The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is pleased to announce Diamond Braxton and Ari Brazier as the recipients of our Fall 2026 Residency Fellowships. These residencies are designed to give artists time and space to explore their creative projects in a quiet and productive environment. A special thanks to Smokelong Quarterly, who generously donated the funding for our fellowship for trans writers.
Black and/or Indigenous Writers Fellowship Recipient
Diamond Braxton is a queer, Black and Mexican American writer, editor, publisher and educator based in Texas. Their work is published in Autostraddle, Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, Foglifter, The Forge, and the I Love Us: Queer on the Borderlands anthology (Flowersong Press, 2026). They were awarded the 2025 Carol Shields Prize Residency at Hedgebrook and are also alumni of Tin House and Lambda Literary retreats. They are the Founder of Abode Press, an anti-racist 501(c)(3) run by people of color and queer/trans folks primarily based in Texas where they publish books that remind them of home. She is currently working on a genre-bending collection of short stories and a novel.
Smokelong Quarterly Fellowship for Trans Writers Recipient
Ariana (Ari) Brazier, Ph.D. is a Black queer feminist and smiley sad mom-girl. They are a play-driven community-organizer and educator who is motivated to raise joyous, free Black children. They document how Black child play functions as a grassroots method of community-based storytelling, teaching, and organizing. They are the CEO and President of the nonprofit ATL Parent Like A Boss, Inc. (Parent LAB) whose mission is to enhance generational literacies through play in underserved African American communities.
Fellowship finalists include Kendall Kieras, E’mon Lauren, haejin bang, Stars Gould, Jordan Ealey, Renn Tan, Axel Winget, Leila Lois, and Jacqueline Cofield.
