(NEW YORK)— PEN America today announces the selection of 11 Emerging Voices Fellows for 2026, marking a milestone year as the program celebrates its 30th anniversary. Since its founding in 1996, Emerging Voices has become one of the nation’s premier literary fellowships for early-career writers from communities historically underrepresented in publishing.

Over the past three-decades, the program has supported 214 writers who have published more than 70 books, appeared in hundreds of literary journals and anthologies, earned more than 110 major literary awards and honors, and received fellowships and residencies from many of the country’s leading cultural institutions.

The fellowship’s impact continues to grow. This year, Emerging Voices received a record-breaking  number of applications, the highest in the program’s 30-year history. From that extraordinary pool, just 11 fellows were selected, representing an acceptance rate of roughly 1.6 percent. Their selection reflects not only the exceptional quality of their work, but also Emerging Voices’ continued role in identifying and uplifting the next generation of literary talent.

The fellows represent a diverse group across varied ages, identities, geographic locations, and backgrounds; their work includes, and submitted works of poetry, literary fiction, short stories, fantasy, and memoir.

The Emerging Voices Fellowship program is committed to reshaping the literary landscape by mentoring writers from underrepresented literary communities— Black and persons of color, indigenous, LGBTQ+, immigrants and writers with disabilities— as well as those living outside of urban centers. The program initiative, now in its 30th year, includes fellows from four states: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York.

TC. Mann, coordinator, Emerging Voices and Literary Programs, said: “Emerging Voices has always been about more than launching literary careers. It is about shifting the center of our literature culture–bringing essential voices into the conversation where they have always belonged. Thirty years later, that mission has never been more urgent. This remarkable cohort reminds us that when we open doors for writers, we widen the imagination of what literature can be.”

The 2026 Emerging Voices Fellows are: Chisaraokwu Asomugha, Guy Melvin, Jamie Issuh, José Enrique Medina, Liana Fu, Monée Fields-White, Norman Tran, Raesin Caine, Ricardo Pierre-Louis, Sharon San-Ying Lee, and Vanessa Butler.

The fellows will be paired with established writers,as mentors, who this year include: Mahogany L. Browne, Reyna Grande, Taylor Haris, Meng Jin, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Willie Perdomo, Divya Victor, Karen Thompson Walke, Nikesha Elise Williams, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, . Their biographies are here.

The judges on the final selection committee were Edgar Gomez, author of the memoirs Alligator Tears: A Memoir in Essays and High-Risk Homosexual; Jared Lemus, author of the short story collection Guatemalan Rhapsody, and Remica Bingham-Risher, author of the poetry collection, Room Swept Home.

Each fellow receives a $1,500 stipend and a five-month immersive mentorship program that includes virtually accessible creative writing workshops, visits from publishing professionals, and workshops that guide them through the business side of publishing and being a working writer. In addition, they receive a professional headshot and a complimentary one-year membership with PEN America.

With support from PEN America’s network of agents, editors, publishers, partner organizations, and outlets, and a community of former fellows, the program expanded from PEN America Los Angeles’s forum “Writing the Immigrant Experience” in March 1994, which explored the experiences of first- and second-generation immigrant writers. In 1996, PEN America Los Angeles initiated Emerging Voices as a mentorship program designed to provide professional resources to writers seeking financial and creative support to pursue their craft professionally.

Applications for the 2027 Emerging Voices Fellowship will open on January 1, 2026.

About PEN America

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.

Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 201-247-5057