Danielle Shandiin Emerson is a Diné writer from Shiprock, New Mexico on the Navajo Nation. Her clans are Tłaashchi’i (Red Cheek People Clan), born for Ta’neezaahníí (Tangled People Clan). She has a B.A. in Education Studies and a B.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University. Danielle writes fiction, poetry, plays, and creative essays. Her work centers Diné culture, perspectives, and personal narratives. She is currently the 2023-2024 Associates of the Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence, where she's working on a collection of contemporary Diné short stories.
What does being selected for this fellowship mean to you?
I am immensely grateful and super excited to become a part of such a robust, kind, and rich literary community! From my experience, writing is such a community and culturally driven endeavour, and GrubStreet does the important work of bringing together storytellers of all ages and backgrounds. Being selected for this fellowship is a chance to, not only build my writing, but also connect with other emerging, established, and rising storytellers. I look forward to developing my craft, especially as a Diné writer whose culture, childhood, and identity is deeply rooted in community, memories, Diné Bizaad, family, and dozens of beloved stories. Ahéhee' / Thank you.
Dimitri Suriel, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, is an artist who uses writing and photography to explore the intricacies of the human experience. His work is featured in Worcester Magazine, Tracks Magazine, Sims Library of Poetry, and he is a recipient of MASS MoCa’s Asset 4 Artists program. Grounded in his community and shaped by his childhood experiences, Dimitri's artistry weaves together diverse elements with a unifying thread of love, offering insights into the depths of familial bonds and personal growth.
What does being selected for this fellowship mean to you?
Being recognized as an emerging writer is an honor, igniting my passion to delve deeper into creativity, vulnerability, and curiosity. I am motivated to continue along this path of personal and artistic growth, seeking connections within a larger creative community. GrubStreet offers the perfect platform to explore these aspects of my journey, providing opportunities to expand my horizons and evolve as both a writer and an individual.
Sam Jean-François (all pronouns) is a Black queer first-generation Haitian-American writer, educator, and Afro-futurist originally from Fort-Myers Fl. As a Black feminist scholar, Sam explores the intersections of race, femmeness, Vodun, and transgenerational resistance through memory, story-telling, and dreamspace creation. Since graduating from Bates College in 2023 with a BA in Africana Studies, Sam's continued their dedication to access and BIPOC joy through their role as a Success Advisor at a local community-based organization in Boston. You can connect with Sam on Instagram @fromfleshtobody .
What does being selected for this fellowship mean to you?
Being selected for the Emerging Writers Fellowship feels like an investment in myself, and the growing movement of Black writers across the African diaspora reclaiming our sacred right to shape reality as story-tellers. As a child in Florida I had little access to Black writers; so little that for some time I wondered if Black literature in itself existed. In the absence of this knowledge I felt as though the ability to write and create rather than just consume was something inherently divorced from the potential of who I could be, and what I could desire. That said, the opportunity provided by this fellowship to connect with fellow marginalized writers while developing my craft is an affirmation to that small Florida child I once was that: we Black creatives exist, we Black creatives draw breath, we are the gardens our ancestors tilled and then hoped into flesh.