On Tuesday, the MacArthur Foundation revealed the 2026 cohort of MacArthur Fellows, a group of twenty individuals distinguished by exceptional creativity and excellence in their respective fields, and by their capacity to influence society in meaningful and beneficial ways through their trailblazing work or the rigor of their contributions.
These “genius grants” come with a flexible prize of $800,000, distributed over five years. This year’s honorees include not only historians, artists, scientists, anthropologists, and composers, but three writers recognized for their literary work:
Layli Long Soldier
A poet who works to articulate Indigenous histories and to celebrate enduring kinship, resilience, and creativity.
Read the full citation here.
Maaza Mengiste
A fiction writer whose storytelling exposes the human costs of political violence through an evocative blend of history, memory, and imagination.
Read the full citation here.
Bryan Washington
A fiction writer whose narratives illuminate the fragile beauty of contemporary relationships, shaped by sense of place, remembrance, and everyday acts of care.
Read the full citation here.
