2018 Year in Review

This year, we received 476 applications for the 2019 New America National Fellowship. The competitive selection process is reflected in the immense talent of the 17 National Fellows who earned a spot in this class. Meet the Class of 2019 and learn more about the applicant pool by reading our Class of 2019 “Who Applied?” report.

This year, New America’s National Fellows published nine books and produced two films on fascinating topics ranging from cybersecurity to small businesses to surveillance. We are especially excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fellows Program, having supported more than 200 National Fellows who have published more than 100 books! As always, our National Fellows are bringing challenging issues to the forefront of public discourse.

Rania Abouzeid’s No Turning Back and Eliza Griswold’s Amity and Prosperity were named to the New York Times’ “100 Notable Books of 2018” list. Amity and Prosperity was also included on the Washington Post's "50 Notable works of nonfiction in 2018" list.

The following books were reviewed by the New York Times in 2018: Bitwise by David Auerbach, Amity and Prosperity by Eliza Griswold, The China Mission by Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Big is Beautiful by Michael Lind, No Turning Back by Rania Abouzeid, The People Vs. Democracy by Yascha Mounk, and Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks.

In addition, we are excited to have supported two thought-provoking films: People’s Republic of Desire produced and directed by Hao Wu and The Feeling of Being Watched produced and directed by Assia Boundaoui.

Reginald Dwayne Betts wrote an introspective for the New York Times Magazine about whether an ex-convict can become an attorney. Sara Hendren was featured in the Cooper Hewitt Museum’s “Access+Ability” exhibit. Suki Kim wrote for the New Republic about South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s power in the Korean Peninsula peace discussions. The New Yorker published Rachel Aviv’s article on Georgia’s separate and unequal special-education system.

• Azmat Khan and International Security program fellow Anand Gopal have won multiple awards for their New York Times Magazine article “The Uncounted.” The most notable include the 2018 National Magazine Award in the Reporting category; the Ed Cunningham Award of the Overseas Press Club for Best Magazine Reporting on an International Story; the 2018 Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism; and the Deadline Club (the largest chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists) Award for Magazine Investigative Reporting.
• Alexis Okeowo won the 2018 PEN Open Book Award for her book A Moonless, Starless Sky.
• Souad Mekhennet was awarded the 2018 Ludwig Boerne Prize for I Was Told to Come Alone, and the STERN magazine editorial board’s special prize as part of thtwitter.comtwitter.come Nannen Prize series, which is regarded as one of Germany’s most prestigious awards in journalism.
• Bart Elmore received Ohio State University’s Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, considered the most prestigious teaching award at the university.
• Marcia Chatelain was one of four people honored with a University of Missouri, College of Arts and Science Distinguished Alumnus Award.
• Reginald Dwayne Betts was named both a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow for poetry and a 2018 PEN America Writing for Justice Fellow.
• Legion of Brothers, a documentary directed by Greg Barker and co-produced by Peter Bergen, was nominated for an Emmy in the category of "Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary."
• Trymaine Lee won an Emmy in the Category of “Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis” for his reporting on a segment called “All in America: Chicago” for MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes.
• Nikole Hannah-Jones won the 2018 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism for her work covering segregation in the New York Times Magazine and other publications. The honor is given each year by the Columbia Journalism School to a reporter in recognition for cumulative professional accomplishments.
• Andrea Elliott was awarded the 2018 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, given to writers in the process of completing a book of deeply researched and imaginatively composed of nonfiction.
• Assia Boundaoui was included on the inaugural “40 Under 40” list curated by DOCNYC, America’s largest documentary festival.
• Masha Gessen won the 2018 Hitchens Prize, and also won the 2019 Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding for her book, The Future is History.
• Nonny de la Peña’s work on changing the mediascape was highlighted on the November cover of Wall Street Journal Magazine in the “Innovators” issues.