IALA 2024 Creative Writing Grant

The International Armenian Literary Alliance’s Creative Writing Grant will award $2,500 annually to one Armenian writer whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. After awarding poets and fiction writers in previous years, the grant will be awarded in 2024 for a work of creative nonfiction. The 2024 grant will be judged by Susan Barba, Aram Mrjoian, and Nadia Owusu.

IALA’s Creative Writing Grant is meant to foster the development of contemporary Armenian literature in English through an annual monetary award, and support Armenian writers who have historically lacked resources in the publishing world. Additionally, IALA will support grant recipients in promoting their publications through marketing on our website and social media channels, book reviews, readings and discussions.

Application Period: September 1-30, 2024

The application will include a 5,000 word writing sample and a brief synopsis of the work you intend to use the grant to complete. The application will also request a brief bio, a personal statement, and an artistic statement. The full application will be posted on September 1, 2024, and the winner will be announced in December 2024.

This grant was made possible by a generous donation from the Armenian Allied Arts Association, an organization based in Southern California that discovered, encouraged and promoted new talent of Armenian descent for over eighty years.

Eligibility and Requirements

Age: Must be over 21 at the time of application.
Language: Applications and writing samples must be submitted in English, and the book-length project you propose to complete should be written in English as well.
While writing samples are eligible if previously published in literary journals or outlets as excerpts, they should be from a book-length project that has not been traditionally or self-published.
Genre: Creative Nonfiction. This includes memoir, literary journalism, collections of essays such as personal essays or lyric essays, other sub-genres and hybrid forms. This is not an award for a traditional academic or reported text; though books that contain theory and research are welcome, the main focus of the work should be creative. We welcome all sub-genres intended for adult readers, including mixed genre forms that are primarily prose nonfiction.
Applicants must be active members of IALA at the time of application. For those on a low income or who are unemployed, we offer several discounted or free memberships per year.
Applicants must be of Armenian descent or identity.
Not open to members of the IALA board of directors or advisory board.
No previous publication record is required.
Applicants may submit one application per year. Those who are not awarded the grant may re-apply in the future. Grant recipients are ineligible to re-apply for five years.

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed through a “blind” panel process. Judging will be based on 1) literary excellence (technique and craft of the writing sample), 2) originality (in terms of subject matter and style as conveyed in the sample), 3) vision and potential of the work (to be completed, published, and to meet its intended impact, based on synopsis and supplemental questions), and 4) how beneficial the grant will be to the work’s completion (based on supplemental questions). Furthermore, applicants should consider IALA’s dedication to diversity as expressed in our mission and vision statement within these criteria.

Also explore IALA’s 2024 Israelyan Armenian Translation Grant and IALA’s 2024 Israelyan English Translation Grant.