October 2, 2024, 11:48am

Yesterday, the MacArthur Foundation announced its class of fellows for 2024.

The annually given fellowship “is a $800,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential.” Colloquially known as “genius grants,” the MacArthur is one of the biggest prizes given to folks in the liberal arts.

This year’s crop of recipients is an especially diverse bunch. Astronomers, biologists, musicians, historians, and multimedia artists are among the recognized.

But this being the Literary Hub, here are all the brilliant writers who won big.

Poetry

Jericho Brown

The poet and scholar won the Pulitzer Prize for his collection, The Tradition. 

Julian Felipe Herrera

The poet and teacher has written more than 30 books. He received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 2022.

Jason Reynolds 

This poet and novelist is known for his Caldecott-winning YA and middle grade books.

Fiction

Ling Ma

One of just two novelists in this year’s line-up, Ma is the author of the brain-cracking mall dystopia, Severance, and the story collection Bliss Montage. 

Film

Sterlin Harjo

This American Seminole filmmaker created Reservation Dogs, a truly perfect television show.

Nonfiction

Alice Wong

A disability rights activist known for her vocal advocacy, Wong edited the collection Disability Visibility.

Ruha Benjamin

Benjamin’s work—like her recent book, Race After Technology—explores inequality in tech and techno-racism. 

Jennifer L. Morgan

In her historical works, Morgan explores how chattel slavery “was fundamentally different for women because of their reproductive potential.”

Dorothy Roberts 

This historian is also known for her intrepid scholarship on Black women’s bodily labor. Her book Killing the Black Body is a keystone text in the field.

Shailaja Paik

Paik’s first book, The Vulgarity of Caste, “details Dalit women’s struggles for education and agency in colonial and contemporary urban Maharashtra.”

You can find all the recipients in other disciplines listed here.

Congratulations to all the awardees!