(NEW YORK)— Nine writers have been selected as 2025 Emerging Voices Fellows, PEN America announced today. For the fourth consecutive year, the organization received a record number of applicants; this year’s pool was the second largest pool in the program’s 29-year history.
The fellows represent varied ages, identities, geographic locations, and backgrounds, and submitted works of poetry, literary fiction, short stories, young adult fantasy, and memoir. The Emerging Voices Fellowship program is committed to reshaping the literary landscape by mentoring writers from underrepresented literary communities— Black and persons of color, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, immigrants and writers with disabilities— as well as those living outside of urban centers. The initiative, now in its 29th year, includes fellows from California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, & Washington state.
Sabir Sultan, director, World Voices Festival and Literary Programs, said: “This year’s amazing cohort of fellows explore issues and ideas including immigration, generational trauma, the global refugee crisis, disability, acceptance, resistance, sex, queerness, native histories, exile, and belonging, among others. We are honored to support this talented group of emerging writers and assist them on their path to publication. These writers are exciting new voices who will help shape the future of the literary community.
The 2025 Emerging Voices Fellows are:Trini Bui, Danielle Shandiin Emerson, Leila Farjami, Elisabeth Vasquez Hein, Varun U. Shetty, Pegah Ouji, Ava Pauline Emilione, Emily del Carmen Ramirez, and Solomon Tesfaye.
The fellows will be paired with established writers,as mentors, who this year include: Ashna Ali, Kenzie Allen, Remica Bingham-Risher, Ayşe Papatya Bucak, Tajja Isen, Chinelo Okparanta, Cherry Lou Sy, Nafkote Tamirat, & Swati Teerdhala. Their biographies are here.
The judges on the final selection committee were Matt Ortile, author of the essay collection The Groom Will Keep His Name; Esther Lin, author of the poetry collections Cold Thief Place and The Ghost Wife, and Eskor David Johnson, author of the novel, Pay As You Go.
Each fellow receives a $1,500 stipend and a five-month immersive mentorship program that includes virtually accessible creative writing workshops, visits from publishing professionals, and workshops that guide them through the business side of publishing and being a working writer. In addition, they receive a professional headshot and a complimentary one-year membership with PEN America.
With support from PEN America’s network of agents, editors, publishers, partner organizations, and outlets, and a community of former fellows, the program expanded from PEN America Los Angeles’s forum “Writing the Immigrant Experience” in March 1994, which explored the experiences of first- and second-generation immigrant writers. In 1996, PEN America Los Angeles initiated Emerging Voices as a mentorship program designed to provide professional resources to writers seeking financial and creative support to pursue their craft professionally.
Applications for the 2026 Emerging Voices Fellowship will open on January 1, 2026.