For the third year in a row, the Alumni Council of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards presented A Suite of One’s Own: A Writer’s Residency for Alumni of the Scholastic Awards. Two Alums will have the chance to spend a week in their own suites at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. This writer’s residency will give the residents time and space to focus on their writing.

Acclaimed author Edwidge Danticat judged this year’s entries and narrowed the selection down to the final two. After weeks of judging, we’re proud to announce the recipients of the 2018 Alumni Writers Residency!

Meet the Residents

Shanelle Mills is a New Orleans-based writer, educator, carpenter, and rootworker. Originally from the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania, she is unapologetically a black, fat, feminist and her writing serves as the locus for all of these selves. Using scientific research, archival evidence, and her own personal history, she takes the reader on a journey that transcends time and place, as she subtly explores varying themes around race, legacy, capitalism, and class. Currently, she freelances as a carpenter and teaches creative writing to teenagers at 826-New Orleans. During the residency, Shanelle will be revising and polishing essays so that they can be ready for publication.

Olga Rukovets is a medical writer and editor. In 2017, she received an MFA in poetry from the University of Florida. Her writing has appeared in Potomac Review, Passages North, Parcel, Jelly Bucket, 5X5, Mixed Fruit, and elsewhere. She was also a 2015 finalist for Breakwater Review‘s Peseroff Prize. Olga hopes to work on a collection of poems during the residency.

Congratulations to Shanelle and Olga! Alumni of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are encouraged to keep in touch with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, where Alumni opportunities such as this are posted. Special thanks to The Roosevelt Hotel and Amazon Literary Partnership for their support of this project.