The National League of American Pen Women, Inc. awards three grants of $1,000 each in the classifications of art, letters, and music to women 35 years of age or older who are not now or ever have been a member of the League. In addition to the grant, recipients will receive a two-year honorary associate membership in NLAPW.

Applicants may not have been previously awarded a Shirley Holden Helberg Grant for Mature Women.

To apply, candidates must email their materials to the appropriate chair with the subject line Mature Women Grant Submission, followed by their last name. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

Application Requirements

• In the body of the email, write a cover letter of no more than 500 words describing how you intend to use the grant money, with any pertinent information about yourself.
• Include complete contact information: name, address, telephone number, and email.
• Attach any type of proof of age (e.g., a scanned copy of your driver’s license).
• Pay your fee of $35 via PayPal below.

Submissions will be accepted between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30.

Additional Guidelines for Each Category

Art: Submit three jpg images of your artwork in oils, watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, photography, sculpture, or printmaking. All work must be original. Attach the images to your cover letter. Send to: Joan Applebaum, art chair, artchair@nlapw.org.

Music: Send two compositions: three-minute minimum and five-minute maximum performance time, attached as MP3 files (please limit size per file to 5MB). Send to: Sunny Zank, music chair, musichair@nlapw.org.

Letters: Submit a manuscript (published or unpublished) in any or a combination of the following categories: article, drama, essay, first chapter of a novel, excerpt from a nonfiction book, short story, five poems, television script excerpt. Entry should be 5-10 pages. Combine into one Word document identified with your last name. Send to: Karen McAferty Morris, letters chair, lettchair@nlapw.org.