Established in 1984, the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community. The prestigious award, which aims to provide promising writers a network for professional advancement, has helped to launch the careers of Sue Monk Kidd (The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees), David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei), Craig Santos Perez (from unincorporated territory [åmot]), Mona Simpson (Casebook), Lidia Yuknavitch (Thrust), and others. Since Poets & Writers began the Writers Exchange in 1984, 118 writers from forty-six states and four jurisdictions have been selected to participate. The award is generously supported by Maureen Mahon Egen, a member of the Poets & Writers Emeritus Board
Scott Frey and Jack Powers Win 2026 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award
Scott Frey (left) and Jack Powers (right)
Credit: Ben Barker, Hector Pachas
The winners of the 2026 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award were Scott Frey for poetry and Jack Powers for fiction. The judges were Ciaran Berry for poetry and Alejandro Heredia for fiction. This fall, the two winners will travel to New York City to meet with agents, editors, authors, and other publishing professionals. In addition, the winners will each receive a $500 honorarium and be invited to participate in a one-month residency at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Banner, Wyoming.
Commenting on Frey’s winning poetry submission, Berry said, “At the center of these poems is the unfathomable loss of a young child. As we would expect, there’s a deep, unrelenting grief present throughout, a tragically earned sense of how precarious life is, and how suddenly and cruelly it can be snatched away. And yet, in these poems too, out of grief, comes a deeper sense of beauty and wonder, of gratitude for our brief time here and for the loves that make that time a gift. These are poems that would convince us that the elegy and the ode are intertwined.”
Heredia said of Powers’ winning fiction entry, “In these stories we follow time-traveling detectives and witness characters contemplate mortality on the surface of the moon, but no matter what iteration of the end of the world this author trains his sharp imagination on, nor how far he takes us from our own lived experiences, [Powers’] great stylistic and imaginative breadth always returns us to matters of the heart: what does it mean to love another person? How do we leave behind a legacy that will matter to another living being? This talented writer offers no easy solutions, only questions and characters which make us feel and think deeply. I can’t wait for the world to read these stories.”
Read an excerpt from Scott Frey’s manuscript, 2026 winner in poetry. (PDF)
Read an excerpt from Jack Powers’s manuscript, 2026 winner in fiction. (PDF)
Past Winners
- Paige Ackerson-Kiely, Vermont
- Constance Alexander, Kentucky
- Nolde Alexius, Louisiana
- Doug Anderson, Massachusetts
- Kimo Armitage, Hawai‘i
- Elaine Beale, California (*)
- Sandra Beasley, Washington, D.C.
- Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, California (*)
- Sean Bernard, California (*)
- Chana Bloch, California
- Magda Bogin, New York
- Jonathan Bolt, West Virginia
- Anthony C. Brusate, Kentucky
- B. J. Buckley, Montana
- Claudia Burbank, New Jersey
- John Caddy, Minnesota
- John Campbell, Oregon
- Karen Chamberlain, Utah
- Bryn Chancellor, Alabama
- Michael Chitwood, North Carolina
- Sanda Moore Coleman, Kansas
- Larry Colker, California (*)
- Carolyn Coman, Massachusetts
- Lydia A. Cyrus, West Virginia
- Laura Joyce Davis, California (*)
- Daniel Degnan, New Jersey
- Joan Dempsey, Maine
- Courtney Denelle, Rhode Island
- Janet Desaulniers, Illinois
- Denise Duhamel, Pennsylvania
- Kim Edwards, Ohio
- John Engman, Minnesota
- Brian Evans-Jones, Maine
- David Ehcmke, Iowa
- Blas Falconer, Tennessee
- Roger Fanning, Washington
- José Faus, Kansas
- Sascha Feinstein, Indiana
- Bryan Allen Fierro, Alaska
- David Galef, Mississippi
- Dorothy Gannon, Vermont
- Kate Gaskin, Nebraska
- Emerald ᏃᏈᏏ GoingSnake, Giduwa and Mvskoke nations (Oklahoma)
- Elizabeth Graver, Massachusetts
- Kate Green, Minnesota
- Simon Han, Oklahoma
- Jean Hanson, Wyoming
- Charlotte Holmes, Pennsylvania
- Kira Hayen, Caddo Nation (Oklahoma)
- Joshua Idaszak, Arkansas
- Anushah Jiwani, Arkansas
- Matthew Kailey, Colorado
- Laura Kasischke, Michigan
- Sue Monk Kidd, South Carolina
- Kristine Knapp, South Dakota
- Miriam Kuznets, Texas
- Gene Kwak, Nebraska
- Mary La Chapelle, Minnesota
- Robert Lacy, Minnesota
- Dylan Landis, California (*)
- Joseph Langdon, Nevada
- Jeanne Leiby, Florida
- Lisa Lewis, Texas
- Steven L'Italien, Arizona
- Quitman Marshall, South Carolina
- Deirdra McAfee, Virginia
- Shena McAuliffe, Missouri
- Jeanne McDonald, Tennessee
- Mollye Miller, Maryland
- Harry Moore, Alabama
- Jim Moore, Minnesota
- Lee Ann Mortenson, Utah
- Delisa Mulkey, Georgia
- David Mura, Minnesota
- Patrick Murtagh, Montana
- Rhonda Nelson, Florida
- Brent Newsom, Oklahoma
- Fae Myenne Ng, California
- Elizabeth Oness, Wisconsin
- Jill Osier, Alaska
- Craig Santos Perez, California (*)
- David Peterman, Ohio
- Paul Pfeiffer, Indiana
- Rosemary Powers, Nevada
- C. L. Rawlins, Wyoming
- Jesus “Chuy” Renteria, Iowa
- David Reynolds, Michigan
- Brad Richard, Louisiana
- Andrés Rodriguez, Missouri
- Ruth Roston, Minnesota
- Angela Rydell, Wisconsin
- Diza Sauers, Arizona
- Nancy Schoenberger, New York
- Adam Schwartz, Maryland
- Rebecca Seiferle, New Mexico
- Barbara Selfridge, California
- David Dean Shavit, Illinois
- Pamela Shephard, New Mexico
- Aleda Shirley, Mississippi
- Mona Simpson, New York
- Gregory Blake Smith, Minnesota
- Matthew Stadler, Washington
- Norman Stock, New York
- Susan Straight, California
- Craig Taylor, California
- Willett Thomas, Washington, D.C.
- Alicia Upano, Hawai‘i
- Reetika Vaziriani, Virginia
- Jodie Noel Vinson, Rhode Island
- Jane Wampler, Colorado
- Lauren K. Watel, Georgia
- David Weaver, North Carolina
- Susan Welch, Minnesota
- Allison Benis White, California (*)
- Courtney Huse Wika, South Dakota
- Lidia Yuknavitch, Oregon
(*) Winners of the California Writers Exchange, which was offered periodically from 2004 to 2013, with support from the James Irvine Foundation.
Read more about past WEX Award Winners. (PDF)
Read an essay by past winner Brian Evans-Jones. (PDF)
Watch a video of past winner Sandra Beasley speaking about the award.