Canelo / Arts Council England

3. Grants and Not-For-Profit Support 

Literary fiction has never been a goldmine, but has long been seen as a 

worthwhile activity, a great contributor to our shared artistic and cultural 

heritage. As such there are a range of grants on offer for writers that, 

in the overall context described in this report, play an increasing role 

in supporting literary writers. The problem is that these resources are 

limited and the demands placed on them unprecedented. 

The most obvious port of call for writers is Arts Council England. In 

our survey and our interviewees it came up frequently as a significant 

source of not-for-profit support. Beyond this were grants from 

organisations like the Royal Literary Fund (RLF). Founded in 1790, the 

RLF is a charitable organisation that pays out grants to writers facing 

financial hardship. They also offer pensions, fellowships and help to 

place writers in universities to develop their writing. The work of the 

RLF is invaluable. It rightly helps those writers most in need, those 

who have, for example, had an accident or debilitating illness. While 

invaluable then, for many writers RLF support will not be available. The 

Royal Society of Literature also makes awards to writers; these include 

the Brookleaze Grants which give writers time away from jobs to focus 

on writing. The Society of Authors offers broad based support to writers 

and invaluable advice. It has an Author’s Foundation and works with the 

K Blundell Trust on dispensing awards to writers. From 2015 awards 

totalling £230,000 will be awarded each year. In addition they have a 

P.D. James Memorial Pension Fund which gives out small pensions to 

writers over 60. 

A newer breed of support is emerging. Arts Emergency, for example, 

is a new model of artistic support that offers mentoring to those who 

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   http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/authors-incomes-collapse-alcs-survey 

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