COULD YOU be the next Writer in Residence at a unique Victorian library?
The team at Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden have begun the hunt for the Writers in Residence of 2024.
Since 2011, the library has hosted between three to five writers for up to a month each, with the authors staying in one of the library’s 26 bedrooms and making use of the silent Reading Rooms.Applicants are invited to apply to the scheme before February 28, 2023 to be considered for the 2024 programme.
Andrea Russell, Warden of Gladstone’s Library, said: “The Writers in Residence programme is something the Gladstone’s Library team is rightly proud of. Alongside our scholarships and the spaces we provide to students, these residencies epitomise what the Library is: a place that fosters learning, creativity and thought.”
The Writers in Residence programme was launched in 2011. It was founded by Damian Barr of Damian Barr’s Literary Salon, and author of You Will Be Safe Here, and is overseen by the Warden and Louisa Yates, current Director of Collections and Research. It is supported by a kind sponsor.
Applicants must have had a book traditionally published within the last three years. They are asked to contribute to the Library’s programme of events with a talk and masterclass. The residency includes meals in the Library’s on-site restaurant, Food for Thought, in addition to overnight stays and access to Reading Room spaces from 9am to 10pm each day.
Previous successful candidates include novelists Sarah Perry (The Essex Serpent), Natasha Pulley (The Kingdoms) and poet Jane Yeh, whose evening talk about inspiration takes place on February 21.
Louisa Yates said: “The submission period is always an exciting time. We receive roughly 100 applications each year, and there is no limit on genre or length, so we never know what kind of books we will receive. Previous submissions include graphic novels, poetry, academic non-fiction and bestselling novels.”
To find out more about the Writer in Residence scheme at Gladstone’s Library, visit Writers in Residence | Gladstone's Library (gladstoneslibrary.org)