The National Trust in partnership with New Writing North and Northumbria University is seeking a Writer-in-Residence at Seaton Delaval Hall, which is located near Seaton Sluice in Northumberland.

The writer will research and develop original work inspired by both the site and the Delaval family history; create and run a course for aspiring or emerging writers at the hall; and develop writing workshops for the local community based on the same material. The residency will take place over eight months from March 2020 – November 2020, and will culminate in a public event to share the work created through the programme.

The residency will take place from March 2020 – November 2020 and the fee will be £6,000 or 40 days at £150 per day. There is also a budget of £3250 to cover dissemination, event costs, the course and workshops.

Guidelines

• They welcome applications from writers working in prose, poetry, creative non-fiction and script.
• Writers should be based in North East England.
• Please note: Although space can be made available in Seaton Delaval Hall while the writer is visiting, there is limited provision for a permanent base for them during the residency .
• This residency is part of Rising Stars; a partnership between Northumbria University and the National Trust at Seaton Delaval Hall and forms part of The Curtain Rises project.

Objectives of the residency

• The objectives of the writer’s residency will be as follows:
• Generate high quality original creative writing in response to the site and its archives
• Draw out and promote contemporary resonances from the archive at Woodhorn Museum
• Provide visitors and local communities with an opportunity to engage more deeply with the Delaval family and Seaton Delaval Hall through interpretative materials, writing workshops and any other events the programme generates
• Locate the history of the site in the narrative of the North East
• Begin a relationship with New Writing North to identify ways in which writers can continue to help animate the site
• Support aspiring and emerging writers to see the site as inspiration for their writing
• Create a legacy through volunteer run creative writing groups which may continue to meet at the site post-project.

A writer in residence at the hall will undertake the following activities:

• Writing and Research
• Spend time researching the archives and reading existing research. Embed themselves in the site, getting to know our knowledgeable and passionate staff and volunteer teams, and engaging with our visitors.
• Write original creative material in response to these resources. The new writing will be used in interpretative materials for future visitors to the site.
• The writer will design and deliver a creative writing course over approximately 8 sessions at the hall. The course will be designed in collaboration with experts in the history of the site and will consist of workshops which may use the archive, the site, and the Delaval family as its starting point and inspiration. The course will be free, but there will be an application process managed by New Writing North. Places will be offered to those applicants whose writing shows most promise.
• The writer will lead approximately four writing workshops based on the same material for local community groups and / or visitors who sign up for them. The nature of these workshops and the participants in them will be agreed as the residency progresses.
• The work the writer generates will be made available so that visitors to the hall can access and engage with it. The form(s) this work takes will be decided as the residency progresses.
• In November 2020 there will be an event at the hall to celebrate the work that has been created through the programme.

Deadline

Monday 20 January.

They will invite shortlisted candidates for interview at the end of January 2020 in a panel made up of representatives from New Writing North and The National Trust.

Indicative timeline

End of February 2020: Residency begins
March–April 2020: Research and Writing
May – July 2020: Course runs
September – November 2020: Community-based workshops
November 2020: Event to celebrate the programme

http://newwritingnorth.com/news/opportunity-seaton-delaval-hall-writer-in-residence/