The NEA announced 38 recipients of creative writing fellowships, providing awards of $25,000 to each of the writers (or $950,000 in all). Recipients include Percival Everett, Daniel Mason and Justin Torres.
Margaret Wrinkle‘s WASH won the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize.
Scholastic announced a number of recent new hires and promotions. In the editorial department, Anamika Bhatnagar has been promoted to publishing director, Scholastic Press, while Amanda Maciel moves up to executive editor, Scholastic. Emily Seife has been promoted to editor, while Emellia Zamani and Becky Shapiro move up to associate editor. Additionally, Zack Clark and Marisa Polansky move up to assistant editor. In the art/production department, Phil Falco, Yaffa Jaskoll, and Christopher Stengel have been promoted to art director. Rick DeMonico has been promoted to art director, licensed publishing, while Whitney Lyle moves up to senior designer.
In marketing/operations, Emily Heddleson has been promoted to marketing manager, conventions/author events while Antonio Gonzalez moves up to marketing manager. Vanessa Gattinella has been promoted to assistant manager, digital marketing, while Krista Kucheman and Emily Morrow move up to assistant marketing manager. Latisha Burgos-Wallace has been promoted to assistant manager, operations, and Harmonie Rosenberg moves up to marketing coordinator. Finally, Elizabeth Tiffany has joined the department as assistant production editor, digital, after interning at the company.
The Susan Magrino Agency announced a number of recent new hires. Leigh Ann Ambrosi has joined as senior vice president; previously she was vp, brand marketing at Crown Archetype. Molly Peterson has been named senior account director. Previously she was communications director of DwellStudio. Caroline Brown has been named senior account supervisor, joining from the Summit Group, where she was media relations manager. Finally, both Jessica Delguercio and Mary Blanton Ogushwitz have joined as account supervisors. Delguercio was most recently a publicist at Alison Brod Public Relations, while Ogushwitz previously worked at KB Network News.
At Workman, Netta Rabin is being promoted to the new role of associate art director and editor, as of January 1. She will have the lead design position on all children’s books, will work as an editor and developer of new children’s books, and will continue to acquire and conceptualize adult books and calendars.
Canada’s Western University has created the Alice Munro Chair in Creativity in honor of their Nobel-winning alumna and has committed $1.5 million to match donations to fund the chair. They aim to “recruit a creative writer, teacher and scholar who will advance the university’s tradition of excellence in developing the talents of students and future writers.”
The UK’s National Book Awards were presented Wednesday night, to honorees including: Malala Yousafzai, I Am Malala (nonfiction); Kate Atkinson, Life After Life (UK author); Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl (international author); Liza Klaussman, Tigers in Red Weather (new writer); and Robert Harris, An Officer and A Spy (popular fiction).