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 2025-2026 M. Garren Tinney Writing Fellows: Brianna Griffin ‘26 (L&S Black Studies), Ari Linder ‘26 (CCS Writing & Literature), and Sophia Quinto ‘26 (CCS Writing & Literature). Thanks to the M. Garren Tinney Memorial Fund, these talented undergraduate students will receive a fellowship to support the completion of a substantial writing project which will further their writing practice and academic experience.
In loving memory of Michael “Garren” Tinney ‘01 (L&S English), 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. Each year, the Fund provides numerous opportunities for UCSB undergraduate students focused on the practice of writing as students who also 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 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.
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 2025-2026 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—this year by Writing Program faculty Victoria Houser, Ellen O’Connell Whittet, and Alison Williams—to assist them through the process and support them in looking ahead to future professional and literary opportunities. During Spring quarter, the Tinney Writing Fellows will present their completed works.
Currently, the 2025-2026 Tinney Travel Awards is accepting applications until February 27. Open to all UCSB undergraduate students, further information and the application can be found at:
https://forms.gle/Mx7JYT1VKHMCEBsY8. The Tinney Writing Awards, with a cash prize, will be open for undergraduate student submissions in Spring quarter. The next application for 2027-2028 Tinney Writing Fellows will be in Fall 2026.
February 17, 2026 - 12:04pm