End of the Line: NEA Halts Creative Writing Fellowships for 2026

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has quietly ended its long-running creative writing fellowships, leaving many authors stunned and disappointed. In an email sent to applicants, the agency confirmed that the 2026 cycle of grants, which offered up to $50,000 to published poets and prose writers, has been officially withdrawn.

The email cites a shift in federal priorities, stating, “The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the Administration. Consequently, we are canceling existing funding opportunities that fall outside these new priorities.”

This move echoes similar cancellations made by the agency in May, as it begins reallocating funds toward programs aligned with the current Administration’s agenda. Those initiatives include efforts to boost AI literacy, support skilled trade careers, improve public spaces in Washington D.C., and invest in institutions serving Black, Latinx, Asian American, and Indigenous communities.

Though the NEA’s Creative Writing Fellowships page remains live, the opportunity itself is no longer being offered for the upcoming grant year. Writers who had submitted applications before the March 2025 deadline are now left without the support they hoped for—and many are asking what this means for the future of public funding for the literary arts.

For decades, NEA fellowships have helped elevate emerging and mid-career writers, giving them time and resources to focus on their craft. With this unexpected cancellation, the literary community faces a growing concern: Where does creative writing fit in America’s evolving cultural priorities?

As the NEA steers in a new direction, one thing is clear: 2026 will be a year without federal funding for creative writers—and possibly a turning point in how we define and support the arts in the United States.