This is a big one: Seattle author Elissa Washuta is receiving $25,000 in no-strings-attached funds for the Artist Trust 2016 Arts Innovator Award. (The other AIA winner this year is performer, writer, and musician Ahamefule J. Oluo, who will also probably write a book one day.) It's been a big year for Washuta, who also recently won the Fremont Bridge Writer-in-Residence title.

Along with the announcement of the award, Artist Trust announced that The Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation have committed to continue funding the Arts Innovator Award for another three years, through 2019. Get out there and innovate and maybe next year this post will be about you.