The residency will be an opportunity for a writer to develop their own creative work. It will provide a unique space for a published author from the North of England to reflect and to write and have the opportunity to share their work with Arab audiences.

The residency will raise the profile of British writing in Jordan and the Arab world in the UK, in the hope that long-lasting connections between writers in the UK and the Arabic-speaking world are forged.

Travel and visa costs will be covered by Durham Book Festival, who will also pay the writer a stipend of £800 (with an additional supplement of £200 for evening meals). Bed, breakfast and lunches will be provided by the British Institute in Amman for the duration of the visit.

To be eligible to apply, writers must live and work in the North of England and have been previously published in the UK (at least one full-length work eg. a novel, creative non-fiction or a poetry or short story collection).

Alta’ir is a partnership project between Durham Book Festival/New Writing North (co-founder), the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) (co-founder), St Mary’s College, Durham University (co-founder), and Dr. Fadia Faqir (initiator and co-founder), and the British Council.

Find out more and apply here

Deadline: Thursday 14 June 2018