A window at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre for Artists, Co. Monaghan, Ireland.
For most, finding time to write is one of the hardest aspects of writing. Unless independently wealthy, one normally has to juggle a day job and family responsibilities with writing time – not an easy feat. Thankfully a solution is out there, focused writing time is possible with a writers’ residency at a dedicated artists’ colony. I’ve benefitted from a few over the years and cannot stress how fruitful and inspiring my time in each has been. The most sought after are ‘residencies‘ which often offer free board and accommodation and sometimes a stipend, for blocks of creative time that can range from a week to year. Sometimes, there may be a fee involved but at a ‘residency’ it would be heavily subsidised to ensure a stay is affordable for the artist. All such prestigious residencies entail an application and selection and approval process. The more generous the offer, the more competition there will be to gain a place obviously, and they tend to cater for published writers/produced playwrights with a track record only. These residencies are very well regarded by industry and acceptance is an asset to your C.V.
Then you have ‘retreats‘. These are usually privately owned affairs run as a business, often by people passionate about the arts. Or they may, like Arvon, involve creative writing courses that are highly respected, delivered by leading industry professionals. Normally with these retreats, the writer/artist self-funds (though there are occasionally one or two grants available if you check the website). As a rule, they cost the same as a stay in a regular hotel or B&B in the same area, but you have the added bonus of being in an environment dedicated to creativity and your fellow guests are also keen creatives. As you’re self funding, there is not normally a application process involved (at least not anything rigorous) – usually just a straightforward booking process, so retreats are the best solution for writers who have yet to publish or have their work produced. Retreats do not have the same prestige as the aforementioned residencies however, though some may straddle both definitions due to occasional grants or fellowships they may offer.
Ireland
Residencies:
Heinrich Böll cottage
Cill Rialaig
Dublin Writer in Residence
Tyrone Guthrie Centre
Retreats:
River Mill
Anam cara
Molly Keane Writers Retreat
France
Residencies:
Chateau la Napoule
Centre Culture lrlandais
Aerogramme Studio Brown’s
Retreats:
La Muse Inn
Great Britain
Residencies:
Gladstone’s Library
Hawkwood College
Hawthornden Castle
Cove Park
Retreats
Arvon Foundation
Urban Writers’
Germany
Schwarndorf
Switzerland
Jan Michalski
Italy
Ginestrelle
USA
Residencies:
Albee Foundation (New York State)
Anderson Centre (Minnesota)
Art Croft (Kentucky)
Atlantic Centre (Florida)
Caldera Arts (Oregon)
Djerassi (California)
Dorland (California)
Exeter (New Hampshire)
Hambidge (Georgia)
Headlands (California)
Hedge brook (Washington State)
Jentle (Wyoming)
KFW (Kentucky)
Kerouac (Florida)
Kimmel (Nebraska)
Norman Mailer Centre (NY, Wyoming, California)
Montalvo Arts (California)
Macdowell (New Hampshire)
Millay (New York State)
OMI (New York)
Kulcher (Minnesota)
Lynchburg (Virginia)
Radcliffe (Massachusetts)
Red Cinder (Hawaii)
Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
Poetry Centre (Arizona)
Provincetown (Massachusetts)
Spring creek (Oregon)
Saltonstall (New York State)
Stanford (Connecticut)
Studio in the Woods (New Orleans)
Virginia Centre (Virginia)
Ucross (Wyoming)
Vermont Studio (Vermont)
Wild Acres (North Carolina)
Woodstock (New York)
Wurlitzer (New Mexico)
Yaddo (New York state)
Retreats (some also offer a limited grants/fellowships)
Nantucket (Massachusetts)
Ragdale (Illinois)
Dairy Hollow (Arkansas)
Canada
Banff
Saskatchewan
Australia
Varuna
This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you know of more, please let me know. If possible specify if it’s a residency (free or subsidised) or a retreat (self funded).
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About suehealy
From Ireland, Sue Healy is Literary Manager at the Finborough Theatre, London, a full-time Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Lincoln. Her book on theatre literary management is published by Routledge, December 2022.
Sue is an award-winning writer for stage, TV, and prose writer.
TV
Her current project, a 6x60minute TV series, is under option. She is under commission with Lone Wolf Media, producers behind PBS’ “Mercy Street”, to co-write the pilot and treatment for a six-part TV series.
Stage
Her most recent stage-play, Imaginationship (2018), enjoyed a sold out, extended run at the Finborough and later showed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Her previous stage productions include Cow (Etcetera Theatre, 2017) and Brazen (King’s Head Theatre, 2016), funded by Arts Council England. Sue’s short plays have been performed at the Criterion (Criterion New Writing Showcase), Arcola (The Miniaturists) and Hackney Attic (Fizzy Sherbet Shorts).
Radio
Her radio work includes nine plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (Opening Lines winner), WLRfm and KCLR96fm.
Prose
Sue has won The Molly Keane Award, HISSAC Prize, Escalator Award, Meridian Prize and has been published in nine literary journals and anthologies including: The Moth, Flight, Tainted Innocence, New Writer, Duality, HISSAC, New European Writers. She has been writer-in-residence on Inis Oírr, Aran Islands, and at the Heinrich Boll Cottage on Achill Island. She has also benefitted from annual artist residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, and at Ginestrelle, Assisi in Italy.
An academic with a PhD in modern theatre history, specifically the Royal Court Theatre, Sue has presented her research internationally. She spent eleven years in Budapest, editing Hungary A.M. She has a PhD in modern theatre history (Royal Court Theatre) and is a UEA Creative Writing MA alumnus.
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suehealy 
August 24th, 2017 at 17:36
Thank you Sue and what helpful advice you have put together. And even if I never get to benefit from any of these fascinating places, that picture of a wonderful casement windows, the same as I used to look out of as a boy in co Longford, is itself a pleasure to behold.
August 25th, 2017 at 08:57
thank you for the useful info. hard to know where to start. 🙂