Recent Grant Support for CityLit Project

We are thrilled to announce that CityLit Project has been awarded grant funding from three incredible organizations!

A heartfelt thank you to:

• William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund Grant - On December 5, 2024 the Baker Fund Board of Governors awarded a 10,000 conditional  grant to CityLit Project, Inc. to update and add essential content for more reader engagement and to boast spectacular CityLit event photos. We thank William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Portfolios www.BakerArtist.org, for awarding us this grant! This grant is contingent on CityLit Project raising $40,000 to secure the funds. Please consider making a donation today to help us unlock this critical funding to strengthen our digital reach and community engagement.
• Robert W. Deutsch Foundation - Instrumental in growing our team and perhaps one of the most meaningful demonstrations of helping build our capacity to serve the literary arts community in innovative ways. We couldn’t be more thankful.

We are so grateful to be recognized for our programming in this way.

Opportunities for Writers

Baker Artist Awards

The Baker Artist Awards recognize artists who demonstrate excellence in three areas: Mastery of Craft, Depth of Artistic Exploration, and Unique Vision. 

In 2025, one artist in each of the six artistic disciplines-- Visual Arts, Film/ Video, Interdisciplinary, Literary Arts, Performance, and Music-- will be awarded the $10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize. One of these six artists will be selected to receive the additional $30,000 Mary Sawyers Imboden prize, for a total of $40,000. 

All artists who have an active portfolio on the Baker website on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 5:00PM (deadline extended!) will be considered for one of this year's six awards. 

Learn more and create a free portfolio at: bakerartist.org

Maryland State Arts Council’s Grants for Artists

The Grants for Artists program aims to provide artists with holistic support rather than support that focuses solely on a particular product or project-based needs. A primary goal of the program is to strengthen the creative workforce, which is a vital part of Maryland’s economy and culture.

Funding Amount: $2,500

Deadline: January 17, 2025

Learn more and apply at: msac.org/programs/grants-artists/grants-artists

Root & Story Writing Retreat

Paradise Valley, Arizona

April 14-18, 2025

Join us for a transformative four-day writing retreat in the serene beauty of Paradise Valley, Arizona. Designed for Black women, this retreat is an opportunity to shift how you see yourself and your writing while being creatively rejuvenated. Beyond writing, this retreat is an opportunity to connect meaningfully with a community of 10 like-minded Black women through shared meals, evening circles, and interactive moments of reflection. All retreat packages are all-inclusive of accommodation, ground transportation, meals, drinks, and retreat activities.

Deadline to submit retreat applications is February 1, 2025. 

Learn more and apply at: rootandstory.com

Dream Big Competition

The Dream Big Challenge at the Lyric Baltimore is an annual contest that encourages Baltimore students from grades 5 to 12 to submit creative works reflecting their dreams for a better world. The submission portal is open for the 2025 Dream Big Contest. The contest is open until Friday, February 14^th.

We are asking Baltimore City and Baltimore County students to respond to the question, Though it may be hard to face, what is the one thing you would change to make the world a better place? Students can submit an essay, poem, edited video, and new, this year, a musical composition. Students in grades 5^th-12^th are eligible to enter the contest; prior winners are not eligible to win the contest again.

The 16 finalists will receive cash prizes and a new laptop.

Learn more and apply at dreambigcontest.org