Added 11-13-2021, see note below!)
Here in the US, writers are getting some interesting incentives.
Late last year, we heard about Detroit’s plans to boost the local arts and literacy scene through a permanent residency program for authors. Basically, authors promise to stay in a Detroit house and put down roots in the community, and they get the house. There are other catches, but at its heart the premise is simple. If heavy manufacturing cannot come back to build the Detroit of the future, perhaps science and art will.
Poor Detroit has been slammed in the recent past: from news of its possible bankruptcy, the humiliation of maybe putting its world-class art holdings up for sale, gorgeous but heartbreaking ruin-porn photographs of decaying and abandoned neighborhoods, and the very real specter of high crime and low opportunities for many citizens.
But it’s not all grim news: local community organizers are turning abandoned areas into community food gardens, uniting against crime and its root causes, and hardy souls of every business persuasion are moving back into the city. There’s an amazing art scene already. This new program would help bolster the literary scene to match. It’s a few houses now, but Detroit has a lot of empty houses waiting to be filled again. What the Motor City will look like in 25 to 50 years is anyone’s guess, but lots of folks don’t think it will be a ghost town.
Added 11-13-2021: The house program is defunct. One writer’s experience is chronicled in a new book. Go here for the NPR article.
If a multiyear pledge to a new city isn’t your thing, how about a three-to-five-day writing residency on an Amtrak train? For free. The Wire has a great article about an idea begun on Twitter, and just run through a test phase. Most of us would happily kill or maim, at some point in our writing lives, for even that small a block of relatively uninterrupted writing time. Plus, trains are awesome. Train + writing = adventure of a lifetime. (In my dreams, I get to do that on the Orient Express, but that’s just me. A run from Flagstaff to Chicago, timed to coincide with a big SFF convention, might be equally amazing some year.)
Whether you live in a big city or a rural area, keep an eye out on your local city, county, and state arts organizations. You never know when a mini grant, a speaking engagement, or worthwhile workshop opportunity will pop up. If you are already ‘in the system’ and known to organizers of these events, you’ve made a valuable connection that could not only help your career, but your community.
Author’s note added 3-8-2014: It’s now official. Amtrak has a page where interested authors can read about the program and sign up!
http://blog.amtrak.com/2014/03/amtrak-residency-for-writers/
Author update added April 24, 2014: alert readers have sent me info on some disturbing possible rights grabs by Amtrak, regarding this promotion. Clarification at the Writer Beware blog, which I’ll link to when I’m on the home system. (Google keywords: Write Beware blog, Amtrack Residency.)
Just goes to show: always ask what the other party is getting out of it.
The Detroit Residency is one I would’ve applied to in another life, if I didn’t already have roots and things where I am. I think it sounds unbelievably great, and I think it’s a unique way to problem-solve some of Detroit’s issues (and I found out about it because I’ve been researching/keeping an eye on Detroit due to a novel I’m working on).
The Amtrack thing, I hope pans out! It seems to have captivated the consciousness of a lot of online writers, and I see no shortage of enthusiasm for it!
With Detroit, I’d be worrying about heating oil costs. Beyond that, I think it’s a brilliant idea.
Amtrak has definitely caught my attention with the residency idea.
I can see that. When we bought our house (in central New York), we got one without a heating oil tank. So, natural gas prices aren’t optimal either (I don’t think anything is priced optimally), but better I think.
The Amtrak idea is just so quirky and appealing. I’ve also seen conversation on Twitter where even if it isn’t a “residency”, people are toying with doing a group trip as a conference or critique party or something. So that’s cool, and kind of funny. Amtrak isn’t new, but this idea of usage for it is just different enough that it sounds totally fresh and awesome.
I like that Amtrak actually paid attention to the Twitter idea. Somebody at corporate has common sense.
I agree! It’s a good company (or one that makes me hopeful, anyway) which pays attention to reasonable social media clamoring.