Residencies

Stipends

Writers residencies have traditionally served middle-class and white writers. Greenfield Farm will democratize access to this new asset by granting $1,000 per week stipends to writers in the overnight studios.  

Stipends ensure that all writers can afford to take time off from their everyday jobs. Imagine an applicant who earns $40,000 per year for 50 weeks of work as a customer service clerk. A writing residency of 4 weeks would cost that aspiring writer $3,200 or 8 percent of annual income.

Greenfield Farm will remove economic impediments. This project invests in the production of all aspiring writers, no matter their wealth, income, or identity.

Audience

Our audience is the state of Mississippi, broadly defined. Our definition of Mississippi is purposefully inclusive. Greenfield Farm will welcome writers who make Mississippi their subject, writers who draw inspiration from Mississippi, and writers with roots in Mississippi. Greenfield Farm will make special effort to serve diaspora writers, pushed by Jim Crow or pulled by economic opportunity.  

Operations

Three terms are important:

Retreat-style: Writers will come here for a week to a month to gain isolation and concentration. No performance or service will be required.

Fully-funded: No writers will pay accommodation fees

Stipend-supported: All writers in the overnight studios will receive a $1,000 per week living wage stipend.

Applications

Via Submittable (to come)

University Affiliations

The Mississippi Lab at the University of Mississippi manages this project. Visiting scholars and lecturers will utilize this resource. So will UM departments and institutes, including English, Southern Studies, and the Institute for the Arts. Greenfield has developed or is developing collaborative relationships with Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Mississippi University for Women.