BMI, 'Believer' Announce Fellowships

The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute and The Believer Magazine have announced their 2018-2019 residential fellows and writers-in-residence. Numbering among them are a MacArthur fellow, the co-directors of the Mojave School in Pahrump, and two “5 Under 35” recipients from the National Book Foundation. The fellows and writers-in-residence will take up residence at the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for the international literary center’s 2018-19 season.

The fellows and writers-in-residence for the 2018-19 season include: Hanif Abdurraqib, Shearing Fellow; Lesley Nneka Arimah, Shearing Fellow; Camille Bromley, Tran Thi Oanh Writer-in-Residence at The Juhl; Susana Ferreira, Saltman Fellow and writer-in-residence at the Pioneer; Amanda Fortini, Shearing Fellow; Sarah Marshall, writer-in-residence; Derek Palacio, Shearing Fellow; Sreshtha Sen, Saltman Fellow; and Claire Vaye Watkins, Shearing Fellow. In addition, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc has been named the Elias Ghanem Chair, and Niela Orr has been named BMI writer-in-residence at The Juhl.

This year's fellowships, BMI noted, draw support from outside sources. In addition to the existing partnership with The Pioneer, a development stewarded by architect and BMI board member Christopher Gony, the Shearing family will support a number of the fellowships; the Tran Thi Oanh Fellowship will support visits from Vietnamese-American writers; the Elias Ghanem Chair will help kickstart UNLV’s new nonfiction program in creative writing; and Sonja and Michael Saltman will support two emerging writers who will begin BMI’s PhD fellowships. In addition, a new partnership, Juhl, a loft-style community in Downtown Las Vegas, has partnered with BMI to create a studio and event space to help bring the fellows into the public eye. Other partnerships will be announced later this fall.