Photo Caption: Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegría (first on the left) with community sister writers. Economist, memoir nonfiction writer, Volver a Guayama—Bread and Roses: Latina Hired Help in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1980–1995.

GrubStreet is thrilled to announce Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegría as the recipient for the BWOC Literary Advancement Award!

This fellowship will support Alvilda's Creative Writing, Woodblock Printing, and Historical Nonfiction Memoir Scholarship Residency at the Fine Arts Center in Provincetown, MA. Additionally, she will work with renowned artist Julie Lapping-Rivera at Zea Mays Printing in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Alvilda is an Afro-descendiente from Guayama, Puerto Rico—Antillana—living in Springfield, Massachusetts. Her two daughters, Joalvin and Jonencia Rivera, along with Tai Pellicier, will be contributing to this nonfiction historical investigation of Lawrence, serving as a testament to her journey of reclaiming her life, memory, and sense of self. Other fellowships include juried awards from the Springfield Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council over the past four years for songwriting pieces included in her memoirs.

"My workshops at the FAWC were incredible. Thanks to their generous financial support and the BWOC Literary Access Award, I was able to move easily between printmaking and writing classes each morning, and to feel like I belonged in spaces that are often inaccessible to people of color.

Julie Lapping Rivera is an extraordinary woodblock printer and fine artist who regularly collaborates with poets in her museum work. Opportunities like scholarships and awards from GrubStreet’s BWOC program truly make a difference — without them, so many of us would never have access to spaces where we can feel at home. I was the only student of color in my cohort, and without this support, I would not have been there at all.

In the photo above is Dr. Chandra M. Banks, a member of the Summer staff at the Fine Arts Work Center. As a Mediator and Restorative Justice Practitioner, and a Harvard graduate, she ensured I felt seen, supported, and welcomed during the Summer Workshops." –Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegría

You can learn more about the Boston Writers of Color Literary Awards here.