The MacArthur Foundation has named cartoonist Lynda Barry a member of the MacArthur Foundation Fellows class of 2019.  Fellows receive a no-strings-attached stipend of $625,000 paid out over five years, with no stipulations or reporting requirements, which is commonly referred to as a "Genius Grant."

Barry was awarded a fellowship for "inspiring creative engagement through original graphic works and a teaching practice centered on the role of image making in communications," according to the Foundation.

Barry is currently based at the University of Wisconsin in Madison as Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Creativity in the Department of Art.  Barry’s next release, Making Comics, will be released by Drawn & Quarterly in November (see "New Lynda Barry Headlines Drawn & Quarterly’s Fall 2019 Catalog").

Barry is the third comic creator to be awarded a genius grant in the last few years, following Gene Luen Yang (see "Gene Luen Yang Wins Genius Grant") and Alison Bechdel (see "Alison Bechdel Wins Genius Grant").