MacArthur Foundation awards ‘genius grants’ to three Black female authors
The MacArthur Foundation honored 21 'genius grant' winners in total
The MacArthur Foundation “genius grants” recently announced three Black authors are among the winners for 2020.
Three Black women– Jacqueline Woodson, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and N.K. Jemisin— are among the 21 recipients who will receive the coveted award and the $625,000 which accompanies it, according to CNN.
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Woodson of Columbus, OH is known for works like ‘Miracle’s Boys’ and her award-winning novel ‘Brown Girl Dreaming’. Her latest work ‘Before the Ever After’ is told in the voice of a 12-year-old boy whose father is a football player star suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) per NPR. Her books are known to shed light on tough issues kids face from race to foster care.
Cottom hails from Harlem, New York, and is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science. She is known for works like ‘Thick: And Other Essays’, a collection of essays about Black womanhood. The book was also a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award.
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Jemisin is a native of Iowa City, IA, and a former psychologist. From 2016 to 2018, she won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for the books in her ‘Broken Earth’ trilogy. She is the first Black person to ever win the title for Best Novel.
The MacArthur Foundation is a private organization and donates $260 million annually. Hamilton playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda and author Ta-Nehisi Coates have also received the award.
The MacArthur Fellows managing director, Cecilia Conrad, praised the winners in a statement.
“In the midst of civil unrest, a global pandemic, natural disasters, and conflagrations, this group of 21 exceptionally creative individuals offers a moment for celebration. They are asking critical questions, developing innovative technologies and public policies, enriching our understanding of the human condition, and producing works of art that provoke and inspire us.”
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