If others believe in what I am doing, then I should believe in it too: 2022 Jack Hazard Fellows Reflect
New Literary Project’s inaugural cohort of Jack Hazard Fellows—creative writers teaching high school who receive a $5,000 stipend in order to buy them time to write during their break from teaching—reflected upon what being awarded this fellowship meant to their summertime. They have all graciously agreed to share these thoughts with New Literary Project’s community, both in the spirit of gratitude and in the hope of inspiring a new group of teachers to take advantage of the fruits of this fellowship during the next summer season.
You can find more information on the Jack Hazard Fellowship program here, as well as our FAQs on applying here.
Molly Montgomery
Emery High School - Emeryville, CA
"The Jack Hazard Fellowship was instrumental in helping me reach the finish line of my first draft in several ways. First, the financial award allowed me to clear my schedule for two months during my summer break… Second, the fellowship provided me with the validation I needed to keep writing. It is difficult and lonely to work on a project that exists only in your head for years on end without any external acknowledgement that what you are doing is worthy of the time you are devoting to it. Knowing that the judges of the fellowship saw potential both in my writing sample and in my novel overall gave me a huge boost of confidence. I drew upon this support whenever I started to doubt myself and my writing, telling myself that if others believed in what I am doing, then I should believe in it too… Third, the fellowship held me accountable for writing. I had already set a goal of finishing a draft of my novel by the end of the summer even before I applied for the fellowship, but I’m not sure I would have found the motivation to do so if I had not been a Jack Hazard Fellow."
Tori Sciacca
Richmond High School - Richmond, CA
"I could never have dreamed that I would be inspired so fully to tell these stories that have been sitting in me for years. This fellowship allowed me to create a sustainable daily writing practice while giving me the time and space to continue working on short stories that have been holding space in my heart for a long time. I am proud of the revision work that has been put into some existing stories in addition to creating so many new stories to add to this collection."
Andy Spear
Head-Royce School - Oakland, CA
“What a gift this fellowship has been – a reminder of what time can offer, what practice can mean. I’m sad the time is drawing to an end… the rhythms and demands of school just don’t permit this kind of space and time on a regular basis. But the roots are planted, the memory awakened, and a commitment reborn: there is meaning in this work, in this kind of presence, and a fellowship like this restores some of what older teacher/writers like me can lose sight of in the busy-ness of the world. And with any luck, it will have stoked those creative fires, and sparked motion in the furnaces, and these projects will now roll on with this wonderful gift of time, space, and energy (and of course the money that made all of that possible!)."
Adam O. Davis
The Bishop’s School - La Jolla, CA
"Encouragement is the conduit to education. Where would any of us be if not for the encouragement of a teacher at some point in our lives? And where would I be now if not for the encouragement of the New Literary Project? As a result of its support, I completed my novel—all 157,000 words of it—last week. As I write this, it’s under consideration by several literary agents. Next week, I’m back in the classroom, back to teaching, but I return to this new school year fulfilled, encouraged, and excited, knowing that even as I worked alone this summer, I was supported and believed in throughout."
Kevin Allardice
Albany High School - Albany, CA
"As a high school teacher who also writes fiction, I always say I will spend my summers finishing a novel. That rarely actually happens, though. However, in the summer of 2022 I saw the completion of my novel, and that is thanks entirely to the generous support from the New Literary Project’s Jack Hazard Fellowship. The fellowship gave me the resources to carve out time and space to focus exclusively on my project, and that allowed me to dedicate my energies in a way that is often difficult, even during summer breaks."
Sheila Madary
St. Mary’s High School - Stockton, CA
"The Jack Hazard Fellowship created a sense of opportunity and urgency for me… The fellowship called me to fulfill a commitment now to my writing project, and it inspired me to believe that many stops and starts in my writing life could actually become a sustained effort and, someday soon, a finished project."
Mehnaz Sahibzada
New Roads School - Santa Monica, CA
"I have learned that to write, in part, is to be haunted by hope. This generous acknowledgement has kept me hoping. Without the support of the Jack Hazard Fellowship, I don’t know if I could have found the consistent drive to complete a draft by the end of summer 2022."