M. Bunch Washington's daughter Elizabeth is an award-winning author, educator and curator whose work explores the arts emerging from the African diaspora. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University, where she also taught Literature. She has also been a Visiting Scholar at Franklin & Marshall College.
In the past few years, Elizabeth was named the Rona Jaffe Fellow at Hedgebook and the Barbara Smith Writer-in-Residence at Twelve Literary Arts. She was awarded the Calderwood Grant for Longform Journalism at MacDowell, and has been a Finalist for the Creative Capital Award, the Jeff Baskin Oxford American Writers Fellowship and the Mary C. Mohr Award for nonfiction.
In 2022 one of Elizabeth's short stories was nominated for an O. Henry Prize, and her essays have appeared in Callaloo, Southern Indiana Review, Surface Design Journal, Torch Literary Arts, the Journal of Baha'i Studies, and other publications. In 2023 she was a Finalist for the Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant and a nominee for the Ann Snitow Prize.
Her first book, "Sleeping in the Fire: Reclaiming the Lost Legacy of Seminal Black Artists in America," is forthcoming. Represented by Charlotte Sheedy of the Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency, the project also includes an exhibition and a documentary film.
Prior to attending George Mason University, Elizabeth partnered with her brother, Jesse Washington, to launch Snowfire Publishing, which produced a quarterly magazine about playground basketball. Snowfire also reprinted two rare, critically acclaimed books about Black visual artists: "The Art of Romare Bearden: The Prevalence of Ritual" by M. Bunch Washington, and "The Art of Elizabeth Catlett" by Samella Lewis.
Currently, Elizabeth lives with her husband and two children in the Pittsburgh area, where she recently helped launch the Youth Arts Possibilities Program (YAPP), which brings public school students into exhibition spaces for hands-on art education.
In the past few years, Elizabeth was named the Rona Jaffe Fellow at Hedgebook and the Barbara Smith Writer-in-Residence at Twelve Literary Arts. She was awarded the Calderwood Grant for Longform Journalism at MacDowell, and has been a Finalist for the Creative Capital Award, the Jeff Baskin Oxford American Writers Fellowship and the Mary C. Mohr Award for nonfiction.
In 2022 one of Elizabeth's short stories was nominated for an O. Henry Prize, and her essays have appeared in Callaloo, Southern Indiana Review, Surface Design Journal, Torch Literary Arts, the Journal of Baha'i Studies, and other publications. In 2023 she was a Finalist for the Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant and a nominee for the Ann Snitow Prize.
Her first book, "Sleeping in the Fire: Reclaiming the Lost Legacy of Seminal Black Artists in America," is forthcoming. Represented by Charlotte Sheedy of the Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency, the project also includes an exhibition and a documentary film.
Prior to attending George Mason University, Elizabeth partnered with her brother, Jesse Washington, to launch Snowfire Publishing, which produced a quarterly magazine about playground basketball. Snowfire also reprinted two rare, critically acclaimed books about Black visual artists: "The Art of Romare Bearden: The Prevalence of Ritual" by M. Bunch Washington, and "The Art of Elizabeth Catlett" by Samella Lewis.
Currently, Elizabeth lives with her husband and two children in the Pittsburgh area, where she recently helped launch the Youth Arts Possibilities Program (YAPP), which brings public school students into exhibition spaces for hands-on art education.
Jesse Washington is an award-winning author, filmmaker and journalist for ESPN’s Andscape (formerly the Undefeated), a platform that covers the intersections of race, sports, and culture. In 2020 he co-authored the critically acclaimed “I Came As A Shadow,” the autobiography of former Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson. In 2021, Jesse was the writer and producer of the documentary film March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream, which traced the movement for Black equality from 1963 to through the momentous summer of 2020. March on Washington was broadcast on the National Geographic Channel and is currently streaming on Hulu.
Also in 2021, Jesse directed the documentary Bearing Witness: A Portrait of Darnella Frazier, which told for the first time the story of the teen who filmed the murder of George Floyd, and who later won an honorary Pulitzer Prize for her bravery. That film aired on ESPN and is now streaming on ESPN+. He is also the writer and director of the documentary Hip Hop and the White House, which chronicles hip-hop’s rise from marginalized communities to the highest levels of political power, and will air on Hulu in April of 2024.
Jesse’s latest book collaboration is “Lucky Me," the autobiography of sports agent Rich Paul. In December of 2023, “Lucky Me” was ranked #7 on The New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction. Jesse is the writer/producer of the forthcoming official documentary about the late John Thompson, and director of the upcoming documentary Quip, about the small town of Aliquippa, Pa producing more Hall of Fame football players than anyplace else in the world.
Jesse is a graduate of Yale University. Prior to joining Andscape, He covered race in America for The Associated Press and was a top editor at three magazines. Jesse is married with four children, and is a lifelong member of the Baha'i Faith.
Also in 2021, Jesse directed the documentary Bearing Witness: A Portrait of Darnella Frazier, which told for the first time the story of the teen who filmed the murder of George Floyd, and who later won an honorary Pulitzer Prize for her bravery. That film aired on ESPN and is now streaming on ESPN+. He is also the writer and director of the documentary Hip Hop and the White House, which chronicles hip-hop’s rise from marginalized communities to the highest levels of political power, and will air on Hulu in April of 2024.
Jesse’s latest book collaboration is “Lucky Me," the autobiography of sports agent Rich Paul. In December of 2023, “Lucky Me” was ranked #7 on The New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction. Jesse is the writer/producer of the forthcoming official documentary about the late John Thompson, and director of the upcoming documentary Quip, about the small town of Aliquippa, Pa producing more Hall of Fame football players than anyplace else in the world.
Jesse is a graduate of Yale University. Prior to joining Andscape, He covered race in America for The Associated Press and was a top editor at three magazines. Jesse is married with four children, and is a lifelong member of the Baha'i Faith.