The 24 Amtrak Residents

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Earlier this year, Alexander Chee tweeted about his enjoyment of writing on trains. Amtrak jumped aboard and decided to launch an Amtrak residency program granting writers free, multi-day train rides where they could write. Amtrak has announced the first 24 recipients of the residency. The Wall Street Journal sums up the program:

The writers will be able build their own travel itineraries from the 15 long-distance trips offered by Amtrak over the next year. They’ll receive free round-trip train travel in a private sleeping room—complete with a writing desk—and onboard meals in the dining car, said an Amtrak spokesperson. They won’t be compensated for additional travel between rides.


Ian MacAllen is the author of Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American (Rowman & Littlefield, April 2022). His writing has appeared in Chicago Review of Books, Southern Review of Books, The Offing, 45th Parallel Magazine, Little Fiction, Vol 1. Brooklyn, and elsewhere. He tweets @IanMacAllen and is online at IanMacAllen.com. More from this author →