The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced the winners of its annual fellowships, given to “exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation of any artform.”
Several authors are among the recipients of this year’s grants, which vary in amount.
Jacqueline Woodson, the author of several books for children, young readers, and adults, including the National Book Award–winning Brown Girl Dreaming, was among the fiction winners. Also taking home fellowships in that category were Kali Fajardo-Anstine (Sabrina & Corina), James Hannaham (Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta), Jac Jemc (Empty Theatre), and Héctor Tobar (The Last Great Road Bum).
Grant recipients in the general nonfiction category included Abraham Verghese (My Own Country), Beth Macy (Dopesick), Kao Kalia Yang (Somewhere in the Unknown World), and Edward McPherson (The History of the Future).
Eight poets took home the fellowships, including Brian Komei Dempster (Seize), Wayne Koestenbaum (Camp Marmalade), Atsuro Riley (Romey’s Order), and Shara McCallum (The Water Between Us).
The Guggenheim Fellowships have been awarded since 1925. Past winners have included Philip Roth, Yiyun Li, Joan Silber, Masha Gessen, and Teju Cole. A full list of this year’s recipients is available on the Guggenheim Foundation’s website.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
