McKnight
McKnight Fellowships for Writers
Award is Closed
2025 Award is closed for applications
2025 McKnight Fellowships for Writers Administered by the Loft
One $25,000 fellowship is awarded each year in children’s literature, including poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. This year’s award is offered to a writer for children 8 years old and older.
Four $25,000 fellowships are offered in alternating years to writers of creative prose and poetry/spoken word. The 2025 year cycle is in creative prose.
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 between writing for ages under eight years old and writing for children eight years and older.
Please contact program manager of awards, Marion Gómez at [email protected] with any questions.
Deadline to apply is November 19, 2024
McKnight Fellows 2024
Congratulations 2024 McKnight Fellows!
The Loft Literary Center is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 McKnight 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 Mahogany L. Browne in poetry/spoken word and Don Tate in children’s literature.
The Loft received 28 qualified applications in children’s literature and 65 qualified applications in poetry/spoken word. This year’s recipients are children’s writer Catherine Thimmesh (Eden Prairie) and poets/spoken word artists Stephani Maari Booker (Minneapolis), Sonia Greenfield (Minneapolis), Ed Bok Lee (Minneapolis), and Aurora Masum-Javed (Saint Paul).
Read the full linked press release.
2025 Info Session
This is a recording of the 2025 info session.
McKnight Fellowships for Writers Administered by the Loft
Founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists and culture bearers 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 and culture bearers has been a cornerstone of the program since it began in 1982. The McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships Program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in 15 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/
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in the Midwest; building an equitable and inclusive Minnesota; and supporting the arts and culture in Minnesota, neuroscience, and global food systems.
McKnight Fellowships for Writers Through the Years
The McKnight Foundation has partnered with the Loft since 1982 to administer some version of the McKnight Fellowships for Writers. Here is a list of the judges and fellows throughout those years.
1982
Poetry
Fellows: Robert Bly, Marisha Chamberlain, Michael Moos, William Meissner
Judges: [Maura Stanton, Harold Jaffe, Al Young], Linda Pastan, William Stafford
Prose
Fellows: Patricia Hampl, Susan Allen Toth, Susan Welch, Robert Williams
Judges: [Maura Stanton, Harold Jaffe, Al Young], Elizabeth Hardwick, Robley Wilson, Jr.
1983
Poetry
Fellows: John Engman, Kate Green, Sheryl Noethe, Susan Marie Swanson
Judges: Joy Harjo, Gwen Head, Carolyn Forche, Kenneth Koch
Prose
Fellows: Emilio DeGrazia, Ellen Hawley, Lynn Levine, Stephen Rosen
Judges: Dianne Benedict, James Alan McPherson, Alice Adams, Tobias Wolff
1984
Poetry
Fellows: Philip Dacey, Howard Mohr, David Mura, Catherine Stearns
Judges: Maggie Anderson, Ted Kooser, Donald Hall
Prose
Fellows: Sam Avery, Ruth Hammond, Robert Lacy, Brenda Graves
Judges: Elizabeth Arthur, Tomas Rivera, James Atlas
1985
Poetry
Fellows: David Brunet, Margaret Hasse, Jim Moore, Warren Woessner
Judges: Faye Kicknosway, Nicholas Christopher, June Jordan
Prose
Fellows: Jill Breckenridge, Rick Christman, Steven Polansky, Will Weaver
Judges: Moira Crone, Scott Russell Sanders, Rudolfo Anaya
1986
Poetry
Fellows: Michael Dennis Browne, Roseann Lloyd, Sheila Packa, John Reinhard
Judges: Marilyn Waniek, Judith Minty, Michael Harper
Prose
Fellows: Paulette Bates Alden, Julie Landsman, John Minczeski, Lynna Williams
Judges: David Long, Susan Mernit, Penelope Gilliatt
1987
Poetry
Fellows: John Caddy, Louis Jenkins, Barton Sutter, Cary Waterman
Judges: Christianne Balk, Ronald Wallace, Clarence Major
Prose
Fellows: Jonis Agee, Robert Cowgill, Vicky Lettman, James Thornton
Judges: Patricia Henley, Joyce Kornblatt, Clark Blaise
1988
Poetry
Fellows: Candace Black, Florence Dacey, Kathy Houser, Patricia Kirkpatrick
Judges: Naomi Shihab Nye, John Engels
Prose
Fellows: Sandra Benitez, Michael Chauss, Anne Farrer Scott, Frank Wilderson, III
Judges: Ishmael Reed, Mary Lee Settle
Awards of Distinction: Poetry
Joe Paddock, Cary Waterman
Judge: Norman Dubie
1989
Poetry
Fellows: Beverly Acuff Momoi, Sheila O'Connor, David Pink, Francine Sterle
Judges: Alberto Rios, Marilyn Hacker
Prose
Fellows: Ron Banet, Christian Davis, Tricia Baatz, Peter Wykes
Judges: Stanley Crouch, Josephine Humphreys
Awards of Distinction: Prose
Joseph Maiolo, Bill Meissner
Judge: Peter Taylor
1990
Poetry
Fellows: Jerry Hansen, Judith Hougen, Teresa Whitman, Morgan Grayce Willow
Judges: Nellie Wong, Haki Madhubuti
Prose
Fellows: Peter Bobbe, Daniel Gabriel, Judith Katz, Carol Masters
Judges: Sherley Anne Williams, Richard Elman
Awards of Distinction: Poetry
Deborah Keenan, Roseann Lloyd
Judge: Nikki Giovanni
1991
Poetry
Fellows: Alvin Greenberg, Yarrow Morgan, Kathleen Patrick
Judges: Dabney Stuart, Irena Kepfisz
Prose
Fellows: Evangeline Braaten, Emily Carter, P.S. Davies, Jack El-Hai, Harold Grey
Judges: Eugene B. Redmond, Valerie Miner
Awards of Distinction: Prose
Jonis Agee, Lon Otto
Judge: Peter Meinke
1992
Poetry
Fellows: Melanie Cockrell, Maureen Gibbon, Kathleen Heideman
Judges: Garrett Hongo, Dborah Pintonelli
Prose
Fellows: David Bengston, Jim Goralski, Martha Roth, Gregory Blake Smith, Brian West
Judges: Bradford Morrow, Shay Youngblood
Awards of Distinction: Poetry
David Mura, Monica Ochtrup
Judge: Miguel Algarin
1993
Poetry
Fellows: Edward Micus, Leslie Adrienne Miller, J.P. White
Judges: Martin Espada, Marilyn Waniek
Prose
Fellows: Pat Francisco, Michael Hatem, Elizabeth Mische John, Kathy Lewis, Nancy Meyer
Judges: Lewis Buzbee, Alison Moore
Awards of Distinction: Prose
Sandra Benitez, Mary Rockcastle
Judge: Clarence Major
1994
Poetry
Fellows: Michael Bonacci, Ana Ortiz de Montellano, Edith Rylander
Judges: Beth Brant, Ken McClane
Prose
Fellows: Karen Me Kyung Muckenhirn, Barrie Borich, Mary Petrie, Jessica Roeder, Mark Ryan
Judges: Abraham Rodriguez, Jr., Ron Rindo
Awards of Distinction: Poetry
Patricia Barone, Alvin Greenberg
Judge: Marilyn Hacker
1995
Poetry
Fellows: Elizabeth Mische, Thom Tammaro, Katharine Whitcomb-Nelson
Judges: Jane Hirshfield, Michael Warr
Prose
Fellows: E.J. Levy, Lynda McDonnell, Emily Meier, Lawrence Sutin, Richard Solly
Judges: John Mort, Debra Spark
Awards of Distinction: Prose
Alan Davis, Margaret Miles
Judge: Susanna Moore
1996
Poetry
Fellows: Glenn Freeman, River Karner, Marilyn Magee
Judges: Dorianne Laux and Adrian Louis
Prose
Fellows: Carolyn Colburn, Lorna Landvik, Alison McGhee, Sheila Packa, Debra Quaal
Judges: Michael Datcher and Sarah Schulman
Awards of Distinction: Poetry
John Engman, J.P. White
Judge: Yusef Komunyakaa
1997
$10,000 Loft Award in Poetry
Fellows: Janet Holmes, Rick Robbins
Judges: Bruce Bennett and Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge
$10,000 Loft Award in Creative Prose
Fellows: Eileen Hunter, Sarah Stonich, Beth Weatherby
Judges: Chitra Divakaruni and John Haines
$20,000 Loft Awards of Distinction: Prose
Fellows: Barrie Borich and Pat Francisco
Judge: Rosellen Brown
1998
$10,000 Loft Award in Poetry
Fellows: Stephanie Weller Hanson, Amy Jo Swing
Judges: Amy Gerstler and Jaime Manrique
$10,000 Loft Award in Creative Prose
Fellows: Kate DiCamillo, William Krueger, David Mura
Judges: David Low and Beth Nugent
$20,000 Loft Awards of Distinction: Poetry
Leslie Adrienne Miller and John Reinhard
Judge: Alice Fulton
1999
$10,000 Loft Award in Poetry
Fellows: Carlen Arnett and John O’Brien
Judges: Carl Phillips and Stephanie Strickland
$10,000 Loft Award in Creative Prose
Fellows: Maureen Gibbon, Marc Nieson, Mary Winstead
Judges: Francisco Goldman and Judith Kitchen
$20,000 Loft Awards of Distinction: Creative Prose
Diane Glancy and Lorna Landvik
Judge: Richard Rodriguez
2000
$10,000 Loft Award in Poetry
Fellows: Kate Lynn Hibbard and Jennifer Willoughby
Judges: E. Ethelbert Miller and Cathy Song
Honorable Mentions: Roger Sheffer and Richard Solly
$10,000 Loft Award in Creative Prose
Fellows: Gary Eldon Peter, Beverly Baranowski Rollwagen, Julie Schumacher
Judges: Paul Lisicky and A.J. Verdelle
Honorable Mentions: Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew and Lisa Zhang Warton
$20,000 Loft Awards of Distinction: Poetry
Robert Hedin and Richard Robbins
Judge: Quincy Troupe
Honorable Mentions: Glenn Freeman and Jude Nutter
2001
$25,000 Loft Awards in Creative Prose
Fellows: Judith Katz, Mary Rose O’Reilley, Martha Roth, John Salter
Judge: Dorothy Allison
Honorable Mentions: Dale Gregory Anderson, Michael Kiesow Moore, Judith Niemi
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature
Fellow: Kate Di Camillo
Judge: Emma K Dryden
Honorable Mentions: Marion Dane Bauer, Lindsay Lee Johnson, Phyllis Root
2002
$25,000 Loft Awards in Poetry
Fellows: Stephen Burt, Ray Gonzalez, Jim Moore, Joyce Sutphen
Judge: Rachel Hadas
Honorable Mentions: John Colburn, Robert C. Grunst, G.E. Patterson, Joanna Rawson
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Younger Children
Fellow: Susan Marie Swanson
Judge: Melanie Kroupa
Honorable Mentions: Mary Casanova, Marsha Wilson Chall, Wendy McCormick, Phyllis Root
2003
$25,000 Loft Awards in Creative Prose
Fellows: JoAnn Bren Guernsey, Kevin McColley, Steven Polansky, Linda Lightsey Rice
Judge: Clarence Major
Honorable Mentions: Maureen Aitken, Dale Gregory Anderson, Kevin Langton, Anthony Schmitz
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Older Children
Fellow: Laurel Winter
Judge: Alix Reid
Honorable Mentions: Catherine Clark, John Coy, Marsha Qualey
2004
$25,000 Loft Awards in Poetry
Fellows: Mark Conway, Dana Curtis, Dobby Gibson, Susan McLean
Judge: Li-Young Lee
Honorable Mentions: Cullen Bailey Burns, David Mura, Kevin O’Rourke
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Younger Children
Fellow: Janet Graber
Judge: Christy Ottaviano
2005
$25,000 Loft Awards in Creative Prose
Fellows: Margaret Todd Maitland, Valerie Miner, Dara Moskowitz, Jane Jeong Trenka
Judge: Denise Chávez
Honorable Mentions: Sandra Benítez, Heid Erdrich, Cheri Johnson, Julie Landsman, Mary Carroll Moore, Katy Reed, Suzanne Rivecca, Kipp Wessel, Bonnie Smith-Yackel
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Older Children
Fellow: Ann Ylviskar
Judge: Caitlin Dlouhy
Honorable Mentions: Mary Lou Brooks, Sharon Chmielarz, Pete Hautman, Laura Purdie Salas, Will Weaver
2006
$25,000 Loft Award in Poetry
Fellows: Margaret Hasse, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Yuko Taniguchi, Katrina Vandenberg
Judge: Naomi Shihab Nye
Honorable Mentions: Cullen Bailey Burns, Mary Logue, Linda Back McKay, Marilynn Walton, Kathleen Weihe
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Younger Children
Fellow: Phyllis Root
Judge: Lucia Monfried
Honorable Mentions: Dara Dokas, Betsy Thomas
2007
$25,000 Loft Award in Creative Prose
Fellows: Anne Campisi, Cheri Johnson, Bonnie Rough, John Salter
Judge: Jane Hamilton
Honorable Mentions: Barrie Jean Borich, Pamela Carter Joern, John Medeiros, Joel Hernandez Turnipseed
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Older Children
Fellow: Catherine Friend
Judge: Margery Cuyler
Honorable Mentions: Rebecca Fjelland Davis, Carol Dines
2008
$25,000 Loft Awards in Poetry and Spoken Word
Fellows: Ed Bok Lee, David Mura, Jude Nutter, Larry Schug
Judge: Martín Espada
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Younger Children
Fellow: Marsha Wilson Chall
Judge: Emily Easton
Honorable Mentions: Lindsay Lee Johnson, Lauren Stringer, Gwenyth Swain
2009
$25,000 Loft Awards in Creative Prose
Fellows: J.C. Hallman, John Jodzio, John Reimringer, Wang Ping
Judge: Bernard Cooper
Honorable Mentions: Jack El-Hai, Laura Flynn, Rebecca Kanner, Morgan Grayce Willow
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Older Children
Fellow: Trisha Speed Shaskan
Judge: Krista Marino
Honorable Mentions: Mary Casanova, Catherine Clark, Nancy Crocker, Phyllis Root
2010
$25,000 Loft Awards in Poetry and Spoken Word
Fellows: Kirsten Dierking, Susan Carol Hauser, Michael Larson, Elisabeth Workman
Judge: Marilyn Nelson
Honorable Mentions: Sean Hill, Tim Nolan, Mike Rollin, Christine Sikorski
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Younger Children
Fellow: Debra Frasier
Judge: Andrea Welch
Honorable Mentions: Linda Glaser, Lynne Jonell, Laura Purdie Salas, Constance Van Hoven
2011
$25,000 Loft Awards in Creative Prose
Fellows: John Colburn, Jessica Roeder, Ethan Rutherford, Dominic Saucedo
Judge: Pam Houston
Honorable Mentions: Alicia Conroy, Nick Healy, N.M. Kelby, Sarah Stonich
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Older Children
Fellow: Heather Bouwman
Judge: Arthur Levine
Honorable Mentions: Pete Hautman, Tunie Munson-Benson, Lisa M. Bolt Simons, Joan M. Wolf
2012
$25,000 Loft Awards in Poetry
Fellows: Mark Conway, Amy McCann, Jude Nutter, Matt Rasmussen
Judge: Mark Doty
Honorable Mentions: Dore Keisselbach, Brian Laidlaw, Ethna McKiernan, Anna George Meek
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Younger Children
Fellow: Lauren Stringer
Judge: Justin Chanda
Honorable Mentions: Marsha Wilson Chall, Terri DeGezelle, Michael Hall, Janet Lawson
2013
$25,000 Loft Awards in Creative Prose
Fellows: Matthew Batt, Eric Braun, Susan Koefed, Kao Kalia Yang
Judge: Luis Rodriguez
Honorable Mentions: Pallavi Dixit, Katie Hae Leo, Jonathan Odell, Yuko Taniguchi
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Older Children
Fellow: Anne Ursu
Judge: Donna Bray
Honorable Mentions: William Alexander, Brian Farrey-Latz, Lynne Jonell
2014
$25,000 Loft Awards in Poetry
Fellows: Danez Smith, Sierra DeMulder, Sun Yung Shin, Carolyn Williams-Noren
Judge: Nikky Finney
Honorable Mentions: Rita Moe, Kristin Naca, and Tracy Youngblom
$25,000 Loft Award in Children’s Literature/Younger Children
Fellow: Molly Beth Griffin
Judge: Jordan Brown
Honorable Mentions: Michael Hall, David LaRochelle, and Janet Lawson
2015
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Creative Prose
Fellows: Shannon Gibney, Susan Power, Susanne Aspley, Josh Ostergaard
Judge: LeAnne Howe
Honorable mentions: Danielle Sosin, Nancy Scott Hanway, Tami Mohamed Brown, Eric Vrooman
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship if Writing, Older Children’s Literature
Fellow: Kelly Barnhill
Judge: Connie Hsu
Honorable mentions: Megan Atwood, Laura Salas, Lynne Jonnell
2016
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Poetry and Spoken Word
Fellows: Khary Jackson, Kristin Naca, David Mura, Anders Carlson-Wee
Judge: Patrick Rosal
Honorable mentions: Hieu Minh Nguyen, Jude Nutter, Katharine Rauke, and Leslie Adrienne Miller.
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship if Writing, Older Children’s Literature
Fellow: Constance Van Hoven
Judge: Andrea Pinkney
Honorable mentions: Aimee Bissonette, Dara Dokas, Stephanie Watson, and Stephen Shaskan
2017
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Creative Prose
Fellows: Erin Kate Ryan, Susan Follett, Heid E. Erdrich, and Taiyon J. Coleman
Judge: Kiese Laymon
Honorable mentions: Rebecca Kanner, Lori Saroya, Tami Mohamed Brown, and Juliet Patterson
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Older Children’s Literature
Fellow: Brian Farrey
Judge: Kate Messner
Honorable mentions: Elizabeth Karre, Alison Behnke, Megan Atwood, and Jane O'Reilly
2018
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Spoken Word
Fellow: Donte Collins (St. Paul)
Judge: Anis Mojgani
Honorable mentions: Keno Evol (Minneapolis), Jeffrey Skemp (Minneapolis), April Gibson (Edina), and Tatyana (Peuo) Tuy (Edina).
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Poetry
Fellows: Hieu Minh Nguyen (Minneapolis), Chris Santiago (Bloomington), Lara Mimosa Montes (Brooklyn Center)
Judge: Solmaz Sharif
Honorable Mentions: Michael Torres (Mankato), Juliet Patterson (Minneapolis), Su Hwang (Minneapolis), and Miriam Karraker (Minneapolis)
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Books for Young Children
Fellow: Yvonne Pearson (Minneapolis)
Judge: Matt de la Pena
Honorable mentions: Megan Maynor (Minneapolis), Peter Pearson (Minneapolis), Barbara DaCosta (Minneapolis), and Elizabeth Karre (Saint Paul)
2019
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Creative Prose
Fellows: John Jodzio, Bronson Lemer, Emily Strasser, T.E. Wilderson
Judge: Cristina Garcia
Honorable mentions: Elizabeth Horneber, Pallavi Dixit, Chris McCormick, Michael Torres
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Older Children’s Literature
Fellow: Alison Behnke
Judge: Ibi Zoboi
Honorable mentions: Swathi Avasthi, Loretta Ellsworth, Lisa Simons, Artika Tyner
2020
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Spoken Word
Fellow: Blythe Baird
Honorables: Tish Jones, Jeffrey Skemp, and Rebecca Nichloson
Judge: Patricia Smith
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Poetry
Fellows: Michael Torres, Jacob Lindberg, and Claire Wahmanholm
Honorables: Valerie Deus, Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, and Preeti Kaur Rajpal
Judge: Natalie Diaz
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Picture Books
Fellow: Lauren Stringer
Honorables: Phyllis Root, Matt Lilley, and Kao Kalia Yang
Judge: Uma Krishnaswami
2021
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Creative Prose
Fellows: Angela Pelster, Abbey Mei Otis, Carson Faust, and Heather Quinn
Judge: Hanif Abdurraqib
Honorable mentions: Sun Yung Shin, Sheila O'Connor, Elizabeth Horneber, and Emma Torzs
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Older Children’s Literature
Fellow: V.T. Bidania
Judge: Erin Entrada Kelly
Honorable mentions: Heather Bouman, Margi Preus, Swati Avasthi, and Sarah Ahiers
2022
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Spoken Word
Fellow: Khary (K.W.) Jackson
Honorables: Jeffrey Skemp, Miss Mari, and Tatyana (Peuo) Tuy
Judge: Beau Sia
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Poetry
Fellows: Douglas Kearney, Preeti Kaur Rajpaul, Chavonn Williams Shen
Honorables: Katharine Rauk, Chelsea DesAutels, Halee Kirkwood, and Marlin M. Jenkins
Judge: Ilya Kaminsky
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Picture Books
Fellow: Dr. Artika Tyner
Honorables: Barbara DaCosta, Martin Cozza, Stephen Shaskan, and Art Coulson
Judge: Meg Medina
2023
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, Prose
Fellows: Naomi Cohn, Gen Del Raye, Hilal Isler, and Kao Kalia Yang
Honorables: Lesley Arimah, Zibiquah Denny, Otis Roffman, and Aurelia Wills
Judge: Alexander Chee
$25,000 McKnight Fellowship in Writing, CYA Older
Fellow: Art Coulson
Honorables: Brita Sandstrom, TiArra Shepherd, Catherine Thimmesh, and Laura Zimmermann
Judge: Aida Salazar
2024
2024 Children's Literature
Catherine Thimmesh (Eden Prairie)
2024 Poetry and Spoken Word
Stephani Maari Booker (Minneapolis)
Sonia Greenfield (Minneapolis)
Ed Bok Lee (Minneapolis)
Aurora Masum-Javed (Saint Paul)