Bankstown Arts Centre and the Sydney Review of Books invite applications from Western Sydney writers for residencies of up to six weeks at the Incubate Artists Studios. There are several residencies available for writers who can work on projects onsite in Bankstown between April and September 2021.
Apply via Submittable here.
These residencies are opportunities for writers to produce substantial pieces of non-fiction for publication on the Sydney Review of Books. Writers will work closely with the SRB editorial team to develop new work, which will be published alongside essays and criticism by Australia’s best writers.
The Incubate Artists Studios are located on the site of the former Bankstown Women’s Rest Centre, a place that drew together women – particularly mothers – from the many local communities in the Canterbury-Bankstown area. We are looking for essay proposals that respond to the broad themes of care, isolation, custodianship and stewardship. Essays might take experiences of care in domestic settings in Covid-19 as their starting point, equally they may explore the ecological resonances of the theme. And given the history of the studios, we are particularly interested in writers from culturally diverse backgrounds as well as multilingual writing that draws on and reflects the multicultural and multilingual population of the area.
The essay is a capacious and adaptable form. SRB essayists draw on history, memoir, urban studies, literary history and other disciplinary modes. We encourage experimentation. We have worked with writers whose principal form is the essay – and with novelists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, scholars and journalists, as well as visual artists. This is a residency for writers at every stage of their careers. The SRB and the BAC have strong track records in supporting emerging writers and creatives to develop new work, as well as working with established writers. You can browse the SRB’s extensive archive of essays here.
This will be a structured residency program. Successful applicants will workshop their pitch and process with the SRB editor before taking up the residency, and map out writing deadlines. The residency will involve weekly editorial meetings with the SRB editorial team to discuss feedback on work in progress. At the end of the residency, writers will have completed a 3000w essay. Writers aren’t expected to be onsite at Incubate for the entire duration of their residencies, but we want to work with writers who can make use of the space.
To apply for this residency, please submit a 300w EOI outlining how you will approach this project, your relationship to Western Sydney and a brief cover letter that maps your writing experience and interest in this project.
We’ll host a Zoom briefing and Q&A with Bankstown Arts Centre Director Vandana Ram and SRB Editor Catriona Menzies-Pike at 12 midday on 25 March 2021. Register here.
The successful applicants will receive a $1500 stipend, desk space for up to six weeks at the Incubate Artists Studio in Bankstown in May-September, editorial oversight and publication on the Sydney Review of Books. There will also be opportunities for showcasing the work produced at a number of Bankstown Arts Centre/SRB events during 2021.
The applications will be read and judged by a selection panel composed of SRB and Bankstown Arts Centre representatives.
Applications due 12 April 2021.
Apply via Submittable here.
Send any queries to SRB editor Catriona Menzies-Pike on editor@sydneyreviewofbooks.com.
