Scholarships

NEW! The Poisoned Pen / Barbara Peters Scholarship for ThrillerFest 2026

The Poisoned Pen / Barbara Peters Scholarship to ThrillerFest XXI (May 5-9, 2026) is open to any ITW Member (full members only) who has, at the time of submission to the scholarship, published (or is under contract for) at least one novel (of at least 80K words) and has no more than three published novels.

To apply, click here. (The application is a Google form and will open in a new tab.)

Each scholarship recipient will receive a complimentary pass to attend ThrillerFest XXI (CraftFest, ThrillerFest, and the Awards Banquet). Travel, accommodations, and other add-on events at ThrillerFest not listed are not included.

A panel of esteemed judges will review the submissions. Applications must be submitted by February 15, 2026. ITW will contact the scholarship winners via email in early March 2026.

Fresh Perspectives and Undiscovered New Voices Scholarship Opportunities for ThrillerFest 2026

ITW is awarding scholarships in two separate categories for ThrillerFest 2026:

  • The Fresh Perspectives Scholarship for any underrepresented author, published or unpublished. To apply, click here (the application is a Google Form and will open in a new tab.)
  • The Undiscovered New Voices Scholarship for any unpublished author who is writing a mystery/thriller novel (80-100k words). To apply, click here (the application is a Google Form and will open in a new tab.) 

Each scholarship recipient will receive a $1,000 (USD) stipend and a complimentary pass to attend ThrillerFest XXI which takes place May 5 – May 9, 2026 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Included events in the complimentary pass are FBI & ATF Day, Master Class 1.0, CraftFest, PitchFest, ThrillerFest, and the Awards Banquet. Other add-on events not listed are not included.

A panel of esteemed judges review the submissions. Applications must be submitted by February 15, 2026. Winners will be contacted via email in early March, 2026, and the winners will be announced publicly via our email list (subscribe here) and on social media in late March 2026.

 

Scholarship Sponsorships

If you would like to sponsor a scholarship, please email samantha@thrillerwriters.org.

For more information about the event please visit: www.thrillerfest.com

For more information or questions, please contact Executive Director of International Thriller Writers, Kimberley Howe at: kimberleyhowe@thrillerwriters.org