NEW LITERARY PROJECT

The Joyce Carol Oates Prize - The Joyce Carol Oates Prize, which is named in honor of the iconic author who was the Writer-in-Residence at the Project, recognizes annually a mid-career fiction writer who has earned a distinguished reputation and the approbation and gratitude of readers. By naming the prize in honor of Joyce Carol Oates, the Project gratefully acknowledges her inspiring lifelong impact as a teacher and writer without peer. While there are numerous prizes for emerging writers, this prize is for an already emerged author of national consequence - short-stories and/or novels - at the relatively middle stage of a burgeoning career. By mid-career we mean an author who has published at least two notable books of fiction, and who has yet to receive capstone recognition such as Pulitzer or a MacArthur. Otherwise, there are no age, geographical, or stylistic restrictions. The winner received a $50,000 award to encourage and support forthcoming work.

Creative Writing Workshops for High School Students - The New Literary Project leads creative writing workshops, free of charge, at high schools and after-school programs throughout the Bay Area. Ninety percent of students come from underserved communities and are the first in their families to go on to attend college. These workshops are taught by Simpson Fellows, who are creative writing teachers from The UC Berkeley, English Department, 50% of whom are people of color. In 2023 we conducted five workshops, at Girls Inc. of Alameda County, Contra Costa Juvenile Hall, CalPrep Charter School in Richmond, and at Northgate High School. A number of these young authors appear in Simpsonistas, our annual anthology.