Linden Place Writers' Residency

SUPPORTING RHODE ISLAND WRITERS IN THE CREATION OF VIBRANT NEW WORKS

The world has changed a lot since the late 1800’s when Theodora Colt reclaimed and rebranded her childhood home “Linden Place.” Where her father had once hosted slave traders and corrupt politicians, Theodora gathered abolitionist writers here in literary salons that included the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and John Greenleaf Whittier.

Now, we want you to be part of our literary lineage by bringing a creative point of view to our history. The Linden Place Writers’ Residency is a no-cost, daytime only residency program that gives creative writers the tools to discover, engage, examine, and interpret Linden Place’s people, events, setting, and artifacts through a contemporary lens.

LINDEN PLACE AS CREATIVE MUSE

Linden Place is a nonprofit museum with a potent place in American history. Built in 1810 by slave trader George DeWolf, the house serves as a place of education and catalyst for discussion about the transatlantic slave trade and Northern complicity in the same. Occupants and guests of the house have included Presidents, enslaved Africans, famous writers, servants, freed slaves, business magnates, Hollywood actors, abolitionists, and philanthropists. The museum’s collection includes paintings, sculptures, furniture, and rare items, such as a horse-drawn coach from the 1820’s. The house has notable architectural details and sits on 1.8 acres of land that are part of the Pokanoket ancestral homelands.

The stories of those who lived and worked here speak to issues of enslavement, colonialism, early industry, class divides, philanthropy, and the agency of women. In all, it is fertile ground for creative writers to re-interpret, re-examine, and expound on history through contemporary viewpoints.

Could you imagine Linden Place as the backdrop of a LGBTQ+ historic romance? Could you envision a superhero narrative with a freed African as the central figure? Could you see a Young Adult novel where the teen protagonist discovers a portal to the past through one of the museum’s paintings? Could you pen a classic mystery where Ethel Barrymore, one of our former occupants and most popular actresses of her day, goes missing while visiting here? Could you write a narrative essay about your life that draws parallels to the lives of the widowed women who’ve resided here? Could you create an anti-racist rock opera that sheds light on the DeWolf slave traders? Could you conceive of a screenplay with a pivotal scene taking place in our gardens?

These ideas represent the kind of varied, thought-provoking, contemporary works that we aim to foster through the writers’ residency. We believe the work that comes out of the program will be a gateway for an expanded understanding and re-examination of our complex history.

RESIDENCY OVERVIEW

The Linden Place Writers’ Residency (LPWR) is a free, month-long, daytime-only residency for creative writers wishing to interpret the museum's complicated history through a creative lens.

Three esteemed judges will select 6-10 residents to join us for the residency month of April. Each writer receives:

A free audio tour
On-site workspace through the month of April
Research support from museum professionals
A $100 travel stipend (for writers outside of Bristol for whom transportation costs are a barrier to access)
½ hour one-on-one consult with sensitivity reader Renee Harleston of Writing Diversely
Press and publicity
An audience to hear works in progress at the Public Reading & Community Discussion
50% off accommodations at the Bradford-Dimond-Norris House B&B next door for the month of April

MEET THE 2026 JUDGES

Oereishi Aeoma is a multidisciplinary poet and storyteller dedicated to healing and planetary upliftment. In 2024, he published Being, a book of poetry, and Bird Band, a work of fiction. Recently, he was a featured storyteller at RI Black Storytellers Funda Fest and his art was included in the We All Live Here Together exhibition at the Providence Public Library. He is dreaming a harmonious, re-forested earth into existence.

Michael Ahern is a Providence-residing filmmaker, screenwriter, and community organizer. His work often details LGBTQ+ experiences, specifically those on the fringes of the community. He co-founded Monster Makeup Productions, a small, queer filmmaking collective in Rhode Island. His most recent work, the feature screenplay Apartment Story, was a finalist for a Bellem Entertainment Scholarship through Stowe Story Labs. He works full time as a Grant Writer for the art nonprofit AS220.

Afua Ansong is the author of three chapbooks: Black Ballad (Bull City Press, 2022), Try Kissing God (Akashic, 2020), and American Mercy (Finishing Line Press, 2019). Her writings have appeared in the Cincinnati Review, Prairie Schooner, Four Way Review, Maine Review, and other journals. She is the founder of The Adinkra Projects which provides poetry workshops and supports emerging Ghanaian writers, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island.

Frequently asked questions

Writers' Residency

LPWR is open to all levels of creative writer including beginner, mid-career, hobbyist, or seasoned writers, who will create a new work while they are in residence. They must be at least 18 years old and meet one of the following criteria: Have Rhode Island as a primary residence at least 9 months of the year or live along the Massachusetts border within 25 miles of Linden Place. College students (18+) who can be present for the public reading event on June 11th are welcome to apply.

Former writers’ in residence must wait 3 years to apply to the program again.

Writers will be expected to start a new writing project while in residence and work on site at Linden Place for a minimum of 8 hours during the month of April, with no more than 4 visits. Writers are also required to complete 1 one-on-one consult with the program's sensitivity reader and to attend the Public Reading & Community Discussion in early/mid-June.

All writers are expected to behave professionally and courteously while participating in the program, showing respect for their fellow writers; the staff, volunteers, and visitors to Linden Place; and to the property itself.

Every judging panel includes a mix of professional creative writers and experts in early Black history. Past judges include Lissette Acosta Corniel, Steve Edwards, Rosaria Munda, Octavia McBride-Ahebee, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, Jennifer Lighty, Adam McNeil, Daisy Abreu, Robert Isenberg, Eirene Tran Donahue, and Marco McWilliams. There are two rounds of judging. Individual submissions are first judged on social impact of the statement of intent, creativity, and merit of the writing sample. For the second and final round of judging, evaluators are looking at all previously stated criteria as well as curating a collective group of writers who represent diversity in as many areas as possible. We do not employ a blind judging process. You can read why in this article.

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION

Applications for the 2026 residency will open on November 1, 2025.

The residency is open to writers of all genres of fiction, narrative non-fiction, poets, screenwriters, and playwrights 18 and older who primarily reside in Rhode Island or live within 25 miles of Linden Place. Beginner, mid-career, hobbyist, and established writers are welcome to apply.

Writers will primarily be judged on the merit of their writing and Statement of Intent. However, we will also look at individuals within the context of the larger whole in order to ensure our resident cohort represent a diversity of viewpoints, life experiences, and genres.

In addition to the residency application, writers must submit one of the following for consideration: 5 consecutive pages of fiction or narrative nonfiction, or 7-10 pages of poetry, or 10-15 consecutive pages of a screenplay or play.

FEES AND STIPENDS

This is a no-cost residency. All writers who live outside of Bristol, RI and for whom transportation costs would pose a barrier to access will receive a $100 stipend to cover travel and related expenses.

The $20 residency application fee helps cover the administration costs and judges’ honorariums. You may also pay by check or cash. To do so please contact us at cmassey@lindenplace.org. Applicants with financial hardship for whom the fee is a barrier are asked to email us at cmassey@lindenplace.org for fee reduction or waiver.

In line with our mission to serve the community, the Public Reading and Community Discussion will be free of charge.

PROGRAM TIMELINE & DEADLINES

November 1st – Applications open
February 1st – Applications due by 11:59 pm ET
February 26th – Applicants notified of their status and residents announced
March 28th - Museum walk-through and group orientation
April – Residency at Linden Place
April 17th – Progress report due
May – Writers continue work from home
June 1st – Residents submit works-in-progress for excerpt selection
June 10th – Community reading and discussion of works in progress

ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

Linden Place Writers’ Residency is committed to fostering accessibility in all aspects of the program in order to ensure that all writers in our community have the accommodations and support necessary for a successful writing experience. At present, Linden Place’s self-guided tour is available in both audio and text formats for anyone with visual or hearing impairment. We have wheelchair-accessible bathrooms and our museum’s first floor is accessible via wheelchair ramp. Tours and research related to the 2nd floor will be done via video livestream with the program administrator. Quiet spaces are available for people with anxiety or overstimulation issues. For the Public Reading event, accommodations can be made for anyone with disabilities that may impede or prevent public speaking, such as anxiety disorders or speech language impairment. Our goal is to remove all barriers to entry and participation in the program.

2026 APPLICATION WILL BE AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 1, 2025

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Funding provided in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and private funders.