2023 Courage to Write Grantees, Writers of Note, & Finalists

COURAGE to WRITE Awardees:

Camille Wanliss An Ornament and a Disgrace (Historical Novel), New York, NY More

Caroline Schmidt The Understudy (Novel), Phoenix, AZ More

Ja’net Danielo Migration (Poetry), Long Beach, CA More

Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham What Time Is It Mr. Wolf? (Literary Fiction/Horror), Copenhagen, DENMARK More

Leila Christine Nadir Afghan Americana: An Intimate Geopolitical Memoir (Literary Memoir), Farmington, ME More

Lydia Kim The Divers (Novel), San Francisco Bay Area, CA More

Max Watman Tomorrow, the War (Historical Fiction/Literary Fiction), Powhatan, VA More

Ryan D. Matthews Country Music (Fiction), Brooklyn, NY More

Sahar Delijani The Luminous Blue (Literary Fiction), New York, NY More

Stephanie Cuepo Wobby To the Other Side of the Sea (Nonfiction Memoir), Milton, VT More

Writer of Note Awardees:

Akilah Wise Daughters of Dahomey (Young Adult Fiction), Atlanta Georgia More

Alfredo Aguilar Yield to No Country (Poetry), Lockhart, TX More

Alona Kharina No One is Home (Essays), Sumy, UKRAINE More

Amanda Mei Kim Intercalifornias: A Memoir of an Asian American Farming Family and the Land (Nonfiction Memoir), San Mateo, CA More

Anndee Hochman My Plural Is People (Young Adult Novel), PA More

Brian Malloy In the Boundary Waters (Novel), Minneapolis, MN More

Caren Lissner Wise Fool (Memoir/Creative Nonfiction), Hoboken, NJ More

Christina Chiu Failing to Thrive: A Story about Race and Gender Bias in Medicine (Nonfiction Memoir), New York, NY More

Christina Wood Escapes (Fiction), Athens, GA More

Cocoa Michelle Williams Syrup (Poetry), Marietta, GA More

Emily Hockaday Blood Music (Poetry), Queens, NY More

Eva Freeman Jericho (Historical Fiction), Brooklyn, NY More

Gary V. Powell Men in Love: Stories (Short Fiction), Cornelius, NC More

Joshua Aiken Wear a Clean Second Face (Poetry), New Haven, CT More

Melissa Chan You Must Take Part in Revolution (Graphic Novel), Co-author: Badiucao, Berlin, GERMANY More

Morris McLennan The Shapeshifters (Fiction), Chicago, IL More

Nikesha Elise Williams The Seven Daughters of Dupree (Historical Fiction), Jacksonville, FL More

Preeti Kaur Rajpal membery (Poetry), Minneapolis, MN More

Sakinah Hofler The Missing (Novel), Newark, NJ More

Shelley Stoehr Girls! Girls! Girls! (Creative Nonfiction), West Haven, CT More

Finalists:

Annie Tan
Astoria, NY, Memoir

B.L. Logan
Boston, MA, Children’s Fiction

Bettina Hindes
Kimberton, PA, Memoir

Brad Schreiber
Studio City, CA, Memoir

Brynne Jones
Austin, TX, Novel

Catalina Ocampo Londoño
Tacoma, WA, Poetry

Christine Koubek
Gaithersburg, MD, Novel

Colleen O’Brien
Kutztown, PA, Novel

Darryl Oliver
Los Angeles, CA, Novel

Elyse Buffenbarger
Kalamazoo, MI, Novel

Emily Lupit
Plum Guclu, Lovilia, IA, Memoir

Eric Olsen
Shelburne, VT, Fragmented Memoir

Glenda Galvan-Garcia
Garden Grove, CA, Children’s

Ibtisam Barakat
Columbia, MO, Novel

Julie Cantrell
Houston, TX, Novel

Kate Christensen
Lafayette, CO, Essays

Kayla Schmidt
Bismarck, ND, Mini Biographies

Mal King
Santa Paula, CA, Memoir

Matthew Modica
Brookline, MA, Novel

Paul Linczak
Brooklyn, NY, Novel

Rita Pyrillis
Evanston, IL, Memoir

Tammy Cloutier
Kennebunk, ME, Children’s