A non-exhaustive list of writing (and art) residencies in the so-called US
Sometimes I really just need to organize things into a list, so I made one (for you and for me)
Residencies are an indescribably supportive thing
for the writer, the artist, the hopeful poet, the tired parent, the overworked human, the ADHD-extraordinaire, the under-supported maker, the person who just needs quiet. I have known people to obtain a residency, travel all the way there, and just…sleep. For days. Others finish their novel, devote time to a research project, or start a new series of paintings. There is something emphatically powerful, nurturing, supportive, generative, and helpful about a residency. Sure, yes, they can help you advance in your artistic career. They look great on a CV. Accolades can go a long way. Those are wonderful things if they are in service to your intentions and your goals as an artist and to your projects. But it’s more than that. It’s a chance. It’s a pause. It’s rest—or unrest, if that’s what you need. And there are so many different kinds of spaces that meet so many different kinds of needs!
There are highly competitive residencies, there are off-grid residencies, there are co-living residencies, there are solo residencies, there are collaborative residencies, there are full or partial work-trade residencies, there are subsidized residencies, there are 3-day residencies, there are multi-month residencies, there are teaching residencies, there are residencies for parents. There are scholarships, fellowships, waivers, and stipends. There are rural residencies and cityscape residencies.
I’ve compiled a totally non-exhaustive list of residencies, geared primarily toward writing though many of them have multi-media opportunities. I wanted to have a document to circle back to for myself, and I wanted to share it with you.
(Since publishing this list I’ve made a second US residency list, an international residency list, a crowdsourced residency list, and a list of residencies in Maine.)
Bookmark this post. Look through them! Apply! You really do miss 100% of the chances you don’t take.
The Sable Project | 10 days off-the-grid on the side of a mountain in Stockbridge, Vermont. $500 for 10 days with a 6-hour work trade in the garden. A BIPOC partial grant is available. $10 application fee.
Vermont Studio Center | ranging from 8-26 day stays in Johnson, Vermont. Prestigious and expensive, but many different Fellowships are available.
Craigardan | 2 weeks or longer in Elizabethtown, New York. $1850 per week, but many scholarship, Fellowship, and work exchange opportunities are available, including a First Nations Fellowship and a Teaching Fellowship.
Hewnoaks | 1-2 week residencies in Lovell, Maine. Rustic cabins, a lake. Fully subsidized.
Write On, Door County | 1-4 weeks on Wisconsin’s northeast peninsula. No fee to attend. Applicants must provide a community engagement project/offering during their stay.
Monson Arts | 2-4 weeks in Monson, Maine. Stipend provided. $25 application fee.
Smithereen Farm Winter Residency | 4 weeks or more in rural Pembroke, Maine. $350 per month. Shared living. Open to farmers, farm laborers, and other “agrarian-adjacent people” working on creative projects. Some summer opportunities may be available.
Hudson Valley Writers Residency | A few days, weeks, or months in Coxsackie, New York. Free to apply.
Millay Colony for the Arts | 2-4 weeks in Austerlitz, New York. Steepletop Residency: $1000 per week, $45 application fee. Core Residency: $100 fee and otherwise subsidized. $45 application fee.
Millay House | 4 weeks in Rockland, Maine. $1200 stipend and one month’s lodging in the house Edna St. Vincent Millay was born.
Rockvale Writers’ Colony | 1-4 weeks in College Grove, Tennessee. $480-$540 per week, dependent on desired accommodations ($80-$90 per night). Mini residencies available for $100 per night. $30 application fee.
Sundress Academy for the Arts | short term one-week rustic residencies at Firefly Farm, just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. $175-$350 per week, dependent on desired accommodations. Fellowships for Queer, Trans, and BIPOC writers available. Reparations payment models available.
The Kerouac Project | two months in Jack Kerouac’s home in Orlando, Florida. Two workshops hosted and a final reading required. $600 food stipend provided. $50 application fee.
Prairie Ronde Artist Residency | 5-6 weeks in Vicksburg, Michigan. $2000 stipend and $500 travel grant. $25 application fee.
Anaphora Writing Residency | 10 days in Los Angeles, California. BIPOC writers only. $2800. Partial funding available. 2025 will be virtual due to the recent wildfires.
The Arctic Circle | an expeditionary artist- and scientist-led residency to the arctic. Details available by newsletter only.
Yaddo | 2-8 weeks in Saratoga Springs, New York. Housing included. Small access grants available for travel. $35 application fee.
Peyton Evans Artist Residency | one month in Key West, Florida. Free upon acceptance. A community event required. $35 application fee.
Ragdale Artist Residency | 18 days in Lake Forest, Illinois. Sliding scale $630-$4500. Awards, stipends, and fellowships available.
Bearnstow | one week in Mount Vernon, Maine. Multiple date options. $400 partially subsidized, with some financial aid and work trade opportunities available. Especially appealing if your project is somatic/movement-based.
Willa Cather Residency for Writers | two weeks in Red Cloud, Nebraska. A private, furnished room in the Cather Guest House. $400 stipend provided for provisions. $35 application fee. Waivers considered.
PS: I didn’t link any here, but fun fact: National Parks have Artist-in-Residence positions! Acadia, Shenandoah, Joshua Tree… check it out.
Note: don’t take me at my word. There may be application fees that I didn’t list. I left some things out here and there, I’m just not sure what they are yet. Do your research, read the details! Happy trails x
A low stakes way to support my time
I don’t ever want to gatekeep what I share in my Substack, but these postings do take time to compile—sometimes quite a bit of time—so I decided that this may be a good alternative: if you would like to “tip” me for any of the time it took to write this, if you felt moved or supported by it, you can buy me a coffee <3
I’ve also very recently turned on paid subscriptions because you people with your sweet, generous hearts were pledging paid memberships even though there is no paywall! So, a recurring $5 donation is also an option.
This is wonderful. I’ve been accepted into six residencies and I hope to do more.
Audrey! I haven't even read yet, and I'm jumping over here to say I just looked at one of those super deep to-do lists and saw "Figure out how to track down available writing residencies." Then I scroll through notes and here you are. So thank you, thank you! Truly.