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Stylus Prize gives three literary nonprofits 750,000 dollars

The US Literary Arts Fund has named Graywolf Press, One Story and The Porch Writers’ Collective as the first Stylus Prize recipients. Each nonprofit receives 250,000 dollars without restrictions on its use. Writers nominated organisations that supported their work; the fund chose the winners and plans further annual awards over the following four years.

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Close-up detail of bound paperback books and stitched fiction booklets on an oak table in a sunlit literary nonprofit office, with an editor and a writer conversing in the background.

Three nonprofits receive unrestricted awards

The Literary Arts Fund, a US fund supporting literary organisations, on November 10 named the inaugural recipients of its Stylus Prize. Graywolf Press, One Story and The Porch Writers’ Collective will each receive 250,000 dollars. The combined award is 750,000 dollars, and the money comes without restrictions tying it to a particular project. The prize recognises organisations helping writers develop work and connect with readers.[1], [2]

Writers supplied the nominations for the selection. The fund asked dozens of authors across the United States which organisations had helped their writing, then made the final decisions itself. Nominations were anonymous and came from writers invited to take part. The programme does not accept nominations outside that invitation process.[1]

Recipients publish books and stories and bring writers together

Graywolf Press is a nonprofit publisher in Minneapolis. Its list includes poetry and fiction as well as nonfiction and translations. One Story, an independent Brooklyn organisation, concentrates on contemporary short fiction. Publishing stories is one part of its work; it also offers education and mentoring for their authors. The Porch Writers’ Collective is based in Nashville. It brings readers and writers together across different ages and stages of their work through creative writing classes and community gatherings. Its activities also include retreats and residencies, and it publishes a magazine called SWING.[1]

The fund plans four more years of annual awards

The Literary Arts Fund plans to continue the prize in each of the next four years, choosing three literary nonprofits annually. One Story’s founders described receiving the inaugural award as transformative for their magazine. They said it would help strengthen the organisation’s resources and capacity, giving it room to plan further ahead instead of concentrating only on immediate requirements. The award’s unrestricted terms leave each recipient to decide how to direct the money toward its work. For One Story, the founders placed that response alongside its existing mission of publication, education and mentoring for short-story writers.[1]

References

  1. News sourceLiterary HubStylus Prize awards $750,000 to three literary nonprofits↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourcePublishers WeeklyStylus Prize awards $750,000 to three literary nonprofits↩

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