The New England Review Award for Emerging Writers builds on the strengths of two of Middlebury College’s literary institutions. Both New England Review (NER) and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences (BLWC) impact emerging writers’ lives and, in doing so, help sustain a vibrant literary culture.

What it is:
The NER Award for Emerging Writers provides a full scholarship to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference for an emerging writer* in any genre. This annual award, which is bestowed upon a writer who offers an unusual and compelling new voice and who has been published by NER, is selected by the NER editorial staff and the BLWC director.

How it came about:
This annual award is made possible by the Stephen Donadio Fund for Emerging Writers, established in 2014 by a private benefactor in honor of Stephen Donadio, NER editor for twenty years and former Fulton Professor of Humanities and Director of the Literary Studies program at Middlebury College. Proceeds from this endowment will support NER’s ongoing commitment to identify and publish gifted emerging writers, and will fund a full scholarship to the Writers’ Conference each August, named the Stephen Donadio Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Scholarship.

How it works:
Each year in January or February, NER’s editorial staff will select and announce a short list of finalists from all emerging writers published the previous year. Later that quarter the editor of NER and director of the BLWC will choose a winner from those eligible finalists. The Stephen Donadio Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Scholarship will cover tuition, room, and board at the Conference.

* Writers who have not published a book or full-length collection, and do not have a book under contract, are considered emerging writers. All emerging writers who have been published in NER over the course of the year and who are available to attend the Conference the following August (and who are not previous Bread Loaf Scholarship recipients) are eligible for the NER Award for Emerging Writers.

2023
Finalists

2022
Finalists
Winner: Helene Achanzar

2021
Finalists
Winner: Justin Danzy

2020
Finalists
Winner: Leslie Bazzett

2019
Finalists
Winner: Jennifer Stock

2018
Finalists
Winner: Devon Walker-Figueroa

2017
Finalists
Winner: Alan Rossi

2016
Finalists
Winner: Hai-Dang Phan

 2015
Finalists
Winner: Ricardo Nuila