Open Call – Funded Writing Residencies – Successful Applicants will be Announced Soon

Bothy Project is delighted to announce an open call for five, week-long, solo funded residencies dedicated to writing. This initial set of writing residencies is aimed at those who write non-fiction. This includes but is not limited to: literary or creative non-fiction; nature writing, travel writing and place-based non-fiction; memoir; long-form journalism; history and historiography; art writing, theory and criticism.

The residencies are open to applicants with between three and six years of writing experience, but who have yet to publish a book or similarly major body of work. You may be starting a new piece of writing, developing an ongoing work, or completing a project. It is not necessary for your writing to engage directly or indirectly with the residency location. Applicants must be based in the UK.

Residencies at Sweeney’s Bothy, Isle of Eigg are possible in June,  September or November 2022 and at Inshriach Bothy, Cairngorms National Park in October or November 2022.

The residencies will give writers the chance to work in Bothy Project’s simple off-grid buildings in the unique surroundings of the Isle of Eigg and the Cairngorms. Each residency offers time and space for contemplation, creativity and focus.

Each selected practitioner will receive:

  • One-week residency time at either Sweeney’s Bothy or Inshriach Bothy
  • A fee of £500
  • Travel allowance of up to £250 (use of public transport is encouraged)
  • Online meeting with fellow residents
  • Participation in a post-residency online public event with fellow residents

 

Selection Process

Anonymous summaries and writing samples will be read by writers Cal Flyn, Tom Jeffreys and Arusa Qureshi with Lesley Young, Director Bothy Project. Five residents will be selected in this round.

How to apply

Applicants are asked to complete this online form.                                                                                                       (Please note this form initially requires a Gmail account to access – if you don’t have one, you can find the application requirements here – Creative Practitioner – Writing – Open Call Questions 21Mar22 )

Within this form you will be invited to provide:

  • Some general information
  • Upload – Your CV (no more the two sides of A4)
  • Upload – a summary outlining the work you intend to do while on residency (no more than one side of A4)
  • Upload – a 2,000 word writing sample – which can be two pieces of writing of c. 1,000 words each (Please do not include your name on the summary or writing sample as selection will take place anonymously).
  • We ask that applicants read the Travel and Facilities pages for Sweeney’s Bothy and Inshriach Bothy in advance of an application, so the details of travel to the bothies, what’s provided at each location, and tasks residents need to undertake such as chopping wood and drawing water are acknowledged.
  • On completion of your application, please also complete and return our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Monitoring Form.

Bothy Project acknowledges that under-represented voices face multiple barriers to cultural participation. We are committed to diversity and creating opportunities open to people who are under-represented. Prior to your application, should you wish to discuss any aspect of the residency or need any more information please email info@bothyproject.com with questions, or to arrange phone conversation or virtual meeting.

 

Schedule

11 March 2022 – Applications Open

10 April 2022 – 11.59pm – Application deadline

May 2022 – Applicants notified of outcome (this will now be Mid-June due to the number of applications)

June, September or November 2022 – Residences at Sweeney’s Bothy, Isle of Eigg

October or November 2022 – Residences at Inshriach Bothy, Cairngorms National Park

 

Cal Flyn is an award-winning writer based in Stomness, Orkney. She writes literary nonfiction and long-form journalism. Her first book, Thicker Than Water, about frontier violence in colonial Australia, was a Times book of the year. Her second book, Islands of Abandonment—about the ecology and psychology of abandoned places—was published in 2021. It has been shortlisted for a number of prizes including the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation, the British Academy Book Prize and the Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction. Cal was previously writer-in-residence at Gladstone’s Library and at the Jan Michalski Foundation in Switzerland. She was made a MacDowell fellow in 2019, and was recently announced as the 2021 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year.

Tom Jeffreys is a writer and editor who lives in Edinburgh. He writes predominantly about art and culture and is especially interested in work that engages with environmental questions, including place, landscape and the nonhuman. He is the author of two books: The White Birch: A Russian Reflection and Signal Failure: London to Birmingham, HS2 on Foot. His writing has appeared in publications including ArtReview, Frieze, the Guardian, the Independent, Monocle, New Scientist and The World of Interiors. He has written essays and other texts for artists including Joanna Rajkowska, Anaïs Tondeur and Iman Tajik. He is also editor of online magazine The Learned Pig.

Arusa Qureshi is a writer and editor based in Edinburgh, and a passionate advocate for diversity and accessibility within arts and culture. She is the former Editor of The List and writes mostly about music, most recently Flip the Script – a book about women in UK hip hop, published by 404 Ink. Her work has appeared in the Scotsman, Clash, The Guardian, GoldFlakePaint, Time Out, NME and more. In 2017, she was shortlisted for PPA Scotland’s Young Journalist of the Year award and was also the winner of the Allen Wright Award for quality writing in arts journalism. She is on the board of the Scottish Music Centre and is a Trustee of the Saltire Society.

We are grateful to Creative Scotland for their support of these residencies