by Writing Workshops Staff
3 days ago
What happens when writers find the right community, commit to their craft, and keep showing up for themselves?
This year, our alumni answered that question in ways that still leave us in awe. From major book deals to prestigious fellowships to prize-winning short stories, 2025 has been a landmark year for WritingWorkshops.com writers—and we want to celebrate every bit of it with you (if you have news to share...let us know).
SOME HIGHLIGHTS
Yvonne Liu became one of only twelve writers nationwide selected for James Patterson's inaugural "Go Finish Your Book" Grant, receiving up to $50,000 to complete her memoir, Left To Be Found. Yvonne has been part of our community for three years, honing her craft through multiple workshops. As she shared in her announcement, the recognition came at a pivotal moment for her as a "later-in-life full-time writer." Her memoir chronicles her adoption from Hong Kong and explores generational trauma, family secrets, and the search for truth.
Elizabeth Austin achieved a longtime dream this year: her first byline in The New York Times, with her essay "Happiness is a Big, Ugly Sofa" appearing in the Sunday Opinion section. Elizabeth developed work during our Dublin Writing Retreat and has published over 30 pieces in outlets including TIME, Harper's Bazaar, McSweeney's, and The Sun.
Erin Entrada Kelly, who joined us as a student at our 2024 fiction workshop in Tuscany, released her new middle-grade novel, The Last Resort, fresh off winning her second Newbery Medal in 2025 for The First State of Being. The new book is a spine-tingling ghost story that masterfully blends mystery, humor, and heart, and even features an innovative augmented reality component.
Anne Hellman, who honed her craft with Stewart O'Nan at our 2023 Writing Workshop in Dublin, just secured a major publishing deal for her debut novel, The Indecipherables, with Bantam Dell. The literary thriller follows estranged twin sisters on a surreal road trip—only to be stalked by identical doppelgangers. Publication is expected in 2027.
Colleen Rosenfeld won the prestigious 2025 Halifax Prize from American Short Fiction for her story "The Skilled Anatomist"—her first published piece of fiction. In 2023, Colleen took three of our workshops, including Writing the Short Story with Madeline Stevens. Judge Daniel Mason praised the story for treading "the uncanny space between the familiar and the fantastic."
Carol Mitchell, already an accomplished novelist, enrolled in our 12-Week Story Collection Draft Generator with Chaya Bhuvaneswar in 2024—and just signed with Akashic Books for her collection, A Good Haunting and Other Stories, publishing fall 2026. The ten magical realism-infused stories are steeped in African and Caribbean traditions.
E.E. Hussey landed her short story "Spider Fight" in the Winter 2025 issue of The Kenyon Review, one of America's most prestigious literary magazines. E.E. took our short fiction workshop back in 2017, and her debut novel Hafa Adai is now forthcoming from Curbstone Books. Born in the Philippines and raised in Japan and Italy, she'll join the faculty at UNC Charlotte this fall.
Ebonya Lia sold her debut novel, I Can Feel It All Over, to Amistad Books (an imprint of HarperCollins), with publication slated for spring 2027. A 2023 KWELI Writing Fellow, Ebonya has been developing her voice in our community, and we couldn't be more thrilled to watch her literary dreams take shape.
Pegah Ouji was named a 2025 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow—a highly competitive five-month mentorship program that selected just nine writers from a record applicant pool. Pegah, an Iranian American writer who writes in both Farsi and English, first published her short story "Caged Birds" in Joyland Magazine after developing it in our Short Story workshop with Chaya Bhuvaneswar.
Shelby Stewart won the $3,500 First Prize in Fiction in the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest for her story "Going and Going and Going," selected from nearly 1,800 entries worldwide. Shelby found her way from feeling aimless to award-winning—a reminder that showing up for your work, again and again, pays off.
Lauren Yu-Ting Bo was named to the prestigious NBCC Emerging Critics Fellowship, joining an elite group of critics recognized by the National Book Critics Circle. A mixed-Taiwanese writer exploring multiracial identity and the impacts of migration, Lauren's criticism has appeared in Words Without Borders, World Literature Today, and Asymptote.
Samantha Silva sold her third novel, Sometime This Century, to HarperCollins—continuing her extraordinary trajectory since her debut, Mr. Dickens and His Carol. Samantha is a 2022 Bread Loaf Fellow and has sold film projects to Paramount, Universal, and New Line Cinema.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
These headlines represent more than individual wins. They represent the power of community, the value of craft, and the courage it takes to keep writing when the world offers so many reasons to stop.
Every one of these writers sat where you sit now—wondering if their story mattered, if their voice was ready, if the work would ever find its way into the world.
The answer, again and again: yes.
YOUR TURN?
If 2026 is the year you want to finally commit to your writing, we're here to help. Whether you're drafting your first personal essay, finishing a novel, or figuring out how to submit to literary magazines, our community of award-winning instructors and fellow writers will meet you where you are.
Here's to the stories that found their way into the world this year—and to yours, coming soon.
With gratitude,
The WritingWorkshops.com Team
P.S. Did you publish or win an award in 2025? We want to celebrate you! Fill out our questionnaire and share your news—we love featuring our alumni.
Why writers choose us:
✓ Award-winning instructors with MFAs, PhDs, and major publication credits
✓ Flexible online format—asynchronous or Zoom options to fit any schedule, any timezone
✓ Incredible Destination Writing Retreats
✓ Real community—not just a course, but peers who become lifelong writing friends
✓ Official Electric Literature education partner since 2023
✓ Payment plans available
