亚洲AV alum and author Kelli Jo Ford, MFA Creative Writing '07, is the recipient of one of this year's in Creative Writing.
Ford's debut novel, 鈥淐rooked Hallelujah,鈥 was named one of the best books of 2020 by Publishers Weekly and was on the longlist for the 2021 Carnegie Medal for Fiction, among other accolades.
Ford, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, was also named to Oprah Magazine鈥檚 list of in 2020.
The NEA fellowships provide published creative writers with $25,000 so they can set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement.
Ford teaches at the Institute of American Indian Arts鈥 Low Residency MFA Creative Writing program in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and said she plans to use the funding to dial back her teaching responsibilities this spring and take on fewer speaking events in order to begin work on a new novel.
"This summer, I hope to travel with my family back to the Cherokee Nation, where the book takes place, to research and write," she said.
Ford lives in Virginia with her husband and fellow MFA alum, poet Scott Weaver, and their daughter, Cypress.
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(Oprah Magazine)
(National Endowment of the Arts)