BCAC: Creative Writers Grants

Deadline: September 27, 2026

Program Summary:

Individual Arts Grants: Creative Writers support B.C.-based writers and literary artists in the creation of new literary projects for book-length publication or public performance. Eligible genres include non-fiction, fiction, graphic novels, comic arts, fiction and non-fiction for children, poetry, spoken word, dub and sound poetry, and storytelling.

Applications for drama- or theatre-related projects are no longer accepted through the Individual Arts Grants: Creative Writers program. Applications for drama will be assessed through the Individual Arts Grants: Performing Arts program.

Applications may be submitted by individuals or on behalf of a collaboration of two or more eligible artists sharing creative control of a project.

Grant Amount:

You may request up to 100% of the eligible project expenses.

You should apply to the appropriate level based on the eligibility requirements above.  

Level 1: Grants up to $7,500 | Level 2: Grants up to $15,000

Submit a detailed budget that indicates how much money you need to complete the project.

BC Arts Council intends to support successful applications at 100% of their request. However, in some cases, grants may be awarded for less than requested. BC Arts Council grant programs are competitive. We are not able to support all eligible applications. We generally fund between 20% to 30% of eligible applications in a program intake. To see a list of previous grant recipients and the range of grants awarded, visit the BC Arts Council Grant Recipients webpage.

Eligible Applicants:

Before you begin your application, make sure you are eligible and your proposed project is eligible.

Ineligible applications will not be forwarded for assessment. If you have questions about eligibility, contact the Program Advisor. For collaborative applications, each participant in the collaboration must meet the eligibility criteria.

Applicant Eligibility:

To be eligible, you must: 

• Be a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada. 
• Be a B.C. resident who ordinarily resides in B.C. and has lived in B.C. for at least 12 continuous months immediately prior to the application closing date. For more information, review our Determining B.C. Residency page. You must be prepared to provide documentation to support your residency status (if requested). 
• Be an independent creative writer who has completed appropriate and relevant training in the discipline. Training may include education through post-secondary institutions, traditional knowledge transfer, and/or apprenticeship with a qualified practitioner. 
• Work at a level that is recognized as professional by other practitioners in a similar discipline and/or by organizations in the discipline, including professional book publishers, literary magazines, recognized literary associations, and specialized presenters such as literary festivals and fairs.
• Have a demonstrated body of work that meets the eligibility requirements outlined below.  
• Have final creative control over the proposed work. 

OR

• Have received at least one grant through the First Peoples’ Cultural Council Individual Artists Program or Indigenous Arts Program.

AND

• Fairly compensate artists, arts and cultural practitioners, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers. Compensation must align with project and community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice. 
• Follow international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols. 
• Follow the Criminal Records Review Act which requires that people who work with or may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults must undergo a criminal record check by the Criminal Records Review Program. 
• Be applying for either the first or second time with a project; if you have applied twice unsuccessfully for the same project, the proposal must be substantively changed. 
• Not have any overdue final reports on previous BC Arts Council grants.

General eligibility considerations: Level One and Level Two: 

You must select one of four levels of eligibility based on the criteria below. The level at which you apply is determined by your professional writing, publishing, and performance history and not by the amount of funding you are requesting.

The work of a co-author is considered in proportion to the shared authorship. For example, a book co-authored with two other authors is considered to be one-third of a book. 

If your previously published work is not in the same genre as your proposed project, your support material should confirm your ability to work in the new form.

Work you have done as part of employment requirements may not be used to establish eligibility, unless you are a professional journalist, or a professional writer of narrative content, or visual artist or illustrator for the comics, film, television, or interactive digital media sectors.

Culturally specific practices where compensation is not traditional may still be eligible. Contact a Program Advisor to discuss before applying.

Eligible graphic projects include works that are visual in nature; unified in narrative, style, theme, or concept; and intended for professional publication as a book or book-length comic. Most projects will include text and visual elements. Wordless projects intended for publication with a strong sequential structure or narrative direction are eligible.

See the Exclusions section below for book types that cannot be used to establish eligibility.

Level One Eligibility:

Applicants at Level One must have at least one eligible book published by a professional literary or trade book publisher engaging an editorial selection process, and for which you have a publishing contract and receive royalties, OR an equivalent defined as:

• Fiction and non-fiction, including fiction or non-fiction for children: a minimum of 120 pages (estimated 250 words per page) published in professional print or online literary magazines or periodicals, or anthologies published by recognized professional publishing houses, and for which you have received payment. 
• Poetry: a minimum of 80 pages of poetry published in professional print or online literary magazines or periodicals, or anthologies published by recognized professional publishing houses, and for which you have received payment. 
• Spoken word and literary performance: professional history of recent public performances of your original work in dub, sound, or performance poetry, storytelling, or other performance literature forms for which you have received payment on at least three separate occasions.
• Children’s picture books: no equivalent. Must have at least one book (minimum 24 pages) published by a professional literary or trade book publisher engaging an editorial selection process, and for which you have a publishing contract and receive royalties. 
• Graphic novels and comic arts: a minimum of 120 pages published in professional literary magazines or periodicals, or anthologies published by recognized professional publishing houses, and for which you have received payment. Both or either the writer or artist may apply if they meet the eligibility criteria for this program.
• Plays and other dramatic works are no longer eligible in this program. However, a playwright transitioning to an eligible form may apply at Level One if you have a minimum of two short works or one full-length work professionally produced, published, or publicly workshopped, and for which you have received payment.

Level Two eligibility:

Applicants at Level Two must be recognized as a senior writer in your genre/s and professional communities, and must have:

• Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novel, comic arts, children’s picture books: at least three eligible books published by a professional literary or trade publisher, and for which you have publishing contracts and receive royalties.
• Spoken word and literary performance: a significant body of professionally recognized work in dub, sound, or performance poetry, storytelling, or other performance-based literary forms for which you have received payment on at least give separate occasions.
• Plays and other dramatic works are no longer eligible in this program. However, a playwright transitioning to an eligible form may apply at Level Two if you have a minimum of two full-length works professionally produced or published, and for which you have received payment.

Self-published authors:

“Self-published” means you have made a financial contribution to the production and publishing costs of a book. This includes vanity publishing, and any works published with the support of or in collaboration with a hybrid book publisher or self-publishing service provider.

Self-published authors – Level One eligibility:

Self-published authors applying at Level One must meet all the criteria as above for a professional creative writer except that your demonstrated body of work must include:

• Sales of more than 400 copies of at least two self-published and eligible works of prose, children’s picture books, or graphic novels with the most recent work having been published within 24 months of the application date. BC Arts Council may request sales records. Sales of electronic, online, and print books are recognized equally.
• Sales of more than 200 copies of at least two self-published works of poetry with the most recent work having been published within 24 months of the application date. BC Arts Council may request official sales records. Sales of e-books, online books, and print books are recognized equally.

OR 

• Voting membership in a recognized professional writers’ association including but not limited to the Canadian Authors’ Association (professional members only), League of Canadian Poets (full members only), and The Writers’ Union of Canada. Full voting membership in other professional writers’ associations may be recognized at the BC Arts Council’s discretion. Recognized professional writers’ associations must be incorporated as non-profit organizations and have published membership criteria that are compatible with the BC Arts Council’s criteria. 

Self-published authors – Level Two eligibility:

Self-published authors applying at Level Two must meet all the criteria as above for a professional creative writer except that your demonstrated body of work must include:

• Sales of more than 400 copies for at least three self-published and eligible works of prose, children’s picture books, or graphic novels with the most recent work having been published within 24 months of the application date. BC Arts Council may request sales records. Sales of electronic, online, and print books are recognized equally.

OR 

• Sales of more than 200 copies of at least four self-published works of poetry with the most recent work having been published within 24 months of the application date. BC Arts Council may request official sales records. Sales of e-books, online books, and print books are recognized equally.