Grants, Fellowships, and Residencies for Trans and Neurodivergent Writers
Because our stories are worthy—and so are our needs.
The Truth: Opportunities Exist, But They Don’t Always Knock
Let’s name it plain: writing takes time, energy, and resources—and if you’re trans, disabled, Black, neurodivergent, or low-income, getting access to those resources can feel like searching for a door that was never built for you.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t belong here.
It means we have to find our way in through the cracks—and sometimes, build our own rooms in the process.
Grants and residencies can be a lifeline. They offer more than just money. They offer space. Time. Structure. Sometimes housing. Sometimes community. And more and more, these programs are actively looking for writers who live at intersections—whose stories don’t fit the mold, and never should have had to.
But here's the key: you have to know where to look.
📹 Want a visual primer? This YouTube video by The Write Practice explains what writing residencies are, who they’re for, and how to apply.
Lambda Literary: Where Queer Stories Are Home
If you’ve been looking for a place that wants your full queer, trans, intersectional self—Lambda Literary is it.
Lambda Literary’s Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ+ Voices offers an immersive, supportive environment for LGBTQ+ writers. It's not just about craft—it’s about being surrounded by people who get it, who see you, and who are also building stories that speak to our shared and distinct identities.
What they offer:
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A weeklong writing retreat with acclaimed faculty
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Workshops, readings, and one-on-one mentorship
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Scholarships for BIPOC, trans, and low-income writers
They’re not asking you to “sanitize” your story or shrink your identity to be palatable. They want the real you—the messy, honest, holy you.
🔗 You can also explore more opportunities on their submissions page.
Disability Futures Fellowship: Centering Crip Brilliance
Too often, disabled writers are left out of the conversation. But the Disability Futures Fellowship (supported by the Ford and Mellon Foundations) flips that script entirely.
This fellowship doesn’t ask disabled creatives to write around their disabilities. It asks them to write from within them. To lead with embodiment. To imagine futures where access and artistry are inseparable.
Highlights:
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$50,000 grant with no strings attached
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Publicity and professional development support
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Tailored for disabled artists and writers working across genres and mediums
If you’re disabled and writing from your truth, this fellowship doesn’t want you to “overcome.” It wants you to be. Fully. Loudly. Creatively.
📚 Want more on writing disability with power? I recommend reading this piece by Alice Wong, where fellows talk about how funding shifted their work—and lives.
The Speculative Literature Foundation: For Imagining Otherwise
If you write science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any story that plays with genre, the Speculative Literature Foundation is doing deep, powerful work to make sure underrepresented voices thrive in the spaces of the unreal, the uncanny, and the not-yet-here.
They offer multiple grants throughout the year, including:
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Diverse Writers Grant
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Diverse Worlds Grant
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Working Class Writers Grant
You don’t need a publication history. You don’t need an agent. You need a story—and a reason to write it. That’s it.
Why this matters: speculative genres have long been dominated by the same voices. But as queer, trans, disabled, and BIPOC writers, we’ve always dreamed in resistance. We’ve always created portals, monsters, timelines, and kin. These grants recognize that power—and fund it.
🎥 Here’s an interview with SLF founder Mary Anne Mohanraj on diversity in speculative fiction—it’s a grounded reminder that we do belong in the worlds we build.
The Fine Print: What to Look For in a Grant or Residency
Not all opportunities are created equal. Some residencies are deeply white, cis-centered, or classist in practice, even when their websites say otherwise.
Here are a few green flags to look for:
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Stipends or funding—your time is valuable
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Accessible application materials—no endless paywalls or MFA requirements
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Clear prioritization of marginalized voices
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Respect for lived experience over polished résumés
And, importantly: they want your full story. Not the tidy version. Not the one that centers whiteness, palatability, or trauma porn. Look for programs that honor your authenticity over your “marketability.”
💡 Want tips on applying? This article from Funds for Writers walks you through the grant-writing process in simple steps. Bookmark it.
You Don’t Have to Earn Rest. Or Space. Or Funding.
If you’re reading this wondering, “But do I deserve this?”—stop right there.
You don’t need to publish a book, win an award, or prove your worth to apply for these spaces.
You are worthy now. As you are.
These grants and residencies aren’t handouts. They’re reparative infrastructure. They’re acknowledgments that the playing field has never been level, and that creativity doesn’t thrive in a vacuum—it thrives in community, in rest, in safety.
You’re not asking for too much. You’re asking for a door that should’ve been open all along.
Ready to Apply? Start Here:
Here are a few directories to keep bookmarked:
🔗 Lambda Literary’s Opportunities List
🔗 Poets & Writers Grants and Awards Database
🔗 Creative Capital’s List of Open Applications
🔗 Submittable Discover
🔗 Speculative Literature Foundation Grants
And if you want more guidance on writing your application with care, honesty, and your full voice, let me know—I’ll gladly write a post just for that.
Keep the Door Open Behind You
This work—applying, showing up, sharing our truths—isn’t just about getting picked.
It’s about planting ourselves in spaces where our stories can grow.
And when we get in, we keep the door open behind us.
We tell others. We share our resources. We build scaffolding for the next trans, disabled, working-class Black or Brown writer who’s daring to believe their voice matters.
Because it does.
And so do you.
Looking for more support on your creative journey?
🔗 What I’m Unlearning Series
🔗 Creating Trans Characters Without Tokenism
🔗 Writing Trauma Without Re-Traumatizing Yourself
Follow me on Instagram for regular updates, resources, and encouragement from a trans, neurodivergent writer who knows what it means to write from the margins—and still choose joy. Ink-Stained Thoughts is where I bleed quietly on purpose.
If this moved you—feel free to share, reflect, or just breathe with it a while.
Start exploring: For writers
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THybQQZGB1E – "Finding Grants for Marginalized Artists"
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