Photo by Bao Phi
The Loft Literary Center has selected Taiyon J. Coleman, assistant professor of English literature, as a recipient of the 2018–2019 Mirrors and Windows Fellowship.
The Mirrors and Windows Fellowship supports indigenous writers and writers of color in creating picture books, middle grade novels, and young adult literature. As part of the fellowship, writers will attend six workshops led by experts in the literary and publishing fields, get involved with Loft events throughout the year, and receive individual consultations on their manuscripts.
Fifty-two entries were submitted to the Loft for consideration. Of those, 12 were selected to receive the fellowship.
Coleman’s work has appeared in The Ringing Ear, Blues Vision, A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota, Places Journal, and Minnesota Alumni Magazine. Her book, Working Toward Racial Equity in First-Year Composition: Six Perspectives, is scheduled for publication in 2019. Coleman is a 2017 recipient of a McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship and is currently working on a young adult novel, Chicago@Fifteen.
Alumna Also Honored
Alumna Vong Thao is also a 2018-2019 recipient of the Loft Mirrors and Windows Fellowship. Thao is a 1997 graduate of St. Kate's, currently working as the writing center coordinator for Anoka-Ramsey Community College. After her family resettled in St. Paul as Vietnam War refugees, Thao studied journalism at St. Kate's before going on to earn her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from The New School in New York. She has since moved back to the Twin Cities area and begun work on a new middle grade novel about two Hmong brothers searching for their grandfather's magical treasure.
More about the Loft
The Minneapolis-based Loft Literary Center is one of the nation’s leading independent literary centers. Founded in 1975, the Loft advances writers artistic development and fosters a thriving literary community. Each year, the Loft works with more than 3,000 writers to improve their abilities and awards more than $400,000 to writers through contracts, awards, and grants.
By Kristen Wunderlich