Literature matters to defending democracy. Literature is how we stay human. This is what we're building together.

Hear directly from writers and teachers whose lives and students have been changed by your support. Watch our two-minute short video featuring JCO Prize Winner and Board Member Manuel Muñoz, Executive Director Diane Del Signore and Founding Board Member Joe Di Prisco, with highlights from the Roadshow parties, workshops, and other recent events.

Clockwise from upper right: Anne Williston; Ana Tuazon; Lukas Maas; Rose Wong; Rayjon Briscoe Young; Damneet Kaur

The 2026 Iris Starn Fellows are exceptionally creative writing teachers who are graduate students in the Creative Writing Department at Saint Mary’s College of California. They are selected in consultation with New Literary Project and assigned to conduct workshops for traditionally marginalized teenage and younger authors in a variety of school and afterschool settings.

Last year, dozens of students participated in workshops, many sharing their writing publicly for the first time. Additionally, there will be one fellowship for adults through our partner Hope Solutions, which provides support to unhoused families and individuals. The workshops are subsidized by New Literary Project, with generous support in memory of Iris Starn, and offered free of charge.

We can’t wait for you to meet this year’s Starn Fellows and read their bios.

Joyce Carol Oates, JCO Prize Winners, and Finalists Release

New Books in 2026

Congratulations to Joyce Carol Oates Prize finalists and winners (and JCO herself) on their new, highly-anticipated books. NewLit is proud to support and celebrate the creativity and accomplishments of these authors.

Joyce Carol Oates Double Trouble (February 3, 2026)

• Two complete crime novels and two short stories of psychological suspense centered on twin identities, betrayal, and murder by a female and a male serial killer, originally published under JCO’s pen name, Rosamond Smith.

Lauren Groff Brawler (February 24, 2026): 2022 Winner

• A fierce collection of nine short stories that explore the complex, often volatile interplay between love, fear, compassion, and violence in the lives of people across different ages, places, and relationships. (Note: Local appearance on March 5th, in SF through Bookshop West Portal at the United Irish Cultural Center. Tickets required.)

Willy Vlautin The Left and the Lucky (due out April 14, 2026): 2025 Winner

• A compassionate, character‑driven novel about a devoted house painter who forms an unlikely bond with a vulnerable young boy next door, showing how small acts of kindness and unexpected friendships can offer hope amid hardship. 

Karan Mahajan The Complex (due out March 10, 2026): 2018 Finalist

• A new novel from the author of The Association of Small Bombs, The Complex follows the intertwined lives, ambitions, and betrayals of the Chopras, a prominent Delhi family grappling with personal loyalties and political upheaval across generations. 

Plus, The Delines (Willy Vlautin's band) has a new album: The Set Up (record due out March 6, 2026)

• A collection of songs that peers into the lives of people on the American fringe, showing how the weight of addiction and isolation can reshape a person's life. Through its storytelling, the album explores the residue of the opioid epidemic and the desperation of those struggling to survive.

Support our Programs

Your gift funds the free workshops, fellowships, and prizes that amplify marginalized voices. Please consider supporting the Jack Hazard Fellows, our JCO Prize, or any of our other programs.

Donate using the button below or better yet, send us a check via snail-mail, made out to:

New Literary Project, 4100 Redwood Road, Suite 20A/424, Oakland, California 94619.

EIN Number: 84-3898853.

No donation is too small. Or too large! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

New Literary Project is grateful for generous institutional support from philanthropic and corporate sponsors who, along with our many loyal individual donors, drive social change and make possible serving students, teachers, and writers across generations: Wood Family Foundation, Simpson PSB Fund, System Property, Literary Arts Emergency Fund through the Mellon Foundation, Rare Bird Books, Penguin Random House, Salesforce Foundation, Busby Communications, and the Miner Anderson Family Foundation.