Draft Grant Guidelines

Purpose

This grant program supports high-quality, nonpartisan nonfiction books grounded in substantive investigative reporting.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be professional, practicing journalists or authors with at least three years of journalism experience.

• Have a demonstrated record of publication in non-student, third-party outlets (not self-published).

Applicants may be of any gender, race, or ethnic background.

Teams may apply, but one person must be designated as the lead applicant and will be responsible for the grant agreement, reporting, and deliverables.

Project Scope and Topic

Projects must:

• Focus on the United States, the U.S. in relation to other parts of the world, or be clearly intended for a U.S. audience.
• Be intended for publication in English (translations are eligible; the original language may be something other than English).
• Be planned as a full-length book of 50,000+ words.
• Be intended for publication by a book publisher of the author’s choosing.

There is no subject-matter restriction, but funded work must be substantively investigative, including reporting that involves more than three unrelated sources/interview subjects.

The grant does not support:

• Memoirs
• Personal essays
• Projects centered primarily on a single person or one family
• Serialized narrative-only projects without original investigative reporting

Self-Publishing

Self-published projects may be considered, but applicants must submit a credible marketing and distribution plan demonstrating:

• A clear strategy for reach and sales
• Specific distribution channels
• Evidence of capacity to execute the plan

Application Materials

Applications will include:

• A brief project summary
• A full proposal
• A reporting budget
• Resume
• Relevant clips
• References

The proposal must address:

• What is unique about this project?
• What initial reporting or findings do you have to date?
• What is your investigative plan (methods, timeline, major reporting steps)?
• What do you expect to uncover that is new or not yet well documented?
• Why are you specifically suited to do this work?

Budget Guidelines

Budgets should be itemized, specific, and realistic, and should focus on reporting-related costs such as:

• Travel
• Public records/document fees
• Equipment rental (limited purchases allowed)
• The reporter’s time (with an explanation of the basis for the estimate)

Budgets should:

• Break down expenses clearly
• Explain how estimates were calculated

The grant will not cover:

• Office space rental
• Office supplies
• Equipment purchases

If you are receiving or pursuing other funding for the project, your budget must include:

• Funding already secured (committed or received), with amounts and sources
• Funding requested or in progress, with amounts and sources

Grant Terms and Recipient Commitments

Grant recipients will be asked to:

• Include a credit in the published book (example: “Research for this book was supported by a grant from the WSV Book Fund.”)
• Include a credit in at least one social media post publicizing the book
• Allow WSV to list you as a grantee and describe your project
• Provide quarterly progress reports via email for at least three years
• Participate in an annual 30-minute call for at least three years to discuss progress
• Participate in an annual 30-minute call for at least five years to provide feedback on improving the grant program
• Attend WSV annual event at least three times in the five years after receiving grant (travel expenses covered separately by WSV)