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.

Special Scholarships

Scholarship
Short Description
Celebrating Asian and Asian American Voices
For nature-focused poets
Supports two unpublished picture book creators annually for personal retreats
For pre-published MG or YA novelists
Celebrating the legacy of Floyd Cooper
Honoring the Disability Experience in Children's Literature
Celebrating diverse representation in science and nature illustration
Annually supports a budding author or illustrator
For a storyteller impacted by femicide
For MG or YA novelists
For nonfiction writers
Celebrating Female, Black and Afro-Indigenous writers and poets
Celebrating middle grade writers
Celebrating Native Creatives' Voices
Honoring Jewish Storytelling
Celebrating the LGBTQIA2S+ community of storytellers
Honoring self-taught artisan Stuart Kirkfield
To support sending an illustrator to our Summer Camp in Illustration
For science writers
Celebrating honest representation of the neurodiverse experience
Honoring Palestinian Storytelling
For storytellers who self-identify with a historically marginalized or underrepresented group
For a K-12 educator to attend Summer Camp in Writing
Celebrating Transracial Adoptee storytelling
Honoring South Asian Voices
Celebrating woman pursuing creating picture books as a second (or third) career
For a middle grade or picture book storyteller
To support a storyteller as they inspire kids
Amplifying the voices of Black storytellers
To encourage fellow storytellers to build a better world for our children
Honoring the contributions of the trans feminine community
Celebrating the many contributions of Black women writers in children’s literature with a week-long independent writing retreat.
For illustrators
For an unpublished, middle grade writer fifty years of age or older to attend one of the Whole Novel Workshops
Supports a single parent who is passionate about writing for children and young adults
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, these Inspire funds honor the Highlights Foundation’s history and those that have played an important role in our scholarship program over the years. 

Pat Broderick
Elizabeth Myers Brown
Susan Weber Brown
Pam Conrad
Joy Cowley
Bernice E. Cullinan
Diverse Verse
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Nancy Edwards
Margery Facklam
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
Willa Perlman
PJ Library Fund
Poesía Fund
Barbara Seuling
Jerry & Eileen Spinelli
Storystorm
Virginia Walsh
Ruthann & Roger Williamson
Debra Winegarten
Overlook Foundation Scholarship
Clay Winters
Transgender and Nonbinary Scholarship for Picture Book Storytellers
Latine/Latinx Voices Scholarship