The John Hewitt Society and Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann are delighted to announce that they have received a grant from the Irish Government’s Shared Island Civic Society Fund, administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs, to deliver ‘Freedom To Write,’ a joint creative writing project that will support twenty up and coming writers resident on the island of Ireland to work with experienced writers and other professionals to build on their achievements.
You can apply for the project here…
As an emerging writer this course offers mentoring, networking, new challenges and experiences to build your skills and confidence and enable you to take your literary career to the next level.
How it works?
This award will run from July – October 2024.
During the project, awardees will take part in,
- four workshops at four different regional venues.
- attendance at the 2024 ‘John Hewitt International Summer School,’ Marketplace Theatre & Arts Centre Armagh, Northern Ireland, including: B&B for seven nights (20 – 27 July); free access to all events; enrolment in three, two-hour advanced creative writing workshops.
- PR, performance and presentation training.
- An event to showcase your work to other writers, guests (including Irish PEN members), publishers and agents at a final event in October 2024.
Who can apply?
Emerging writers of prose, poetry, fiction, drama (stage, film, TV, radio) who have:
- Had their work published, performed, filmed, staged, broadcast or similar, in any country or language.
- Are committed to developing your writing.
- Are aged 18 years and over.
- Are resident on the island of Ireland.
Who can’t apply?
- Those under 18 years of age.
- Those who live outside the island of Ireland.
- Board members of The John Hewitt Society and Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann
Before beginning your application, please note that:
- Applications must be made online.
- A one-page sample of your writing as a word document must be attached to your application, clearly labelled with your name at the top.
- The JHISS is not a writer’s retreat. Participants are required to attend at least 70% of the festival programme throughout the week and your choice of creative writing course.
- Hotel accommodation in Armagh for seven days is provided. A small contribution towards travel will be available for those who have completed the project.
- Per diems are not available, you should be able to cover your own personal expenses.
- This project is delivered in English.
- No digital media alternatives are available for any part of this project.
- Former JHISS bursary holders are welcome to apply.
KEY DATES
Applications:
- Applications open: Wednesday 8 May 2024.
- Applications close: Monday 27 May 2024 at 5pm.
- Selected project participants will be notified on or before 7th June 2024.
Please note:
- No late applications will be considered.
- If you have work, caring or other commitments, please ensure that you alert them to the possibility of requiring cover for the four workshops dates and the JHISS 2024 residency, 20-27 July.
Project dates:
- Workshop 1: Saturday 6th July, 12 – 4pm. (Registration/Welcome/Workshop)
Venue: The LAB, 1 Foley St, Dublin 1. D01 WA07. (beside Connolly St., train station)
- Workshop 2: Sunday 21st July, 2 – 5pm.
Venue: Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh, N. Ireland.
- John Hewitt International Summer School of Literature, Politics and the Arts, 22 – 27 July.
Venue: Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh, N. Ireland.
- Workshop 3: Saturday 14th September
- Workshop 4: Saturday 19th October (am)
Showcase: Saturday 19th October (pm)
Venue: W/s 3 and 4 to be confirmed.
Workshops:
Workshop 1: Methods, Craft and Practice.
A workshop about how participants write that will also serve to introduce participants to one another and allow them to get to know each other. Participants will be encouraged to discuss how they get started on a piece of writing, how they take something from start to finish, how they gather material for their work, who and what inspires them, what they want to achieve, what books and courses on craft they have used, if and how they collaborate, if and how they invite others to critique their work. This workshop and those that follow should encourage participants to (i) comment critically but constructively on each other’s work including outside the formal workshop sessions and (ii) initiate a new piece of work that they can develop from start to finish over the time of the Freedom to Write project.
Workshop 2: Expression through Influences.
Some writers have used their work to articulate broadly political concerns—gender equality, colonialism and its legacy, economic inequality, environmentalism. Others draw on theory—psychoanalysis, Marxism, the occult—or on particular scientific theories (e.g. Ian McEwan in Solid Geometry). Others still have used genre to explore a contemporary issue (e.g. science fiction, alternative history). This workshop encourages participants to challenge themselves—to try to articulate a current issue through their writing, or to base a piece of writing on a theory, or to try a genre unfamiliar to them. Prose writers might want to try their hand at poetry, or dramatists, at prose fiction.
Workshop 3: Editing
An overview of editing followed by practical editing by participants of (i) work that did not originate in the group (perhaps some lesser known or unpublished texts by established writers); (ii) their own work (with the emphasis on constructive criticism).
Workshop 4: Standing Out
A practical class, pre-showcase, on how to present work to publishers and agents, and to an audience with sessions on: how to approach agents and publishers; how to achieve a profile (competitions, creative writing classes including those that offer formal qualifications, blogs, podcasts and other social media); and how to read in public.
Supported by the Irish Government’s ‘Shared Island Civic Society Fund,’ administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs, in association with Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann and The John Hewitt Society (principal funder The Arts Council of Northern Ireland).
You can apply for the project here…
Contact:
Any queries, please email us at write@johnhewittsociety.org
or contact the John Hewitt Society on 028 9032 4522 during office hours.
Follow Us On Social Media
Instagram – @freedomtowrite2024