THE 2022 KWELI WRITING FELLOWS

Kweli’s year long fellowship program began ten years ago. Fellow Melissa Sipin described it as “an MFA program in itself, but more intimate, more nuanced.” After successful completion of the program, Kweli fellows have gained admission to Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and the MacDowell Colony, among others, and have secured agency representation. New books are forthcoming.

We are thrilled to introduce you to the 2022 Kweli Writing Fellows.

Heran Abate is an Ethiopian writer based in Brooklyn. Her practice is deeply rooted in archives and oral testimonies that reveal stories often at the fringes of history and literature.

Trinee Adams is a brown girl from Spanish Harlem who first fell in love with words while in the womb. She moved whenever she heard her daddy speak. She is currently working on a young adult novel.

Nivea Castro is a writer and photographer, born in the Bronx, raised in Brooklyn. She is working on a novel-in-stories of a Puerto Rican girl’s slow awakening to injustice in 1960’s Brooklyn.

Jennifer Celestin is a Haitian-American writer and performer from Brooklyn, NY. Fluent in English, Haitian Creole, and Spanish, she is currently working on a short story collection.

Reem Kassis is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian writer based in the US. Her novel in progress explores generational trauma, the inexorable pull of freedom, and the choices we make in the name of love, family and nation.