This awards writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies; Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, and biography. The creative writing fellowship does not require that there be any direct connection between your work and Steinbeck's. The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success but have not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Center and the University's creative writing program. Award recipients will be required to reside within the counties of the San Francisco Bay Area or adjacent counties of the California central coast or central valley during most of the fellowship period.  There are up to 6 fellowships of $15,000 each, and the deadline is 4 January 2026. Details here and here.)

Deadline: January 4th, 2026