The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) is accepting applications for the Kim Wall Memorial Fund, which awards US$5,000 reporting grants to women and nonbinary journalists anywhere in the world. The grant funds reporting on subcultures, broadly defined: the kind of curious, people-centred stories Swedish journalist Kim Wall was known for.
Deadline: 6 December 2026. Apply through IWMF’s Submittable portal.
Key Details
- Organiser: International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), with Kim Wall’s family and friends
- Grant: US$5,000 per grantee
- Open to: women and nonbinary journalists worldwide
- Experience: at least 1 year in professional news media
- Focus: reporting on subcultures
- Deadline: 6 December 2026
About Kim Wall and the Fund
Kim Wall was a Swedish freelance journalist whose work appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, TIME and The Guardian. She described her focus as “the undercurrents of rebellion”. She was an IWMF fellow and grantee, reporting from Uganda and Sri Lanka in 2016. Since 2018, the fund has backed women and nonbinary reporters who carry her legacy forward. Past grantees include journalists from around the world, such as Bongani Siziba (2021) and Clair MacDougall (2020).
Benefits
- a US$5,000 grant to report a story on a subculture
- the recognition of an internationally respected journalism award
- joining a network of IWMF grantees and supporters
- a story published that brings under-covered communities to wider audiences
Note: IWMF doesn’t cover equipment purchase or rental, and the grant can’t fund academic research or research for academic publication.
Eligibility
- you identify as a woman or nonbinary
- you have at least one year of professional experience working in news media
- you can be based anywhere in the world
- your proposed story covers a subculture, broadly defined
What Counts as a Subculture?
IWMF defines it broadly. Think of communities, movements or ways of life outside the mainstream: youth music scenes, informal economies, religious or spiritual groups, sports fandoms, online communities, artisans or traditional practices, or groups pushing back against social norms.
How to Apply
- Read about the fund on the official IWMF Kim Wall Memorial Fund page.
- Open the Kim Wall Memorial Fund application on Submittable and create a free account.
- Describe your proposed story, the subculture you’ll report on, your plan and how you’ll use the funds.
- Add your experience and work samples.
- Submit before 6 December 2026.
Tips for African Journalists
- Pick a specific, vivid community: Lagos skateboarders, Nairobi matatu artists, Ghanaian gospel drill rappers, Sahel herding cultures.
- Show access: explain how you know the community and can tell its story with care.
- Share strong clips that show you can report and write long-form stories.
- Keep the budget realistic for US$5,000 and avoid equipment costs.
