Manchester Festival of Libraries together with Manchester City of Literature are offering two Virtual Writer Residencies which take place this June as part of the inaugural Festival of Libraries. During the three-week residency, writers will be hosted by one of Manchester’s historic libraries (Chetham’s, The Portico, John Rylands and Central) with the opportunity to explore their online collections and archives, meet librarians to find out more about Manchester’s literary heritage and collections, and enjoy virtual tours of the city.
During the residency, writers will share their experience of the city with Manchester’s literary community via social media, take part in other meetings and talks including sharing their work and their influences, and produce a new piece of writing responding to Manchester or links between the city and their own UNESCO City of Literature.
There is a fee of £1,500 for each residency and the commissions include producing a new short story, essay or series of poems. Applications are open until 10 May 2021 and the residencies are open to published writers with strong links to another UNESCO City of Literature.