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 
30
http://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/exposing-festival-fees-323888
31
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/authors-incomes-collapse-alcs-survey 

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