McKnight
McKnight Fellowships for Writers
Award is Closed
McKnight Fellowships for Writers
AWARD IS CLOSED
About the Fellowships
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.
2021 Recipients
The Loft Literary Center is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Writers, Loft Awards in Creative Prose and Loft Award in Children's Literature (Older 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 Hanif Abdurraqib in creative prose and Erin Entrada Kelly in children’s literature.
The Loft received 32 qualified applications in children’s literature and 88 qualified applications in creative prose. This year’s recipients are children’s writer V.T. Bidania (Arden Hills) and creative prose writers Angela Pelster (Saint Paul), Abbey Mei Otis (Minneapolis), Carson Faust (Hopkins), and Heather Quinn (Saint Paul).
Founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive, the McKnight Foundation’s arts and culture program is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country. Support for individual working Minnesota artists has been a cornerstone of the program since it began in 1982. The McKnight Artist Fellowships Program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in 14 different creative disciplines. Program partner organizations administer the fellowships and structure them to respond to the unique challenges of different disciplines. Currently the foundation contributes about $2.8 million per year to its statewide fellowships. For more information, visit mcknight.org/artistfellowships.
McKnight Fellow Donte Collins
