We’re thrilled to announce the next fellows for our Writer’s Residency in Downtown Las Vegas: Emperatriz Ung and Mahogany L. Browne. We also welcome guests Jhon Valdes and Christine Utz.
Fellows will spend a month in the vibrant heart of downtown Las Vegas, engaging with and becoming a part of the city’s thriving arts scene. The fellowship is designed to give talented writers and other creatives the space, time, and freedom to work on their longform projects, and the bibliophilic joy of living in a fully furnished apartment next to Las Vegas’ literary hub, The Writer’s Block bookstore.
Our apartment is in The Lucy, which also houses the Writer's Block. The Lucy is Beverly Rogers’ multi-use artist residency and complex, dedicated to fostering a creative community in Las Vegas.
Special thanks again to Nevada Humanities, UNLV, and private donors for helping bring these fellowships to life.
Emperatriz UnG - April 2022
Emperatriz Ung (she/they) is a Chinese-Colombian game designer, writer, & educator from the American Southwest. Emperatriz has been awarded fellowships, scholarships, and residences from the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Millay Arts, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Foundation, Kundiman, and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. When she's not making games, she's at work on her memoir. Find her on Twitter at @mprtrzng.
About her project: Emperatriz will be restructuring, remixing, and revising her book-length creative nonfiction project. With prose, images, and poetry, the book chronicles a survivor’s efforts to attain stability in the aftermath of childhood abuse. This memoir-in-progress scrutinizes the precarious role of victims as witnesses required to testify in criminal trials, and considers alternative methods of trauma recovery outside of inpatient hospitalization and the standardized practices of psychiatric care.
Mahogany L. Browne - May 2022
Mahogany L. Browne is the Executive Director of JustMedia, a media literacy initiative designed to support the groundwork of criminal justice leaders and community members. This position is informed by her career as a writer, organizer, & educator. Browne has received fellowships from Agnes Gund, Air Serenbe, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research & Rauschenberg. She is the author of recent works: Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, & Black Girl Magic. Browne is the founder of the diverse lit initiative, Woke Baby Book Fair; and is excited about her latest poetry collection. I Remember Death By Its Proximity to What I Love is a book-length poem responding to the impact of mass incarceration on women and children). She is based in Brooklyn and is the first-ever Poet-in-Residence at the Lincoln Center.
About her project: Complete my third YA novel & editing my latest adult poetry collection.
JhOn Valdes (Guest) - June 2022
Jhon Valdes Klinger is an Afro-Latinx, New York City raised, Colombian writer, filmmaker, and educator. He received an MFA from The New School's Creative Writing Program. He worked as a teaching artist at UrbanWordNYC. Jhon's writing can be found in Acentos Review, Vagabond City Literary Journal, 12th Street Journal, and Monsters of the Bronx. He recently relocated to Oakland, California, where he teaches middle school English. He is working on a magical realism/horror novel.
About his project: During the residency, I will be finalizing my first novel. My manuscript is a coming-of-age story that explores African diaspora trauma in Latin America, immigration reform, and the effect of PTSD on a queer young man, through a magical realism/horror lens.
Christine Utz (Guest) - June 2022
Christine Utz is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Originally from Florida, she has spent time teaching, writing, and editing in New York City, Iowa City, and most recently Minneapolis, MN. In 2016 she was awarded a fellowship to teach in New Zealand at Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters. Her fiction has appeared in Saw Palm, Turbine | Kapohau, MARY, Joyland, BorderSenses, and Flock. She's also a contributing author to Occupying Wall Street: The Inside Story of an Action that Changed America. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, two cats, and six chickens on an urban permaculture experiment.
About her project: I'll be wrapping up edits on SHADY GROVE, a speculative cli-fi novel about finding connection and meaning in a changing world.