Literary Creation Projects (Works for Publication)

About the Open Call

The program supports Ontario-based literary artists to complete new works for book-length publication or for public performance, and literary performers who wish to record their own repertoire. This program has two components: Creation of literary works for publication, and Creation and/or recording of literary works for performance (with a separate deadline). This program funds the creation of original literary work for print or online publication. Grants fund the time and activities needed to continue work in progress. Eligible expenses include: artist fees (payment for time working on the project, not living/personal expenses), research expenses (including travel, accommodation, resources, or assistant fees), childcare and other dependant care fees enabling participation (not regular expenses), and editorial expenses incurred before manuscript submission (not exceeding 50% of the grant). Works must be in one of the following genres: comic arts, fiction (including novels, novellas, and short stories), literary non-fiction, poetry, young adult literature (text-based fiction and non-fiction, for middle-grade readers or older). Comic arts projects are visual, unified in narrative/style/theme/concept, and intended for professional publication as a book, series, or web comic, often including text and visual elements. Wordless projects for publication with strong sequential structure/narrative are also eligible. Applicants identifying as Deaf or with a disability may apply for supplementary funds through the Accessibility Fund: Project Support. This program does not fund: writing for film, radio, television, theatre, or interactive digital media; manuscript evaluation; editorial services; publication expenses; expenses incurred after recording or publication; works in languages other than English (French works are funded by Littérature – projets francophones, Indigenous languages by Indigenous Arts Projects); creation of audiobooks or documentary recordings of writers performing work not originally for literary performance tradition; major capital expenditures (buying, leasing, renovating buildings, or purchasing major equipment). Ineligible works also include: children’s picture books; projects where the author/illustrator do not own intellectual property rights; commissioned adaptations of works in other media; play, film, broadcast, or interactive digital media scripts; books part of educational/academic programs; ghost-written or uncredited books; activity books, directories, index compilations, bibliographies with minimal critical content, travel guidebooks, instruction/self-help books, manuals, cookbooks, exhibition catalogues; commissioned industrial/business histories or biographies; professional reference books for specialized audiences; calendars, daybooks, agendas, almanacs or other books with minimal written content (except as per comic arts criteria); books primarily for educational/scholarly market; manuscripts for multi-author books (e.g., fiction anthologies). Activities cannot finish before grant results are received. The funded writing period must be completed within two years of receiving grant results.

What is Offered

Grants of $12,000 for the creation of literary works for publication.

Requirements

Applicants must be an Ontario resident with a recent professional publishing history, which includes: at least one traditionally published book (minimum 48 pages) with a publishing contract and royalties; OR at least three traditionally published short stories, comics, poems, or other works for which payment was received (appearing in magazines, newspapers, websites, anthologies; contest-winning work counts); OR a professional self-publishing practice demonstrated by sales of more than 400 copies of prose or 200 copies of poetry within 24 months prior to first application (OAC may request sales records; ebooks and print books recognized, but print books shorter than 48 pages or ebooks shorter than 16,000 words are not); OR voting membership in a recognized professional writers’ association (e.g., Canadian Authors’ Association - professional members only, League of Canadian Poets - full members only, Professional Writers’ Association of Canada - professional members only, Writers’ Union of Canada; other professional associations may be recognized at OAC’s discretion, requiring membership criteria submission). Applicants whose professional performance history makes them eligible for Literary Creation Projects: Works for Performance may also apply if they have an eligible project. You may apply for only one Literary Creation Projects grant per year and receive only one grant for a particular project. Ineligible publications to establish eligibility: Student or academic publications (scholarly monographs, peer-reviewed academic articles), work done as part of employment unless a professional journalist or writer of narrative content/visual artist/illustrator for comics, film, television, or interactive digital media sectors.

How to Apply

Complete and submit an application in Nova, OAC’s online grant application system, approximately two months before the deadline. Before applying, read the Guide to OAC Project Programs for basic eligibility requirements and restrictions, and create or update your profile in Nova. The application requires basic project information, answers to application questions, artistic examples (a 18-21 page manuscript sample; previously published book-format work is not eligible for samples), and support documents (a history of your published and/or performed literary work, noting other artistic practices). Manuscript text must be PDF, 8.5x11-inch print size, 11-point type, 1-inch margins; prose double-spaced, poetry single-spaced. Comic-arts manuscripts should include visual art and approximate final trim size. Complete instructions are in the Nova application. For assessment information, refer to the Guide to OAC Assessment and Evaluation Rubric – Creation Projects. For Nova usage, see the Nova User Guide. No application fee is mentioned.