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The Whiting Foundation (whiting.org) funds literature and the humanities, and most of what it gives is not open to ordinary applications. Only one of its current programs, the Nonfiction Grant for Works-in-Progress, takes applications from the public. The Whiting Award is by confidential nomination, and the Preserving Heritage grants are by invitation. This guide sorts the programs by how you actually get funded, then walks through the one you can apply to. Everything below is as described on the official Whiting pages on 2026-10-29.
Which Whiting programs accept applications?
Only the Nonfiction Grant for Works-in-Progress. The table separates the programs by access route, which is the question that decides whether a funding search should spend time on them.
| Program | Amount and volume (as stated on the official page) | How you are considered |
|---|---|---|
| Nonfiction Grant for Works-in-Progress | $40,000 per grant; 10 grants per cycle | Open application, with a signed publisher contract required |
| Whiting Award | $50,000 each; ten writers per year | No applications and no unsolicited nominations; nominators are invited by the foundation |
| Preserving Heritage | “Modest grants directly to collections” (no figure given) | Applications by invitation only |
| Literary Magazine Prizes; High Schools | Listed on the foundation home page | See the program pages on whiting.org |
| Public Engagement Programs (PEP Fellows, PEP Seed Grantees, Dissertation Fellows) | Listed under “Past Programs” | Not a current program |
What it is and who runs it
The Whiting Foundation is a private funder whose current programs are organized on its site under two headings: Literature (the Whiting Award, the Nonfiction Grant, Magazine Prizes) and Humanities (Preserving Heritage, High Schools, and the archived Past Programs). The Nonfiction Grant was established in 2016. Applications are reviewed by a panel of judges in a multi-step process presided over by the foundation’s Resident Director.
For context on how private foundations differ from federal sponsors, see private foundation research funding and the overview of major private foundations that fund institutional research. For another humanities and arts funder with a different structure, see the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation guide.
Eligibility for the Nonfiction Grant (summary, with the official source)
The official source is the foundation’s Nonfiction Grant page (whiting.org/writers/creative-nonfiction-grant/about). As described there on 2026-10-29:
- Subject and audience: book-length nonfiction for a general adult readership, including history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, graphic nonfiction and personal essays.
- Ineligible: self-help, historical fiction, textbooks, books primarily for academics, books for younger audiences and self-published books. Contracts with self-publishing companies are not eligible.
- Stage: mid-stage, meaning a fair amount of work is done and a significant amount remains after the grant is received.
- Publisher: the book must be under contract with a publisher based in the US, UK or Canada. Applicants may live anywhere in the world.
- Contract timing: the page states the contract must be signed by both writer and publisher by the application deadline, and that no extensions are offered for contracts not signed by then.
Scholars should note the line the foundation draws: books primarily for an academic audience are out. A monograph written for a scholarly press does not qualify; a trade book by a scholar for general readers can.
What it funds or requires
Each grant is $40,000, paid in one or two installments. The funds can be paid only to individuals, into the grantee’s bank account in their own name. The foundation will not remit funds to an institution, agency, LLC or fiscal sponsor. That matters for researchers whose universities expect grants to run through a sponsored-programs office: this one cannot.
Allowed uses are anything related to researching and writing the project. The official examples are:
- living expenses, including rent or mortgage, household bills, childcare, and health insurance and medical bills;
- manuscript costs such as fact-checkers, editors, cultural competency readers, translators or transcribers, document reproduction and access, interviewee and expert honoraria, and research travel;
- other writing costs such as course buyouts for faculty, conference and workshop fees, office supplies or printing, and secondary sources and research materials.
Post-production costs are ineligible. The funds plan itself is told to leave out indexing, legal reviews, permissions and publicity.
Application steps
Everything is submitted through one online form, and the foundation states that incomplete applications will not be considered. The required materials, per the official page:
- The original proposal that led to the publisher contract.
- Full-length draft chapters, up to 15,000 words. Excerpts from different parts of the book do not count as draft chapters.
- A statement of the work still to be completed (usually up to 800 words), covering what is done, research methods and a long-term completion plan.
- A written plan for the funds (about 300 words), as specific as possible, with estimated numbers welcome. No budget template is required.
- Written responses to three prompts, each limited to 750 words: the premise of the work, the research design, and the narrative approach.
- A signed and dated contract with the publisher.
- A resume of 2 to 4 pages.
- A letter of reference from the publisher, due by the same deadline. Two further letters of support may be submitted but are not required.
Writers who need to tighten their resume for a funder with a page limit can use the guide to the scientific curriculum vitae and funder formats, and the research fellowship dictionary entry for how that award type is defined.
Typical timeline phases
The 2026 cycle is closed on the official page, so treat this as the sequence the program follows rather than a calendar. Dates change each cycle and should be read from the current page.
- Contract in place: a fully executed publisher contract must exist before the deadline, because it is uploaded with the application.
- Single submission deadline: all materials, including the publisher’s letter, are due at the same time.
- Peer review: a multi-step evaluation by a judging panel. In each round all application materials, including prompt responses, are reviewed against the eligibility criteria and the overall strength of the application.
- Decision: applicants are informed of the decision in the winter after the deadline.
- Celebration: recipients are invited to an event in New York City in mid-January, with travel and hotel expenses paid.
Common mistakes
Each of these follows from a rule stated on the official page.
- Looking for an application to the Whiting Award. There is none. The foundation accepts neither applications nor unsolicited nominations for it.
- Sending excerpts instead of full chapters. Short excerpts from across the book are not what the foundation asks for.
- Submitting a scholarly book. Books aimed primarily at academics are ineligible.
- Counting a self-publishing contract. Self-publishing company contracts and self-published books do not qualify.
- Naming an institution as payee. Funds go only to an individual’s bank account.
- Budgeting post-production costs. Indexing, legal reviews, permissions and publicity are excluded from the funds plan.
- Waiting on the contract. A contract signed by both parties is needed by the deadline, with no extensions.
Related programs
| Funder | What it is | CASRAI guide |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | Humanities and arts research funding | Mellon guide |
| MacArthur Foundation | Research grants and the MacArthur Fellows Program | MacArthur guide |
| Private foundations in general | How they differ from federal grants | Private foundation funding |
FAQ
Can I apply for the Whiting Award?
No. The foundation does not accept applications or unsolicited nominations. Invited nominators each propose one candidate, and a committee of writers, literary scholars and editors selects the winners. Nominators and selectors are anonymous.
How much does the Whiting Award give?
$50,000 each, to ten emerging writers a year in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama, based on early accomplishment and the promise of great work to come. The foundation notes that winners are not necessarily young.
Does the Nonfiction Grant fund scholarly books?
No. It is for a general adult readership, and books primarily for academics are ineligible.
Can the money go to my university?
No. The Nonfiction Grant is paid only to individuals, not to institutions, agencies, LLCs or fiscal sponsors.
Does Preserving Heritage take open applications?
No. The program is described as exclusively international, covering documentary heritage such as manuscripts and inscriptions threatened by recent conflict or other disaster, and applications are by invitation only.
Sources
Checked 2026-10-29.
- Whiting Foundation home page (https://www.whiting.org/)
- Nonfiction Grant for Works-in-Progress (https://www.whiting.org/writers/creative-nonfiction-grant/about)
- Whiting Award (https://www.whiting.org/writers/awards/about)
- Preserving Heritage (https://www.whiting.org/cultural-heritage/heritage-grants)
