QUAY WORDS AND THE DEVON AND EXETER INSTITUTION ARE SEEKING A SHARED WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE FOR SPRING 2023

21st June 2022

Literature Works is delighted to announce the latest writer-in-residence opportunity at Exeter Custom House in partnership with the Devon and Exeter Institution.

We are seeking to appoint a writer, storyteller, spoken word artist or other wordsmith to be our shared writer-in-residence during the months of March and April 2023. You will spend at least 8 days ‘in-residence’ over the period, working across both sites: Exeter Custom House and the Devon and Exeter Institution‘s fantastic historic library. The days in residence can be spread out over a number of weeks, or compressed into a shorter period. During this time the selected writer will deliver four public facing events or workshops of their own design. The selected writer will be engaged by Literature Works and the DEI on a contractor/freelance basis as writer-in-residence for the term. 

The season theme of ‘Threads’ 

Fabrics have shaped Exeter’s history and the history of both our buildings. The wool trade made Exeter a prosperous city from the 16^th-18^th century, and Devon cloth was exported from here to the rest of the world. We’re excited for a writer-in-residence to pick up the threads of this history and explore how it affects the city today. We encourage you to tell us about your particular interest or angle on this theme – for example, how does fashion affect and shape our world today in the face of climate change? How can clothes and cloth help people to reinvent and redefine themselves? What threads link the places and objects of Exeter to its wider international context? Where you take the theme of Threads is up to you.

We hope that you will draw creative enrichment from both Exeter Custom House and the Quayside and make use of the Devon and Exeter Institution’s valuable collections. The range of source material dates from the 16^th Century to the present day and includes records of textile items specific to Devon and those acquired by colonial exploration in the 18^th Century.

For full details and how to apply download our recruitment pack here. 

Please email your applications to: quaywords@literatureworks.org.uk

Closing date for receipt of applications is midnight on Tuesday 15th November. 

Candidates selected for interview will be notified on Wednesday 23rd November.   

Interviews will take place in Exeter on Wednesday 30th November.