AFS Grant
Austin Film Society
Texas filmmakers have their own state fund: cash for features and shorts in production or post, with camera and finishing packages on top.
up to$20kGrantbetween rounds
Regional fund United States, Chicago
Creative Accelerator Fund
Run by Illinois Arts Council
Illinois pays working artists USD 10,000 by lottery rather than by jury: show an active practice with two work samples and the state lottery draws the winners region by region. Screenwriters and filmmakers qualify as individual artists. The round runs each September and October.
Grant, $10,000Open to writers in United StatesA writer alone
Next dates not yet published
That closing date has passed. We check the funder's page every day and add the next dates once they are published.
The money
- Amount
- $10,000USD 10,000, taxable, chosen by lottery among eligible applicants in each region
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer alone
- Where you write
- In United States
- Rules
- Individual artists aged 21 or over who have lived in Illinois since before October 14, 2025, are not enrolled in a degree program, and can show one work made in 2024 to 2026 and one from 2023 or earlier. Film and video count as disciplines. Recent recipients cannot reapply.
- Stages
- Writing
- Formats
- Feature, Series, Short, Documentary, Animation
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
The fund opens once a year. The next cycle's dates are not yet published; we add them when they are. The 2026 round ran September 2 to October 14, 2026, with notices by December and a grant period from January to August 2027.
| Round | Closes |
|---|---|
| FY27 deadline | Oct 14, 2026 passed |
Dates are as the funder states them. Check the time of day and the time zone on the official page.
Also open to writers in United States
Arts Innovator Award
Artist Trust
Two Washington artists a year receive USD 25,000 for pushing at the edges of their field, with no project report attached.
range$25kGrantbetween rounds
Fellowship Awards
Artist Trust
Washington State's merit award for working artists: USD 10,000 with no strings, judged on the body of work rather than a project.
range$10kGrantcloses tomorrow
Grants for Artist Projects (GAP)
Artist Trust
Small, fast and plentiful: 65 Washington artists a year receive USD 2,500 toward a specific project, from research travel to a first draft.
range$2.5kGrantbetween rounds
More writing grants elsewhere
Development Program (ISO Story Fund)
Indigenous Screen Office
An Indigenous writer can apply here alone, without a producer or broadcaster, for research, script drafts, story editing, knowledge keepers and pitch materials.
up toCA$40kGrantbetween rounds
Explore and Create: Artistic Creation
Canada Council for the Arts
Since 2026 the Council's Artistic Creation grant stands in for two retired components, Concept to Realization and Research and Creation, and it is the arts council route for a screenwriter…
VariesGrantany time
Create
Manitoba Arts Council
A general creation grant open to every discipline, so a Manitoba screenwriter applies as a writer or media artist for time to write or to develop a work in progress.
up toCA$15kGrantcloses in 139 days
Creation (research, creation, exploration and production grants for artists)
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec (CALQ)
Quebec's standing creation grant takes applications any day of the year, which is rare among public arts funders.
VariesGrantany time
Also useful
Fellowships and labsPrograms that pick a few writers and work with them for months, on the events pages.Where Creative Europe's development money goesEvery MEDIA development grant since 2014, by country, company and year.How to write a treatmentThe document a development application is built on, step by step.Screenwriting eventsContests, labs, festivals and conferences, with their deadlines.