The Winter Writing Session at Kylemore is a residency programme (Sunday to Friday) for writers who are seriously working on a work of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. The programme includes room and board in the renovated St Joseph’s wing at Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, as well as the opportunity to connect with fellow writers, and discussions/talks by a professional writer-in-residence (to be announced).
Applications will be read by a panel and accepted on a rolling basis. Residents will arrive on Sunday, December 8th, 2024 for dinner and a welcome session, and depart on Friday, December 13th. The residency includes 1-2 talks and discussions and plenty of time to write.
How to Apply
In order to be considered for this residency, please submit a work in progress. It must not have been previously published, and it must relate specifically to the work you plan on doing while in residency with us. Please submit according to your form:
- For prose: up to 2,000 words of a work in progress for which the application is being made. It should be in 12-point font and double spaced.
- For poetry: ten pages of poetry, single spaced, with no more than one poem per page.
Applications will be assessed by a panel of judges and admissions will be on a rolling basis.
Applications open in April on a rolling basis. Fill out an application here.
Programme Information
Cost
- €1500/$1650
Dates
- December 8-13, 2024
Program Includes
- Daily group discussion
- 1-2 talks by the writer-in-residence, a professional writer who will be with the group for the duration of the residence
- Private en-suite bedroom
- Nutritious & filling meals prepared by our in-house chef
- Access to the abbey grounds & museum
Beginning the Saturday preceding the retreat, writers will be asked to practice free-writing in response to prompts (designed by the writer-in-residence) that will be sent to them each evening.
Writers are free to turn off all technology while they are with us - we will sound a gong at 8AM every morning and for each meal time.
