As the CUNY Graduate Center recently announced, (self-described) Nuyorican writer Lara Mimosa Montes (author of The Time of the Novel) has been named a recipient of the 2026 Whiting Award for Emerging Writers. The Whiting Foundation supports creative writing through these awards, which are given annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. [Read about the most recent cohort at Writers Awards: Current Winners.] Here are excerpts from CUNY GC followed by a brief bio.
Lara Mimosa Montes (Ph.D. ’16, English) has been selected as a winner of the 2026 Whiting Award for Emerging Writers, a highly competitive honor presented by the Whiting Foundation.
The award celebrates early-career writers whose work demonstrates exceptional talent and the potential to shape the future of literature. Montes was recognized in the fiction category, with judges praising her bold, formally inventive writing and her ability to explore complex ideas with clarity and depth.
Each Whiting Award recipient receives $50,000 to support their work and artistic development. The awards are given annually to emerging writers across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
“I’m ecstatic,” Montes said. “I had a recent spell where I didn’t know where the money would come from. It’s so hard, making a living. Any living. Now I’m feeling emboldened by the support, and eager to get onto realizing this next book.”
This year’s cohort reflects a wide range of voices and perspectives, offering what the foundation describes as a “kaleidoscopic view” of contemporary life, from questions about technology and identity to explorations of place and belonging. The award is widely regarded as one of the most significant early-career honors in the literary world.
Montes is a writer, editor, and teaching artist whose work spans experimental writing and alternative publishing. She is the author of The Time of the Novel (2025), as well as two earlier poetry collections, THRESHOLES (2020) and The Somnambulist (2016). Her writing has appeared in leading literary publications including BOMB, Fence, and POETRY, earning her a reputation as a daring and innovative voice in contemporary literature.
Born in the Bronx, Montes brings a deeply personal and exploratory approach to her work. Her writing often examines interiority and liminal spaces, challenging traditional narrative forms while remaining grounded in lived experience. In their citation, the Whiting Award judges highlighted her ability to “slow time” and engage with foundational ideas on her own terms, noting that her work is both intellectually ambitious and emotionally resonant.
In addition to her writing, Montes has been actively involved in literary and artistic communities. She has received residencies and fellowships from prestigious organizations such as MacDowell, Lighthouse Works, Jentel, and the Headlands Center for the Arts. She currently serves on the faculty of the Creative Writing MFA program at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and teaches in the XE: Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement master’s program at New York University.
Montes completed her doctorate under the name Lara Rossana Rodriguez.
“I studied with the most gifted writers, translators, and professors during my time at the Graduate Center,” she said in an interview last year. “During my first semester, I took a course with Mary Ann Caws, titled Strange Modernisms. We read so much literature in translation, most memorably André Breton’s Nadja. This early experience continues to inspire me, as do the years spent developing my creative voice under the careful supervision of Professor Wayne Koestenbaum.” [. . .]
Lara Mimosa Montes is a writer, editor, and teaching artist whose practice and experiences span the fields of alternative publishing and experimental writing. She is most recently the author of The Time of the Novel (Wendy’s Subway, 2025), in addition to two previous books of poetry, THRESHOLES (Coffee House Press, 2020) and The Somnambulist (Horse Less Press, 2016). Her writing has appeared in BOMB, Fence, POETRY, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of artist residencies and fellowships from MacDowell, Lighthouse Works, Jentel, and Headlands Center for the Arts. She is a faculty member of the Creative Writing MFA program at Pacific Northwest College of Art. She also teaches in XE: Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement Master’s program at NYU. She was born in the Bronx. [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/graduate-center-alumna-wins-prestigious-whiting-award
For more information, see https://www.whiting.org/awards/winners/lara-mimosa-montes and https://www.whiting.org/writers/awards/current-winners
See more about the novel at https://www.wendyssubway.com/publishing/titles/the-time-of-the-novel
For more on the author, see https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lara-mimosa-montes and https://anmly.medium.com/hispanic-heritage-month-spotlight-lara-mimosa-montes-cd29ecb4be4a