Hawthornden Brooklyn (Non-residential Writers' Residency)

Hawthornden Brooklyn (Non-residential Writers' Residency) is sponsored by Hawthornden Foundation. This non-residential residency in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, supports established and emerging creative nonfiction writers, among other literary genres. It provides writing space, a stipend, and meals for a six-week period.

Gallery 3 — Hawthornden Foundation Applications for 2027 residency sessions have closed. If you are interested in 2028 applications, they will be available here in March of 2027. To learn about our Fall 2026 Young Writers' Playwriting Weekend Workshop, click here .

In 2024, Hawthornden Foundation launched a new site in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn and non-residential writers’ residency sessions began in 2025. Hawthornden Brooklyn supports established and emerging writers. Literary fiction writers, poets, short story writers, creative nonfiction writers, essayists, playwrights, screenwriters, and translators (into English) are all invited to apply.

Writers working in languages other than English can request English translations of their work sample through our partnership with Words Without Borders . Such applicants should be reasonably fluent in spoken English to participate in the life of the residency. (Please see more on applications from writers working in languages other than English below.)

During the six-week residency, Hawthornden provides writing space, a stipend, meals, and time to focus on writing projects. Residents have an opportunity to connect with other writers, benefit from peer-supported activities, and participate in valuable and collaborative shared experiences. As a non-residential residency, Hawthornden Brooklyn does not provide housing.

Each participating writer will be offered a stipend of $5,000 to help defray the costs that attending the residency may entail. Hawthornden Foundation does not provide any direct assistance arranging travel or housing accommodations, nor any funding in addition to the stipend. Please take all of this into account when evaluating your participation in the residency.

Hawthornden Brooklyn also offers programming for NYC public high school students and NYC public school teachers who are writers, as well as public programming for the wider community of writers. To learn about our Fall 2026 Young Writers' Playwriting Weekend Workshop, click here .

For more information on our Summer 2026 Programs visit Young Writers’ Workshop and Writing Residency for Teachers Hawthornden Brooklyn is located in Ditmas Park, an area bustling with writers, bookstores, and a vibrant literary community.

The house is equipped with seven private writing studios, two of which are located on the ground floor and designed to be wheelchair-accessible; a library; kitchen; dining room; living room; outdoor space including a front and back porch and small, sustainably planted garden; and a ramp.

Hawthornden Brooklyn Staff Lauren Goldenberg, Site Director In order to offer writers the best environment in which to do their work, our expectation is that during the day, silence will generally be maintained in the house. Writers are expected to come in Monday through Friday, on their own schedule. The house will be accessible seven days a week, from 9AM to 11PM on weekdays, and 9AM to 7PM on weekends.

Lunch and dinner will be provided, with two shared group meals a week. 2027 Session Dates (Applications Closed) Please note, session dates are provisional and may vary. Please refer to this page for the most accurate session information.

Should dates change, we will continue to update them here.

Session I: Monday, 1 February – Friday, 12 March, 2027 Session II: Monday, 22 March – Friday, 30 April, 2027 Session III: Monday, 10 May – Friday, 18 June, 2027 Young Writers' Workshop + Writing Residency for Teachers: Monday, 5 July – Friday, 27 August, 2027 Session IV: Monday, 13 September – Friday, 22 October, 2027 Session V: Monday, 1 November – Sunday, 12 December 2027 2026 Session Dates (Underway) Please note, session dates are provisional and may vary.

Please refer to this page for the most accurate session information. Should dates change, we will continue to update them here.

Session I: Monday, 9 February – Friday, 20 March, 2026 Session II: Monday, 30 March – Friday, 8 May, 2026 Session III: Monday, 18 May – Friday, 26 June, 2026 Young Writers' Workshop + Writing Residency for Teachers : Monday, 6 July – Wednesday, 2 September, 2026 Session IV: Monday, 14 September – Friday, 23 October, 2026 Session V: Monday, 2 November – Sunday, 13 December, 2026 Our Hawthornden Brooklyn site is wheelchair accessible, equipped with a ramp, two small wheelchair-accessible writers' studios on the first floor, and a first floor restroom that is also wheelchair-accessible.

Additionally, we encourage writers with other physical, sensory, mental health or cognitive disabilities and chronic illnesses to apply. In our online application form, you will be asked to outline any accessibility requirements you may have, including, but not limited to wheelchair access.

We will meet all requests for accessibility accommodations to the best of our ability, but cannot guarantee we will be able to fulfill every request. Writers-in-Residence will be selected through an online application process, followed by jury selection from among those who have applied. If you have been a Hawthornden Writer in the past, you are eligible for any other Hawthornden site after a one-year hiatus.

After a hiatus of five years, you will be eligible to return to the site where you have already been a Writer. Translations of Writing Samples Applications from writers working in languages other than English are required to include English translations of their work sample as well as the text in the original language. Such applicants should be reasonably fluent in spoken English in order to participate in the life of the residency.

Since 2024, any applicant who writes in a language other than English may ask for their writing sample to be translated into English for the purposes of their application. This is a service provided by Hawthornden Foundation through the literary organization Words Without Borders . (Please note that in some cases, Words Without Borders may not be able to secure a translator working in the applicant’s language.)

Please also note that while the applicant will have a chance to review the translation before submitting it to Hawthornden, they will not have the opportunity to correspond with the translator. Should you choose to take advantage of this translation service, you will be asked to sign an agreement with WWB that commits you to providing the proper translation credit.