The Whiting Foundation has announced its 2025 Whiting Award winners, celebrating their 40th year of supporting emerging writers. The award recipients include poets, playwrights, novelists, and historians from diverse backgrounds and locations around the country and the world.
This year’s winners will each receive $50,000 to support their writing careers. According to Courtney Hodell, Director of Literary Programs at Whiting, the group demonstrates “astounding range” and has invented unique tools to craft their narratives and worlds.
The winners are:
* Elwin Cotman, author of four collections of short stories and a forthcoming novel
* Emil Ferris, author of graphic novels that explode genre conventions
* Samuel Kọ́láwọlé, author of a gripping novel about immigrants on the move
* Claire Luchette, author of humorous yet profound fiction
* Shubha Sunder, author of confident storytelling with everyday force
* Aisha Sabatini Sloan, author of an essay collection that explores cultural connections
* Sofi Thanhauser, author of unique literary journalism conveys elegance and curiosity
* Karisma Price, author of poems steeped in New Orleans history
* Annie Wenstrup, Dena’ina poet and author of a play that interrogates history and institutions
* Liza Birkenmeier, playwright whose works capture the music of how we think and speak
The Whiting Awards have helped launch the careers of notable authors, including Colson Whitehead, Ocean Vuong, Alice McDermott, and Jia Tolentino, who have gone on to win prestigious literary prizes.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5349443/2025-whiting-award-winners