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VIRTUAL CITY DENIZEN FREE
You will be free from the normal obligations of working from home, such as cooking meals, answering calls, and emails and walking the dog. “You can walk around and read books or just meditate, because that’s also part of the creative process and people respect this,” observes Donna. Once you get accepted into the colony, however, you’re pretty much on your own. Some places have a set length, while others let you choose how much time you need. According to the AAC, residencies can last from a week to a year or more, with an average length of two months. Donna found that as her career progressed, she was pretty much limited to two weeks. And the project needs to be more than just an idea: “You also need a solid plan” of what you’re going to accomplish during your time there.”Īlso, when applying, ask yourself how much time you can spare. Along with “following the guidelines to a ‘T,’ you need to send them your very best and most recent work,” within the number of pages/words stated, no more. Not adhering to these are far and away “the biggest reason why even accomplished writers get rejected,” points out Donna, who has also served on residency selection panels. Along with information from the Alliance of Artists Communities (AAC), an international association of more than 1,500 colonies, Donna shares some suggestions to help snag and plan for the residency of your dreams.ĭo your homework. Or even better, in an exotic, beautiful location.
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Preferably in the spring or summer or during high tourist season. “You have to pay careful attention to the requirements and follow the rules.” Darn it! We’d hoped that all that was needed was for the judges to read a few pages of our current, brilliantly written work of genius and an all-expenses paid retreat was ours for the taking. What’s the secret to her success? “It’s like applying for a job or writing a book proposal,” she observes. The Sarasota Springs, NY colony has hosted 74 Pulitzer Prize and 68 National Book Award winners, 29 MacArthur Fellowship recipients and Saul Bellow, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976. The New York City denizen also has the distinction of being the recipient of seven-count ‘em, seven- different writer’s residencies, including two at the extremely hard-to-get-into Yaddo. The author of Un/Masked, Memoirs of a Guerrilla Girl on Tour, ASJA member Donna Kaz uses her alter egos-Guerrilla Girl and Aphra Behn, Guerrilla Girl on Tour-to create humorous pro-feminist/anti-sexist performance and visual art.