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Why Every Writer Should Be Applying to Grants, Fellowships and Residencies

Because you deserve to have the time, space and funding to work on the projects that truly matter to you!

Brendan Spiegel's avatar
Brendan Spiegel
Sep 24, 2025
∙ Paid

Let’s face it: Making a living as a writer is not the easiest thing in the world… and it’s not getting any easier. The publishing industry has been battered in recent decades, and all those glamorous, well-paid magazine writers you see in movies and TV shows (think Carrie Bradshaw making $4/word 20 years ago!) feel so painfully distant from today’s reality. But I’ve spent a lot of time talking with all kinds of writers about how they make a living doing this, and there are in fact many ways to make that happen.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that there’s a particular breed of writer who is incredibly adept at getting their projects funded through grants, fellowships and residencies. Many of us have never even tried applying for these types of things because they seem so competitive (and they often are) but then some of those who do apply seem to know how to win them over and over!

This is why I’m so excited to have

Abeer Hoque
, who has won fellowships from NEA, the Fulbright Foundation, …

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