PEN American Writers’ Emergency Fund

PEN America is an organization of writers and their allies, and that solidarity is never more important than during a global crisis such as we face in the coronavirus pandemic.

PEN America is expanding its long-standing Writers’ Emergency Fund as part of our efforts to support the literary community at a time when the health and livelihoods of so many are at risk. We recognize that there are writers who no longer have access to any of the ways in which they have supported themselves, and that this has happened very suddenly and will last for a period none of us can predict.

In response, PEN America will distribute grants of $500 to $1,000 based on applications that demonstrate an inability to meet an acute financial need, especially one resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. We have developed a new streamlined process for the duration of this crisis, and expect to be able to review and respond to applications within 14 days.

To be eligible, applicants must be based in the United States, be a professional writer, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping them to address an emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported.

The Writers’ Emergency Fund is intended to assist fiction and non-fiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists. The following guidelines are used in evaluating professional credentials:

-Publication of one or more books.
-Multiple essays, short stories, or poems in literary anthologies or literary journals (either online or in print) in the last two years.
-A full-length play, performed in a theater of more than 250 seats by a professional theater company. Productions in academic settings qualify if not a student at the time of the production.
-Production of a motion picture project or a segment of television.
-Employment as a full-time professional journalist, columnist, or critic or a record of consistent publication on a freelance basis in a range of outlets during the last two years.
-Contracted forthcoming books, essays, short stories, poems, or articles for which the name of the publisher can be provided.
-Other qualifications that support the applicant’s professional identity as a writer.

Writers do not have to be Members of PEN America to receive a grant, but all recipients of emergency funding will be given a complimentary one-year membership to PEN America.