Guthrie Bursary 2025

The Irish Writers Centre (IWC) is now accepting applications for the Guthrie Bursary. This bursary provides a writer with a one-week fully resourced residency at Tyrone Guthrie Centre (TGC) in 2025. This initiative is designed to support an emerging writer aged 18-30 years of age from an underrepresented background in Irish literature to develop their writing practice. It is created and funded by Tyrone Guthrie Centre in partnership with the Irish Writers Centre.

In keeping with Goal 2 of the Irish Writers Centre’s 2022-2026 Strategy, and with the goals expressed in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre’s Strategic Plan, this programme seeks to enhance opportunities for people across all communities to explore and participate in creative writing.

About the residency

The selected writer will spend one-week at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre situated in the quiet countryside in County Monaghan. The residency includes access to the glorious grounds of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, the Annaghmakerrig library and a communal drawing room which is used for collaborations, readings and talks. The Writer-in-Residence’s accommodation will be equipped with a writing desk and lamp.

For information about the facilities on offer, please visit Tyrone Guthrie Centre’s website: https://www.tyroneguthrie.ie/facilities

Morning on Annaghmakerrig Lake, Tyrone Guthrie Centre

Eligibility

This is an open call to writers between the ages of 18-30 years of age, resident on the island of Ireland who:

• Come from an underrepresented background in Irish Literature.*
• Fiction writers and non-fiction writers (acceptable forms/genres are: Fiction: incl. prose, novel, short stories, screenplays; stage plays. Creative non-fiction: incl. memoir; auto-fiction; essays). On this occasion, poetry is not included.
• Writers of both the English and Irish language are welcome to apply.

*We are taking steps to promote equality of opportunity for all those living in Ireland, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, civil or family status, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller Community, as well as socio-economic background. This scheme is specifically for writers from backgrounds typically underrepresented in the arts in Ireland: Minority Ethnic, Black or Person of Colour, D/deaf, neurodiverse or disabled, LGBTQIA+, Member of the Travelling Community, Roma and Unwaged / Low-Income.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying please email the following to projects@irishwriterscentre.ie with the subject heading ‘Guthrie Bursary’:

• A cover letter (max. one A4 page) that includes your statement of artistic intent, clearly and concisely outlining the project you would like to focus on during your time at Annaghmakerring.
• An updated Writers’ Curriculum Vitae (max. two A4 pages).
• Clearly labelled samples of three recent works. We are looking for two short samples from different works (up to max 500 words each), plus a sample from the work-in-progress that you propose to focus on during the residency (Max 3 pages).

Note: Please compile all relevant documentation into a single Word doc or PDF attachment. (Incorrect collation may result in ineligibility.)

If you have not received an acknowledgement email within three working days, please get in contact with us by email (projects@irishwriterscentre.ie) or phone: (+353) 1 872 1302.

The recipient of the bursary will be publicly announced at a celebration event (TBC) at the Irish Writers Centre.

Deadline for applications:

Apply by midnight on Wednesday 16 October 2024.

No late applications will be considered. Please note, we will acknowledge your application by return email.

If you have not received an acknowledgement email within three working days, please get in contact with us by email or phone: (+353) 1 872 1302.

Selection Process and Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by an external selection panel, with reference to your submitted application.

Please note: Due to the volume of applicants we are not in a position to give individual feedback to applicants, unless they have been interviewed, depending on the scheme. This policy extends across all of our calls in the interests of equity and transparency, and because, as a small team, we don’t have the capacity to give individual responses.

About the Tyrone Guthrie Centre

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is a cross-border organisation that offers time away, space to work, and opportunities for collaboration and networking for artists. Annaghmakerrig House is situated in the quiet countryside of County Monaghan, and together with our studios and performance spaces, our lake and our forests and fields, the Tyrone Guthrie Centre is a place where creativity flourishes amid the many pressures and distractions of contemporary life. Providing a quiet environment that esteems, supports, and develops our artists is what we do, but we aim to do it more inclusively by creating partnerships with organisations such as The Irish Writers Centre for the benefit of artists from all communities on the island of Ireland.