With support from the California Arts Council, Muses & Melanin (M&M) will admit and graduate the 2026 cohort of talented BIPOC writers. This program, an eight-month professional development practicum for California creative writers of color, is designed to advance the trajectory of their literary careers. Funding will go towards:
• a $300 stipend for program graduates, to seed their first-ever literary bank accounts;
• producing a formal, public Graduation Celebration Ceremony & Reading at San Francisco’s Koret Auditorium. This ceremony represents an official presentation credit graduates can include on their brand-new literary resumes!
• a Literary Launch Kit awarded onstage to each program graduate, consisting of practical and fun elements, including a Guide to Literary Agents, a writer’s calendar, an MLA Style Handbook, business card holder, branded M&M hats and shirts, and a bookstore gift certificate.