Scholarship List

In addition to our General Scholarships, there are a number of Special Scholarships in support of specific recipients or workshops, and Named Funds honoring those who have had a significant impact on children’s literature. You can see a full list of these below.

Support Our Scholarships with a Donation

Special Scholarships

Scholarship
Short Description
Asian & Asian American Voices Scholarship
Celebrating Asian and Asian American Voices
Richard H. Bell Scholarship
For educators
Beth Brody Poetry of Nature Scholarship
For nature-focused poets
Paula Cohen Scholarship for Picture Book Creators
Supports two unpublished picture book creators annually for personal retreats
Community Connection Scholarship
For pre-published MG or YA novelists
Floyd Cooper Scholarship
Celebrating the legacy of Floyd Cooper
Disability Representation in Children's Books Scholarship
Honoring the Disability Experience in Children's Literature
Diversify Science Scholarship for Illustrators
Celebrating diverse representation in science and nature illustration
Liz Goulet Dubois Scholarship for Picture Book Creators
Annually supports a budding author or illustrator
Rebecca Dykes Writers Scholarship
For a storyteller impacted by femicide
Patricia Lee Gauch Scholarship
For MG or YA novelists
James Cross Giblin Scholarship
For nonfiction writers
Nikki Grimes Scholarship
Celebrating Female, Black and Afro-Indigenous writers and poets
Erin Entrada Kelly Scholarship
For middle grade writers of color with a demonstrated financial need
Native Creatives Scholarship
For Indigenous authors, artists, and creators
Jewish Voices Scholarship
Supports a Jewish storyteller
Kidlit Pride Scholarship
For writers and illustrators from the LGBTQIA2S+ community
Stuart Kirkfield Scholarship
For an aspiring female picture book writer coming to writing later in life
Latinx Storyteller Scholarship
For Latinx storytellers
Steve Light Scholarship
To support sending an illustrator to our Summer Camp in Illustration
Linda Elovitz Marshall and Bob Marshall Scholarship
For a writer or illustrator
Jack Myers Scholarship
For science writers
The Neurodiverse Kidlit Scholarship
For neurodivergent storytellers
Overlook Foundation Scholarship
For storytellers with a science and nature focus
SCBWI Impact Fund Scholarship
For storytellers who self-identify with a historically marginalized or underrepresented group
Send a Teacher to Summer Camp Scholarship
For a K-12 educator to attend Summer Camp in Writing
Soon Ok Scholarship
For a Transracial Adoptee storyteller
South Asian Storytellers Scholarship
For South Asian storytellers
Stanton Picture Book Scholarship
Supports a woman pursuing creating picture books as a second (or third) career
Christine & Kenneth Taylor-Butler Scholarship
For a middle grade or picture book storyteller
TBTG Foundation Scholarship
To support a storyteller as they inspire kids
The Brown Bookshelf Scholarship
For Black storytellers
The Katey Howes Maker Scholarship
To encourage fellow storytellers to build a better world for our children
The Palestinian Writers and Illustrators Scholarship
Supports Palestinian and Palestinian American storytellers
The Virginia Hamilton and Arnold Adoff "Breaking Barriers" Scholarship
For children's book writers and poets
Trans Women Write Scholarship
Supports trans women and transfeminine writers
Transgender and Nonbinary Scholarship for Picture Book Storytellers
For a Transgender or Nonbinary person pursuing the craft of picture books
Renée Watson Scholarship
Annually supports a week-long independent writing retreat for a Black woman writer.
Jerome Weisman Scholarship
For illustrators
Wheeler Whole Novel Workshop 50+ Award
For an unpublished, middle grade writer fifty years of age or older to attend one of the Whole Novel Workshops
Whole Novel Scholarship for Jewish Writers
Supports a Jewish novelist
Alicia D. Williams Scholarship
Supports a single parent who is passionate about writing for children and young adults
Kay Yoder Scholarship for History Writers
For history writers
Jane Yolen & Heidi EY Stemple Scholarship
To help writers learn about the craft or business of children's books

General Scholarships: Inspire Funds

In addition to the special scholarships listed above, we have established these Inspire funds as a way to honor the Highlights Foundation’s history and those that have played an important role in our scholarship program over the years. Inspire Funds provide support to our General Scholarships.

Anti-Bias Book Bearer Fund
Pat Broderick
Elizabeth Myers Brown
Susan Weber Brown
Pam Conrad
Joy Cowley
Bernice E. Cullinan
Diverse Verse
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Nancy Edwards
Margery Facklam
Bernette Ford
Lee Bennett Hopkins
Peter P. Jacobi
Jewish Writer/Illustrator of Color
Janet Keen
kidlitwomen* Fund
Alison Green Myers & Garry Myers
Garry Myers III
Greg and Cassie Myers
Pacific Islander Storyteller Fund
Willa Perlman 
PJ Library Fund 
Poesía Fund for Latinx Poets
Barbara Seuling
Jerry & Eileen Spinelli
Storystorm
Virginia Walsh
Ruthann & Roger Williamson
Debra Winegarten
Clay Winters

See an Overview of Our Scholarship Program