Narva Art Residency NART and the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre (ELK) are once again announcing a competition for two children’s literature residencies, one for a children’s book writer and the other for an illustrator. The residency comes with a stipend of 1,500 euros and the opportunity to live at NART in December of 2024. Both Estonian and foreign authors who work either as individuals or as a creative team are invited to apply. An author from abroad can get a travel compensation up to 350 euros.
Last year, 37 applications were submitted to the competition, of which 13 were creative duos. Illustrator Greta Alice Liekyte from Lithuania and writer Veronika Kivisilla from Estonia were selected. Both authors applied with a draft of a new piece of work, which they developed while being at Narva. The theme of Greta Alice’s picture book was bridges – what is a bridge, what does it mean for people in Narva, what a bridge connects or divides. Veronika wrote about the story of Hjalmar Ling, a legendary veterinarian who worked in Narva during the first Republic of Estonia.
The two authors are selected by a jury consisting of Triin Soone (Director of the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre), Anne Pikkov (illustrator, member of the board of the Narva Art Residency), Katrin Reinmaa (Päike ja Pilv publishing house), Johanna Rannula (Director of the Narva Art Residency).
The deadline for submitting applications is 12 July at 23:59 (Estonian time). Applications can be submitted in Estonian, English or Russian. The application must be sent to residentuur@artun.ee. Please attach to the email one PDF file containing the following:
– CV of the applicant(s) (name, address, e-mail, website, etc.).
– Examples of previous works and a link to the portfolio, i.e. an overview of the creative work of the applicant(s) thus far.
– Letter of motivation (500 characters with spaces).
– Ideas on how to involve the local community (workshop, performance, etc.) and gather creative input (eg meetings, participatory observation, etc.).
– A draft or description and/or illustrations of the children’s book, including the age group of the children’s book, volume of text, volume of illustrations, etc.
For additional information e-mail at [johanna.rannula@artun.ee](mailto:johanna.rannula@artun.ee)
Please check for further conditions of the call in the Estonian version.