Leon Levy Center for Biography: Sloan Fellowship Grant

Leon Levy Center for Biography: Sloan Fellowship Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
Amount: US $72,000
Last Updated: November 21, 2025

Summary

The Leon Levy Center for Biography offers the Sloan Fellowship, which supports the writing of biographies about figures from science or technology. Established in 2007, the Center fosters excellence in biography through events, lectures, and funding for outstanding research. The fellowship provides a stipend of $72,000, access to research facilities, and opportunities for mentorship. Writers of all nationalities, including first-time biographers, are encouraged to apply, although memoirs and fictional works are not eligible.

Overview

NOTE: The Sloan Fellowship will not be offered for the 2026 – 2027 cycle. About Us Established with a generous gift from the Leon Levy Foundation in 2007 as a hub for writers, scholars, students, teachers, and readers of biography, the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the CUNY Graduate Center builds connections between independent and university-affiliated biographers across disciplines and cultivates important discussions about the art and craft of biography historically and in our time. To achieve its mandate of identifying, supporting, and fostering excellence and innovation in biography, the Leon Levy Center for Biography (LLCB) hosts frequent public events as well as the annual Leon Levy Biography Lecture in the fall; an annual conference or biography clinic in the spring; a resident fellowship competition to fund the research and writing of outstanding biographies; and academic courses at the Graduate Center in the art and craft of biography. Leon Levy Center for Biography: Sloan Fellowship Funded by the Alfred P.  Sloan Foundation, the Sloan Fellowship supports the writing of a biography on a figure from science or technology. The Sloan Fellowship comes with the same funding and support as the regular biography fellowship: writing space, full access to research facilities, research assistance and a stipend of $72,000.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Writers of any and all nationalities are eligible.While the Leon Levy Center strives to support first-time biographers in the process of writing their first biographies, mid-career and senior biographers are also supported by the Center.If the subject of a biography is a scientist then applicants may apply for both the regular and the Sloan fellowship.Normally fellows are required, at minimum, to attend in-person monthly seminars at the Graduate Center.During the pandemic period, we have been conducting these seminars on Zoom, along with the many events showcasing new biographies that we put on.

Ineligibility

The Leon Levy Center for Biography does not award fellowships for memoirs, essays, plays, films, or fiction.