Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Grants for Writers and Illustrators
We are happy to announce the grant applications are open now through December 20, 2023.
Grant winners will be announced at the February 17, 2024 Meeting.
Grant recipients receive complimentary admission to a San Diego SCBWI Intensive or MayFest.
Grant Judges will be:
Erika DiPasquale, Editor, HarperCollins Children's
Esther Cajahuaringa, Editor, Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers
Grants for Writers:
Diverse World Writer Grant 2023-24
This grant is open to unpublished, San Diego SCBWI members whose work supports Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity in children's publishing by writing stories featuring a diverse cast of characters. Members may apply for only ONE grant. (SCBWI San Diego reserves the right not to award a grant.)
Grant Form Link
Own Voices Writer Grant 2023-24
This grant is open to unpublished, San Diego SCBWI members who identify as a member of an underrepresented group including, but not limited to, LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, neurodiversity and/or other disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious group? (If not, please apply for the Diverse World Writer Grant.) Members may apply for only ONE grant. (SCBWI San Diego reserves the right not to award a grant.)
Grant Form Link
Grants for Illustrators:
Diverse World Illustrator Grant 2023-24
This grant is open to unpublished, San Diego SCBWI members whose work supports Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity in children's publishing by creating illustrations with a diverse cast of characters. Members may apply for only ONE grant. (SCBWI San Diego reserves the right not to award a grant.)
Grant Form Link
Own Voices Illustrator Grant 2023-24
This grant is open to unpublished, San Diego SCBWI members who identify as a member of an underrepresented group including, but not limited to, LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, neurodiversity and/or other disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious group? (If not, please apply for the Diverse World Illustrator Grant.) Members may apply for only ONE grant. (SCBWI San Diego reserves the right not to award a grant.)
Grant Form Link
Important Information:
The recipient of an Equity and Inclusion Grant must wait one year before applying for an Equity and Inclusion Grant a second time.
A person may receive an Equity and Inclusion Grant no more than two times.
The San Diego SCBWI reserves the right to NOT grant an award in any of the grant categories.
Judges Bios
Erika DiPasquale, Editor, HarperCollins Children's
Erika DiPasquale has worked at HarperCollins for 6 years, first as a member of the adult foreign rights team and now as an Assistant Editor at Harper Children’s. She works on projects for all age ranges, from board book through YA, fiction and non-fiction. She’s excited about stories that tackle difficult topics in digestible ways as well as anything described as humorous, silly, quirky, clever, or unconventional. Erika also works on the Pete the Cat, Harold & the Purple Crayon, and Margaret Wise Brown programs and supports Nancy Inteli on her list, including the Food Group program. She moonlights as a yoga teacher, forest bathing guide, and reiki practitioner.
Esther Cajahuaringa, Editor, Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers
As a former educator and non-profit organizer, Esther loves championing people and coming alongside creators as they create stories for this generation of young readers. She is avidly seeking picture books and early reader to middle grade graphic novels and is passionate about elevating BIPOC creators. Within those formats, she is looking for characters, be it people or animals, that march to the beat of their own drum (this doesn’t mean that they need to be loud, they just need to feel one-of-a kind)! She is looking for stories filled with adventures (real or imagined), humor, exploring sibling dynamics, rhyme, and intergenerational families. Currently, she is only seeking fiction works. She has a master’s degree in Curriculum & Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University and currently resides in NYC with her husband (although California will always be her first home).