National Book Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The National Book Foundation oversees the prestigious National Book Awards and funds various programs, honors and awards related to books, reading and writing. It also operates signature programs that aim to develop reading skills and the love of reading in underserved populations.
IP TAKE: The National Book foundation runs special events for middle and high school students and works to make books available to children and families in public or low-income housing. This is not a funder for new creative writing grant seekers to approach for funding. Many of its awards require nomination from publishers, previous grantees, or well-established literati.
This is not an accessible funder. Grantmaking is competitive and difficult to get, but this is an open-minded funder who likes to help its grantees flourish.
PROFILE: The National Book Foundation, the nonprofit organization which oversees the National Book Awards, was established in 1989 to “celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture.” The foundation supports writing through the National Book Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, 5 Under 35 Award and the Literature for Justice program.It supports K-12 populations through its signature reading and literature programs.
Grants for Writing
While the National Book Foundation, the nonprofit organization which oversees the awards, was not established until 1989, the National Book Awards were created in 1950 by publishers, editors, writers and critics to “honor the year’s best fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award is subdivided into two categories. The first is the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, which is “presented each year to a person who has enriched our literary heritage over a life of service, or a corpus of work.” The other category is the Literarian Award, which recognizes “outstanding service to the American Literary Community” and “lifetime of achievement in expanding the audience for books and reading.” The grant amount for both of these awards is $10,000. See the full list of past grantees here and here.
The 5 Under 35 Award seeks to recognize young writers of fiction whose debut work promises “to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape.” Honorees receive $1,000 and are chosen by a selection committee. Unlike the National Book Award, publishers cannot nominate an honoree or book.
The Literature for Justice program seeks to use books to “contextualize and humanize the experiences of incarcerated people in the United States.” The National Book Foundation selects five books annually that aid in understanding the complexities of the issue. The foundation publicizes and promotes these books throughout the year at large-scale public events featuring the authors and other experts on mass incarceration.
Grants for K-12 Education
The National Book Foundation’s BookUp program seeks to connect “middle- and high-school students with local authors,” and “runs free reading groups designed to improve participants’ social, emotional, and literacy skills.” Working with nonprofits in low-income communities, the foundation’s Book Rich Environments program connects families with libraries and other reading resources. The National Book Foundation also runs an annual Teen Press Conference in New York City and awards the Innovations in Reading Prize to a group or individual who “has developed an innovative project which creates and sustains a lifelong love of reading in the community they serve.”
Important Grant Details:
Writing prizes generally range from $1,000 to $10,000, while it does not provide detailed information about its education grant values. BookUp operates in New York City, Detroit and Los Angeles and the Book Rich Environments program serves more than 30 HUD-assisted communities across the U.S.
This foundation does not accept applications for funding, as it does not award grants. Candidates for its writing prizes must be nominated. Contact information is provided on the foundation’s website.
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