The 2016 MacArthur Fellowships, often referred to as “Genius Grants,” have been announced, and among them are writers Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Maggie Nelson, Claudia Rankine, Lauren Redness, Sarah Stillman, and Gene Luen Yang. The Fellowships are worth $625,000, paid out over five years.

Announcing the class of grantees, MacArthur Foundation President Julia Stasch said, “While our communities, our nation, and our world face both historic and emerging challenges, these 23 extraordinary individuals give us ample reason for hope. They are breaking new ground in areas of public concern, in the arts, and in the sciences, often in unexpected ways. Their creativity, dedication, and impact inspire us all.”

Claudia Rankine, speaking to Time, plans to use the funds to create a Racial Imaginary Institute, “where artists and thinkers and writers are able to come together in a kind of laboratory environment to talk about the making of art and culture and talks that have at its center the dismantling of white dominance.”

Rankine, the Keynote speaker at the latest AWP Conference & Bookfair in Los Angeles, will be featured in the forthcoming October/November issue of The Writer’s Chronicle. Her essay is adapted from her conference lecture and appears alongside two other pieces on race and creative writing by Fred D’Aguiar and David Mura.

Photo Credit: CC-BY. Credit: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation