2025-2026 M. Garren Tinney Writing Award Recipients Announced
Concluding a year full of outstanding undergraduate student writing supported by the M. Garren Tinney Memorial Fund, The Writing Program in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025-2026 M. Garren Tinney Writing Awards. While the Tinney Fund is administered by The Writing Program, the M. Garren Tinney Writing Awards given in Spring are managed and selected by three separate departments/programs: The Writing Program, the Department of English, and the Writing & Literature Program at the College of Creative Studies (CCS). Award winners receive cash prizes.
The M. Garren Tinney Writing Award administered by the Writing Program focused on creative non-fiction.
- Winner: Kaia Sanders ‘28 (L&S Communication), "Letting Light in”
- Winner: Sequoia Cristobal-Mandel ‘29 (L&S Philosophy) Untitled Braided Essay
The M. Garren Tinney Writing Award administered by the Department of English focused on innovation in creative writing, broadly conceived.
- Winner: Emily O'Brien ‘27 (L&S English), "A Sun Woman Opened Her Mouth and out came a Little-Director-Girl: [a film and a play and maybe also a Piece of Literature]"
- Honorable Mention: Grace Fisher ‘26 (L&S English, Biopsychology),"Into the World of Friday"
- Honorable Mention: Sophie Jetzer Gagneux ‘28 (L&S English), "The Marrow"
The M. Garren Tinney Writing Award administered by CCS Writing & Literature program focused on creative nonfiction.
- Winner: Makenna Arase ‘27 (CCS Writing & Literature), “A Great Turning of Things”
In loving memory of Michael “Garren” Tinney ‘01 (L&S English), his mother Donna “Dee Dee” Tinney established the M. Garren Tinney Memorial Fund at UCSB in June 2023 to honor the memory of her son and his interest in and passion for writing. The Fund provides numerous opportunities, now and into the future, for UCSB undergraduate students committed to writing and who have an interest in pursuing writing-related careers. The Fund supports the M. Garren Tinney Writing Fellows, M. Garren Tinney Writing Awards, and the M. Garren Tinney Travel Awards.
The Writing Program will accept applications in Fall 2026 for the fourth annual M. Garren Tinney Writing Fellowships, followed by the M. Garren Tinney Travel Awards made throughout the academic year, and the M. Garren Tinney Writing Awards in Spring 2027.