05/27/2026
Congratulations to Giljoon Lee, recipient of the 2026 YoungArts Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award! This $50,000 scholarship, made possible through the generosity of the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, is given each year to a YoungArts award winner in Writing ✍️
“At National YoungArts Week, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of support and love that I found among our panelists, fellow artists, and resident advisors. Before our readings, I remember us writers waiting together in the green room, trading bad puns and feeling our nerves dissolve into laughter. I realized then that it was the joy of community that I wrote for. As an immigrant who came to America not knowing how to speak English, I began creative writing as a way for me to practice the language. It feels surreal to be here now, not only having found my voice, but being recognized for it. I am so grateful to YoungArts and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation for this award. In college and beyond, with the help of the scholarship, I will continue writing, reading, and refining my craft. There is so much I have yet to write, and so much I want to share with the world.”
- .lee
Giljoon Lee is from Gyeonggi-do and lives in California. He is a 2026 YoungArts Winner with Distinction in Writing. An alumnus of the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program and the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop, he edits MEARI, a poetry magazine showcasing the process of drafting poems. His work appears in Liberties, phoebe journal, Shō Poetry Journal, and elsewhere.
🎥: “Arrival” by Giljoon Lee, 2026 National YoungArts Week
