Artist Residencies — The Free Writing Retreats Most Writers Have Never Heard Of

What if I told you that you could spend a few weeks tucked away in a cottage in the woods, a castle in Scotland, or a private studio in the mountains with nothing to do but write? And what if your room and meals were covered too?

We know, we know … SIGN YOU UP, right? (Us too!!)

That’s what artist residencies offer. Some even provide travel money or a stipend while you’re there, which is a nice bonus! You have to apply and, yes, some of them are competitive, but you don’t have to be a famous or bestselling author to have a shot. Several welcome unpublished and emerging writers as well.

And somehow, a lot of writers have no idea these places exist.

So we went looking for some of the best opportunities available to writers right now. We found ten in the United States and five international residencies worth looking into. Some are completely free, some offer additional financial support, and all of them offer something writers rarely get enough of: dedicated writing time!

Remember: application windows and deadlines change, so always double-check the residency’s website for the most current information.

IN THE UNITED STATES

1. MacDowell
Peterborough, New Hampshire

MacDowell is the oldest artist residency in the United States, founded in 1907, and it remains one of the most prestigious. Each year roughly 300 artists across seven disciplines, including literature, are awarded Fellowships. There are no residency fees. Fellows receive exclusive use of a private studio, private accommodations, and three prepared meals delivered to their studio door each day, for stays of up to eight weeks. Need-based stipends and travel reimbursement grants are available so that financial circumstances don't prevent attendance. Fellows are selected solely on artistic excellence. The Spring/Summer 2027 application cycle just closed September 10. Watch for the Fall/Winter 2027 cycle to open in early 2027.

2. Yaddo
Saratoga Springs, New York

Founded in 1900, Yaddo is an incredible artist community. Its alumni have collectively won 90 Pulitzer Prizes, 73 National Book Awards, a Nobel Prize in Literature, and 36 MacArthur Fellowships. Residencies of two weeks to two months include room, board, and a studio at the historic estate in Saratoga Springs. No fees. Writers are selected by peer-review panels in their discipline. The Winter/Spring application cycle (for residencies starting May through March) has a December 20 deadline.

3. Hedgebrook
Whidbey Island, Washington

Hedgebrook is specifically for women-identified writers, inclusive of transgender women and female-identified individuals, and it is one of the most beloved residencies in the country. Selected writers spend two to four weeks on Whidbey Island, each housed in their own handcrafted cottage in the woods. All meals and the entire residency experience are free. Travel is the writer's own responsibility. Roughly 40 to 60 residencies are awarded annually from over 1,000 applicants, and the program is open to writers at all stages, including unpublished writers. The 2027 application cycle has closed. The 2028 cycle opens February 17, 2027.

4. Ucross Foundation
Clearmont, Wyoming

Located on a 20,000-acre working cattle ranch in the foothills of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains, Ucross provides writers with a private studio, private bedroom, shared bathrooms, and meals, with no charge for room, board, or studio space. Residencies run two to six weeks. Up to ten individuals are in residence at a time across writing, visual art, and music composition disciplines. A $40 application fee applies. The October 1 deadline for the Spring 2027 session just closed. The next deadline is March 1, 2027 for the Fall 2027 session.

5. Jentel
Banner, Wyoming

Twenty miles southeast of Sheridan, the Jentel Artist Residency offers three-week residencies in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. Writers receive a private room, a separate workspace, and a $300 monthly stipend. Beyond the $30 application fee and a $100 non-refundable confirmation deposit, there are no charges to attend. Open to writers in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry who are at least 25 years old and who reside in the United States during the year of the residency (US citizenship is not required). The September 15 deadline just closed. The next deadline is January 15, 2027 for the May through December 2027 session.

6. Millay Arts
Austerlitz, New York

Set on the historic estate of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, Millay Arts offers a fully subsidized Core Residency of two weeks to one month for a multidisciplinary cohort of six to seven artists and writers. Disciplines include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, composing, and visual arts. The residency is completely free if selected, with only a $45 application fee and a $100 non-refundable deposit required. Private bedroom and studio with bedding included, plus groceries and chef-prepared communal suppers. The October 1 regular deadline has closed, but the late deadline of October 8 is still open for the April through July 2027 session. The August through November 2027 cycle will open for applications in spring 2027.

7. Blue Mountain Center
Blue Mountain Lake, New York

Blue Mountain Center has been offering free four-week residencies to writers and activists since 1982. Room and board are fully covered. The program particularly welcomes writers whose work addresses social, environmental, and ecological issues, including fiction writers, poets, journalists, and essayists at all career stages. Up to twelve residents are in residence at a time at the lakeside Adirondacks estate. Applications are reviewed twice a year. Check the website for current application windows and deadlines.

8. Mesa Refuge
Point Reyes Station, California

Mesa Refuge offers free two-week residencies to writers working on projects related to the environment, social justice, and economics, interpreted broadly. Room and board are provided at the Point Reyes National Seashore property. Disciplines include creative nonfiction, fiction, journalism, and poetry. All career stages are welcome. Applications are reviewed periodically throughout the year. Check the website for the current application window.

9. Storyknife Writers Retreat
Homer, Alaska

Founded by bestselling mystery author Dana Stabenow, Storyknife offers two to four week residencies from April through October to women writers in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Each resident has a private cabin with a bathroom and workspace, and meals are provided. Storyknife accepts writers from Alaska, across the United States, and internationally. Travel to Homer can be costly and the retreat offers fellowships and travel stipends to help offset expenses. A $45 application fee applies. Applications are accepted July 1 through August 31 each year. Check the website for fellowship availability and the next application window.

10. Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts
Nebraska City, Nebraska

One of the most underknown gems on this list, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center offers fully free residencies of two to eight weeks to writers, visual artists, composers, and interdisciplinary artists from across the United States and internationally. Room, board, and studio space are all provided, plus a $100 per week stipend toward living expenses. Applications are open to artists at all career stages. The $35 application fee is the only cost. Check the website for current deadlines.

INTERNATIONAL

11. Hawthornden Castle
Midlothian, Scotland

One of the most romantic writing retreats in the world, Hawthornden Castle sits above a gorge on the River North Esk outside Edinburgh and houses six writers at a time for four-week sessions across ten months of the year. The residency is fully free, including room and board, and every accepted writer also receives a travel stipend of $1,000 if traveling from within Europe or $2,500 if traveling from anywhere else in the world to help offset the cost of getting there. Open to literary fiction writers, poets, short story writers, creative nonfiction writers, essayists, playwrights, screenwriters, and translators working in any language, provided they can communicate in spoken English. Eight sessions run throughout the year. Check the website for current application details.

12. Heinrich Böll Cottage
Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland

On one of the most breathtakingly beautiful islands in Ireland, the cottage where Nobel Prize-winning German author Heinrich Böll spent his holidays for decades has been offering free residencies to international writers and artists since 1992. The residency is funded by Mayo County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland. Applications are accepted online each year from September 1 through September 30 for residencies in the following years. The 2026 window just closed. Mark your calendar for September 1, 2027.

13. Château de Lavigny
Lavigny, Switzerland

Set in a 19th-century château in the Swiss countryside with views of Lake Geneva and the Alps, the Château de Lavigny International Writers' Residency has hosted over 700 writers and literary translators since 1996. Each four-week session brings together a small international group of writers who live and work in the château, with one public reading per session. Room and board are fully provided, with costs covered through fellowships from Swiss cantons, foreign state foundations, and international literary organizations. Writers apply for a specific session, submitting materials in English or French. The deadline to apply for 2027 residencies is October 15, 2026.

14. Jan Michalski Foundation
Montricher, Switzerland

At the foot of the Swiss Jura Mountains with views over Lake Geneva and the Alps, the Jan Michalski Foundation offers one of the most generously funded writer residencies in the world. Forty writers per year from around the globe are housed in private treehouse-style cabins for stays of two weeks to three months. The residency is fully free: the Foundation covers round-trip travel costs from the writer's home, provides breakfast and communal lunches, and grants a weekly allowance of CHF 400 (approximately $450 US) toward local expenses and groceries. Each cabin has a kitchenette, private bathroom, and workspace, plus access to the Foundation's 80,000-volume literary library. Open to writers of all languages, nationalities, and career stages with no application fee. The annual deadline is August 31. Check the website for the 2028 application.

15. Akademie Schloss Solitude
Stuttgart, Germany

Housed in a Baroque palace on a hilltop outside Stuttgart, Schloss Solitude offers some of the most substantial fellowships in the international arts world. Writers, visual artists, composers, scholars, and architects from across the globe are awarded fellowships of three to twenty-four months that include a furnished studio apartment in or near the palace and a monthly stipend of €1,100. The program is explicitly designed for those who have already established their career and are ready to take it somewhere new. Check the website for the current application cycle, as deadlines shift based on the fellowship year.

Ready to do something great for yourself as a writer? Pick a couple that are a great fit for you and apply!