The Englert Theatre has named Jess Kibler as the recipient of our third annual Nonfiction Writing Fellowship.
Kibler is a third-year MFA candidate in the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa. She is a graduate of Oregon State University, where she studied English and creative writing, and before moving to Iowa City, Jess worked as a bookseller and copywriter in Portland, Oregon. She writes about music, queerness, American evangelicalism, and growing up in the Pacific Northwest, and her essays can be found at Bitch Media and Catapult.
“I’m so grateful to everyone at the Englert for creating this opportunity for NWP students, and for selecting me to be this year’s Englert Nonfiction Fellow. I’ve been a huge fan of the Englert and all the work they do since I moved to Iowa City two years ago, and I’m beyond honored and thrilled to have a chance to get to know them and to spend more time with our local arts community,” said Kibler of the fellowship.
The fellowship was created in partnership with the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program to support one writer currently in the program by providing access to the arts and a platform for public engagement. While the fellowship generally welcomes recipients to in-person performances, the award was modified for 2020 to address the need for social distance as a result of the pandemic. Kibler will receive complimentary access to all Englert virtual events during the Spring 2021 semester and will be featured in several online engagements in the spring.
“We are thrilled to continue our support for student writers in our community. We’re thankful for our collaboration with the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program and the amazing talent that the program represents. We were blown away by the applications that we received and Jess Kibler will be a great representative for the fellowship,” said John Schickedanz, Englert Marketing Director.
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Programs like the Nonfiction Writing Fellowship are made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Englert program. More information about the program is available at englert.org/friends.
