Submissions

Please also read these Frequently Asked Questions before applying.

Applications for the 2022-2023 writer-in-residence positions may be submitted from Saturday, January 1, 2022, to Sunday, April 17, 2022. Results will be announced in late May 2022.

About the Residencies

The Kerouac Project provides four residencies a year to writers of any stripe or age, living anywhere in the world. In the past we have accepted writers with no formal writing education alongside those with MFA’s and impressive résumés. You will be judged on the quality of the writing sample you submit. Each residency consists of approximately a three month stay in the cottage where Jack Kerouac wrote his novel Dharma Bums. Utilities and a food stipend of $1,000 are included. As writer-in-residence, all you are required to do is live in the Kerouac House during your residency, work on your writing project, and participate in three events—a Welcome Potluck dinner for you; a Final Reading of your work at the Kerouac House at the end of your residency; and give a public reading at Valencia College. Should you desire them, the Kerouac Project can also offer opportunities for you to participate in other readings, lead workshops, and interact in other ways with the vibrant Central Florida literary community.

Residency Slots

Fall 2022: September 1 through November 20, 2022
Winter 2022–2023: December 1, 2022, through February 18, 2023
Spring 2023: March 1 through May 21, 2023
Summer 2022: June 1 through August 20, 2023

At the time you submit your application you will be asked which residency time slot(s) you prefer or are available for. Or you can just indicate ‘any’ if you have no specific time slot preference.

The Application Process:

You will be required to select a category into which your submission best fits. The five categories are: Poetry, Play, Screenplay, Fiction/Short Story, and Nonfiction. Your writing sample must match the category. So, for example, if you are applying in the fiction category, your writing sample must only be a fiction sample. You cannot include some fiction and some poems you may have written. You are allowed one submission per category. This means you can submit to more than one category if you wish to do so. However, each submission is separate, and you must complete the whole application process again for each submission. This includes the payment of the $35 application fee for each submission.

All applications/submissions are received electronically, and a $35 application fee is required at the time you submit, and for each subsequent application, should you decide to submit in more than one category.

We require a standard format for all fiction and nonfiction prose submissions. The format is:

• 10 pages in length maximum.
• 1-inch page margins.
• 1.5 line spacing.
• Text must be in a 12-point serif font, (preferably Times New Roman as its compact structure allows you the maximum number of words per page).

Those submitting poetry, a play, or screenplay, may continue to follow the genre conventions in their submissions, though your writing sample must also be limited to 10-pages in length.

The residency submission/application period opens on Saturday, January 1, 2022, and remains open for eleven weeks, closing at midnight (Eastern Time) on Sunday, April 17, 2022. We encourage applicants to apply early rather than waiting until the end to submit.

Please read all of the Frequently Asked Questions related to residency applications before submitting your application and writing sample.

When you are ready, click the button below to initiate the application/submission process.

Thank you, and good luck with your submission.

Geoff Benge

Vice-President Residency Program