Applications Are Open for Ontario Arts Council – Recommender Grants for Writers 2026 (With Up to $5,000 in Funding)

Application Deadline: January 15, 2027

About the Grants

The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is currently accepting applications for the Recommender Grants for Writers 2026. The program supports Ontario writers in the creation of new work and strengthens connections between Ontario writers, publishers, and literary organizations. This is a third-party recommender program. Using Nova, OAC’s online grant application system, writers apply to the publishers and organizations designated as recommenders for the program (a maximum of ten applications per year). These recommenders assess applications and submit grant recommendations to OAC. The grant program seeks to support Ontario writers in the creation of new work and create and strengthen connections between Ontario writers, publishers, and literary organizations.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:

• Be an Ontario resident
• Have a recent professional publishing history with at least one of the following:
• One traditionally published book (minimum 48 pages) with a publishing contract and royalties
• Three traditionally published short stories, comics, poems, or other works for which payment was received (in magazines, newspapers, websites, anthologies; contest-winning work counts)
• Three years’ professional presentation of comics work through work-for-hire creation jobs, sales at curated comics festivals, or gallery exhibitions
• Two recent production writing credits for non-text media (radio, television, film, interactive digital media, theatre)

Ineligible applicants: Organizations, ad-hoc groups and collectives, non-professional applicants, and applicants with a conflict of interest with a specific recommender may not apply to that recommender.

Note: Student or academic publications, self-published work, and work done as part of employment (unless as a professional journalist, narrative content writer, or comics creator) may not be used to establish eligibility.

Grant Details

• Applicants may apply to up to ten recommenders per program year (September 2026 – January 2027)
• Applications may be for the same project or for different projects
• Only one application per recommender per program year is permitted
• Applicants may be recommended for funding by more than one recommender per program year
• Due to limited funds, grants awarded may be smaller than the amount requested
• Activities cannot finish before grant results are received (up to six weeks after closing date) and must be completed no more than two years after receiving grant results

Why This Grant Matters

The Ontario Arts Council – Recommender Grants for Writers addresses the need for support of Ontario writers in creating new work while fostering connections between writers, publishers, and literary organizations. By providing funding for artist fees and research expenses, the program enables writers to dedicate time to their craft and advance their projects. For Ontario writers working on eligible literary projects including fiction, poetry, non-fiction, comics, and young adult literature, these grants offer:

• Grants ranging from $1,500 to $5,000
• Support for artist fees and research expenses
• Connections to publishers and literary organizations through the recommender model

Benefits of Ontario Arts Council – Recommender Grants for Writers 2026

• Minimum grant amount of $1,500; maximum of $5,000
• Grants fund the time and activities needed to begin new work or continue work in progress for the project(s) described in your application
• Eligible expenses include artist fees (payment to yourself for your time) and research expenses (travel, accommodation, resources, or assistant fees)

Supported Activities

The Ontario Arts Council – Recommender Grants for Writers 2026 supports projects that pursue the following:

• Creation of new writing projects and continuation of work in progress
• Eligible projects may vary in scale from chapbook-length poetry projects and feature magazine articles to full-length books
• Eligible genres include fiction, poetry, non-fiction, comics, and young adult literature

Important: The program does not fund writing for film, radio, television, theatre, or interactive digital media; manuscript evaluation; editorial services; publication expenses; works in languages other than English; or works in Indigenous languages (funded separately).

Application Support

To support prospective applicants, applicants must create or update their Nova profile before applying. The final report must be submitted in Nova.

How to Apply

Application Link: Click here to apply

For More Information: Visit the Official Ontario Arts Council – Recommender Grants for Writers Page