GrubStreet's Emerging Writer Fellowship is celebrating its sixth year! The Fellowship aims to develop new & exciting voices by providing writers tuition-free access to GrubStreet’s classes and Muse & the Marketplace conference. We had a chance to check in with one of our 2023-24 Emerging Writer Fellows, Malik Thompson, at his halfway point and ask a few questions about his time at GrubStreet so far.

GrubStreet: Can you discuss any projects or pieces you've been working on during the fellowship? How has the fellowship supported or influenced your work?

Malik Thompson: During the fellowship, I completed my incision, my first chapbook that is currently unpublished and have been writing into deepcut, my debut full-length collection, which I currently have sixty pages of poems to consider putting into the final product. I think of deepcut as an extension of the themes incision explores, namely intimacy—in all forms—as examined and experienced through the prisms of queerness, monstrosity, the penumbral, the surreal, and a spiritual orientation heavily stained with the Judeo-Christian tradition.

GS: We would love to know more about your craft experiences during the Fellowship. What courses have you taken and instructors have you met? Has there been any specific piece of feedback or advice you received that helped you overcome a writing challenge?

MT: I’ve taken courses in magical realism, poetry, and hybrid work. I’ve met Tatiana Johnson-Boria and Sam Cha, both very smart writers. I’ve been grateful to have the tutelage of these two and the perspectives of my fellow classmates. I’ve loved all the prompts I’ve been given in the workshops I've taken as well as the writings from other authors that have been shared with me.

GS: Are there any unique aspects of the Fellowship experience you would want to highlight?

MT: As someone who doesn’t live in Boston, I think potential fellows who are interested shouldn’t be discouraged from applying. Even before the pandemic, online creative writing classes were very popular and I think people have become that much more savvy and familiar with learning on online platforms.

GS: One of the benefits of a writing community is kinship and workshopping. How has interacting with other Fellows and the GrubStreet community impacted your work and perspective?

MT: It’s been lovely to encounter the work of the other fellows and the GrubStreet staff have made it very clear that they were excited to have me participate in this fellowship and that they’re invested in the development of my work.

GS: What advice would you give to writers considering applying for the Emerging Writer Fellowship in the future?

MT: Please don’t feel as if you need to have any number of publications or credentials in order to apply. Take the “emerging” within the fellowship’s moniker to heart and apply no matter what stage you’re in your writing career.

Applications for the 2024 - 2025 Emerging Writer Fellowship open on January 8, 2024. Learn more about the Fellowship here.