Home > Funding for Publishers > Professional Development Consulting Program

Professional Development Consulting Program

Guidelines

CLMP offers literary magazines and presses the opportunity to apply for support to pay for 10 to 20 hours of working with a professional consultant on a proposed project to help build organizational capacity. This program helps grantees identify and implement strategies for improvement in areas such as marketing, publicity, distribution, website development, fundraising, strategic and succession planning, and overall operations.

Eligibility and Requirements

  • Applicants must be literary magazines and/or presses based in the United States.
  • Publishers located in New York State that received NYSCA funding for 2027 are ineligible.
  • Publishers must have published at least one title or issue within the past 18 months.
  • Publishers must be primarily literary (over 50% of work published must be fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, drama, and/or literary reviews).
  • Publishers that primarily publish children’s literature are not eligible.
  • Hybrid publishers and self-publishers are not eligible.
  • Publishers must have a consultant confirmed before applying.
  • Awarded amounts will be paid directly to consultants.
  • Grantees must be able to complete the consultancy by November 30, 2027.
  • Grantees must submit a final report by December 15, 2027.

For more information, read our FAQs.

Review Process

Applications will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

  • Clear and complete articulation of the proposed project
  • Feasibility of the project as described in the project description and budget
  • Potential impact on organizational capacity and/or sustainability
  • Organization’s contribution to the literary field and artistic excellence of the submitted work samples

Grantees will be recommended by an independent panel of three individuals with expertise in the literary field. Final grant decisions will be approved by a committee of the CLMP Board of Directors.

For additional information about how to apply, please consult the following CLMP resources:

Timeline

November 9, 2026: Application portal opens
January 11, 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET: Application portal closes
March 2027: Grants announced
March–November 2027: Grant period
November 30, 2027: Projects completed
December 15, 2027: Final reports due

Application and Deadline

Applications will be accepted through Submittable only. Applicants must create a free Submittable account in order to apply. To preview the application, applicants may download it here. 

The deadline to submit applications is January 11, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. ET. 

Information Session

CLMP will hold an information session about this opportunity on November 12, 2026, at 4 p.m. ET.

In New York State, the Professional Development Consulting Program is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

 

Funding for the Professional Development Consulting Program is also made possible by Hawthornden Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hawthornden Foundation logoNational Endowment for the Arts