Tips for Winning Creative Writing Scholarships

Are you a creative writing rockstar? Contrary to what you might believe, you may have the chance to snag a few scholarship dollars if you play your cards right. The trick? Knowing where to look for scholarship money AND how to narrow down the pack once you find them. Truth is you won’t and don’t qualify for most of the writing scholarships, but you are almost guaranteed a shot if you can target one or two that fit your profile.

Before you launch into a pell-mell creative writing scholarship hunt, understand that Creative Writing embraces a wide area of types of writing. You may be a poet, a short-story writer, creative non-fiction writer, academic writer, journalist, script-writer for film or stage, budding novelist and more.

Sources to “hit up” for writing scholarships:

  • Public sources
  • Private sources
  • Colleges and universities

Public Sources for Writing Scholarships

One of the most public sources for arts-based scholarships and grants is the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This government-funded agency is up and down in the amount of money it may offer-depending upon the economy and the current Administration. But typically you may find some very good fellowship cash available for literary writing ventures.

Private Creative Writing Scholarship Sources

As a student you can always try winning the cash awards typically offered through the various writing associations. Write horror, crime, thrillers, drama, short-fiction? Each of these genres has one or more well-known member societies or associations and most run annual awards contests in which members get to compete for cash prizes and accolades.

But also be on the lookout for businesses and corporations that may offer writing scholarships. For example:

  • Books-A-Million, a discount book retailer located in various parts of the country, sponsors an annual creative writing scholarship. Qualified applicants must be in high school, planning to enroll in college, and able to provide a finished children’s book for scholarship submission. Awards are $5,000.

Scholarships for Writing Students from Colleges and Universities

Colleges and universities with strong English and Creative Writing major fields of study are in the business of attracting top student writers. To those ends many offer very valuable scholarships. Expect to have to show your best work- a writing portfolio—to compete for scholarship dough.

Here are a few examples of schools with good creative writing scholarships of one form or another:

  • Washington University in St. Louis offers students the chance to compete for $3,000 in the Howard Nemerov Writing Scholarship. Qualified applicants must have an outstanding portfolio.
  • The University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications offers a laundry list of very good scholarships. A number of these are focused on students pursuing journalism, sports writing, writing for the horse racing industry, disabled, financially needy and minority students. Here is an example of a cadre of scholarships where there is something for nearly everyone.
  • The University of Missouri-Kansas City has a strong Creative Writing program and as such offers a number of valuable scholarships. Awards range from $75 to $25,000 and include student poets, short-fiction writers, general fiction, children’s fiction and more.