Scholarships of the City of Vienna in the Field of Literature

The City of Vienna Culture supports literary authors with two funding programs to secure the completion of extensive writing projects. The Elias Canetti Scholarship grants €18,000 annually for the duration of one year and can be extended up to three years. Four scholarships are awarded each year to applicants who already have a representative body of work. In addition, the Literature Project Scholarship supports the completion of prose, poetry, drama, and essays with fifty individual grants of €1,000 each. Both programs aim to provide authors with the financial relief necessary to create space for creative work and to sustainably strengthen Vienna’s literary landscape.

Eligible applicants are persons aged 18 and over with a main residence in Vienna for at least three years, whose projects have a clear connection to Vienna and meet public interest as well as high-quality standards. For the Elias Canetti Scholarship, a comprehensive previous body of work must be demonstrated, while project scholarship recipients are required to acknowledge the funding title in their publication. Applications are accepted on an ongoing and open-ended basis, allowing both spontaneous project ideas and long-term plans a chance for funding. The transparent evaluation criteria – quality standards, public benefit, and municipal relevance – ensure fair allocation and contribute to the diversity and excellence of Vienna’s literary scene.