Review Criteria

In reviewing applications for Literature Fellowships, advisory panelists consider solely the artistic excellence and artistic merit of the work that is submitted. The identity of the applicant is not known to the panelists.

What Happens to Your Application

Applications are evaluated through an anonymous process according to the review criteria above.

NEA staff processes applications to determine eligibility and completeness. Applications are reviewed, in closed session, by advisory panelists in the literary arts field. Each literary arts panel comprises a diverse group of arts experts and at least one knowledgeable layperson. To review the applications, the NEA assembles a different advisory panel every year, each diverse with regard to geography, race and ethnicity, sex/gender, and artistic points of view. Panel recommendations are forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, which then makes recommendations to the NEA Chair. The Chair reviews the Council’s recommendations and makes the final decision on all grant awards. Applicants are then notified of funding decisions.