The main purpose of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation is to contribute significantly to the flourishing of American letters by awarding grants to published novelists. These $4,000.00 grants enable writers to devote time to writing projects and provide funds for research.

We especially want to thank the Ahmanson Foundation for its support.

Winners from 2001

The first winner of the Doris Roberts-William Goyen Fellowship in Fiction is T. Greenwood of San Diego, California. Greenwood, who had a child two weeks before being selected, has published three novels: Breathing Water, Nearer Than the Sky, and Undressing the Moon.

The first winner of the James C. McCormick Fellowship in Fiction is Eric Williamson. His first novel East Bay Grease was a 1999 PEN Hemingway finalist. Williamson teaches at Central Missouri State College in Warrensburg, Missouri. He recently became an editor of the American Book Review.

The first winner of the Christopher Isherwood Research Fellowship is James Berg from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was selected by the Huntington Library on behalf of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. He is researching the lectures of Christopher Isherwood.

In 2002 well over two hundred novelists applied for our grants.

The 2002 grant recipients of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation are:

Anthony Bukoski, winner of the R.V.Cassill Fellowship in Fiction. Mr. Bukoski is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. His books include Time Between Trains, Polonaise, Children of Strangers, and Twelve Below Zero.

Anthony Doerr, winner of the Thomas Williams Fellowship in Fiction. Mr. Doerr is a Visiting Writer at Boise State University. His novel is The Shell Collector. His short fiction has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly and in The O. Henry Awards: Prize Stories, 2002.

Karen Shepard, winner of the Doris Roberts-William Goyen Fellowship in Fiction. Ms. Shepard’s novels include An Empire of Women (2001) and Like Love (2003). She teaches part time at Williams College. Her stories have appeared in Atlantic Monthly and Story.

Gordon Weaver, winner of the James C. McCormick Fellowship in Fiction. Mr. Weaver’s novels include Circling Byzantium, Give Him a Stone, Count a Lonely Cadence and The Eight Corners of theWorld. He is Visiting Professor at Marquette University.

Liza A. Wieland, winner of the Christopher Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction. Ms.Wieland’s novels include You Can Seep While I Drive and The Names of the Lost. She is Professor of English at California State University, Fresno.

Miles Wilson, winner of the Christopher Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction. Mr. Wilson’s book is Line of Fall. His stories have been published in the Iowa Review and the New England Review.

Jamie Carr, winner of the Christopher Isherwood Research Fellowship. Ms. Carr is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Rhode Island. She will be doing research on her dissertation entitled "Christopher Isherwood's Aesthetic and Political Experimentation: Fascism, Pacifism, and Identity Politics."

The 2003 Isherwood grant recipients are:
Debra Di Blasi from Kansas City, Missouri (James C. McCormick Fellowship in Fiction). Di Blasi has published Drought & Say What you Like (New Directions) and Prayers of an Accidental Nature (Coffee House Press). She is President of Jaded Ibis Productions.

Daniel Chacon from El Paso, Texas (Doris Roberts-William Goyen Fellowship in Fiction). Chacon has published Chicano Chicanery (Arte Publico Pess) and has a novel, and the shadows took him, forthcoming from Atria Books, a hardback division of Simon and Schuster. He teaches at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Brock Clarke from Cincinnati, Ohio (Richard F. Pate Fellowship in Fiction). Clarke's books include The Ordinary White Boy (Harcourt Books) and What We Won't Do (Sarabande Books). He teaches at the University of Cincinnati.

Ann Nietzke from Los Angeles, California (Christopher Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction). Nietzke's novel Windowlight (Capra Press; Picador/London; Soho Press) won a PEN/West Award for best First Fiction. Her other books include Natalie on the Street (Calyx Books) and Solo Spinout: Stories and a Novella (Soho Press). She has received a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship and a California Arts Council Literary Grant.

William Orem from Springfield, Ohio (Thomas Williams Fellowship in Fiction). Orem's work includes Zombi, You my Love (La Questa Press) which won the GLCA New Writers Award for 2000. He works as a science writer for the radio program A Moment of Science, carried on NPR and elsewhere.

Charles Wyatt from West Lafayette, Indiana (R. V. Cassill Fellowship in Fiction). Wyatt's books include Listening to Mozart (University of Iowa Press) and Falling Stones: the Spirit Autobiography of S.M. Jones (Texas Review Press). He currently is Visiting Fiction Writer at Purdue University.

The Christopher Isherwood Foundation congratulates the 2004 fellowship

winners:

Kate Braverman from San Francisco, California (The R. V. Cassill Grant in

Fiction Writing)

Daniel Coshnear from Guerneville, California (The Doris Roberts/William

Goyen Grant in Fiction Writing)

Alyson Hagy from Laramie, Wyoming (The James C. McCormick Grant in

Fiction Writing)

Bret Anthony Johnston from San Bernardino, California (Christopher

Isherwood Fellowship)

John McNally from Winston Salem, North Carolina (The Thomas Williams

Grant in Fiction Writing)

Nance Van Winkel from Liberty Lake, Washington (Christopher Isherwood

Fellowship)

The Foundation thanks the Ahmanson Foundation for its support of these

grants. It also thanks The Huntington Foundation.

Our grants in non-fiction writing will be announced later.

The Christopher Isherwood Foundation congratulates the 2005 fellowship

winners:

Barry Gifford, Berkeley, California (Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction Writing, Ahmanson support). His novels include Wild at Heart. He co-wrote the films Lost Highway and City of Ghosts.

Lucrecia Guerrero, Dayton, Ohio (R. V. Cassill Fellowship in Fiction Writing). Her work includes Chasing Shadows (Chronicle Books). Her MFA is from Spalding University. She teaches at Antioch College.

Krandall Kraus, San Francisco, California (Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction Writing, Ahmanson support). Kraus’s books include The President’s Son (Alyson Books) and Bardo (Alyson Books). His MFA is from Ohio University.

Richard McCann, Washington, D. C. (Doris Roberts-William Goyen Fellowship in Fiction Writing). His works include Mother of Sorrows. (Pantheon). He codirects the MFA and Creative Writing program at American University.

Ann Pancake, Seattle, Washington (Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction Writing, Ahmanson support). Her work includes Given Ground (University Press of New England). She has won a Pushcart Prize and a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writers Fellowship grant. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Aimee Parkison, Charlotte, North Carolina (James C. McCormick Fellowship in Fiction Writing). Her work includes Woman With Dark Horses (Starcherone Press). Parkison teaches at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her MFA is from Cornell.

The Christopher Isherwood Foundation congratulates the 2006 fellowship winners:

Nick Arvin from Denver, Colorado. Arvin.s books include Articles of War. (James C. McCormick Fellowship)

Elizabeth Block from San Francisco, CA. Block.s books include A Gesture Through Time. She is a visiting writer at California State University, Sacramento. (Doris Roberts/William Goyens Fellowship)

Daphne Eva Kalotay from Brookline, Massachusetts. Kalotay.s books include Calamity and Other Stories. She is an instructor at Boston University. (Ahmanson Supported Fellowship)

Agymah Kamau from Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Kamau.s books include Pictures of a Dying Man. He teaches at the University of Oklahoma. (R.V. Cassill Fellowship)

Ruchama King, from Passaic, New Jersey. King.s books include Seven Blessings. (Thomas Williams Fellowship)

Mitch Wieland from New Plymouth, Idaho. Wieland.s books include Willy Slater.s Booklist. He directs the Creative Writing Program at Boise State University. (Ahmanson Supported Fellowship)

Mark Wisniewski from Lake Peekskill, New York. Wisniewski.s books include All Weekend with the Lights On. (Ahmanson Supported Fellowship)

The 2007 Isherwood grant recipients for fiction writing are:

Rick Bass from Troy, Montana. Bass’s books include The Lives of Rocks and The Diezmo. (Isherwood Fellowship with Ahmanson support)

Charlotte Forbes from New York, New York. Forbes’s works include The Good Works of Ayela Linde. (Isherwood Fellowship; William Goyen-Doris Roberts support)

Charlotte Gullick from Fort Bragg, California. Gullick’s works include By Way of Water. She teaches at College of the Redwoods in Mendocino, California. (Isherwood Fellowship with Ahmanson support)

William Lychack from Andover, Massachusetts. His works include The Architect of Flowers and The Wasp Eater. He is Writer-in-Residence at Phillips Academy. (Isherwood Fellowship with Ahmanson support)

Ander Monson from Grand Rapids, Michigan. His works include Other Electricities and Neck Deep and Other Predicaments. He teaches at Grand Valley State University. (Isherwod Fellowship; James C. McCormick support) 

Ted Pelton from Buffalo, New York. His works include Malcolm & Jack (and Other Famous American Criminals) and Endorsed by Jack Chapeau 2 an even greater extent. He teaches at Medaille College. (Isherwood Fellowship) 

The 2008 Isherwood grant recipients for fiction writing are:

Gregory Belliveau from Cedarville, Ohio. His books include Go Down to Silence. He teaches at Cedarville University. Isherwood Fellowship (R.V. Cassill named grant)

Larry Fondation from Los Angeles, CA. His books include Angry Nights and Fish, Soap, and Bonds.  Isherwood Fellowship (Thomas Williams named grant)

David Roy Lincoln from San Francisco, California. His books include the novel Mobility Lounge and Liberty Boys. Isherwood Fellowship (with James C. McCormick support)

Thomas J. Phelan from Freeport, New York. His books include the novel The Canal Bridge. Isherwood Fellowship (with James C. McCormick support)

Emily Raboteau from New York City, New York. Her books include The Professor’s Daughter. She teaches at City College in New York City. Isherwood Fellowship (with William Goyen and Doris Roberts support)

Professor Mario Faraone of the University of Trieste, winner of the Christopher Isherwood Research Fellowship. (Project: "The Path to Spiritual and Artistic Unity: cultural, Relgious and Artistic Influences of Vedanta in Christopher Isherwood's American Narrative and Autobiographical Production")

The 2009 Christopher Isherwood recipients are:

John Blair from San Marcos, Texas (William Goyen/Doris Roberts Fellowship).  Blair has published The Green Girls (Pleiades Press), American Standard (Pittsburg Press), Bright Angel (Ballantine) and A Landscape of Darkness (Ballantine).  He is a professor at Texas State University.

Jonathan Evison from Bainbridge Island, Washington (Richard Buckley Fellowship).  Evison has won the Washington State Book Award for Fiction.  His books include All About Lulu (Softskull Press) and West of Here (Algonquin).

Joyce Hinnefeld from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (Isherwood Fellowship with Ahmanson support).  Hinnefeld has published In Hovering Flight (Unbridled Books) and Tell Me Everything and Other Stories (University Press of New England).  She is an associate professor at Moravian College.

Tennessee Jones from Brooklyn, New York (James C. McCormick Fellowship).  Jones has published Deliver Me from Nowhere (Softskull Press).

Emma Perez from Denver, Colorado (Tom Ford Fellowship).  Perez has published Forgetting the Alamo, or, Blood Memory (UT Press) and Gulf Dreams (Third Woman Press).  She is Professor and Chair of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado.

Daniel Scott from New York, New York (Isherwood Fellowship with Ahmanson support).  Scott has published Pay This Amount (Laughing Fire Press) and Some of Us Have To Get Up In the Morning (Turtle Point Press).  He has won a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.