Environmental Writing Fellowship and Residency
Location: The Cabin at Shotpouch Creek
For the Environmental Writing Fellowship and Residency program, the Spring Creek Project partners with a regional organization or nonprofit to support a writer committed to crafting compelling stories about a critical issue or theme. Over the course of a year, the Spring Creek Project and the partner organization develop a collaborative, supportive relationship with the fellow as they explore, research and work toward completing the writing project.
Fellows receive an honorarium, access to resources and experts, assistance in planning a public event and two to four weeks in residence at Shotpouch Cabin in the Oregon Coast Range. The cabin, located within a nature reserve, offers a profound experience of concentrated solitude and simple living that is conducive to curiosity, reflection and sustained focus.
2024-25 Partner and Theme
Spring Creek Project is partnering with Grist to host the 2024-25 Environmental Writing Fellowship and Residency on the theme of Climate Fiction. The winner of Grist's annual "Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors" short story contest will be awarded the fellowship to continue or expand on their climate writing project.
Imagine 2200 is an invitation to writers from all over the globe to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis flourish and help bring about radical improvements to our world. The series celebrates stories that are rooted in equitable climate progress, creative climate solutions and community-centered resilience. We invite you to read the latest Imagine 2200 collection to learn more.
Image: Taj Francis
Residency Details
This fellowship opportunity will be awarded to the Imagine 2200 winning writer (or a runner-up, in the case the winner cannot accept). The Imagine 2200 contest is open to writers 18 and over anywhere in the world, except where participation is prohibited or restricted by applicable law. Stories do need to be written in English. Submissions must not have been previously published, nor received a prize or distinction in another contest.
After the winning writer accepts the fellowship opportunity, their one-year fellowship will begin. Spring Creek Project will award the fellowship recipient a $3,000 honorarium, which is separate from and in addition to the contest prize winnings awarded by Grist. The fellow will also receive up to four weeks in residence at the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek to continue their climate writing project. This residency time may be split into multiple sessions. Spring Creek Project staff will organize quarterly Zoom check-ins with the fellow to discuss how we can support their project, such as by connecting the writer with climate scientists and/or organizing a public event to amplify the writer’s climate fiction.
Submissions for Imagine 2200 close June 24, 2024, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time. Grist will inform writers of their status after the selection process, and then connect the winning writer with Spring Creek Project. At that time, the recipient’s one-year fellowship experience will begin.
To be considered for this opportunity, submit original fiction of 2,500 to 5,000 words to Grists’s Imagine 2200 writing contest. There is no entry fee to apply.
The review process will be organized solely by Grist. The Imagine 2200 judges for the 2024-25 contest are Omar El Akkad and Annalee Newitz.
The 2024-25 Environmental Writing Fellowship and Residency is supported by the Spring Creek Project and Grist.