The 2017 Sendak Fellows were announced on December 1; they are Terry and Eric Fan (The Night Gardener; The Darkest Dark), Rashin Kheiriyeh (There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly; Mago Rosa; Two Parrots), and Eliza Wheeler (Miss Maple's Seeds; Wherever You Go; Tell Me a Tattoo Story).
The Fellows were selected by a judging committee to receive the fellowship, which offers artists a four-week retreat at Scotch Hill Farm, formerly owned by Maurice Sendak, in upstate New York, in addition to a prize of $5,000. The 2017 Fellowship retreat will run from May 15 to June 9.
Sendak inaugurated the fellowship in 2010, with the goal of fostering illustration talent that will, he said, “create work that is not vapid, stupid, or sexy, but original. Work that excites and incites.” Previous fellows include Antoinette Portis, Sergio Ruzzier, Sara Varon, Steven Savage, Elisha Cooper, and Yuyi Morales, among many others.
