We’re approaching the deadline for submissions for our 2018 Writers in Residence and Politics in Residence programmes, from which a selection of the best contemporary authors and political writers will be chosen to reside at Gladstone’s Library to focus on their current projects.
The winning writers will each receive a month’s residency at the Library during which time they will blog about their stay, run a creative writing workshop and host an ‘Evening With’ event. They each receive full board and lodging, travel expenses, and an honorarium of £100 per week.
Now entering its seventh year, the competitive Writers in Residence programme was established by Gladstone’s Library and salonnière and author of Maggie and Me, Damian Barr. The programme provides space and resources for four writers whose work engages with liberal values, by which we mean a commitment to freedom and social justice; tolerance and respect of difference; open-mindedness coupled with intellectual curiosity; generosity of spirit and a willingness to learn from others. Past recipients of the award include Sarah Perry, Amy Liptrot, Melissa Harrison, Stella Duffy, Wendy Cope, Jessie Burton, Peter Moore and Patricia Bracewell. The 2017 Writers in Residence are William Atkins (The Moor), Rowan Hisayo Buchanan (Harmless Like You), Ruth Scurr (John Aubrey: My Own Life) and Penny Boxall (Ship of the Line).
Now into its third year, the Politics in Residence award recognises the best written expressions of political thought, particularly that which encourages political debate with a public audience. Developed from the Library’s successful Writer in Residence programme, Politics in Residence recognises some of the best non-fictional writing, including creative non-fiction, journalism, life-writing and biography. Last year’s recipient of the award was Emma Rees (The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History), and the 2017 Political Writers in Residence are Caroline Shenton (The Day Parliament Burned Down) and James Kirchick (The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues and the Coming Dark Age).
To enter, all applicants must submit a one-page CV or biography along with a copy of the book they would like the judges to consider, a statement defining ‘liberal values’, a description of the writing that they plan to do whilst at the Library, and their proposal for their evening event and day masterclass.
Writers at all stages of their career should feel able to apply. Residencies have supported some of the finest writers in the English language, whether they won for their seventeenth book or their first. Full details of how to enter are available at www.gladstoneslibrary.org.
The submission period for both awards closes on Wednesday, 31st May 2017.
For more information including Terms and Conditions, please click here.