Funding Guidelines

Creative Writing Criteria

1. The Academi’s Schemes
   Under the terms of the four literature promotion schemes Academi financially supports, funding will only be offered for events concerned with developing the practice, enjoyment and understanding of creative writing including the novel, poetry, short stories, plays in written form, experimental writing and literary criticism.
2. The Oral Tradition
   Academi also recognises that the oral tradition underpins any nation’s literature. The Mabinogi, Aneirin, the Gogyngeirdd, Dafydd ap Gwilym and Shakespeare, whose work was originally received by its audience in oral/dramatic form, have made extraordinary contributions to the world’s literature. Therefore we recognise oral storytelling as part of the literary scene.
3. Limits to the Academi’s national role
   Academi only engages with book promotion, literacy and reading development issues which concern or involve writers and producers of creative writing. National strategies for these national issues are in the hands of the local authorities and the Welsh Books Council.
4. Qualifying and non-qualifying subjects
   To qualify for support from the Academi, an event must fall within the realm of creative writing. Topics such as yoga, origami, canal systems,  archaeology, cookery, politics, foreign affairs, economics, religious history, stamp-collecting, cricket, travel, broadcasting,  physics, astronomy, astrology, coin-collecting, pigeon-fancying, gardening, tai-chi, aromatherapy, railways, famous non-literary figures, national and international history would not fall within the limits of the Academi’s concerns. Every so often, however, a rare writer comes along who raises the quality of writing in their field to new heights even though the subject matter at first sight would not be a natural one for an exponent of creative writing. Examples might be Jan Morris on travel, John Davies on history, Jim Perrin on mountaineering. The Academi could support lectures by writers of this quality, but only where the topic of the lecture mainly concerns the process of writing rather than the topic itself.
   
   Requests for support towards events featuring biographers and autobiographers are considered in the same way. Firstly, do they have an overtly creative writing interest? Or secondly, is there something about the work which raises it above the level of a simple account of a footballer’s career or the life of a religious figure or politician?
5. Advice
   If you are in doubt about the eligibility of an event you are planning, the Academi’s staff will be pleased to advise.