Gladstone’s Library will welcome five Writers in Residence as the initiative enters its tenth year.
The successful applicants, who will take up their places in 2022, impressed the judging panel with their high quality submissions of poetry, prose and non-fiction works.
The winning writers were announced to a select audience during a free online event in December, and their names have been made public today.
Irish writer Caoilinn Hughes, author of novels The Wild Laughter and Orchid & The Wasp, will be one of the first Writers in Residence to book in for a stay at the library. She will host a talk and masterclass in early spring.
Glen James Brown, from County Durham, also secured a place with his novel Ironopolis, which explores working class life in a Middlesbrough council estate.
Cambridge University Graduate Sarah Watling was selected as a Writer in Residence on the strength of her non-fiction work, Noble Savages: Discovering the Olivier Sisters, which reveals the hidden histories of four fascinating women.
The library will also host poet Rebecca Watts, who penned Red Gloves while working for a library in Cambridge, and Guy Stagg, who grew up in London and Yorkshire and whose pilgrimage from Canterbury to Jerusalem is related in The Crossways.
Caoilinn Hughes said, 'I've heard so much about Gladstone's Library from past fellows like Sarah Perry and Cal Flyn, and it's such an honour to have the opportunity to work there in March. I will be working on edits to my third novel, and I know that the environment and the encounters with books and readers at Gladstone's will influence the manuscript significantly—for the better!'Glen James Brown said, “The work you produce is, to an extent, a product of your surroundings and the various constraints in your life—some of them can provide focus, but many are distracting. Gladstone’s Library is a place built around creativity and thought; a space beyond the usual limitations of time and energy. In this way, the work I do there will be a product of that unique environment. Being offered the residency is like being given a gift, and I’m looking forward to discovering what it is.”
The Gladstone’s Library Writers in Residence scheme, which was founded by Damian Barr of Damian Barr’s Literary Salon, and overseen by Peter Francis, warden and Louisa Yates, director of collections at the library, typically receives about a hundred applications per year.
The winning writers, who, alongside submitting their book, were also required to write a short essay on the subject of liberal values, impressed the 2022 judging panel, which consisted of Freddie Baveystock, Trustee of Gladstone’s Library and teacher at Harris Westminster Sixth Form, journalist and non-fiction author Charlotte Higgins, award-winning poet Jonathan Edwards, and writer, reporter, and editor Cal Flyn.
Louisa Yates, Director of Collections and Research, said: “It was a very strong set of submissions and that I'm delighted that we were able to reward some of the best contemporary writing.”Peter Francis, Director and Warden of the library, said 2022 would mark a special moment for the Writers in Residence programme as it is the tenth anniversary of its commencement.
He said, “We have hosted almost a hundred authors since the programme began in 2011 and we are delighted with the excellent works submitted to us. It has become a very competitive scheme, which ensures that we have a very high-quality group of writers.“There are always four writers, but the standard was so high that this year we have selected five authors. We are hoping for an uninterrupted programme in 2022, and despite the pandemic almost all our 2019 writers have been able to undertake their residencies, and we hope to accommodate all of them by the end of 2022, which will make for a packed calendar of literary events at the library.”
Each Writer in Residence will offer a talk or masterclass, many of which can be attended remotely. Attendees can book on via the events page on the Gladstone’s Library website.
To find out more about the Writer in Residence scheme at Gladstone’s Library, visit Writers in Residence | Gladstone's Library (gladstoneslibrary.org)
Quotes from authors:
Caoilinn Hughes: 'I've heard so much about Gladstone's Library from past fellows like Sarah Perry and Cal Flyn, and it's such an honour to have the opportunity to work there in March. I will be working on edits to my third novel, and I know that the environment and the encounters with books and readers at Gladstone's will influence the manuscript significantly—for the better!'Glen James Brown: “The work you produce is, to an extent, a product of your surroundings and the various constraints in your life—some of them can provide focus, but many are distracting. Gladstone’s Library is a place built around creativity and thought; a space beyond the usual limitations of time and energy. In this way, the work I do there will be a product of that unique environment. Being offered the residency is like being given a gift, and I’m looking forward to discovering what it is.”