• The residency at Cove Park will take place from Monday 27 October to Monday 10 November 2025.
• The Writer will receive a total residency fee of £1,500 (£750 per week), plus a travel allowance of up to £300 and a research allowance of up to £200 paid directly by Comhairle nan Leabhraichean.
• The residency will include one event at Cove Park during the second week, the form and scope of which will be agreed upon by the Writer, Cove Park and Comhairle nan Leabhraichean.
• The residency is designed to support the development of new work, research, and experimentation.
• Cove Park’s team will support research and practical requirements leading up to and during the residency.

• Individual private accommodation/workspace on site at Cove Park.
• Workspace and meeting space within the communal Jacobs Building, which also houses a library, a large rehearsal room with a wooden floor, open-plan kitchen and dining area, and laundry facilities.
• Unlimited access to the 50-acre site.

For further information about Cove Park’s facilities and programmes, visit their website here.

To be eligible to apply you must be a Gaelic writer based in Scotland between the ages of 18 and 30.

Applications can be submitted via the online Application Form: https://form.jotform.com/251692769236368

The Application Form must include:

• Your name and contact details.
• A statement in Gaelic (no more than 500 words) briefly describing your current work and the reasons for your interest in this residency opportunity.
• Your CV, including the names and contact details of two professional referees, from a teacher, tutor, or employer, for example (please note we will only contact your referees if your application is shortlisted for interview).
• A list of the samples of work provided.

Please upload the following documentation or accompanying material within the Application Form:

• Prose, no more than 500 words (no more than 2 pages).
• Poetry, up to 4 poems (no more than 4 pages).
• You may submit some English prose or poems as an example of your work, but please ensure that at least 50% of your accompanying material is written in Gaelic.

We can accept submissions in audio or video formats if this is preferable to a written application. Please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments to the application process that would be of assistance to you. If you would like to discuss this, or need help making your application, please contact Cove Park’s Senior Producer Alex Marrs directly.

Deadline for applications: Friday 25 July 2025 (5pm BST)

Selection for interview will be based on the following criteria:

• The quality of your ideas and work.
• Your need for an extended period of research and development, and your reasons for applying to this programme.
• Your interest in working within a community of artists.

We will acknowledge receipt of your application as soon as it is received. This acknowledgement will include a link to our anonymous Equalities, Diversity & Inclusion monitoring form for completion and we would be grateful for your time with this. If you do not receive this acknowledgement, please contact Cove Park directly to confirm receipt of your application.

The applications will be short-listed for interview jointly by Cove Park and Comhairle nan Leabhraichean. All applicants will be notified if their submission has been shortlisted for interview by Friday 8 August 2025. Interviews will take place via Zoom during the week of Monday 11 August 2025. The interview panel will include members of the Cove Park and Comhairle nan Leabhraichean teams.

We want our residencies, programmes and resources to be open, inclusive and welcoming to all. We continue to assess how we work towards achieving greater equality and representation within all levels of our organisation and across all programmes.

Cove Park aims to provide a safe and positive environment for everyone, and to actively dismantle discrimination based on age, disability, gender identity, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, race including skin colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Additionally, we aim to dismantle discrimination based on accent, educational background, gender expression, hair texture and hairstyle, immigration status, markings and/or tattoos connected to spiritual rituals from pre-colonial cultural practices, neurodiversity, physical and mental health, size, and socio-economic status or background. As language, terms, and expressions inevitably evolve, Cove Park is committed to reviewing this statement regularly – and as often as it becomes appropriate – with our local, national and international communities.

Please note, we will store applications electronically for one year. The data contained within your application will not be used for any purpose other than short-listing, running, and evaluating the programme. We will not share your details with any third parties without obtaining permission from you to do so.

We would prefer not to receive applications by post. However, if you would like to submit supplementary material, such as catalogues, with your application please post these to the address below. If you would like this material to be returned to you, please enclose a self-addressed and stamped envelope.

Young Gaelic Writer Residency 2025
Cove Park, Peaton Hill, Cove, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, G84 0PE

For further information please contact:

Alex Marrs, Senior Producer – Awarded Residencies
01436 850500
[email protected]
www.covepark.org