The PEN America 2023 Emerging Voices fellows read together as the culmination of their fellowship.
Fellows: Vera Blossom, Lindsay Ferguson, Joy McKinley, Jassmine Parks, Arianne Elena Payne, Zen Ren, Denise Rhone, Kristen Yoo Shim, Layli Shirani, D’mani Thomas, JJ Xiao, and Lucy Zhou
Mentors: Fatimah Asghar, Anelise Chen, Alechia Dow, Meng Jin, Lisa Ko, Lilliam Li, Jasmine Mans, Airea D. Matthews, Deesha Philyaw, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Tanaïs, and Lidia Yuknavitch
The Emerging Voices Fellowship provides a five-month immersive mentorship program for early-career writers from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world. The program is committed to cultivating the careers of Black writers, and serves writers who identify as Indigenous, persons of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, writers with disabilities, and those living outside of urban centers. Through curated one-on-one mentorship and introductions to editors, agents, and publishers, in addition to workshops on editing, marketing, and creating a platform, the five-month fellowship nurtures creative community, provides a professional skill-set, and demystifies the path to publication—with the ultimate goal of diversifying the publishing and media industries.
The Emerging Voices Fellowship grew out of PEN America Los Angeles’s forum “Writing the Immigrant Experience,” held at the Los Angeles Central Library in March 1994, which explored the experiences of first- and second-generation immigrant writers. In 1996, PEN America Los Angeles initiated Emerging Voices as a mentorship program designed to provide professional resources to writers seeking financial and creative support to pursue their craft professionally. In 2021, virtually accessible programs and an expanded cohort of fellows will further the goal of diversifying the publishing and media industries by enabling participation from writers across the country.
This program is made possible by the generous support of The Yvonne & Michael Marsh Family Foundation.
Video editing: Tempe Hale
Music supervision: Bennett Shaeffer of dublab
Artwork: Studio La Maria
2023 Emerging Voices Fellowship Management: Jared Jackson, TC. Mann, and Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf
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