Disability Futures Fellows Announced — Half of Which Are Writers and Poets

Today, the 20 Disability Futures Fellows were announced. The Fellowship, which is funded by the Ford Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is an initiative that seeks to elevate disabled creators who work across a range of disciplines.

By highlighting and celebrating disabled creators, the Ford and Mellon foundations hope to not only praise work that’s already been done, but also encourage more “disability-led content, productions, and projects.”

The fellows are from all across the country, and many belong to BIPOC identities. Of the 20 fellows chosen, nine are writers and poets.

They are: writer Anne Finger; poet Cyrée Jarelle Johnson; organizer and writer Elliott Fukui; musician, composer, writer, and activist Gaelynn Lea; writer, artist, and musician Johanna Hedva; poet, essayist, and cultural strategist Kay Ulanday Barrett; activist-writer, storyteller, and historian Luz Guerra; hybrid poet Saleem Hue Penny; and writer and cultural worker Walela Nehanda.

They, and the other 11 Fellows, will each receive an unrestricted $50,000.

To read more about the Fellows, and Disability Futures Fellowship, visit the Ford Foundation.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.