Grants and Funding For Author/Illustrator School Visits

(Last updated July 26, 2022)

Interested in booking an author/illustrator school visit but don’t have the budget?

Options to check out: your local indie bookshop may be able to help, writing and literacy organizations, your state or provincial library association, local arts commission, cooperative grant sites, public library disaster relief funds, corporate philantrophy, sponsorships from community businesses.

Here are some other resources that might help.

In Canada:

National Public Readings Program: With the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, The Writers’ Union of Canada funds local in-person or virtual public author readings across Canada. 

National Public Readings Northern Program: With the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, The Writers’ Union of Canada promotes author tours to northern communities within Canada. The Union subsidizes the author’s reading fee, travel expenses, and meals.

Poets In The Schools Micro-Grants: The League of Canadian Poets administers a funding program that supports Ontario poets visiting Ontario schools.

Ontario Writers-In-The-Schools: Funded by the Ontario Arts Council through The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC).

In the U.S.:

States and Regional Arts Councils

Grant Gopher: “Your underground connection to available grants for nonprofits, schools, and municipalities.”

Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Award: “This award was established with funding from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, in honor of Maureen Hayes, to bring together children and nationally recognized authors/illustrators by funding up to $4000 for an author/illustrator visit to a library.”

SCBWI Amber Brown Grant: “One school will receive an all-expense-paid visit by a well-respected children’s author or illustrator. The chosen school will also receive a $250 stipend to create a memorable day and $250 worth of books by the visiting author/illustrator.”

Innovative Reading Grant: “The AASL Innovative Reading Grant supports the planning and implementation of a unique and innovative program for K-9th learners which motivates and encourages reading, especially with struggling readers.”

Texas: See this great post by Donna Janell Bowman

North Carolina: North Carolina Grants and Foundations (includes some educational grants)

In the U.K.:

Ways To Fund School Author Visits (2018) – by Andy Seed. UK-focused.

BOOK CREATOR & BOOK SERVICE SOURCES:
Authors’ Booking Service list of Grants and Subsidies for Author Visits (Canada)
Cynsations list of Grants For School Visits

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR RESOURCE PAGES:
(To book creators: Feel free to let me know if you’d like your resource page added! Pls note I only add pages that are ONLY about funding, not “this is my visits page and it has some info about funding options”)
Donna Janell Bowman (great resource! includes long list of specific grants, some Texas-focused)
Ways To Fund School Author Visits by Andy Seed (UK)
Funding School Author Visits by Timothy Young (US)