The PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants were established in the summer of 2003 by a gift from Priscilla and Michael Henry Heim in response to the low number of literary translations appearing in English. Their purpose is to promote the publication and reception of translated world literature in English. 

Deadline: Submissions will be accepted from April 15 through June 15, 2026. Submissions will close at 11:59 p.m. EST on June 15th.

Eligibility: 

• Translations of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or drama, originally written by a single individual.
• Translations should not have previously appeared in English in print or should have appeared only in an outdated or otherwise flawed translation.
• The project must be an unpublished work in progress that will not be published prior to April 15, 2027, as the grants are intended to support the completion of a final book.
• There are no restrictions on the nationality or citizenship of the translator, but the works must be translated into English.
• Projects may have a maximum of two translators but are limited to one original author.

NOT eligible: Translations of works with multiple original authors, such as anthologies, translations of literary criticism, and scholarly or otherwise technical texts.  

Note: Translations from Italian will automatically be considered for the PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature.

Note: Translators may only submit one project per year. Projects that have been previously submitted and have not received a grant are unlikely to be reconsidered in a subsequent year. Translators who have previously been awarded PEN/Heim Translation Fund grants are ineligible to reapply for three years after receiving a grant–for example, grant recipients from 2023 are now eligible to reapply.

Submission guidelines:

All documents should be formatted in 12pt Times New Roman, single spaced, with 1-inch margins.

• A 1-2 page statement outlining the work and describing its importance.
• A biography and bibliography of the author, including information on translations of their work into other languages.
• A CV of the translator, no longer than 3 pages.
• If the book is not in the public domain and the project is not yet under contract, please include a photocopy of the copyright notice on the original (the copyright notice is a line including the character ©, a date, and the name of the copyright holder, which appears as part of the front matter in every book). Please note that for some foreign titles, the front matter may not include a ©. Additionally, please include a letter from the copyright holder stating that English-language rights to the book are available; a copy of an email from the copyright holder is sufficient.
• If the translation is currently under contract with a publisher, please submit a copy of the contract.
• A translation sample is required. For prose, this should be within the range of 5-8 pages (when formatted as required, this will be approximately 3,000-5,000 words). For poetry, please include 1-2 poems per page, within an 8–10 page range.
• The same passage in the original language (and, if the work has been previously translated, the same passage in the earlier version). 

Please consult our FAQ before directing any questions to awards@pen.org

The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Grant for Children’s and Young Adult Novelists is offered to an author of children’s or young adult fiction for a novel in progress. Previously called the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship, the award was developed to help writers whose work is of high literary caliber and assist them in completing their novel at a crucial moment in their career. The author of the winning manuscript, selected blindly by judges unaware of nominees’ names, receives a grant of $5,000.

Deadline: Submissions will be accepted from April 15 through June 15, 2026. Submissions will close at 11:59 p.m. EST on June 15th.      

Eligibility: 

• Candidates must be writers of children’s or young adult fiction.
• Candidates must have published one or more novels for children or young adults that have been warmly received by literary critics, but have not generated significant sales.
• The writer’s previously published book(s) must be published by a U.S. trade publisher. Self-published works are ineligible.
• The submitted work must be a novel in progress that will not be published prior to April 15, 2027.

NOT eligible: Graphic novels and picture books. Manuscripts written by more than one person.      

Submission guidelines:

All documents should be formatted in 12pt Times New Roman, single spaced, with 1-inch margins.

This application requires two PDFs. The judges will only review the second, which asks for an outline, letter of utility, and manuscript. Please make sure these materials do not contain the author's name. Other materials are for internal use. 

A first PDF containing:                                            

• A 1-2 page cover letter including a 1-3 sentence summary of the project, a description of how the candidate meets the criteria for the grant, and a list of the candidate’s published novel(s) for children and/or young adults.
• 1-3 reviews of the candidate’s novel(s) from professional publications. These may be copies or links.
• A 1-2 page letter of recommendation or support from an editor or fellow writer.   

 A second, anonymous PDF containing:    

The candidate’s name should not appear anywhere on this PDF to ensure anonymity.

• A 2-4 page outline of the novel in progress being submitted. 
• A 1-2 page description of how the funds will be used to complete the project. What will the candidate be able to accomplish with this funding that they could not do otherwise? Book sales, earnings, or other relevant information may be included here. 
• A 50–75 page manuscript sample. This document should be double spaced for legibility. 

Please consult our FAQ before directing any questions to awards@pen.org

The PEN/Bare Life Review Grants recognize literary works by immigrant and refugee writers. For the 2027 grant cycle, we will confer two PEN/Bare Life Review Grants with cash prizes of $5,000 each. 

Deadline: Submissions will be accepted from April 15 through June 15, 2026. Submissions will close at 11:59 p.m. EST on June 15th. 

 Eligibility:

• The submitted project must be the work of a single individual, written in or translated into English. In the case of translated works, the grant will be conferred to the original author.
• The project must be an unpublished work in progress that will not be published prior to April 15, 2027, as the grants are intended to support the completion of a manuscript.
• The project must be a work of a literary nature: fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry.
• This grant is available to foreign-born writers based in the U.S., and to writers living abroad who hold refugee/asylum seeker status.
• Writers may only submit one project per year.

NOT eligible: Scholarly or academic writing.

Submission guidelines: 

All documents should be formatted in 12pt Times New Roman with 1-inch margins. Each section should be single spaced with the exception of the writing sample which should be double spaced. 

All applications require the following, submitted as one PDF file in the order below:

• A 1-2 page description of the work, answering: Why is this project important, and why did this author choose to undertake this project?
• A 1-2 page statement answering: How will this grant aid in the completion of the project? (This space can additionally be used to discuss any permissions, rights, contracts, publication timelines, or other aspects of your project.)
• The author’s CV, including information on previous or forthcoming publications.
• An outline that includes the work completed thus far and the work remaining.
• A writing sample of up to 40 pages for poetry, and 75 pages for other genres. This section should be double spaced for legibility.

Please consult our FAQ before contacting awards@pen.org with any questions.

The PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History recognize literary works of nonfiction that use oral history to illuminate an event, individual, place, or movement. Two PEN/Jean Stein Grants for Literary Oral History are awarded each year, with a cash prize of $15,000.   

Deadline: Submissions will be accepted from April 15 through June 15, 2026. Submissions will close at 11:59 p.m. EST on June 15th.      

Eligibility:

• The submitted project must be the work of a single individual, written in English.
• The project must be an unpublished work in progress that will not be published prior to April 15, 2027, as the grants are intended to support the completion of a manuscript.
• The project must be a work of literary nonfiction.
• Oral history must be a significant component of the project and its research.      

NOT eligible: Scholarly or academic writing.      

Submission guidelines: 

All documents should be formatted in 12pt Times New Roman with 1-inch margins. Each document should be single spaced with the exception of the writing sample and transcript which should be double spaced. 

• A 1-2 page description of the work, answering: Why is this project important, and why did this author choose to undertake this project? 
• A 1-2 page statement answering: Why and how is oral history used in the project?  
• A 1-2 page statement answering: How will this grant aid in the completion of the project? (This space can additionally be used to discuss any permissions, rights, contracts, publication timelines, or other aspects of your project.)
• The author’s CV, including information on previous or forthcoming publications.
• An outline that includes the work completed thus far and the work remaining. The outline should include the names of interviewees.
• 6-10 pages of unedited transcripts of the project interviews relating to the writing sample. This document should be double spaced for legibility.
• A 20-40 page writing sample which utilizes the submitted project interviews. This document should be double spaced for legibility.

Please consult our FAQ before contacting awards@pen.org with any questions.