Johnson, VT and New York, NY—September 4, 2024— Vermont Studio Center (VSC) and Poets & Writers today announced the establishment of the Poets & Writers Fellowship at VSC. Through this new partnership, VSC will annually provide a fully funded residency to an alum of Get the Word Out, Poets & Writers’ publicity incubator for early career authors. The first recipient of the Poets & Writers Fellowship is Christina Cooke.
Cooke will receive a three-week residency at Vermont Studio Center that includes private studio space, lodging, and daily fresh meals in VSC’s vibrant rural village. Cooke was a member of the 2023 fiction cohort for Get the Word Out. Her debut novel, Broughtupsy (Catapult, 2024), was named a must-read title by over twenty publications across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and the Caribbean. Cooke has been named a “Writer to Watch” by CBC Books and Shondaland. Her short fiction and nonfiction has appeared in or is forthcoming from the Caribbean Writer, Prairie Schooner, Electric Literature, Epiphany, Apogee, Michigan Quarterly Review, and PRISM International.
“This partnership with Poets & Writers provides a great opportunity for VSC to broaden our support of writers at crucial stages in their writing,” said Vermont Studio Center writing program director, Sarah Audsley. “We are incredibly excited to welcome Christina Cooke to our Johnson, Vermont campus.”
Melissa Ford Gradel, Poets & Writers’ executive director, commented: “We’re thrilled to partner with VSC to support early career writers and very excited for Christina. The VSC residency will provide Christina, and each future recipient of the fellowship, invaluable time, space, and community.”
Launched in 2022, Get the Word Out is a unique publicity incubator that builds on Poets & Writers’ decades-long history of providing practical resources and trustworthy guidance about the business of writing. Each year ten fiction writers and ten poets are selected to receive in-depth publicity training, at no cost to the participants or their publishers. Going forward, the Poets & Writers Fellowship at VSC will be available in alternate years to poets and fiction writers who are alum of Get the Word Out.
Vermont Studio Center provides fully funded fellowships to 35% of residents, with the goal of growing to 60% fully funded residents over the next five years. Commenting on the establishment of the Poets & Writers Fellowship, VSC’s executive director, Hope Sullivan stated: “This is the type of partnership that we want to keep growing at VSC in order to keep building our own creative network, just like we do for each of our residents.” Sullivan added: “This partnership with Poets & Writers brings us one step closer to reaching our fellowship goals.”
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Founded in 1984, Vermont Studio Center (VSC) welcomes artists and writers for studio residencies in an inclusive, international community, honoring creative work as the communication of spirit through form. VSC offers residents and the public an opportunity to engage with global creative communities. For more information, visit vermontstudiocenter.org.
Founded in 1970, Poets & Writers is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization serving creative writers, with the mission of fostering the professional development of poets and writers, promoting communication throughout the literary community, and helping to create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public. For more information, visit pw.org.
CONTACT:
Koi Boynton
Communications Manager
Vermont Studio Center
koi.boynton@vermontstudiocenter.org
802-635-2727 x225
Rachel Schuder
Director, Development & Communications
Poets & Writers, Inc.
rschuder@pw.org
212-226-3586 x201