Raising Detroit's Literary Profile With Write A House

Poets & Writers's Jonathan Vatner gives us a better idea of the Detroit-based nonprofit Write a House program, which aims to bring more writers to the city for the long term. As they put it: "In this case, the writer is simply given the house, forever." More:

It took a year and a half to secure 501(c)(3) status. “The lawyers were allergic to the idea of giving away homes,” Barlow explains. “They said, ‘What if the home gains value and the writer sells it and makes a big profit?’ Well, then I guess we’re supporting the arts! There’s nothing less profitable than giving away a home. That alone should define us as a nonprofit.”

Write a House gives homes to writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as journalists, playwrights, and screenwriters—but not, for now, songwriters and composers. Applicants must be citizens of the United States (including current Detroit residents), previously published, and earning a maximum income of $39,750 per person, more for larger families. They do not need to be full-time writers.

In its inaugural year, the team will give away one house. Recipients are chosen through a separate competition for each house. The first round of judges included poets Billy Collins and Major Jackson; scholar Michael Stone Richards; writer, director, and activist Dream Hampton; journalist Tamara Warren; and Sean McDonald, the executive editor of Farrar, Straus and Giroux and publisher of FSG Originals; as well as Barlow and Cox. They received 348 applications: 155 in fiction, 99 in nonfiction, and 94 in poetry. A shortlist of ten was announced in August, and a winner will be named this month. (Check G&A: The Contest Blog at pw.org for updates.) After this year’s initial run, the team plans to give away three homes per year. The application period for the second house will be publicized on the Write a House website following the announcement of the first winner.

Read the full article on this unique movement at Poets & Writers.