Plus give or get help from LitNYS Mentor on Call!
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Representing Literature
for New York State
LitNYS is the nation's largest ecosystem of literary arts organizations, building literary capacity, community, and culture for 25 years.
April 2026 Letter
Capacity Building
FUNDING FOR THE FIELD
Literary Arts Fund Field Scan
A Note from Debora & Laurie
Dear Friends & Literary Leaders,
Our field of literary nonprofit arts has grown steadily. Yet according to Literary Arts Fund research, we receive the least private foundation support of any artistic discipline—just 1.9%. As you all know too well, the lack of investment has led to severely under-resourced organizations.
The Literary Arts Fund is an unprecedented five-year initiative focused on U.S.-based organizations and publishers that support contemporary writers of all genres. Initiated by Mellon as a collaborative effort in service of the field’s needs and promise, the fund aims to raise visibility and distribute at least $50 million.
Last week the Fund held an informational session and we'd like to take this space to highlight a few key points:
- The majority of literary arts funding traces back to family and local foundations, with median grants relatively small, around $10k. This underscores what fund Executive Director Jen Benka calls “the inside outness of fundraising,” in other words, the importance of activating your local funders and moving outwards from there.
The language we use when talking both internally and externally makes a big difference, and misconceptions are huge. This is a key reason for consistently using the straightforward terms: "Literary Arts" and "Nonprofit Literary Arts Field".
Collective research can help educate supporters on the meaningful difference they can make. The fund will be providing additional resources to help us in this effort.
We have a lot of work to do! And we look forward to doing it together.
Onward!
Debora & Laurie
MARK YOUR CALENDER
OPPORTUNITIES & INFORMATION
From the Arts Literary Fund
Grants
The Literary Arts Fund offers two grants per year: General Operating Grant & Innovation Projects Grant.
May, 2026: The first General Operating grant awardees will be announced.
June, 2026: Innovation Projects grants open, with deadline in September and notification by December.
Sessions
Free informational events are provided regularly via Zoom with registration required.
- May 7, 2026, 2-3PM ET: Budget Best Practices
- June 18, 2026, 2-3PM ET: Innovation Project Grants Info Session
Leadership Building
NEW LitNYS MENTORING SERVICE!
Mentor on Call
Connecting New York Literary Arts Leaders to Jumpstart Capacity-Building Solutions in Real Time
We're stronger together! If you have expertise or resources that could benefit another organization, pay it forward as a Mentor on Call! Or if you would like help from one of your experienced peers, sign up to be mentored!
Mentor on Call enables light-touch, high-impact, self-directed knowledge-sharing to leverage our collective resources and strengthen the vital ecosystem of literature.
- Who: From seasoned leaders looking to give back to emerging professionals seeking guidance, any member of the LitNYS network can be a Mentor on Call and/or receive support from one. You determine the areas in which you have knowledge to give or gain.
- What: Provides capacity building support in areas ranging from fundraising, finance, and marketing to systems, governance, strategic planning, and beyond.
- Where: Virtual, on Google Meets
- When: Accessed at a moment’s notice based on your needs and time
- Why: Most networks struggle to facilitate meaningful connections between members. LitNYS members identified this as a challenge—and we heard you!
- How: This is a volunteer-based, peer-to-peer initiative—mentors generously volunteer their time to strengthen the field, and there is no cost for LitNYS members to receive support.
Looking for guidance on your Literary Arts Fund proposal? Have expertise to share? Sign up to give or get support from a LitNYS Mentor on Call!
Mentor on Call is powered by Girls Write Now, and a service of the LitNYS Mentoring Program.
COMMUNITY INSIGHTS
Special Sessions
Custom-Made for the LitNYS Community
Geraldine Grossman is the Founder of My Executive Coach, a national leadership and
coaching consultancy. Working with leaders, Geri’s clients learn to lead with Emotional
Intelligence, the distinguishing factor in a leader’s effectiveness and success.
Emotional Intelligence
TOMORROW! Thursday, April 16
10 AM-12 PM via Zoom
Presented by Geraldine Grossman
What if the key to stronger leadership isn’t IQ—but EQ—Emotional Intelligence? In this engaging workshop, you will learn the four pillars or EQ as we explore how leaders build trust, manage conflict, inspire creativity, and strengthen workplace relationships.
Registration is limited to 30 participants.
Restorative Practice as a Relational Compass
Thursday, May 21
10 AM-12 PM via Zoom
Presented by Kyle Skovira and Daniel O'Brien
This session will introduce restorative practices as a framework for guiding how we relate to one
another within organizations. Rather than positioning restorative practices solely as a response
to conflict, this session explores them as a proactive, values-based approach to building trust,
accountability, and shared responsibility.
Registration is limited to 30 participants.
Kyle Skovira, LMSW (they/them) is a facilitator and psychotherapist who facilitates spaces that center reflection, dialogue, and storytelling as
pathways toward trust, accountability, and collective care.
Integrating Restorative Practices Within Organizations
Thursday, June 4
10 AM-12 PM via Zoom
Presented by Kyle Skovira and Daniel O'Brien
Building on the first session, this gathering centers on how restorative practices can be meaningfully integrated into the day-to-day life of organizations. Together, we will explore how relational approaches can move from ideas into lived practice, shaping how people communicate, make decisions, and navigate tension.
Registration is limited to 30 participants.
Daniel O'Brien is a non-profit literary arts professional and political organizer. His
experience stems from striving to improve organizing and professional spaces through
interrogating institutionalized privilege and hierarchical organizational structures, and facilitating
meaningful exchanges across difference.
Kerry McCarthy is the Founder and Principal of 1:1 Advisory, a consultancy she established to foster deeper partnerships between philanthropies and nonprofits. She currently serves on the boards of New Yorkers for Culture and the Arts, Mohonk Preserve, and FPWA. Kerry holds degrees from New York University (MA) and Sewanee: The University of the South (BA), participated in Coro’s Leadership New York program, and is a Crain’s New York Business Notable LGBTQ leader.
Finding Your Power in the Funder Relationship
Thursday, September 17
10 AM-12 PM via Zoom
Presented by Kerry McCarthy
In this two-hour session, leaders will learn to shift the power dynamic with funders from one of obligation to one of true, strategic partnership. Drawing on decades of experience from both sides of the philanthropic table, Kerry will explore with you why your organization is an indispensable engine of change that foundations need to fulfill their own missions. This interactive workshop moves beyond a simple lecture—you will clarify your unique value, translate organizational challenges into transparent learning opportunities, and find ways to share bad news with funders. By the end of this webinar, you will understand how to build more trusting partnerships with philanthropy and to reclaim your seat as an equal at the table.
Registration is limited to 30 participants.
Community Building
Podcast & Blog Series
Stories from the Field
Last year we shared the untold stories of LitNYS leaders on Girls Write Now's podcast, Lunch with LitNYS available on all major podcast platforms.
This year, Girls Write Now features conversations between LitNYS mentoring pairs on LinkedIn's Life@LitNYS.
LitNYS LinkedIn Group
Join our LinkedIn Group to Stay Connected with your Fellow Leaders!
LEADER TO LEADER
LitNews Member Edition
Initiatives, Events , Resources & Publication Announcements
Intergenerational Mentoring
From Girls Write Now
Pass the torch to the next generation of literary leaders—while receiving unique professional development, management experience, and a rare understanding of Gen Z. Applications are open for mentors in Girls Write Now's Summer Journeys. Apply by April 30 to join the Girls Write Now Collaboratory!
Following a wonderful event last month, Pen Parentis sends thanks to Donna Brodie for hosting, to Bruce Morrow for reading, and to Willard & Sara from Epiphany for such a good turnout!
Writing Fellowship
From Pen Parentis
Pen Parentis' Writing Fellowship for New Parents is open until April 17 for writers with kids under 10. Guidelines are available on their website.
This Space for You!
Invitation to all LitNYS Members
Want to spread the word about your organization's events, initiatives, and other opportunities? Post on LinkedIn or send to litnys@girlswritenow.org to be included in the May LitNews issue.
STATEWIDE LITERARY ARTS CONVENING
2026 Facing Pages
October 4-6 in NYC
The 2026 LitNYS Statewide Literary Arts Convening will be held October
4-6, 2026 in New York City. Friends old and new, please save the date! This is a special gathering you won't want to miss.
LitNews Partners
LitNYS
LitNYS is a coalition of New York State-based literary arts organizations committed to field-building work and collective thriving. We connect individuals of shared interest and purpose helping them build and sustain capacity to foster, promote, and present the literary arts. Founded in 2001 as a New York State Council on the Arts Literature initiative, LitNYS responded to national literary leaders’ call to professionalize the field. Our comprehensive collaborative approach—through our Advancement Regrants, Mentoring Program, Special Sessions, and Annual Statewide Literary Arts Convenings—has made us the nucleus of field-sustaining work for Literature in New York State.
Girls Write Now
Brought to you in partnership with Girls Write Now, LitNews NYS is a monthly digest of features, resources, and opportunities from the LitNYS network. With attacks on our freedoms mounting daily, now is the time to strengthen and project our collective voices, and Girls Write Now is committed to facilitating connections between LitNYS partners to further this goal. For nearly three decades, Girls Write Now—a nationally award-winning nonprofit, media incubator, and multi-generational community—has broken down the barriers of gender, age, race, and poverty to mentor, teach, and connect writers and leaders across disciplines and around the nation.
