Martha Heasley Cox receiving San José State University’s “Tower Award” from President Robert Caret in 2006 for her generosity in supporting many causes, including the Steinbeck Fellows Program.

The Steinbeck Fellows Program of San José State University was endowed through the generosity of Martha Heasley Cox. It offers new writers of any age and background a $10,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Named in honor of author John Steinbeck, the program is guided by his lifetime of work in literature, the media, and environmental activism.

Fellowships are currently offered in Creative Writing (excluding poetry) and Steinbeck Studies. Fellows may be appointed in many fields, including literary scholarship, fiction, drama, education, science and the media.

While in residence in the San José area, Fellows are afforded office space and, when needed, housing assistance through the Center for Steinbeck Studies and the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Application Information.