Interested Writers

The Sangam House Writer’s Residency Program in the winter of 2008 is the inaugural undertaking of what will become an on-going annual program in arts and letters located in India. Sangam House will invite approximately twenty writers to live and work on the Adishakti property outside Pondicherry, on the east coast of southern India. Lodging (single rooms) and food will be provided free of charge. Each writer is responsible for travel costs to and from Pondicherry. However, travel funds and bursaries are available through various cultural organizations.

Residencies are structured in 1-3 month intervals, determined by individual needs. We recommend a residence period of no less than 2 weeks for each writer. Of the twenty invited writers, ten will come from the South Asian subcontinent (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and ten from other countries around the world. Sangam House is open to writers in all languages. The first winter session will run for approximately three months from mid-November 2008 to mid-February 2009.

 Residents are selected through an application process. Interested writers are asked to submit the following three items:

Two letters of nomination.
These should be provided by a publishing or writing professional. Writing and publishing professionals are defined as: publishers, published writers, published translators, professors, editors, and literary agents. The letters should evaluate the work you propose to do at Sangam House or make reference to your previous work. Please have letters emailed or posted to the appropriate address below, independent and separate from your other application materials.
 
One non-returnable copy of a previously published book.
If the writer has not yet published a book, a 25 page work sample should be submitted. The book or work sample can be submitted in the writer’s native language, English, or both.

One page statement describing the work to be undertaken while at Sangam House.

In addition to general applications, Sangam House offers a select amount of specific fellowships. Details about these fellowships are provided below. Please note that all applications will automatically be considered for the appropriate and relevant fellowships.

The LAVANYA SANKARAN FELLOWSHIP at Sangam House for the 2008-2009 season is open to Indian writers working in English with a preference for those writing fiction. The Fellowship covers board and lodge for the selected applicant(s) during their time at Sangam House (no more than 4 weeks and no less than 2 weeks). Please note that the Fellowship does not cover travel costs to and from the residency.

The CENTRE for COMMUNICATION and DEVELOPMENT STUDIES FELLOWSHIP at Sangam House for the 2008-2009 season is open to writers from the sub-continent working in English on issues of social justice in the global south. The Fellowship covers board and lodge for the selected applicant during his/her time at Sangam House (no more than 2 weeks). Please note that the Fellowship does not cover travel costs to and from the residency. The recipient of the CCDS Fellowship will be required to allow excerpts from the work they produce at Sangam House to be published on the website infochangeindia.org For more information about CCDS (Pune), please visit www.ccds.in and www.infochangeindia.org

All applications should include a cover letter with desired length of stay and contact information so that selected writers can be notified in a timely fashion.

Deadline: July 31, 2008 (All materials must be post-marked by this date.)

All South Asian writers resident in the subcontinent should submit to:

Arshia Sattar
3 Sharan Apartments
1 High Street
Cooke town
Bangalore 560 005
India

 All other writers should submit to:

DW Gibson
504 Grand Street, #H63
New York, NY 10002
USA

Inquiries from the subcontinent should be directed to Arshia Sattar: arshia.sangam@gmail.com

 Inquires from anywhere else should be directed to DW Gibson: dwmgibson@yahoo.com