Accepting applications for the 2012 Baltic Writing Residency through December 15th, 2011. Applications can be sent via submishmash or through the post.
The BWR is a funded month-long, annual summer residency in Riga, Latvia for poets, playwrights, and writers of fiction working in English. Though, neither the writer nor their project need be connected with Latvia.
Both emerging and established writers are encouraged to apply. Recent finalists and winners range from those who have yet to conceive of their first manuscripts, to writers who have been finalists for the National Book Award and numbered in the New Yorker's "20 Under 40".
Joshua Cohen, last year's resident, is author of the trio of novellas, Emission, which will be published by Graywolf in 2012. He is the author of the 800-page story of the Last Jew, Witz, named one of the 10 best books of 2010 by the Village Voice. Previous winners include Salvatore Scibona, Emma Jones, and Amity Gaige.
Spouses and partners are welcome to accompany the winning writer on the residency. Details about the residency, about Riga, and about the application process can be found on the website.
James Merrill House Writers-in-Residence for 2012
The James Merrill House in the seaside village of Stonington, CT is now accepting applications for 2012 Writers-in-Residence.
The James Merrill House Writer-in-Residence Program preserves James Merrill's Residence in Stonington CT as a tribute to him and a cultural asset to the local community. In recognition of Merrill's own contributions to the Stonington community and his longstanding generosity to fellow writers, the fellowship provides living and working space to a writer in search of a quiet setting to complete a project of literary or academic merit.
It is in this spirit that the Merrill House Committee wishes writers-in-residence not only to be enriched but to enrich the community of Stonington. We ask that writers spending an extended (4-1/2 month) residency give a reading of their work during their time of residency and contribute to the literary life of Stonington Borough in some other fashion. Opportunities for readings or workshops will be available during the brief term.
In an effort to make the James Merrill House Writer-in-Residence Program available to a greater number of qualified candidates, the Merrill House Committee has adjusted the residency periods to include one extended residency of 4-1/2 months between mid-January and the end of May and three shorter residencies of 2 to 6 weeks in duration during the months between Labor Day and mid-January.
The specific dates of these brief residencies will be determined according to the needs of the Merrill House Committee and the applicants. The Writer-in-Residence program includes a $5,000 stipend for an extended term. Smaller stipends will be offered for the brief residencies.
To learn more about the James Merrill House, its Writer-in-Residence Program, and to apply, please go here.
The Frost Place in Franconia, New Hampshire, invites applications for a six- to eight-week residency in poet Robert Frost's former farmhouse, which sits on a quiet north-country lane with a spectacular view of the White Mountains, and which serves as a museum and conference center.
The residency begins July 1 and ends August 31, and includes an award of $1,000. The Resident Poet will have an opportunity to give a series of public readings across the region, including at Dartmouth College, for which the Resident Poet will receive a $1,000 honorarium. There are no other specific obligations.
Accommodations are spartan but comfortable. The Frost Place Museum is open to the public during afternoon hours, but the resident poet will have sole use of non-public rooms of the house.
Previous recipients of this residency include Katha Pollitt, Robert Hass, William Matthews, Cleopatra Mathis, Mark Halliday, Mary Ruefle, Mark Cox, and Laura Kasischke. The 2011 Resident Poet will be K. A. Hays. The aim of this program has been to select a poet who is at an artistic and personal crossroads, comparable to that faced by Robert Frost when he moved to Franconia in 1915, when he was not yet known to a broad public.
To be eligible, applicants will have published at least one book of poems.
Application guidelines: Applications are received March 1 through October 1, 2011. Poets can apply directly or be nominated by someone else. Please submit to:
The Frost Place
P.O. Box 74
Franconia, NH 03580
Please enclose a a check for $25 (reading fee) and four copies of the following: 5 poems from a most recent book, a letter explaining why you/the candidate would be a good choice for a residency at The Frost Place, a current resumé, and contact information for two references.
