An organization in Detroit announced a new writer’s residency, Write-a-House, where “the writer is simply given the house, forever.” The project goal:
WAH seeks to (1) educate youth on carpentry and building skills (2) use those skills to renovate Detroit city homes and (3) award those homes to writers. Like any literary community, writers will be awarded based on their writing and their desire to be here. WAH seeks to support low-income writers by awarding at least three homes each year. We will also publish a journal of arts and creative non-fiction to document the process, work to determine a sustainable and green approach to home renovation, and connect writers to support a more vibrant literary community in Detroit. Our long, long term goal involves building a literary colony in Detroit, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The fact that Write-a-House offers vocational training to young people by teaching them to renovate the houses before awarding the homes to writers makes the project even more amazing. The application process seems simple: a 3 page writing sample, a 2 page resume, and two paragraphs on why you’d want the home in Detroit. The website mentions poets, journalists, and authors as eligible applicants. Upon being awarded the home, the author-in-residence must blog regularly for the organization, read locally, and use the home as their permanent residence, then after two years the board will determine if the writer met the conditions and award the writer the deed to the home.
Applications open spring 2014.
