FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8/20/2020: The Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation formally announces the launch of the Borchard Foundation Center on Literary Arts with the naming of poet Briceida Cuevas Cob as the recipient of the inaugural El Grand Balam prize. Additional Fellowships are awarded to Rita Dove, Álvaro Enrigue, Christian Kiefer, Brenda Lozano, Valeria Luiselli, Douglas Manuel, Lauren Markham, Nayomi Munaweera, Guadalupe Nettel, Miriam Toews, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Katherena Vermette.
“We are enormously enthusiastic to be able to award this first group of recipients,” says Michael Spurgeon, Executive Vice President of the foundation and Director of the new Borchard Center on Literary Arts. “They are an extraordinary group of artists who help us connect with our lives and with each other.”
The mission of the Borchard Foundation Center on Literary Arts is “to create a community of literary artists from across the Americas to foster meaningful connections between people, culture, and the natural world.”
There is no application process for either the main award or for fellowships. Names are selected from the writing public by a nominating committee of literary professionals and are put forward for approval by the foundation’s board. Although rare exceptions may apply in future years, eligibility is limited to artists with citizenship or residency in Canada, Mexico, or United States.
Founded in 1978 and located in California, the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation’s mission is “to promote research, education, social justice, and the arts, and to improve the human condition.” To carry out this mission, the foundation makes grants to numerous non-profit organizations and operates the Borchard Foundation Center on International Education and the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging, two organizations with preeminent reputations in their respective fields.
Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation
Borchard Foundation Center on Literary Arts
Twitter: @BorchardLit
###
