The At Sea residency programme aims to provide a quiet, and quietly inspiring, place for writers to concentrate solely on reading, thinking and writing without the distractions and pressures of the everyday. Writing is an endeavour that rewards persistence, time and concentration. At Sea hopes spectacular sunsets, a vibrant seaside culture and, above all, space will help.
Accommodation
You will have full run of a two-bedroom, two-bathroom Grade-II-listed flat in Margate’s old Fort Lodge hotel, built in 1823. The flat is at the top of a majestic spiral staircase and is filled with hundreds of books for both reference and fun. There is a fully stocked kitchen and you will be provided, of course, with bedding and towels. NB: Unfortunately there is no lift in the building so, regrettably, the residency is not suitable for writers with mobility issues.
Stipend
As well as having private access to a peaceful seafront apartment, the successful applicant will be given a £250 stipend in cash. This should be enough to cover food for the week, as well as a little local sightseeing for inspiration. If you are travelling to Margate by train, we can also pay £50 towards your train fare.
Dates
Our April 2020 residency is now postponed indefinitely. We are accepting applications until 1st of June. The residency place will be awarded shortly after on a flexible basis. The residency is available to crime fiction writers.
Selection Criteria
Our April 2020 residency is now postponed indefinitely. We are accepting applications until 1st of June. The residency place will be awarded shortly after on a flexible basis.
The April 2020 At Sea residency is open to emerging writers of crime fiction. There is no age limit for applicants. We are looking for passionate, promising writers who will relish a week of solitude to devote to their work. You will be eligible to apply as long as you do not have a published work of crime fiction.
We would like to see a sample of your writing to help us make our decision: please submit 5,000 words of the novel you intend to work on during the residency as well as a synopsis of the plot.
We especially welcome applications from writers from diverse or lower-income backgrounds.
The focus of the residency will change every time: the next residency, in November 2020, will be open to an as-yet-undetermined genre. (Memoirists, fiction writers, essayists, graphic novelists, biographers, screenwriters – you are all in the running!)
Application Process
We would like to read a sample of your writing, and we also want to hear about you: please provide a few paragraphs about yourself, your background, your creative interests, and why At Sea would be helpful to you.