Registration is rolling until June 19 at 11:59PM EST. No application is required (except for financial aid— Applications for financial aid are due June 14 at 5PM EST).
$250 w/financial aid available to residents of Greater Philadelphia (Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties)
Weekend Intensive: Saturday June 24 and Sunday June 25 12PM-4PM EST
This class will be held in person at The Head and the Hand Bookstore (2230 Frankford Ave Philadelphia, PA 19125)
"Applying (and Getting in) to Residencies" leads writers through every step of the writing residency application process. Are you interested in pursuing writing residencies but not sure where to begin? Or maybe past rejections have discouraged you from putting yourself out there again? This two day intensive is intended to help writers across genres navigate the enormous landscape of residency opportunities, with an emphasis on the fully-funded.
Day One will focus on information: we’ll look through residency databases, decode application language, learn how work is evaluated by juries, and discuss the pros and cons of various program models (Two weeks with your whole family, or three months alone? International or nearby?).
Day Two will focus closely on application materials: whether you’re a poet or a memoirist, we’ll talk best practices for choosing manuscript samples, look closely at model artist statements and project statements, and begin brainstorming materials of our own.
By weekend's end, writers will have the seeds of their own application materials, a short-list of ideal programs, and a toolbox of practical skills ready to use in pursuit of adjacent opportunities, like grant or MFA applications.
Please note: Students should bring their own laptop or tablet for in-class use.
Leigh N. Gallagher is a fiction writer, educator, and editor. She’s the author of Who You Might Be (Holt, 2022), a novel she might not have finished if it weren’t for the support of multiple writing residencies. As a past fellow at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, the Ox-Bow School of Art, the Lighthouse Works, Marble House Project, and several others, she’s a big advocate of the cross-disciplinary residency model, and in the last ten years has served on seven different residency selection committees.