McKnight

The Loft administers the McKnight Fellowships for Writers. Five $25,000 awards are presented annually to accomplished Minnesota writers and spoken word artists. Four awards alternate annually between creative prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry/spoken word. The fifth award is presented in children’s literature and alternates annually for writing for ages eight and under and writing for children older than eight.

The Loft Literary Center is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Writers, Loft Awards in Poetry, Spoken Word, and Loft Award in Children's Literature (Younger Children). The fellowships are judged by prominent American authors and editors, and the winners, all from Minnesota, are awarded $25,000 each. The judges this year were Ilya Kaminsky in poetry, Beau Sia in spoken word, and Meg Medina in children’s literature.

The Loft received 94 qualified applications across all three categories this cycle. This year’s recipients are children’s writer Dr. Artika Tyner (Saint Paul); spoken word artist K.W. Jackson (Saint Paul); and poets Douglas Kearney (Saint Paul), Preeti Kaur Rajpal (Minneapolis), and Chavonn Shen (Saint Paul).