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- By Kaili Berg
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) alum and faculty mentor Tommy Orange (Cheyenne and Arapaho) has been named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the 2025 class of fellows on Wednesday, October 8. Each recipient is awarded an unrestricted $800,000 grant, often called the “genius grant,” given to individuals who have shown exceptional originality and dedication to their craft.
Orange, an Oakland-born writer and IAIA MFA graduate (’16), has earned national acclaim for his storytelling that captures the layered realities of urban Native life.
His debut novel, There There (2018), became an instant classic, winning the PEN/Hemingway Award and the John Leonard Prize from the National Book Critics Circle. The book was also named one of The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2018.
His second novel, Wandering Stars (2024), continues that momentum, earning the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize and a longlisting for the 2024 Booker Prize.
“His storytelling expands how the world understands contemporary Indigenous life and honors the strength and brilliance of our communities,” IAIA President Dr. Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) said in a press release. “As an alum and a faculty mentor in our MFA in Creative Writing program, he models the craft, discipline, and generosity we hope to instill in every student.”
Orange now teaches in IAIA’s MFA program, helping nurture the next generation of Indigenous writers. A video about Orange’s work is available on the MacArthur Foundation’s website, along with profiles of all 2025 Fellows.
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