What to Know About Grants for Creative Writing

Join Executive Director, Rafael Espinal and Shana Clarke, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) 2025 Grant Recipient for Literature for a fireside chat on the insights into the creative writing process, and what to know about applying for grants.

Come with questions for our Q&A!

This event coincides with Fall of Freedom, a national call to action for the creative

community.

Key learning outcomes:

• Get inspired for your own project with a writing prompt and an author interview
• Hear from an author about writing a book while balancing work as a full-time freelancer
• Learn about the grant process for NYSCA and other tips for grant applications

About our speaker:

Shana Clarke is a wine, sake, and travel writer and author. Her work has appeared in Decanter, Saveur, Conde Nast Traveler, Fortune, NPR, Wine Enthusiast, Food & Wine, and SevenFifty Daily, among others. She was shortlisted for the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards and ranked one of the “Top 20 U.S. Wine Writers That Wineries Can Work With” by Beverage Trade Network. She holds a Level 3 Advanced Certificate from Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is a Certified Sake Sommelier. In addition, she is the author of 150 Vineyards You Need To Visit Before You Die and the contributing author to the North America section of The Wine Lover’s Bucket List. Outside of wine writing, Shana is a grant recipient of the New York Council on the Arts 2025 for Literature for her novel-in-progress.

Follow her on Instagram on @shanaspeakswine subscribe to her Substack shanaspeakswine.substack.com , or view her work on www.shanaspeakswine.com