Writing@Molėtai

new office in Alanta

Sveiki! Hello! We are happy that You are interested in our International writers’ residency program Writing@Moletai. Please read this text before completing the application. The residency program Writing@Moletai is organized by Moletai Municipal Public Library and supported by the Lithuanian council of culture. 

UPDATE! Because of new regulations of cross-border movement due to pandemic we are currently accepting applications from LITHUANIA. WE APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR 14 DAYS SELF-ISOLATION AND FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCEPT AUTHORS FROM COUNTRIES WITH INFECTION RATE EXEEDING 16 CASES PER 100 THOUSAND POPULATION AT THE MOMENT. We hope situation will get better soon. Stay safe, healthy and creative!

●        We are inviting selected authors to spend up to 30 days in our beautiful Molėtai region working on their books/writing projects. You can work on your research, write, rewrite, throw everything  in the bin, change the topic of your book, change back again, all is up to you. This is a self-paced and self-directed writing residency.

●        There is no registration fee. We pay for your stay and offer a honorarium of 200 EUR for your contributions to the cultural life of our community. The program lasts September-November.

● We don’t have yet a separate house for the writers in residency, we hope to have it in the future. In the meantime, we rent accommodations. You will have the possibility to explore different parts of the lake region and to see our local communities as an insider.

● You will be staying in a single room. It will have a minimalist decor – a bed, a desk, a hallstand. No distractions, except for landscape that will be worth a million. We hope that minimalism and beauty combined will inspire you. Bring books and anything you need for work, but leave at home everything that distracts you. If you want, we can store your mobile or limit the internet for some days or hours. The kitchen will be shared (most likely with another writer in residency), some accommodations will have separate WC&shower, in some, they will be shared. In case the kitchen is not available, breakfast is included.  

●Some changes with locations are possible, Moletai is a resort region. We will try to accommodate you as best as we can and solve practical issues that may arise during your stay. Please be aware that luxury should not be expected. It’s an offer of simple life for a month, away from the life you are used to.

● We will suggest places to work when we will know you better.

● Our program doesn’t cover travel expenses and health insurance. We offer a residency for one person. Family members, guests, and pets are not included. It takes about an hour – hour and a half from Moletai to Vilnius by bus.

● We kindly ask you to tell us about the book you are working on (up to 500 words) in your application. If there is a possibility, please, include a preliminary plan or excerpt (up to 3 pages) of the book. Please, mention, what stage of work you are at and what would you expect to achieve when staying in retreat in the Moletai region.  

● The residency program is open to both novice and mature authors. Selection criteria – creator’s potential (we kindly ask you to show some published works of your choice, the relevance of a specific creative-literary project planned during the residency, the author’s motivation. We take a diversity of genres and authors as one of the guiding principles in this program.

● We would be grateful if you could add links to selected published texts to your application. If you have not yet published anything, send us your two best texts (languages ​​- Lithuanian, English, for other languages we will use google translator, could also be audiovisual). Mention any awards and nominations you have.

● What do we expect from You? Writing and your presence. We believe the presence of an artist is vital for the community to thrive. We would love you to meet with our readers twice, at the beginning and the end of your stay. Those will be chamber meetings, introverts friendly. In case of another lockdown we will hold those meetings via internet. Form and topic of the meeting are up to you, it can be a talk, a discussion, a presentation of your writing project, a reading of your book or books you love, a writing workshop, we will talk about it. We would also like you to share a text with us (up to 3 pages) that we could publish at the end of your residency. It can be an excerpt from your project or your insights on topics that matter to you written during your retreat in the Moletai region.  

● When planing your time please be aware that nature in the Moletai region is spectacular, the history of this place is unique though painful. There will be days when you will want to know more about Queen Bona Sforza, to visit the monastery in Videniškiai or the Old Jewis cemetery (that is actually not the Old one and you will know why), to check on stars in the Moletai Observatory, to walk long distances, to swim, to go on a bicycle (we will give you one), or maybe to retreat even deeper on a small island in the middle of the lake. This program promotes sustainable writing, we would recommend you to include in your plans self-care, attentiveness to surroundings, a possibility of slowing down and days of doing nothing. We hope that the Moletai region will affect your writing in the best possible way.

● We will keep in contact with you on limits that we will set up together according to your wishes. We will try our best to make you feel at home. Guided tours, information on local history and nature, recommendations, solving practicalities – we are here for you. During events, the translation will be provided. If you want feedback to your writing – we as librarians and readers are at your disposition. 

● Response of the Moletai minicpality to the risks of COVID-19 was one of the fastest in Lithuania. Free reusable masks were distributed to the citizens (librarians helped too). Statistical information is updated at the municipality website. We reopened libraries (the central one in Molėtai and 24 small libraries in the region) with precautions in place to protect health. At the moment (5th of November) readers receive pre-ordered books at the door. Masks are mandatory, we try to keep 2 m distance from each other, so we will neither hug you, nor shake hands with you, all for your good. Density in Molėtai region is quite low, 16,1/km² (Vilnius — 1 374/km², Kaunas region 56,5/km²).

● For those who want to come to Moletai September-November – send the application now, our address is moletailibrary@gmail.com  Sėkmės.

Application

NAME, SURNAME
BIRTHDATE
ADDRESS
PHONE
EMAIL
DATE OF ARRIVAL
DATE OF DEPARTURE
EXPERIENCE (BOOKS, TEXTS, ANYTHING YOU WANT TO MENTION)
AWARDS, NOMINATIONS
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY? (it‘s for us to know you better. We don‘t expect you to write a book on sustainability)
YOUR BOOK PROJECT (up to 500 words, mention the stage you are at and what do you want to do in Moletai, a preliminary plan of the book or excerpt is a bonus)
ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD


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