Jack Harte Bursary 2024

The Irish Writers Centre is delighted to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Jack Harte Bursary.

Created and funded by the Irish Writers Centre (IWC) in partnership with the Tyrone Guthrie Centre (TGC), we are offering a professional writer a one-week fully resourced Writer-in-Residence Bursary to take place in 2024 by arrangement with the TGC. The award is named in honour of Jack Harte, founder of the Irish Writers Centre, in celebration and acknowledgement of his contribution to Irish literature.

In keeping with Goal 1 of the Irish Writers Centre’s 2022-2026 Strategy, this programme will support professional writers to advance their craft and career with confidence and resilience.

About the Writer-in-Residence at Tyrone Guthrie Centre

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

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

Morning on Annaghmakerrig Lake

“The Tyrone Guthrie Centre has consistently offered me the supremely practical gifts of time and space, teamed with a tranquil, beautiful, and nurturing environment. As a result, some of my best and most sustained writing, both fiction and non-fiction, has originated in this miraculous place.” – Neil Hegarty

Who can apply

This is an open call for writers, over 18 years of age, resident on the island of Ireland with a proven track record and at least one book of fiction or short stories published by a recognisable publisher. Priority will be given to works of fiction. Writers of both English and Irish language are welcome to apply.

This residency is open to professional members of the Irish Writers Centre in the first instance, as part of the suite of development opportunities that we wish to provide professional writers under Goal 1 of our 2022-2026 strategy. All writers applying to programmes and opportunities with IWC must be over the age of 18 and resident on the island of Ireland.

To become a professional member, please see the Professional Member section of our website. We particularly encourage applications from Black, POC (person of colour), Traveller, Roma, LGBT+, disabled and working class writers, and those who consider themselves to be within the groups described in the EDI policy on our website.

Selection process

Applications will be reviewed by a selection panel made up of IWC team members and a panel of independent professional writer(s) for eligibility, expression of intent, and the range and quality of writing samples provided.

Selection will be made respecting the priority groupings described in the ‘Who Can Apply’ section above.

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

How to apply

If you are interested in applying please send the following to projects@irishwriterscentre.ie with Jack Harte Bursary in the subject line:

1. A cover letter including your personal details and statement of artistic intent, clearly and concisely outlining the project you would like to focus on during your time at Tyrone Guthrie Centre
2. An updated Curriculum Vitae (max. two A4 pages) including publications with ISBNs.
3. Clearly labelled samples of recent work. We are looking for three short samples from different works (up to 400 words each), plus a sample from the work-in-progress that you propose to focus on during the residency (Max 3 pages). All creative samples will be given blind readings by a professional writer on the selection panel, as part of the selection process. Please ensure that your creative samples do not include your name.
4. Any relevant information on your proposed project such as written excerpts, photos, research information, etc.

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 or phone: (+353) 1 872 1302.

Deadline for applications

Wednesday 18 October 2023 at 5pm

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

Past recipients include

2022: Louise Phillips

2020: Micheál Ó Conghaile

2019: Jan Carson

2018: Neil Hegarty

2017: Henrietta McKervey

2016: Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

2015: Liz Nugent

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 that facilitates the development of their practice across all art forms. Annaghmakerrig House is situated in the quiet countryside of County Monaghan, and together with our self-catering cottages, our studios and performance spaces, as well as our lake and our forests, gardens, 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 holistically by creating audiences for our artists where appropriate, and by creating partnerships with organisations such as The Irish Writers Centre for the benefit of artists from all communities on the island of Ireland.

The Irish Writers Centre is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.