South Arts Southern Prize Grant

The South Arts Southern Prize provides a unique opportunity for individual artists in the Southern region of the U.S. to showcase their scriptwriting talents. With a total of $35,000 in grants available, including a $25,000 Southern Prize and a $10,000 runner-up prize, this program supports artistic excellence and offers a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center. Eligible applicants must be legal residents of the Southern states and adhere to specific requirements. The program celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the American South.

NOTE: There is a $25 application fee. If the application fee creates a barrier, the applicant may request a waiver from South Arts. Deadline to Submit a Fee-Waiver Request is March 11, 2026 while the application deadline is March 18, 2026.
Detailed Program Description
The South Arts Southern Prize and State Fellowships acknowledge, support, and celebrate the highest quality artistic work being created in the American South. The program is open to individual artists living in the South Arts region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The cohort of nine-state fellows will be selected through a two-tiered selection process by a national jury. A second national jury will select the Southern Prize Winner and Finalist. Jurors will make their selections based on artistic excellence that reflects and represents the array of artistic expression of the region. This program is open to writers for scriptwriting.
South Arts Southern Prize: $25,000 and $10,000
The nine-state fellowship recipients will compete for the Southern Prize. The $25,000 Southern Prize will be awarded to the artist whose work demonstrates the highest artistic excellence, and a runner-up will be awarded a $10,000 Prize. Both Southern Prize recipients will also receive a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, GA. A separate national jury will convene to evaluate the body of work represented by the nine-state fellowship recipients and select the Prize winner and finalist. Winners of the Southern Prize will be announced at the awards ceremony.
The Southern Prize ceremony and exhibition of state fellows’ works may be planned for fall 2026.

Eligibility

Applicants to the Southern Prize must meet the following eligibility requirements: Actively practicing scriptwriter.Be a writer at any stage of a creative literary arts career.The applicant must be the writer whose original work is represented in the submitted work samples.Only one application per artist will be accepted per grant cycle. Age 18 or Older.Artists must be a legal US citizen or have permission from the Department of Homeland Security to work permanently in the U.S.A permanent legal resident of the South Arts’ nine-state region for at least the prior two years (no later than January 2024). The applicant must be a current resident of the State in which they are applying at the time of application and agree to maintain residency in that state until June 30, 2027. Applicant must be able to provide proof of current state residency as requested by South Arts staff.

Ineligibility

Writers who are awarded a South Arts State Fellowship are ineligible to apply to the Southern Prize and State Fellowships program for six years (not earlier than 2032). The Southern Prize winner and finalist may not reapply for a period of 10 years (not earlier than 2036).Cannot be a high school student or matriculated student in a graduate, or undergraduate program in the fine arts.NOTE: Film/video/media art are not eligible; however, works can be submitted that support the Experimental or Mixed Media categories including video/film and/or sound.South Arts Employees and Board Members and their families are ineligible to apply.  Please note: Collaborations are ineligible for the Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Literary Arts.