Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, poet laureate for Yuba and Sutter counties, has been awarded a $10,000 Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship. Castillo, a poet, memoirist, translator and co-founder of Undocupoets, was one of 15 artists selected from 243 applicants across Northern California. Photo courtesy of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture.

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) – Yuba County poet Marcelo Hernandez Castillo has been awarded a $10,000 Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship, one of 15 fellowships awarded to artists and culture bearers across Northern California.

Hernandez Castillo, who serves as poet laureate for Yuba and Sutter counties, is a poet, memoirist, translator and co-founder of Undocupoets, an organization working to expand opportunities for immigrant writers. Raised in Yuba and Sutter counties, he also teaches and mentors writers and brings poetry programs to agricultural communities in the region.

“It’s rare the times I feel like celebrating but this news truly has me jumping up and down, spilling over with a feeling to allow myself the luxury of being proud and to not shrink or withdraw whenever good things happen,” Hernandez Castillo said.

He said he was grateful to receive the fellowship and credited the organizations involved in supporting his work.

“I’m sitting here with tremendous gratitude for being awarded a $10,000 upstate individual artist fellowship from the California Arts Council,” Hernandez Castillo said. “Thank you so much to Nevada County Arts & Culture for administering this grant and for seeing promise in my work. And thank you so much to David Read, Abbie Cesena and everyone at Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture for bringing the arts to our small pocket of northern California.”

The fellowship program awarded $240,000 to 15 recipients from California’s 19-county Upstate Region. Awards were divided among three career levels, with emerging artists receiving $5,000, established artists receiving $10,000 and legacy artists receiving $50,000.

Hernandez Castillo received an established artist fellowship.

The recipients were selected through a multi-round peer review process from 243 applications submitted across Northern California. The fellowships provide unrestricted funding, allowing recipients to determine how the money can best support their work.

David Read, executive director of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture, said Hernandez Castillo’s work has had an impact both locally and beyond the region.

“We are proud to celebrate poet Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, whose powerful writing and generous mentorship have elevated voices throughout the Yuba-Sutter region,” Read said. “His work brings national attention to our community while inspiring local students, writers, and artists to share their own stories.”

Read said supporting artists such as Hernandez Castillo also benefits the communities where they live and work.

“Investing in creators like Marcelo strengthens our cultural identity and demonstrates the extraordinary talent rooted right here at home,” Read said.

The Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship is administered by Nevada County Arts & Culture in partnership with the California Arts Council and regional county arts agencies, including Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture.

Eliza Tudor, executive director of Nevada County Arts & Culture, said unrestricted funding gives artists greater flexibility at important points in their careers.

“Unrestricted funding empowers artists at pivotal career moments, providing the freedom and stability needed to deepen their creative practices, sustain ancestral traditions, and continue uplifting the cultural and civic fabric of California’s rural and mountain communities,” Tudor said.

Additional information about the fellowship program and the 2026 recipients is available at http://upstateiaf.org/2026fellows.