International Lamplight (Online) Residency - Shanghai
Co-presented by VarunA, Institute for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture (IAC) and The Shanghai Writers Association
Join us for a special online residency and enjoy the warmth and support of Varuna, IAC and the Shanghai Writers Association. Find inspiration for your writing, enjoy professional development opportunities, and build connections with other writers to sustain your creative project.
This program is generously supported by Creative Australia.
THE PROGRAM
This week-long online residency includes:
A writers conversation with Isabelle Li and Shen Jialu to talk about your current work.
An online Q&A session with award-winning author Nicholas Jose.
An online Q&A session with award-winning Chinese poet, essayist, and author of children's literature Zhao Lihong.
Facilitated professional networking opportunities with your peers throughout the week, including the opportunity to share work, talk about process, and receive feedback.
Places limited to six only. Three participants will be in Australia, and three participants will be in China.
Participants need to allow at least one hour at specific times every day for programmed sessions, with the expectation that you will spend at least three hours dedicated writing time each day (although this is flexible according to your own personal circumstances). Participants will need a reliable internet connection, and a computer or mobile phone with a webcam and microphone.
KEY DATES
Expressions of interest open: 26 April 2024
Closing date: 7 June 2024
Program dates: 29 July - 3 August 2024, with sessions every day except for the Sunday.
ELIGIBILITY
This program is only open to published Australian writers of fiction with a connection to Western Sydney University (as students, staff or alumni) and/or Varuna alumni, or to Chinese writers via the Shanghai Writers Association.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Applicants must be writers of fiction only. Poetry, non-fiction, stage and screen are not eligible for the 2024 program.
Assessors will be looking at your writing experience, clarity of focus and objectives (how you will use your time), and the merit of your writing. They will also consider the balance of the group, with a view to ensuring the residency has a collegiate atmosphere.
FEES
There are no application or course fees for this online residency.
QUESTIONS?
Please feel free to get in touch by email or by phone 02 4782 5674. Should you have any difficulty completing the application, we will be very happy to assist you with completing your application over the phone.
Expressions of interest close 7 June 2024.
ABOUT Isabelle li
Isabelle Li has published in various anthologies and literary journals. and her collection of short stories A Chinese Affair was published in 2016. Her prose translations have appeared in Sydney Review of Books and her poetry translations in Mascara, and World Literature《世界文学》and Works《作品》in China. Her Chinese translation of Sebastian Barry’s novel The Secret Scripture 《绝密手稿》was published by Zhejiang Literature & Art Publishing House浙江文艺出版社. Her script MOONCAKE AND CRAB was made into a short film, and premiered at the 60th Melbourne International Film Festival. She is a fellow of Varuna and was the inaugural winner of the Mascara Bundanon Writer’s Residency.
ABOUT SHEN JIALU
Shen Jialu who was born in 1956, is a board member and director of Novel Creation Committee of Shanghai Writers’ Association. He worked as editor in chief, executive editorial board member and senior journalist of Xinmin Weekly, Shanghai Newspaper Group. Since the 1980s, he has been creating novels, reportage, prose as well as film and television works. He has published over 30 books including novels, collections of novellas and short stories, and collections of essays. His works have won literary awards given by literary magazines like Shanghai Literature, The Bud and Fiction World.
Varuna is grateful to Creative Australia for their support of this project.
Zhao Lihong is an award-winning poet, essayist, and author of children's literature. He is the president of Shanghai International Poetry Festival and editor-in-chief of Poet Magazine. Zhao Lihong has written more than 90 books and has won dozens of literary awards, both at home and abroad. Lihong's work has been translated into more than 10 languages and has received worldwide recognition. In 2013, he was awarded the Golden Key International Poetry Award in Smederevo, Serbia. In 2014, he won the Outstanding Contribution Award of Shanghai Literature and Art; and in 2019, he was awarded the Romanian “Mihai Eminescu International Poetry Award.”
ABOUT nicholas jose
Nicholas Jose has published eight novels, three collections of short fiction and a memoir, as well as a wide range of essays—concerning Australian and Asian life and arts and exploring stories that link Australia and China. Nicholas was Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Beijing from 1987 to 1990. He has taught at universities around the world, and his writing has been widely translated, listed for many awards and has inspired visual art and film adaptation.