As writers and creatives of color struggle to navigate the unchartered waters of the ripple effect of this pandemic, we are here to remind everyone that there are resources at hand that we can use during times like these. In addition to grants for POC in NYC, this is for writers of color, writers on the margins, and people who want to make their voices heard.

Queer Writers of Color Relief Fund
Started by the founder of Shade Literary Arts, Luther Hughes, this fund seeks to “help at least 100 queer writers of color who have been financially impacted by the current COVID-19. Priority will be given to queer trans women of color and queer disabled writers of color, but I hope this relief fund will help as many queer writers of color as it can.”

Writers Emergency Assistance Fund
This fund is sponsored by the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), to help freelance writers “who cannot work because they are currently ill or caring for someone who is ill.” Applicants must have five published articles from regional or national publications or one book published by a major publishing house.

Authors League Fund
Offering assistance to professional authors, journalists, and poets who “find themselves in financial need because of medical or health-related problems, temporary loss of income, or other misfortune.” 

Carnegie Fund for Authors
This fund awards “grants to published authors who are in need of emergency financial assistance as a result of illness or injury to self, spouse, or dependent child, or who has had some other misfortune that has placed the applicant in pressing and substantial pecuniary need.”

PEN America Writers’ Emergency Fund
They are distributing grants between $500 to $1,000 to U.S.-based professional writers, including fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists, who demonstrate financial need due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Literary Arts Emergency Fund
With the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a total of $3.5 million will be administered via one-time grants of $5,000 to $50,000. Applications will be accepted through August 7.

Independent Writer Grant Program
Substack, an email newsletter platform, will administer a total of $100,000 to individuals “writing, or thinking about writing, on Substack” through its Independent Writer Grant Program. Individuals experiencing economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic can apply for grants from $500 to $5,000.