Lacuna Bursary 2024

The Irish Writers Centre is delighted to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Lacuna Bursary. The bursary provides an emerging writer with the opportunity to spend one-week at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre.

The Lacuna Bursary is designed to support an emerging writer from an underrepresented background in Irish literature to develop their writing practice. It is created and funded by the Tyrone Guthrie Centre (TGC) in partnership with the Irish Writers Centre (IWC). This one-week fully resourced Writer-in-Residence Bursary will take place in 2024 by arrangement with the TGC.

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 and Accessibility and Inclusion Policy, this programme seeks to enhance opportunities for people across all communities to explore and participate in creative writing.

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

Who can apply

This is an open call to writers, over 18 years of age, resident on the island of Ireland who come from an underrepresented background in Irish Literature which includes Black, POC (person of colour), Traveller, Roma, LGBTQ+, disabled and working class writers, and those who consider themselves to be within the groups described in the EDI policy on the IWC’s website and the TGC’s Accessibility and Inclusion Policy. Writers of both the English and Irish language are welcome to apply.

Please note that this opportunity is for fiction writers and non-fiction writers only (acceptable forms/genres are: Fiction: prose, novel, short stories, screenplays; stage plays and Creative Non-Fiction: memoir; auto-fiction; essays). On this occasion, poetry is not included.

Eligibility

Applicants will be considered eligible based on:

1. The case that they make for the bursary
2. Their level of skill and competence as a writer
3. Being from an underrepresented background in Irish literature

How to apply

If you are interested in applying please send the following to projects@irishwriterscentre.ie with Lacuna Bursary 2024 in the subject line:

1. A cover letter outlining the details of your eligibility as an underrepresented writer, including your statement of artistic intent, clearly and concisely outlining the project you would like to focus on during your time at Annaghmakerrig.
2. An updated Curriculum Vitae (max. two A4 pages).
3. Clearly labelled samples of recent work. 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).
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.

Selection Process and Criteria

All applications will be reviewed for eligibility. Applications will then go before a selection committee consisting of a member of the Irish Writers Centre, a nominee of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre and an independent professional experienced in EDI considerations. The panel will select from eligible applications only, so please ensure to read the criteria carefully and to observe the sample word counts requested.

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

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.