The Nonfiction Writing Program is pleased to announce Nikka Randhawa as the fall 2026 winner of the Herodotus Award, which will provide him with $500 to research his project, "Register for a Gas Station." Nikka is a third-year MFA student in the Nonfiction Writing Program. 

This semester's Herodotus judge was Nonfiction Program alumna Lucy Schiller (MFA '18), author of the new book Aging Out, a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and a professor of creative writing at Grinnell College. A Herodotus recipient herself back in the day, Lucy read the proposals anonymously and shared the following:

"I really hope to see what comes of all of these wonderfully important projects, and was sad to only be able to pick one. But 'Register for a Gas Station' stood out to me for its particular mixture of practicality and deep emotional possibility." 

Herodotus was the first writer who became widely known for collecting research material systematically, testing its accuracy, and arranging it in well-constructed and vivid narratives. Named in his honor, up to three Herodotus Awards are given annually to students in the Nonfiction Writing Program. The Herodotus award provides funding toward research-related travel to help support new work to be generated by the end of the semester.