Women in the Mountains Residency – Support and Inspiration for Women Writers

  •  February 12, 2024

In the summer of 2023, the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation successfully held the first edition of the Women in the Mountains Writers’ Residency, giving 10 talented women authors from Bulgaria and Europe the opportunity to immerse themselves in deep creative work for 10 days in the heart of the Rhodope Mountains. In this project, we at the Bulgarian Fund for Women recognized our values and were happy to support the initiative within our “Open Opportunities” Program.

Professional writing is a demanding form of labor, and providing space for concentrated work is difficult for any writer. Too often, however, it proves nearly impossible for women. This was shown by the results of a survey conducted by the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation in the spring of 2023.

The interviewed women shared their personal stories and challenges they have faced as writers in Bulgaria and abroad. Most of them were related to cultural and social expectations of women, lack of space for creativity, and underestimation of their profession and work. For example, women writers are often used to writing in offices, on playgrounds, on their phones, while shopping, commuting to work, or while doing household chores.

“Being a woman and wanting to pursue writing professionally is a daily struggle-whether you’re an internationally acclaimed or debut author. To see if this is indeed the case, we conducted a survey that reached out to over 250 women writers in various stages of development from many countries worldwide. The results confirmed our suspicion that some of the main obstacles to women developing professionally in the field of literature are the lack of time, support, and often financial resources, the suspicion and indulgence with which literature produced by women is generally treated, and the disregard for the burden of domestic labor and its unequal distribution. Last but not least, the study showed the harsh consequences for the mental health of women who write or want to write – they are haunted by guilt, feelings of inferiority, inability to assert and stand up for themselves, and fear of choosing themselves,” says Violeta Radkova, Executive Director of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation.

The analysis of the results of the survey and the discussions during the program showed that the problems faced by women writers are multilayered because they face discrimination at different stages – both in their careers and during the preparation and publication of their literary works. An interesting discrepancy between the respondents in Bulgaria and abroad is found in the type of employment. Among Bulgarian women writers, those working full-time are just over half. Among the female writers surveyed from abroad, they are only a quarter (the majority are part-time). A direct result of this can be seen in the answers to the question “How much time do you spend a month writing?”. For women writers working abroad, half manage to devote between 50 and 100% of their time. In Bulgaria, they are only 15%.

That’s why the motivation of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation team is to provide space and time for deep, undisturbed creative work for 10 women who are or want to become professional writers, and to address some of the issues that not a few women writers face: undervaluing writing as a profession, the perception of writing done by women as simply a hobby, the undervaluing of domestic labor, the cultural expectation for women to put the care of others before their own needs, etc.

In response to the open call, the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation team received 150 applications, which were reviewed by a jury composed of: writer and translator Irene Neeland (USA), writer and playwright Elena Alexieva (Bulgaria), codirector of the Bulgarian Fund for Women and women’s rights activist Nadezhda Dermendjieva (Bulgaria), and Prof. Raina Gavrilova (Bulgaria), researcher in the field of cultural history and historical anthropology.

10 writers with different professional interests and experience were selected during the competition. Adriana Andreeva (Bulgaria), Vicktoria Lekova (Bulgaria), Katerina Dementeva (Latvia), Kirstin Zhang (Scotland), Louisa Kadian (Bulgaria), М. Winter (Estonia), Maria Oleksa (Ukraine), Nevena Eliseeva (Bulgaria), Svitlana Taratorina (Ukraine), Fern Clee (England)

They were invited to Chepelare for 10 days full of creative activities, mentorship meetings, and social activities, providing them with the necessary inspiring environment in which to work on their works, exchange experiences, and receive valuable guidance during mentorship meetings with writers Elena Alexieva and Irene Neeland. The authors worked on their new or started works in different genres such as fantasy, poetry, documentary fiction, short stories and novels. At the end of the residency, the participants presented fragments of their works at a public reading supported by the municipality of Chepelare, which was a real event for the residents of the beautiful Rhodope town and for some of the writers, for whom this was their first public appearance.

The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation is committed to continuing its efforts against the ongoing discrimination and rejection of women in literature through various forms of dialogue, training, and research. A guiding goal of the Foundation’s team is to facilitate the building of a united, committed, and supportive community of women writers and women engaged in the literary field so that together they can make a qualitative difference in the context. The information and feedback gathered during the program will serve as the basis for organizing educational initiatives that address these issues.

The Women in the Mountains residency provided an inspiring space for creative work and support and took an important step towards a more inclusive and supportive society for women writers. The next edition of the residency will take place in August 2024. Keep an eye on Elizabeth Kostova’s communication channels for more information about the upcoming open call. In the meantime, you can read all of the fellows’ stories on the foundation’s website.

The residency for women writers Women in the Mountains was realized with the financial support of the Bulgarian Fund for Women (within the Open Opportunities program), as well as with the support of the National Culture Fund, the program ” Recovery and Development of Private Cultural Organizations”, SPARK Company and in partnership with the municipality of Chepelare.

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