Biography Fellow Channing Joseph Wins Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant
Channing Joseph was awarded a prestigious Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant for his in-progress biography, House of Swann: Where Slaves Became Queens.
The Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $40,000 is awarded to writers in the process of completing a book of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction.
House of Swann is the story of William Dorsey Swann, an African-American man born into slavery who became the world’s first self-described “drag queen” and the leader of possibly the world’s earliest-known gay liberation organization. In the 1880s and ’90s, Swann inspired a rebellious group of black butlers, coachmen, and cooks — most of them former slaves as well — to create a secret world of balls in Washington, D.C., risking their lives and livelihoods before there were any legal or political organizations willing to come to their defense, and nearly a century before the Stonewall Riots. House of Swann will be published by Crown.
Curious about our Fellows?
Subscrible to our mailing list
Stay on top of all our events, announcements and important application deadlines.
We respect your privacy and will never spam your inbox.