The Traverse and the University of Edinburgh’s IASH announce two new Creative Fellowships

If you have the beginnings of a brilliant story to tell, an inspiring idea to unpack or a new form of theatre to explore, then the 2021 IASH/Traverse Creative Fellowships are for you.

Applications are now open to playwrights and theatre makers for next year’s IASH/Traverse Creative Fellowships. In 2021, we will be providing two creative Fellowships, commissioning and supporting two writers to produce work that speaks to the Traverse Theatre and IASH’s interests in urgent stories that speak to our lives now and into the future. Candidates must have had at least one professionally produced play to be considered (which could be digital in format).

Previous Fellows include Jo Clifford, Linda McLean, Pamela Carter, Iain Finlay Macleod, Clare Duffy, Peter Arnott, Frances Poet, Lewis Hetherington and AJ Taudevin.

IASH/Traverse Digital Fellowship

A full-time 3-month writing Fellowship focusing on new work for digital platforms to take place between May – July 2021.

This paid Fellowship is open to writers anywhere in the world with an idea or story suitable for digital platforms. That could be a Virtual Reality storytelling piece, a theatrical film, a binaural audio play or something entirely different. The successful writer will be invited to live in Edinburgh full-time for three months (or they must already be based in a commutable location), working in residence at the University of Edinburgh to produce a first draft text by the end (or soon after) of that period.

The stipend for this fellowship will be £10,000 inclusive of an accommodation allowance.

IASH/Traverse Playwriting Fellowship

A part-time 6-month writing Fellowship to take place from August 2021 onwards.

This Fellowship is open to writers with an idea or story for an ambitious and entertaining new play that speaks to the urgent issues impacting on our lives now and into the future. The recipient will work at the University on a regular basis and will receive dramaturgical support from the Traverse Literary Department, with the expectation being that up to two drafts be completed during their residency, with another draft due after the residency finishes.

The stipend for this fellowship will be £10,000.

Both recipients will enjoy a private office at the University, where they will work on a regular basis, as well as access to the university library and the Institute’s many other resources, including joining the community of other Fellows working at IASH during this time.

We welcome applications from all writers and theatre makers interested in these Fellowships and are particularly interested in applications from groups who have been traditionally unrepresented. As such we are committed to appointing at least one person of colour to these Fellowships to ensure Fellows working at IASH and the voices on our stages are as representative as possible.

Professor Steve Yearley, IASH Director, said:

“We are delighted to be offering these two Fellowships for 2021. The playwrights we’ve hosted over the past ten years have contributed hugely to our community, and their work is always timely, provocative and exciting.”

Deadline for applications for both Fellowships is 5pm GMT on Monday 30th November 2020. To apply, please visit https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/iashtraverse-creative-fellowship or visit our Jobs page.