We’re thrilled to introduce the 2022-2023 Teaching Fellows: Claudia Wilson and Nakia Hill. The Teaching Fellowship for Black Writers provides financial and professional development support to two self-identified Black writers interested in teaching classes, participating in events, and working with our instructors and staff to deepen our curriculum. The fellowship includes compensation of $25,000, artistic mentorship, and access to the GrubStreet community and the Muse and the Marketplace conference. We could not be more excited to congratulate and welcome Claudia and Nakia!
Claudia Wilson is a poet and a nonfiction writer. They are from Ohio, lived in Boston for 20 years, and now lives in Western, MA. They are a VONA Fellow, The Writer’s Hotel participant, and Juniper Fellow. Claudia graduated from UMass Amherst in 2021 with an MFA in poetry and is the author of the chapbook GROWN, published by Game Over Books press in 2019. They have been published with Mass Poetry and received an honorable mention from the Academy of Poets. They are a recent recipient of the Mass Cultural Council grant. They have done readings at venues from Writer’s Block in Columbus, Ohio to the Cantab Lounge, in Boston. They have taught creative writing at UMass Amherst and Smith College for the summer creative writing programs. Their forthcoming book is called Searching for Afrekete, a hybrid collection that centers a conversation between a black trans person and a queer God. They have a cat named Pablo. Claudia Wilson enjoys playing Skyrim.
What are you most excited about with this fellowship?
What I am most excited about in this fellowship is working with students and hearing what their passions are. I'm also excited to take classes and to continually grow in my own writing practice.
Nakia Hill is a writer, educator, and journalist. She was the co-writer and lead interviewer for Double Elvis' Here Comes the Break, a hip-hop inspired audio drama podcast. Nakia is a founding board member of Boston Art Review. In 2018, Nakia was named a Boston Artist-in-Residence by Mayor Marty Walsh. During her residency, she published two books: Water Carrier and I Still Did It. Nakia also explored how art influences government policy and launched the Boston Women in the Workplace survey where she gathered narratives from women about navigating the work sector in Boston. Nakia's work focuses on archiving Black women's and girls' stories through print publications and empowering them to use writing as a tool for healing, advocacy, and resistance.
What are you most excited about with this fellowship?
I feel extremely blessed to have been accepted into the Teaching Fellowship for Black Writers. I am excited to deepen my relationship with the GrubStreet community, especially the BIPOC writers and fellow instructors. My goal is to engage more BIPOC and youth writers in GrubStreet programming. I look forward to working with the youth and offering them more space to write their truth and tap into the joys of endless creativity. Lastly, I will be taking full advantage of this opportunity to complete my first novel.