Photo of Laura Schmitt courtesy of Inta Krukle

New England Review and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference are delighted to announce the selection of Laura Schmitt as the recipient of the eleventh annual New England Review Award for Emerging Writers. She was chosen among a strong pool of emerging writers published in NER in 2024, including the six finalists.

Laura Schmitt’s short story “We’ll Meet in the Wilderness” appeared in NER 45.2.

Laura Schmitt’s work can be found in the New England Review, The Pinch, Boulevard, Indiana Review, The Florida Review, and elsewhere. She was a finalist for the New England Review‘s 2021 Award for Emerging Writers and was a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook. Laura was born in Southern California, has roots in Hawai’i and the Midwest, and currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is at work on a novel and a collection of stories.

Laura will receive a full scholarship to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in August 2025, as the Stephen Donadio Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Scholar. Congratulations to Laura!