Manchester City of Literature and Manchester Literature Festival are offering two virtual writer residencies to take place this June during the Festival of Libraries.

During the three-week residency, writers will be hosted by either Chetham’s Library or the International Anthony Burgess Foundation with the opportunity to explore their online collections and archives, meet staff to find out more about Manchester’s literary heritage and collections, and enjoy virtual tours of the host venues and the city.

During the residency, writers will be encouraged to share their experience of the city with Manchester’s literary community via social media, to take part in other meetings and talks including sharing their work and their influences, and to produce a new piece of writing responding to Manchester or links between the city and their own UNESCO City of Literature.

There is a fee of £1,500 for each residency. The residencies form part of the city’s international strategy and are open to published writers with strong links to a UNESCO City of Literature outside the UK.

 

 

The activity during the residency may include:

• Writing in English or translating into English a short story, essay or series of poems (up to 2000 words) inspired by the residency that can be shared on the Manchester City of Literature and Manchester Literature Festival websites.
• An online talk as part of the Festival of Libraries about your work and the writers and libraries that have inspired you
• Meeting a writing group from Manchester online
• Presenting a virtual tour of your city, either as an illustrated talk, audio recording or self-recorded film.
• A conversation with a Manchester host or writer about your residency and the work you produced to be shared in October as part of Manchester Literature Festival’s 2022 Festival

 

 

How To Apply

If you are interested please send a written application by email to McrCityofLit@gmail.com by the deadline of 13 May 2021. In your application please include responses to the following prompts:

• Tell us about yourself;
• Tell us about your writing and provide a link to your website or examples of your work.
• Tell us why you would like to be considered for this virtual residency and what you hope to get from it;
• Tell us about libraries in your life
• Tell us which venue you would like to be hosted by;
• Tell us about your connections to a UNESCO City of Literature.
• Tell us if you have applied for a residency at any other UNESCO City of Literature in 2022

Please also include a CV including publication record.

Applications close on 13th May 2022. Please download the full information pack for more information below.