The Kimberly Colen Memorial Grant has been established by the family of the late Kimberly Colen, an SCBWI Member of the Year, along with the SCBWI, to honor Kimberly's memory.

Eligibility: The grants are available to author and illustrator members of the SCBWI who have not yet published their first children’s books. Please note: Members may apply for only one SCBWI grant per calendar year.

Grant Amounts: Two grants of $2,500 each.* In addition to the cash award, the recipients will also be reimbursed for tuition, transportation, and hotel expenses incurred to attend the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City. One grant will be for a picture book, or a book for early readers (K - 3rd grade). Another grant will be awarded to a book for older readers (4th grade and up).

* In any given year, the SCBWI Colen Grant Committee reserves the right to withhold either or both of the grants, or to award both grants in one category.

Requirements: Applicants must write a one-page letter (approximately 300 words) describing the work they hope will become their first published children’s book. It must be a work-in-progress or a completed manuscript. Tell us if you are applying for the picture book/early reader grant or the grant for older readers (middle-grade or YA). If you are applying for a picture book, let us know if you are the author, the illustrator, or the author/illustrator. If an author and an illustrator are applying together for one picture book, both must be members of the SCBWI.

Grants will be judged on originality and creativity. Your complete contact information (name, address, phone numbers, and email address) must be in the letter. Do not include writing or art samples with your application letter. These may be requested by email or phone no later than November 15th.

Mail three (3) copies of your one-page, approximately 300-word letter to:

SCBWI Kimberly Colen Grant Letter
Box 20322
Park West Finance Station
New York, NY 10025-1512

Mail the three (3) copies in a single, standard #10 business envelope (9 1/2" x 4"). We regret that large envelopes (including Priority Mail or Express Mail) and mail that requires a signature (FedEx, UPS, etc.) cannot be accepted.

If you wish to receive a confirmation that your letter was received, include one self-addressed stamped postcard (not envelope) with “SCBWI COLEN GRANT APPLICATION RECEIVED” written on the back. We’ll send it back to you as soon as we open your envelope.

Deadlines: September 15-October 31. Letters must be postmarked no earlier than September 15th and no later than October 31st. The winners will be notified by telephone or email on or before December 31st, and the results will be posted on the website in January. Winners should plan to attend the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City that following February to accept their awards. Additionally, when winning books are published, the grant must be acknowledged in the books, and the Colen family must receive two signed copies.

The awards will be determined by a committee of published SCBWI members selected by the Colen family. The grant recipients will be announced at the NYC conference, and published in the SCBWI Bulletin and on the SCBWI website.

Click here for a list of previous Grant Winners and Runners-up