Periplus Announces Inaugural Fellowships

Periplus, a mentorship collective dedicated to serving U.S. writers who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, has awarded its first 55 mentorships to BIPOC writers in the United States. The 2021 Periplus Fellows were selected from a pool of more than 1,400 applicants and live across 22 states and the District of Columbia; they range in age from their twenties to their fifties. All mentors in the program, who are volunteers, are established writers in literary arts and journalism.

Mentors will work with their mentees for a half hour every other month, discussing topics that include building writing into a daily routine, making money as a writer, craft, and career-related challenges. Most mentors have committed to reading and giving feedback on mentees’ work. The application for the 2022 mentorship will open in late 2021. 

The mentorship pairings are as follows:

• Libby Flores will mentor Manuel Aragon
• Esmé Weijun Wang will mentor Gina María Balibrera
• Allison P. Davis will mentor Fullamusu Bangura
• Azmat Khan will mentor Leila Barghouty
• Layli Long Soldier will mentor S. Erin Batiste
• Roberto Lovato will mentor Elena Brokaw
• E. Alex Jung will mentor Cat Cardenas
• Natalia Sylvester will mentor Amaris Castillo
• Yukari Kane will mentor Caroline Chen
• Reyna Grande will mentor Yohanca Delgado
• Adrian L. Jawort will mentor Coby-Dillon English
• Daniel Peña will mentor Jenzo DuQue
• Ingrid Rojas Contreras will mentor Sebastian Duran
• Vanessa Angélica Villareal will mentor María Esquinca
• Oscar Villalon will mentor Ricardo Frasso Jaramillo
• Vauhini Vara will mentor Bix Gabriel
• De’Shawn Charles Winslow will mentor Herbert Girtley Jr.
• Laura van den Berg will mentor David Gonzalez
• Jenna Wortham will mentor Isabelia Herrera
• Aurora Almendral will mentor Anita Hofschneider
• Mimi Lok will mentor Ash Huang
• Jason Parham will mentor Serenity Hughes
• Hernan Diaz will mentor Zain Khalid
• Haley Mlotek will mentor Michelle Kim
• Nicholas Casey will mentor Maya King
• Tina Griego will mentor Jessica Kutz
• Jami Attenberg will mentor Soowhan Lah
• Nicole Chung will mentor Janine Lim
• Rachel Khong will mentor Siqi Liu
• Dina Nayeri will mentor Yasmin Adele Majeed
• Regina Porter will mentor Tiara Malone
• Adrienne Raphel will mentor Dasia Moore
• C. Pam Zhang will mentor Stephanie Malia Morris
• Lauren Markham will mentor Poppy Noor
• Eduardo C. Corral will mentor JJ Peña
• Alexis Okeowo will mentor Kaila Philo
• Tomás Q. Morín will mentor Arturo Pineda
• Shruti Swamy will mentor Nitya Rayapati
• Jonathan Blitzer will mentor Edwin Rios
• Wendy C. Ortiz will mentor Nilsa Rivera Castro
• Lisa Locascio will mentor Elodie Saint-Louis
• Zeyn Joukhadar will mentor Red Samaniego
• Marcus Burke will mentor Justin Sanders
• Gabino Iglesias will mentor Randy William Santiago
• Alex Marzano-Lesnevich will mentor Nicole Shawan Junior
• R.O. Kwon will mentor Kris Shin
• Nadia Owusu will mentor Angelique Stevens
• Arabelle Sicardi will mentor S.M. Sukardi
• Seth Freed Wessler will mentor Kavitha Surana
• Tiana Clark will mentor Jonny Teklit
• Natashia Deón will mentor Ferguson Williams
• Ayana Mathis will mentor Shaunitra Wisdom
• Lan Samantha Chang will mentor Kimberly Wong
• Ben Mauk will mentor Zeyi Yang
• Hanif Abdurraqib will mentor Mamadou Yattassaye