Applications are now open for the 2025 IASH / Traverse Creative Fellowship. This opportunity includes a £12,000 commission for a new play in collaboration with the Traverse, Scotland's new writing theatre. Find out more at https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/iashtraverse-creative-fellowship.
IASH has supported playwrights for more than twenty years. Notable former writers-in-residence have included Douglas Maxwell, Femi Fatoba, Rona Munro and David Harrower, whose multi-award-winning play Blackbird was commissioned by IASH and the Edinburgh International Festival. Alongside the Traverse, we have supported the work of Clare Duffy, Jo Clifford, Linda McLean, Pamela Carter, Iain Finlay MacLeod, Peter Arnott, Frances Poet, Lewis Hetherington, AJ Taudevin, Oliver Emanuel, Raman Mundair, Apphia Campbell, Michael Patrick, Oisín Kearney, Hannah Khalil and Isla Cowan.
In 2025, we are providing a Creative Fellowship that commissions, develops and supports an exceptional and innovative playwright in the creation of a new piece of work that speaks to our lives now and into the future.
The Fellowship will be spread across a 10-month period from January 2025 onwards, giving the writer the time, space and support needed to research and write the play whilst working around other commitments. Each Fellowship will be tailored to the writer's needs and availability but it is expected that the writer can work at the Institute on a regular basis – two or three days a week, or two weeks per month for example. Applicants do not need to be based in Edinburgh, but should be able to travel to IASH regularly. The recipient will enjoy a private office at the University, 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. The recipient will receive dramaturgical support from the Traverse Literary Department, with the expectation that up to two drafts be completed during their residency, with another draft due at some point after the residency finishes. There may also be the opportunity for practical development periods working in collaboration with the Traverse artistic team and other creatives as required.
A webinar for potential applicants will take place from 13:00-14:00 UK time on Thursday 12 September. The webinar will be recorded for any applicants unable to join, but please register in any case to receive the recording link. You can register for the webinar on Eventbrite.
To apply, please send a cover letter (no more than 2 pages of A4) and CV to iash@ed.ac.uk containing the following information by 17:00 UK time on Friday 27 September:
- Why you are interested in the Fellowship.
- A short statement about you and your work.
- A short statement about the story or idea you want to use as a starting point for your play.
Notes: Candidates must have had at least one professionally produced play to be considered. We’re particularly interested in knowing what the story is you want to tell (even if it’s just a starting point), thematically how it might link in with the Traverse Theatre and IASH’s interests, what research areas or university expertise you wish to tap into, and, crucially, what your ambitions would be for an audience experiencing your work.