More than 30 journalists and non-fiction writers have been chosen as MacArthur Fellows since 1981. Sarah Stillman, a New Yorker staff writer who often explores issues of criminal justice and civil rights, is the latest to join that list, reports The Poynter Institute. She was among 23 men and women named Wednesday as MacArthur fellows. The fellowship comes with “a no-strings-attached $625,000 grant for their exceptional creativity and potential for future contributions to their fields,” according to the MacArthur Foundation. Stillman, 32, has written about such things as civil asset forfeiture, the lives of foreign workers on U.S. Army bases, and about what happens when juveniles are put on the sex-offender list.
Stillman told the Los Angeles Times she was “completely flabbergasted” to be selected. She said the grant will allow her to continue to focus on deep-dive investigative projects “where you can’t necessarily see the logical end. Because I think part of what’s so complex about these stories is they’re investigative precisely because they’re not there on the surface and it takes some digging, some confusion and some wandering to find them.” Editor’s Note: Stillman was among 27 reporting fellows selected in 2015 by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice for a special year-long project focused on violence in America. The center is a partner in The Crime Report and Crime and Justice News.