Published: 08 Nov 2022
John Knox House (Scottish Storytelling Centre) on The Royal Mile; Edinburgh. VisitScotland / Kenny Lam
Scotland-based mid-career writers are invited to submit applications to undertake a year-long residency to produce new work as part of the prestigious Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship.
Hosted by The Edinburgh City of Literature Trust, the selected Fellow will receive a £20,000 National Lottery funded bursary through Creative Scotland, private workspace, and tailored professional development opportunities through the international UNESCO Cities of Literature network. This could include, but is not limited to, mentoring, festival appearances, and research trips.
Ali Bowden, Director, Edinburgh City of Literature Trustsaid:
“Hosting the Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship as part of our international residency programme will help us open up our international Cities of Literature network to the chosen Fellow. We hope this diverse and active network will provide a welcoming and creative space, stimulating an international exchange of ideas. Whether remote, hybrid or in-person, working with a writer to host this residency is an exciting opportunity for us and will shape our future residency programme.
“Togetherness, which is so much more precious to us now following the isolation of the pandemic, speaks to connection, community, collaboration and a shared purpose. We feel this theme best encapsulates the work that we do and the opportunities we can offer a writer. We hope that any writer would find something in their work which relates to this theme and that it provides an interesting departure point to writers of all genres.
“Dr Gavin Wallace was instrumental in Edinburgh securing its UNESCO City of Literature designation and as keen supporter of international exchange, we are honoured to be hosting this fellowship in his name.”
Alan Bett, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland said:
“The Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship provides invaluable time and space for a writer to create new work, a specific context to help inform that work, and support and access to wider networks through the host organisation.
“The list of writers who have been awarded the fellowship in past years and the quality of the resulting work demonstrates just how beneficial this relationship can be for writers and organisations.”
Full application guidance and further details can be accessed on the Edinburgh City of Literature website. Application deadline: Monday 5 December.
TheDr Gavin Wallace Fellowship was established in 2014 in memory of Dr Gavin Wallace who dedicated his entire professional life to supporting Scottish literature. Following the sad loss of Dr Wallace in February 2013, Creative Scotland established an annual fellowship in his name to honour his memory and commemorate and continue his good work. The fund is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Previous Fellow partnerships include author and poet, Jenni Fagan at Edinburgh’s Summerhall; (2019); playwright, Morna Young at Aberdeen City Council’s Creative Learning resource (2017); fiction writer, Kirsty Logan at the University of Glasgow’s Association for Scottish Literary Studies (2013); playwright/poet, Martin O’Connor at the Playwright’s Studio Scotland in partnership with the Royal Lyceum Theatre (2018) and Helen Sedgwick with Creative Scotland (2021).
Edinburgh City of Literature Trust is a charity which champions Edinburgh as a UNESCO City of Literature. It works to bring literature to the streets of Edinburgh, involving people in the city’s literary life, bringing organisations to work together collaboratively for greater impact, and sharing Edinburgh’s literary story with the world. You can keep up with our work on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or visit our website.
The National Lottery has raised more than £42 billion for over 625,000 good causes across the UK since 1994. Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £1.2 billion has been awarded in the last year to support communities and thousands of organisations across the UK to cope with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot.
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