NOTE: Grants.gov has implemented new security requirements for the use of the Grants.gov system. Among the changes, applicants are now required to change their passwords every 90 days. See www.grants.gov for more details.

It is your responsibility to create and maintain a registration with Grants.gov. Registration is a one-time process, which can take a day or more to complete. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE DAY OF THE APPLICATION DEADLINE TO REGISTER to allow time to resolve any issues that may arise. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your inability to submit your application.

To register, click: Individual Registration. You will be asked to provide the Funding Opportunity Number of the grant. Enter 2012NEA03LFCW. If you have problems with registration contact Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726, e-mail support@grants.gov, or consult the information posted on the Grants.gov website at Help. The Grants.gov Contact Center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Maintain documentation (with dates) of your efforts to register before the deadline.

You do not need to complete the registration process to download the application package and begin to prepare your material (see below). However, you will need your Grants.gov Username and Password that you obtain during the registration process to submit your application.

1. Verify your software

   You must have a version of Adobe Readerthat is supported by Grants.gov installed on your computer before you download your application package from Grants.gov. Non-compatible versions of Adobe Reader or other Adobe products will lead to errors and prevent you from submitting your application. If more than one computer will be involved in the preparation of the application package, ensure that the same version of Adobe Reader is used.

   Please go to "Download Software" to see the compatible versions of Adobe Reader or to download and install Adobe Reader.

2. Access the application package on Grants.gov by clicking on the link below:

   

   [Funding Opportunity Number2012NEA03LFCW]

   This will bring you to the "Selected Grant Applications for Download" screen.

   Download the application package and follow the instructions below. It is not necessary to download the instructions from Grants.gov as you will merely be directed back to the instructions in this document.

3. When you download the application package, the Grants.gov "Grant Application Package" screen will open. Click on the "Save" button at the top of the form and save the application package to a location on your computer or network where you can find it readily. Save your application each time you work on it. You will get the message "The File already exists. Replace existing file?" Click "Yes" to ensure that you always save the most recent version.

4. On the first page of the Grants.gov application package, you will see a field for “Application Filing Name.” Enter your legal name here.

5. In the "Mandatory Documents" box, you will see two forms. You must move these forms to the "Mandatory Documents for Submission" box before you can open them. Once moved, the two forms merge into a single document. You can access each form by clicking on it to highlight it and then clicking on the "Open Form" box OR you can scroll down your screen and you will come to each form in succession.

The forms are:

• Application for Federal Assistance SF 424 - Individual Form

• Attachments Form

1. Check the size of your electronic application. The total size should not exceed 10 MB.

2. To begin the submission process, click the Save & Submit button. [This button will not become active (and turn from light to dark gray) until you have saved your application with all required fields completed. Clicking this button will prompt you to save your application package one last time. When asked if you want to replace the existing file, click “Yes.” You will then be reconnected to Grants.gov and the Internet.] You will be prompted to provide your Grants.gov Username and Password that you obtained during registration.

3. Click the "Login" button. This will bring you to the "Application Submission Verification and Signature" screen, which provides a summary of the Funding Opportunity for which you are applying. Click the "Sign and Submit Application" button to complete the process. Be certain that you are satisfied with your application before you click this button. No revisions to your application are possible through Grants.gov once it is submitted.

   If you have difficulty submitting, go to Adobe Reader Error Messages or Applicant Resources for several tools and documents to help you.

4. Ensure that your application was validated and accepted by the Grants.gov system. Go to Track My Application to track the validation and progress of your application submission through Grants.gov. After the Arts Endowment retrieves your application from Grants.gov, log in to the Grants.gov system by using your Username and Password to receive your Agency Tracking Number (this will be the Arts Endowment-assigned application number).

Additional Help

For additional help on how to use Grants.gov, please see the Grants.gov Web site at Help. You also can send e-mail to the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or call them at 1-800-518-4726 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For specific help on how to complete your application, please review the instructions in these guidelines or contact the Literature staff at 202/682-5034 or LitFellowships@arts.gov.

A complete application consists of: Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Attachments Form to which you have attached: Literature Fellowships Application Supplemental Information Form Manuscript material: 10 pages of sample text Cover page Summary of applicant publications Applications that are determined to be incomplete will be rejected without panel review.

NOTE: All asterisked (*) items and yellow fields on this form are required and must be completed before you will be able to submit the form. Do not type in all capital letters when completing the form. Enter information directly into the form. Do not copy from an old application package or another document and paste into the form.

1. Name of Federal Agency: Pre-populated.

2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: Pre-populated.

3. Date Received: This will be filled automatically with the date that you submit your application; leave blank.

4. Funding Opportunity Number: Pre-populated.

5. Applicant Information:

6. Project Information:

7. Signature Block:

The "Attachments Form" is not a form in the conventional sense. Rather, it is a place to attach documents that you have completed and saved elsewhere on your computer.

1. Attachment 1 (Literature Fellowships Application Supplemental Information) is a fillable form; you will find a link to it. This form can be filled in, saved to your computer, and attached without the need for special software or conversion to PDF.

2. Attachments 2 - 4 are documents that you will develop in accordance with the instructions provided. These items must be submitted as PDF (portable document format) files.

   These non-form documents can be created using any word processing software. When you have completed the document, save it to your computer and convert it to PDF before attaching. If you don't already have software to convert files to PDF, there are many low-cost and free software packages that can do this. To learn more, go to PDF Conversion Programs.

   Please make sure to convert your documents into PDF format in line with the guidance above. Do not create PDFs of your electronic documents by scanning. In the past, some applicants have printed their electronic documents and then scanned them, saving the scan in PDF format. PDFs created this way are much larger, and of lower quality, than PDFs created by the methods we recommend. Do not embed non-printable media files (video and/or sound) in your PDF documents. Static images (e.g., pictures) are acceptable. Please do not enable any document security settings or password-protect any PDF file you submit to us.

   No attachment should be more than 2 MB.

3. For non-form documents, label pages clearly with the name of the item (e.g., Summary of Applicant Publications) and your legal name. Leave a margin of at least one inch at the top, bottom, and sides of all pages. Do not reduce type below 12 point font size. Do not type in all capital letters. Number pages sequentially. Excess pages will be removed and not be reviewed.

4. Name your files as indicated below and attach them in the proper order. Limit file names to 50 characters and do not use special characters (such as &, -, *, %, /, or #) in attachment names. This includes periods, blank spaces, and accent marks. An underscore may be used to separate a file name. If you use special characters, your application may be rejected. Please note that you cannot change the name of a file on the Attachments Form. Therefore make certain that each file is named correctly before you attach it.

When you open the Grants.gov Attachments Form, you will find 15 attachment buttons. By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the PDF file from your computer that you wish to attach. Please attach the proper file to the proper button as listed below.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FORM

To this button, attach the Literature Fellowships Application Supplemental Information form. We collect this information to inform the agency about the composition of the application pool. This information is not provided to panelists, nor is it taken into consideration for the awarding of grants. The file name should be your last name followed by "SuppInfo.pdf" (e.g., JonesSuppInfo.pdf).

Under Category Under Which Support is Requested, check "Fellowships for Creative Writers." Then choose "Poetry."

To this button, attach one copy of your manuscript sample. The file name should be your last name followed by "Manuscript.pdf."

Your manuscript sample must be a maximum of 10 typescript, single-column pages of:

• Poetry, with no more than one poem per page
  or
• One long poem (or section of a long poem)

Please note that applicants may submit one or more writing samples as their manuscript, but the total pages cannot exceed 10 pages. All samples must be in the same genre (poetry).

Your manuscript sample must be:

1. From work that you have written in the time period that establishes your eligibility, and for which you have sole artistic responsibility. You may submit published work, unpublished work, or work in progress. Do not indicate whether or not the material has been published.

2. In the literary genre in which you establish your eligibility (e.g., poetry).

3. Completely free of your name, initials, address, or any other marks that could identify you.

4. Labeled to indicate title and genre of the sample. At the top of every page, include the page number in the upper right corner and state the titles of poems.

5. In typescript and clearly readable. Use a 12 point font and margins of at least one inch at the top, bottom, and sides of all pages. Do not submit more than the maximum number of pages that are allowed; excess pages will be removed.

Remember to convert your manuscript into PDF in line with the guidance above (Step 2: Complete and Attach Required Items to the Attachments Form). Do not create PDFs of your electronic documents by scanning.

To this button, attach one copy of an unnumbered cover page that lists your legal name and address and the title(s) of the work(s) you are submitting. The file name should be your last name followed by "CoverPg.pdf." Your name, initials, address, or other identifying marks must not appear on any other page of the manuscript material that is submitted.

To this button, attach a Summary of Applicant Publications to establish your eligibility (two-page, single-spaced maximum). The file name should be your last name followed by "SummaryPubs.pdf."

List the specific published works that establish your eligibility (see Eligibility for details). For each publication note:

• Title, author.
• Publisher (including name of magazine or press with physical address, web address, and phone number).
• Publication date (month and year, or volume/issue).
• ISBN or ISSN number, if a print publication.
• Number of pages of your material.
• Page number or exact URL of the page that features your poem if published online. If archived online, provide the exact URL of the archived poem.

Your Summary of Applicant Publications should be formatted exactly like the example below:

Title/Author:  A Walk in the City/ John Doe Publisher: University Press, 1234 Main St., Springfield, IL, www.up.edu, 123-456-7891 Publication Date/ Volume-Issue:  12/2009/ Vol. 5 Issue 2 ISBN or ISSN: 0000000000 # of pages: 7 Page # or URL: 131-137

Title/Author:  “Hidden Moon”/ Flores Paz Publisher:  Violet Journal, 44 Spring St., Mesa, AZ, www.violetjournal.org, 333-456-7891 Publication Date/ Volume-Issue: 10/2009/ Vol. 32 Issue 4 (Fall) ISBN or ISSN: n/a # of pages: 5 Page # or URL:  www.violetjournal.org/32-4/paz

Upon request, you must provide proof of eligibility to the Arts Endowment in the form of one or more of the following ways:

1. The title page or cover with your name and the title of the work.

2. The copyright page with the publisher's information; publication date (month and year); ISBN or ISSN number, if a print publication; or exact URL that features your poems, if publication is online only.

3. The publication's stated selection criteria and editorial policy.

Follow the detailed instructions under "Submit your electronic application"above.