The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) is pleased to announce the 2026-27 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship recipients. The Fellows are Frannie Block of The Free Press, Faith Bottum, Rago ’21, and Mary Julia Koch of The Wall Street Journal, Gilbert Guerra ’20 and Grayson Logue ’24 of The Dispatch, John Sailer of the Manhattan Institute and Liz Wolfe of Reason.
For the first time in the Fellowship’s history, three TFAS alumni were selected: Faith Bottum completed the Rago Fellowship in 2021, Grayson Logue completed the European Journalism Institute in 2024 and Gil Guerra completed the Woodhouse Fellowship in 2021.
These seven journalists will spend one year researching and providing in-depth reporting on their chosen topics surrounding the principles of a free society.
This year’s cohort of exceptional journalists will dive into reporting on some of the most pressing issues in American life today. Fellows will explore topics including the evolution of philanthropy in America, public health communication and the growing partisanship of “Gen Z.”
The Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship is named after the late Robert D. Novak, renowned columnist, CNN broadcaster and reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. Since its founding in 1994, the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship has empowered more than 200 promising young journalists to pursue research and long-form content creation that would not have otherwise been possible for them. Novak Fellows have gone on to win Pulitzer Prizes, lead national outlets and write bestselling books.
Notable Fellows include Tim Carney, Novak ’03, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and senior political columnist at the Washington Examiner, Matthew Continetti, Novak ’08, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Novak ’05, Reason editor-in-chief and Carine Hajjar, Rago ’22, Novak ’24, opinion journalist for The Washington Post Opinion.
Ryan Wolfe, executive director of the Center for Excellence in Journalism at TFAS, said this year’s Fellows are continuing to report on the issues that matter most.
“For more than 30 years, Novak Fellows have gone on to break essential news and tell untold stories at the country’s most respected newsrooms,” Wolfe said. “We’re proud to help this next class carry that tradition forward as they report on some of the most consequential issues in American life.”
The 2026-27 Robert Novak Journalism Fellows will be formally announced during the 33rd Annual TFAS Journalism Forum + Awards Dinner on Nov. 10, 2026, at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. TFAS will also present the 2026 Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism to Moira Gleason ’25, Anatoly Grablevsky and Adam Pack ’26.
For more information about the dinner and sponsorship opportunities, please visit TFAS.org/jawards26 or contact Kathie Russo, director of development events and activities, at krusso@TFAS.org.
2026-27 Fellowship Recipients
FRANNIE BLOCK
Project: China’s Capture of American Minds
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Frannie Block is an investigative reporter at The Free Press, where she covers the forces shaping American life, from foreign influence in U.S. politics and national security to institutional overreach and due process failures. She began her career covering breaking news at The Des Moines Register.
FAITH BOTTUM
Project: The Building of America: Structure, Infrastructure, and the Soul of the Nation
Hometown: Hot Springs, South Dakota
Faith Bottum is an assistant editorial features editor at The Wall Street Journal, where she was also the 2021–22 Joseph Rago Memorial Fellow for Excellence in Journalism. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Commonweal, The Federalist, University Bookman, the Free Beacon and other publications. Faith graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines with a bachelor of science in civil engineering.
GILBERT GUERRA
Project: Assimilating Apart: Becoming American in Times of Fracture
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gil Guerra is a senior policy analyst for immigration and security at the Niskanen Center and a contributing writer at The Dispatch, where he writes on immigration and Latin American politics. His work has appeared in The Dispatch, City Journal, Foreign Policy, Americas Quarterly and The Hill. Gil was also a 2020-21 TFAS Public Policy Fellow. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Swarthmore College and a master’s degree in global security and borders from Queen’s University Belfast, where he was a US-Ireland Alliance Scholar.
MARY JULIA KOCH
Project: Gen Z Conservatism: Movement or Mirage?
Hometown: New York, New York
Mary Julia Koch is an associate editor for The Wall Street Journal Opinion’s Free Expression newsletter, where she writes about culture and politics. Previously, she was a staff reporter at The New York Sun, and her work has appeared in The Free Press, Air Mail and The Republic. She graduated from Harvard College in 2023, where she was a John Harvard Scholar and served as editor-in-chief of the student weekly newspaper.
GRAYSON LOGUE
Project: Follow the Science vs. Do Your Own Research: The Future of Public Health in an Era of Distrust
Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida
Grayson Logue is a staff writer at The Dispatch where he covers politics and policy ranging from public health to immigration. Prior to The Dispatch, he worked in political risk consulting and as an assistant editor at Providence Magazine. Grayson studied politics, philosophy and economics at The King’s College and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in history at the University of Edinburgh. He and his wife, Audrey, live in Philadelphia. Grayson is an alumnus of TFAS European Journalism Institute in 2024.
JOHN SAILER
Project: Cracked Foundations: How American Philanthropy Lost Its Way
Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
John Sailer is a senior fellow and director of higher education policy at the Manhattan Institute. His work regularly appears in The Wall Street Journal and City Journal. He previously worked for the National Association of Scholars.
LIZ WOLFE
Project: City Without Children
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Liz Wolfe is an associate editor at Reason, where she writes the daily Reason Roundup newsletter and makes short documentaries. Her work has been published in outlets such as Playboy, Pirate Wires, The Atlantic and National Review. From 2023 to 2025, she co-hosted the interview show, Just Asking Questions. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and has two sons (one deceased).