Loft Mentor Series Fellowship in Poetry and Creative Prose

Written by Mari Richards

I am so honored and slightly stunned to be able to say I am now a Fellow! The Loft Literary Center is a well-respected literary hub in Minneapolis with amazing programming, classes, and other supports. I’m a children’s literature fellow in their mentorship program: the 2025–2026 Loft Mentor Series Fellowship in Poetry and Creative Prose, It’s a cross-genre community of twelve fellows in fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and children’s lit and everyone is so creative and thoughtful. We meet monthly through potlucks, seminars, and small groups with our incredible guest mentors. Plus a few public readings and general support. I can’t wait to see what’s in store over the next 16 months or so!

The Loft Mentor Series is supported by grants from the Jerome Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts and by Friends of the Loft.

Mari Richards

I’m Mari (rhymes with starry) Richards and I’m an illustrator, author, toy designer, and artist. I love drawing and painting our natural habitats; quirky, mischievous characters; and whimsical, magical worlds.

I’m usually sipping tea and staring out the window of my studio, creating lots of illustrations, toys, surface pattern designs, and kids products. I’ve gathered over 30 industry awards along the way. Some of my favorite career highlights include illustrating the picture book series Archie and Pip, designing with Jellycat; surface pattern designing with Nuby; toy designing as a Senior Product Designer at Manhattan Toy; creating the successful design blog Small for Big, being an original Pinfluencer; completing my MFA, and teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and the College of Visual Arts.

I firmly believe making things is a daily requirement. You can find me sketching, gathering rocks and feathers, sniffing every book I read (and some I don’t), and living a chaotic, wonderful life with my husband, daughter, and two rescue mutts near St. Paul, MN.

For all publishing enquiries, please contact my agent Adria Goetz at KT Literary.

https://maririchards.com
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