For Hopkins Astronomer And 24 Others, The Stars Align

"I don't have to think about taking a teaching job for the next five years," said Adichie, who recently moved to Columbia to be with her fiance, Ivara Esege, a physician at the University of Maryland. "I can write and get well paid for it for the next five years, which is the best possible position for a writer to be in."

One thing about the MacArthur grants isn't generally known: The money, which is taxable as income, doesn't arrive all at once. It is apportioned into quarterly payments of $25,000 over five years. Adichie, for one, describes this as a "prudent" approach: "I was thinking it's a good thing I don't get a lump check, because God knows what I might do."

As part of notification protocol, the MacArthur staff asks two questions of recipients before spilling the beans: "Are you alone? Are you sitting down?"

Mary Jackson, 63, said yes to both questions: She took the call in her studio on Johns Island, S.C., where she makes sculpture-like baskets from sweet grass, palmetto, bulrush and other natural materials in the Gullah tradition. "I've always known about the fellowships the MacArthur Foundation granted but never in my wildest dreams did I believe I would receive the award," said Jackson, who shows her work almost every year at the Smithsonian Craft Show.

Musical recipients range from well-known classical violinist Leila Josefowicz, 30, who champions contemporary works, to jazz saxophonist Miguel Zenón, 31, who wants to use the money in part to organize free concerts in small towns in his native Puerto Rico. "Jazz has almost taken this turn toward being museum music," the Brooklyn, N.Y., musician said. "I think it's very important to bring jazz to the people."

Tara Donovan, 38, is a practitioner of what's called "accumulation art." Her works include an installation made of 2 million clear plastic drinking straws and another comprising 3 million plastic cups (all seven-ounce size) arranged in stacks of different heights. Her materials may seem odd, but they're not cheap. She said of the award: "It sure helps, especially in this rotten economy."

Donovan, who also lives in Brooklyn, missed the call and went into the kitchen to phone the foundation. Her husband was there, cleaning, so of course she didn't tell him to leave, she said with a laugh.

And she couldn't resist calling her mother, who wasn't so keen on the art-school idea to begin with. Donovan got her bachelor's degree at the Corcoran College of Art and Design and a master's at Virginia Commonwealth University. "My mother said, 'You've been telling me that you've been a genius your entire life, and you just got validated.' "

The complete list of 2008 winners:

Chimamanda Adichie, 31, fiction writer, Columbia.

Will Allen, 59, urban farmer, Milwaukee.