Scholarships

GrubStreet is committed to making the literary world accessible to writers from all backgrounds. Each year, our donors—many of whom are GrubStreet students—make it possible for us to offer a wide range of scholarships to teens and adults. Scholarships open doors to classes in a range of genres and levels, including advanced programs such as the Novel Incubator and the Summer Teen Fellowship, as well as the Muse and the Marketplace Conference. For adult students, two Emerging Writer Fellowships are awarded each year: the GrubStreet Emerging Writer Fellowship, and the Anita Shreve Emerging Writer Fellowship.

Scholarship applications are evaluated by a committee of staff and former instructors who base their decisions on a combination of a student’s writerly promise and financial need. We believe that artistic excellence is best achieved by bringing as many different voices to the table as possible. To that end, our scholarship committee especially welcomes applications from writers who have been historically underrepresented in the literary arts.

Successful applications usually contain 2-3 short paragraphs that paint a clear financial picture for the committee to consider, and they detail the student’s interest in the specific class or program for which they are seeking support. We do not ask for corroborating documents; we only ask that you help us understand your situation.

Applications for workshops are reviewed on a class-by-class basis; being denied a scholarship for one class does not necessarily mean you won’t be awarded one for a different class, and vice versa.

If you are interested in applying for a workshop scholarship, you can access the application right from the website page of the class you’d like to take. You should apply at least one week before the class begins, and wait to register until you’ve heard back from our scholarship committee. Unfortunately, we cannot hold spots in classes, so the earlier you apply, the better. For questions regarding scholarships, please reach out to [email protected].

To apply for scholarships to specific programs, such as The Muse, or an Incubator or Generator intensive, please visit the links provided in the first paragraph.

Alex Marzano-Lesnevich Scholarship Fund for Genderqueer, Non-binary, or Transgender Writers

This scholarship fund is available for writers identifying as genderqueer, non-binary, or transgender who need assistance with GrubStreet course costs. To apply for one of these scholarships, please indicate in your scholarship application that you would like to be considered for an "Alex Marzano-Lesnevich Scholarship." Applications are available on all class pages. Started by a Memoir Incubator alum, this specific fund is in honor of the work and teaching of Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, who is the founding instructor of the Memoir Incubator at GrubStreet and taught students in this signature program for four years. Their first book, The Fact Of A Body: A Murder and a Memoir, was the winner of a Lambda Literary Award, the Chautauqua Prize, and prizes in France and Canada, and was named to best of the year lists on three continents. Alex is now an assistant professor of writing at Bowdoin College. Their book Both And Neither is forthcoming from Doubleday and combines memoir, reportage, and history to explore life beyond the gender binary.

Anita Shreve Scholarship Fund

In honor of long-time GrubStreet board member, magnificent novelist, perennial Muse presenter, and dear departed friend Anita Shreve, GrubStreet has created a scholarship fund in Anita’s name. Anita was the author of over fifteen novels, including The Stars Are Fire, the international bestseller The Pilot’s Wife, and The Weight of the Water, a finalist for the Orange Prize. The scholarship fund supports an Emerging Writing Fellow, which enables a talented new writer to take classes tuition-free for a full-year and also attend the Muse Conference at no cost. To make a gift in honor of Anita, visit the "Give" page on our site, where you can make a donation of any amount and allocate your gift by writing “in honor of Anita” in the “Let us know why you’re giving” box.

Rhoda Winer Scholarship Fund

The Rhoda Winer Scholarship honors the life of Rhoda Winer, who died in December 2020 at the age of 87. Rhoda was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher, writer, poet, and true life-long learner.

Rhoda was a dedicated teacher. For 24 years, she taught middle school reading and English, sharing her love of learning with her students. She truly connected with her students and was always excited to hear from them later in life, celebrating their successes many years after she stopped working with them. After retiring as a classroom teacher, Rhoda tutored both children and adults. She became certified in Orton-Gillingham so that she could offer even more support to students who were struggling to read and, by doing so, give them access to the world of literature that she so valued.

Rhoda was a writer throughout her life. She would often include an original, personal poem in the birthday cards she sent to family and friends. And she loved words, as many a game of Boggle and Scrabble made clear to her grandchildren. After retiring from teaching, Rhoda spent more time writing and began taking writing courses to hone her craft. She took many classes at GrubStreet in particular and relished both the writing instruction and the opportunity to connect with fellow writers, meet new people, and make new friends. When she died, Rhoda left a trove of poems, short stories, and two middle-grade novels.

Rhoda would be so honored to have a GrubStreet scholarship in her name that supports teens and adults in their quest to become better writers and, she would hope, make new friends in the process. And her family and many friends are so happy to make this scholarship possible.

Donating to the Scholarship Fund

GrubStreet is actively raising funds to increase the number of scholarships available to teen and adult writers.  If you would like to make a general scholarship donation, visit the "Give" page on our site, where you can make a donation of any amount and allocate your gift by writing “scholarships” in the “Let us know why you’re giving” box. Thank you so much for your support.

Other ways to give

Make a donation through the mail

Please make check payable to Grub Street, Inc. and mail it to:

Grub Street, Inc.
50 Liberty Drive, Suite 500
Boston, MA 02210

Make a donation over the phone

Call GrubStreet's development team at 617.695.0075 or email [email protected] with any questions.