6 U.S. Writing Residencies
Looking for a writing residency in the U.S.? Here’s a list of six residencies for writers with low—or no!—application fees.
Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum Writer in Residence
The barn Hemingway converted into a writing studio; image from the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum website
This month-long residency includes lodging at a loft apartment above a coffee shop and a $1,000 stipend for travel and food. The writer-in-residence will be expected to serve as a mentor during a week-long retreat for 8-10 writers and hold additional readings of their work, but the remainder of the month will be free time in which the writer may focus on their own work. As a fun historical note, you’ll also get to work in the same studio where Ernest Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms.
Application fee: no
Length: 1 month
Residency Dates: June 1 - 30th
Location: Piggott, Arkansas
Lodging: apartment above a coffee shop
Stipend: $1,000 for food and travel
Restrictions: applicants with MA or MFAs preferred
Application deadline: late February
Jentel Arts Residencies
Image of one of the studio spaces from the Jentel website
I adore Wyoming, so a stay on a working cattle ranch in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains is right up my alley. Jentel offers Winter/Spring and Summer/Fall sessions for both writers and visual artists. Residents enjoy private studios; meals are prepared in a shared kitchen. Common spaces include a library, recreation area, and a great room. Streamlined applications offered for Wyoming residents.
Application fee: no
Length: 3 weeks
Residency Dates: winter/spring and summer/fall dates available
Location: Wyoming
Lodging: private living and workspace for each artist
Stipend: $300 weekly
Restrictions: Must be over 25 and currently residing in the United States, or a U.S. citizen living abroad. Those enrolled in an academic institution are ineligible to apply.
Application deadline: September 15th for Winter/Spring; January 15th for Summer/Fall
Monson Arts Residencies
The Monson Arts Jones house; image from the Monson website
Want a getaway to Maine’s northern woods? Monson Arts is open to emerging and established writers and artists. Residents receive a private studio as well as room and board in a private bedroom in one of several newly renovated historic homes.
Application fee: no
Residency dates: multiple sessions throughout the year
Length: 2-4 weeks
Location: Monson, Maine
Lodging: full room and board
Stipend: $500 - $1,000
Restrictions: apply to the Writing category if quiet contemplation best suits your needs
Application deadlines: January 15th, May 15th, and September 15th
Oak Spring Garden Foundation Interdisciplinary Residencies
Writers, artists, scientists, scholars, conservationists, and/or researchers are encouraged to apply to this interdisciplinary Virginia residency. Residents will have the time and space to pursue their own creative projects in alignment with OSGF’s mission to inspire and facilitate scholarship and public dialogue on the importance of plants, botanical history, and cultivating gardens and landscapes for human well-being. Residents are required to attend all communal meals, and to aid in clean-up afterward. Residents will have access to a library and formal garden. Two-week residencies are offered for caregivers, parents, or others for whom a 5-week residency is not feasible. 40 interdisciplinary residencies are awarded annually.
Application fee: no
Residency dates: multiple sessions April - October
Length: 5 or 2 week sessions
Location: Upperville, VA
Lodging: private bed and bath with shared living space
Stipend: $800 - $2,000
Restrictions: participants must be engaged in interdisciplinary work, and be open to living and working in community
Application deadline: end of May
A Studio in the Woods
If you love NOLA, this one’s for you! A Studio in the Woods is just that—a private retreat located in a hardwood forest on the banks of the Mississippi River. Artists of any discipline may apply, but your work must engage with environmental and cultural issues. Residents can attend a single 6-week session or two, three-week sessions.
Application fee: no
Length: residents can attend for six consecutive weeks or for two, three-week sessions
Residency Dates: multiples residencies, September - May
Location: a 5,000 acre hardwood forest on the Mississippi River, within the city of New Orleans
Lodging: full room and board
Stipend: yes. See individual residencies for more info
Restrictions: students enrolled in degree-granting institutions are not eligible.
Application deadline: rolling deadlines
Telling Stories True Fellowship – The Writer’s Colony
Image of the historic Dairy Hollow building from the Writers’ Colony website
Submit a true, compelling, historically accurate story for a chance at winning two weeks at The Writers’ Colony, a historic arts village in Eureka Springs. Memoir, autobiography, history, journalism, drama, and poetry accepted.
Application fee: $35
Length: 2 weeks
Residency dates: variable
Location: Dairy Hollow, a historic arts village in Eureka Springs, AK
Lodging: loft apartment above a coffee shop
Stipend: $1,000 for food and travel
Restrictions: true, historically accurate stories
Application deadline: mid-April
If you choose to apply to any of the opportunities listed above, I wish you the best of luck!
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