Tori Marlan is one of eight journalists chosen this year to receive a grant from the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Marlan's $17,500 six-month grant will enable her to take a leave of absence from the Reader and immerse herself in her topic, which she describes as "the plight of unaccompanied minors--kids from all over the world who come to the U.S. without parents or guardians and seek asylum. The government detains more than 5,000 of them each year." Marlan hopes her work "will appeal to a national and international readership."