The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award: Call for Submissions

The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color. 

This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. 

Submissions for the 2025 award are open February 1 through March 31. 

About the Award

The Eleanor Taylor Bland grant is administered by Sisters in Crime, a 4000+ member international organization of mystery authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians. Sisters in Crime was founded by Sara Paretsky and a group of women at the 1986 Bouchercon in Baltimore. In 2014 the group declared its mission to members to “promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers.” 

After contacting the grant recipient, Sisters in Crime will make an official announcement of the winner in the summer of 2024. 

A report about how the award was spent must be submitted to the Sisters in Crime president one year after receipt of the award. The 2024 recipient of the award also will be expected to serve the following year as a member of the 2025 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award selection committee. 

Here’s a checklist to help you prepare to submit year: 

Have you published two novels OR ten or more short stories? We're sorry, that means you aren't eligible to apply. 

You do not have to be a member of Sisters in Crime to apply for this grant. 

Do you want to use a different name for your submission? 

Are there any trigger warnings about potentially distressing material in your work? If so, please list them on the form. Some examples include rape, torture, pedophilia, child abuse, assault, suicide, drug abuse. Please note work dealing with these subjects will not impact whether you're selected. It's just to let our judges know before they read. If no, please write N/A. 

AI-generated works are not eligible. 

You may upload PDFs or Word docs. Please make sure that you name the documents including your name. For example, JONES_BIO.doc, JONES_WORK.doc, JONES_STATEMENT.doc. Please make sure your materials are named appropriately.

Here are the three components of your submission:

• An unpublished work of crime fiction, aimed at readers, from children’s chapter books through adults. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress of 2,500 to 5,000 words.
• A resume or biographical statement.
• A cover letter that gives a sense of the applicant as an emerging writer in the genre and briefly states how the award money would be used. (How the money might be used is not a deciding factor in the judges’ decision.)

If you aren't a member of Sisters in Crime, please register for a guest membership before you submit your materials. Members, please sign in. 

SUBMIT MATERIALS HERE. 

READ MORE HERE.