
• This grant is made possible by the contributions of two donors, Ellen Wright (Senior Publicist, Hachette Book Group) and Faye Bi (Associate Publicist for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), who ran a marathon to raise enough funds to support three years of this grant!

Application Process Overview:

Our diversity grants will be awarded by a jury of SLF staff members on the basis of merit. Factors considered will include:

• a one-page written description of the project in question (no more than 500 words).
• a writing sample (up to 5000 words of fiction).
• a bibliography of previously-published work by the author (no more than one page); applicants need not have previous publications to apply.
• Diverse Writers grant only: a brief statement as to what aspect(s) of your background are relevant in terms of diversity: writer of color, female or trans, queer, disabled, working-class, etc.

If awarded the grant, you agree to offer a brief excerpt (500-1000 words) for our files, and for possible public dissemination on our website.

PLEASE NOTE: This grant, as with all SLF grants, is intended to help writers working with speculative literature. If you’re not sure what areas that term encompasses, we recommend referencing our FAQ (question #2).

Diversity Grant Application Procedures

1. Send the 3-4 items listed above to our diversity grant jury as attached .doc files, at diversity@speclit.org. Include a brief cover letter with your name and contact info (e-mail, phone in case of emergency), and please note which grant(s) you’re applying for. If you have questions, please direct them to Malon Edwards, our Managing Director, managing_dir@speclit.org, or to Mary Anne Mohanraj, Executive Director, director@speclit.org.
2. Diversity grant applications will be considered from May 1st to July 31, annually. Applications received outside that period will be discarded unread.
3. The grant recipient will be announced by September 15th, annually. All applicants will be notified of the status of their application by that date.

Jurors

The 2014 jurors for the Diversity Grant are:

• KC Ball
• Maria Velazquez
• Zen Cho
• Constance Burris
• Kiini Ibura Salaam
• MJ Hardman
• Malon Edwards

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