The Literary Arts Fund has announced $7.7 million in inaugural unrestricted general operating grants to 40 literary arts organizations and publishers across 19 U.S. states. The funding is designed to strengthen nonprofit institutions that support writers, readers and literary culture nationwide.
The grants will support organizations that host book festivals, reading events, writing workshops, residencies and literary publications. These institutions play a central role in sustaining creative writing and publishing, even as the literary arts remain one of the most underfunded cultural sectors in the United States.
Launched in October 2025, the Literary Arts Fund was initiated by the Mellon Foundation in collaboration with several major philanthropic partners including the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Poetry Foundation and others. The initiative was created in response to research showing that only 1.9 percent of private foundation arts funding in the United States goes to literature and writing, a trend that has remained consistent in recent years.
The fund aims to address this imbalance by providing at least $50 million over five years to support nonprofit literary organizations. According to the announcement, the selected grantees collectively support thousands of writers annually through publications, events, awards and residencies, while reaching millions of readers in person and online.
The inaugural recipients include well-known literary institutions such as Graywolf Press, Copper Canyon Press, National Book Foundation, Poets House, n+1, Los Angeles Review of Books and Brooklyn Book Festival, alongside many regional and emerging organizations working to expand access to literary arts.
Organizers say the funding will help stabilize organizations that operate with limited budgets while expanding opportunities for writers and increasing public engagement with literature. The initiative also reflects broader efforts to strengthen cultural infrastructure and ensure long-term sustainability for nonprofit literary ecosystems in the United States.
The Literary Arts Fund will open its next grant round on June 8, 2026, focusing on innovative literary projects, with applications due by August 17, 2026.
