The UCSB Writing Program in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is proud to announce the 2024-2025 M. Garren Tinney Writing Fellows: Amitha Bhat ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature), Sofia Mosqueda ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature; L&S Communication), and Faith Talamantez ‘25 (CCS Writing & Literature). Thanks to the M. Garren Tinney Memorial Fund, these talented undergraduate students each receive a fellowship to support the completion of a substantial writing project by the end of this academic year.
In loving memory of Michael “Garren” Tinney ‘01 (L&S English) s, Donna “Dee Dee” Tinney—Garren’s mother—established the M. Garren Tinney Memorial Fund at UCSB in 2023 to honor the memory of her son and his passion for writing. The Fund provides numerous opportunities in perpetuity for UCSB undergraduate students committed to writing who have an interest in pursuing writing-related careers. In addition to the M. Garren Tinney Writing Fellowships, the fund supports the M. Garren Tinney Travel Awards and three separate M. Garren Tinney Writing Awards. Each of the Tinney Writing Awards are administered , respectively, by the Writing Program, the Writing & Literature program at the College of Creative Studies (CCS), and UCSB Department of English.
The2024-2025 M. Garren Tinney Writing Fellows were selected by a committee of Writing Program faculty from a pool of strong applicants who were working on extensive, book-length projects. To assist and support the completion of this work, each student is guided by a faculty mentor—Writing Program faculty Victoria Houser, Robert Krut, and Ellen Whittet—to assist them through the process and look ahead to future professional and literary opportunities. During Spring quarter, the Tinney Fellows will present their completed works.
M. “Garren” Tinney came from Oklahoma City to UCSB as an English major and continued his studies at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Garren passed away on December 7, 2019. Garren valued free speech, education, and above all else, using the written word as a means to communicate the many insights he garnered over 41 years as a survivor of grief and student of the human condition. Over the course of his short life, Garren prided himself on his multifaceted occupational pursuits. He worked in politics in Washington, D.C., entertainment in Los Angeles, journalism and public relations in Manhattan, New York, and finally achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a writer in Pasadena, California, completing dozens of short stories, novellas, and novels.
The 2024-2025 Tinney Travel Awards is currently accepting applications. Open to all UCSB undergraduate students, further information and the application can be found at: https://forms.gle/GeDJMwdeDdFrobN2A. The Tinney Writing Awards with a cash prize will be open for undergraduate student submissions in Spring quarter. The next application for the 2025-2026 Tinney Writing Fellowships will be in Fall 2025.
