When artists of all types seek grants, I direct them first to their state arts commissions. Canada has province and city arts commissions, and the UK and Australia have their own national and local commission. (Our knowledge does not branch into Africa, Middle East, or Far East, sorry.) While those are pretty easy to locate, the savvy in how to submit evades a lot of folks.

This very brief YouTube video could apply to just about any arts commission grant anywhere. The program manager covers the top three tips for submitting. https://youtu.be/YH4w-SVboLM

Bottom line?

1) Follow the guidelines. See if you are a good fit for what the grant provides. They don’t just throw out money. They have a mission. Your mission as a writer has to match their mission as a grant provider.

2) Watch the deadline. Sounds stupidly elementary, but people will push the deadline, or let it slip away from them. Allow ample time to do your paperwork, collect documentation, and speak to people you may need to for advice.

3) Reach out to the program manager. These commissions have intelligent people who know grants and understand the process. Meet them. Call them. Get to know them. They will help you present the best grant application you can.

Sounds elementary, but an amazing number of applications fall short because of details rather than qualifications.

To find your arts commission, consider these links:

https://www.arts.gov/partners/state-regional
https://canadacouncil.ca/ 
https://www.rlf.org.uk/
https://societyofauthors.org/Grants/Grants-for-works-in-progress
https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/

Or Google: Location AND literary grants. Location can be country, state, province, region, or city. Each will come up with different results.

(NOTE: We have little knowledge about grants in Africa, Middle East, or Far East.)