The Speculative Literature Foundation is delighted to announce Madhvi Ramani as the winner of the inaugural Diverse Writers Grant, and the inaugural Diverse Worlds Grant.
Ramani often includes themes of identity and gender in her writing, which can be seen in her sample entry for the Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds grants.
Grant Administrator Malon Edwards said of Ramani’s entry, “Zafir, the Saudi Superhero”: “The voice of the child narrator, Zafir, is so genuine, and so heartbreakingly sad. This is a well-written story that had me captivated from beginning to end.”
Honorable Mentions for the 2014 Diverse Writers Grant were: Carmen Maria Machado, Denise Ganley, Itoro Udofia, and Jonina Stump for their entertaining and thought-provoking submissions.
Honorable Mentions for the 2014 Diverse Worlds Grant were: Carmen Maria Machado, Denise Ganley, Jonina Stump, and Margaret Kingsbury, also for their entertaining and thought-provoking submissions.
The $500 Diverse Writers Grant is intended to support new and emerging writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, and those whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing / publishing process.
The $500 Diverse Worlds Grant is intended for work that best presents a diverse world, regardless of the writer’s background.
Applications for next year’s Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants will open on May 1st, 2015.
Founded in January, 2004 to promote literary quality in speculative fiction, the all-volunteer Foundation is led by Mary Anne Mohanraj and 30 other committed volunteers. The Foundation maintains a comprehensive website offering information for readers, writers, editors and publishers of speculative fiction, develops book lists and outreach materials for schools and libraries, and raises funds for redistribution to other organizations in the field, as well as four awards made annually to writers, including the Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants.
The other grants include the Older Writers Grant, Gulliver Travel Research Grant, and the Working Class Writers Grant. For more information about the Speculative Literature Foundation Grants, contact Malon Edwards at grants@speclit.org or visit the website at speculativeliterature.org/grants/.
