Staff report

The Literary Arts Fund has awarded an undisclosed grant to Storyknife Writers Retreat, a women’s residential program in Homer founded by author Dana Stabenow. Storyknife is the only Alaska organization among 40 literary programs and publishers across 19 states in the U.S. to receive funding from a total $7.7 million in awards disbursed.

“The recipients, which organize local book festivals, present readings and conversations with authors, host writing workshops, offer writers’ retreats and residencies and are responsible for a vast amount of poetry and works in translation published each year, play a critical role in sustaining literary culture yet operate within the most underfunded artistic discipline in the nation,” the fund said in a press release.

Calling the Literary Arts Fund “a beacon of hope,” Storyknife Executive Director Erin Hollowell said few grant opportunities exist for literary organizations such as Storyknife.

“For Storyknife to be chosen as one of only 40 literary organizations nationwide to receive an inaugural grant is an incredible honor, a moment of recognition of all the hard work the Storyknife staff and board invest in creating a place that truly supports women writers,” she said.

Citing the conditions of the grant, Hollowell said she could not disclose the exact amount of the award.

“Writers give voice to the human condition, helping us better understand ourselves and each other,” Jen Benka, executive director of the Literary Arts Fund, said in a press release. “And central to millions of readers having access to their stories and poems are literary arts nonprofits, which work tirelessly to ensure literature continues to have a vital presence in our culture. As these organizations and publishers face a lack of funding, we encourage leaders who value literature to join us in supporting writers, books and reading.”

Hollowell said that in a world of shrinking funding opportunities for the arts, and especially the literary arts, the Literary Art Fund “feels like a step in the right direction.”

“At Storyknife, we will continue to do what we have for the last decade: provide women writers with the time and space to devote to their craft,” she said. “But we will do it knowing that our mission is seen and supported. Personally, I hope that this is a moment for more people to learn about and support Storyknife’s mission as well as to discover the amazing writers who come to Storyknife, to read their work, and to lift up a plurality of voices that makes for a richer and more interesting world.”

Storyknife’s residential season has started, and some of this year’s fellows will read in a live Zoom presentation on June 18 starting at 6 p.m. To register, visit the Storyknife website. The application period for 2027 residencies opens July 1. The residency is open to people who identify as women. 

The Literary Arts Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of the National Center for Civic Innovation, is a concerted national effort to support the nonprofit literary arts in the United States, the most under-resourced artistic discipline in the country. According to research the Fund conducted using the nonprofit database Candid, startlingly, just 1.9% of the $5 billion contributed by private foundations to arts and culture in 2023 went toward literature and writing, a fact that has been consistently true for the previous five years.

The Fund aims to provide at least $50 million to bolster nonprofit publishers, presenters and organizations that directly support creative writers and strengthen their relationship to readers. It will also raise the visibility of the nonprofit literary arts field, including through the release of data and reports. 

The Fund was initiated by the Mellon Foundation in 2025 as a collaborative effort with the Ford Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Lannan Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation. Grantmakers are invited and encouraged to join in championing literature and writers by becoming a part of the Literary Arts Funders Collaborative, a new philanthropic affinity group.