Open Call for the International residency in Ulyanovsk for writers and translators from the Cities of Literature of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network

Posted: Monday Mar 11, 2019

This is a unique opportunity to work in the homeland of the great Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, the poet Nikolay Yazykov, the historian and writer Nikolay Karamzin.

Ulyanovsk City of Literature Office announces the open call for applications of International Residency Program for writers and translators from the Literary Cities of UNESCO. This is a unique opportunity to work in the homeland of the great Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, the poet Nikolay Yazykov, the historian and writer Nikolay Karamzin. In 2015 Ulyanovsk became the Most Reading Region in Russia. If you have ever visited Ulyanovsk you will never forget its picturesque view of the Volga River, narrow streets in the city-centre and houses built in the 19th century. Ulyanovsk is a city where two rivers – the Volga and the Sviyaga – form a very special zone. The point is that the Sviyaga river is a tributary of the Volga river but it flows in the opposite direction. Modern Ulyanovsk is a city with developed infrastructure, a lot of interesting museums and rich cultural life. People involved in the literature not only preserve the history of the city and popularise the work of its famous writers and poets, but also organise new events, that unite literature with other forms of art.

The call for applications for 2019 is now open

The residency periods

June 1 – June 30

September 1 – September 30

Application deadline: March 31, 2019

What we offer:

• a one-month stay at the cosy apartment in the quite courtyard in the heart of the city (private apartment, private bathroom, shared kitchen; residents are required to take care of medical insurance and are responsible for their meals and household; additional guests cannot be hosted);
• we cover expenses on accommodation, participation in public actions and the organisation of the final event with the resident (at the end of the month);
• a scholarship and compensation of travel costs to and from Ulyanovsk (as agreed, in the partnership with the embassies of the foreign states and/or their cultural centres, the amount of travel costs compensation and scholarship will be determined individually with each resident before his/her arriving to Ulyanovsk after the competition is completed);
• an opportunity to get engaged in the cultural scene of Ulyanovsk.

Required documents

• Application form https://goo.gl/forms/CfRkRaMUzEFsed8o1.
• Extract from a published text (in English or Russian) or a fragment of a translation (from Russian into another language). No more than 2 pages in length.
• Biography/CV.
• Recommendation letter.

Criteria

• Interest in the Russian culture and literature.
• High/average level of spoken English.
• At least one officially published book (fiction or non-fiction) (or screenplay, theatre script or translation from Russian into another language).
• Residents will be asked to write a text (work of fiction or non-fiction) that will feature the City of Ulyanovsk in some fashion (min. 15 000 characters with spaces) and will be used in a future for publishing and promotional purposes (residents will be asked to give a permission for printing, reproduction, translation of this short text to the City of Ulyanovsk Administration).
• Readiness to present the results of the work at the end of the month at the public event in Ulyanovsk (text about Ulyanovsk and intermediate results of the resident's literary project).
• Readiness to participate in the literary life of Ulyanovsk, including events, meetings, promotional interviews and engagements, festivals etc (unless agreed otherwise, there are no additional honorarium for these activities).
• Work on the literary project.

Additional information:

Gala Uzryutova, Elena Titova, ulyanovsk.cityofliterature@gmail.com