WELCOME TO MARSHSONG COTTAGE

Coinciding with the annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival, the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will offer our Conroy Center Writer's Residency this coming fall, available to writers of all prose genres. Located on a salt marsh, the residency at MarshSong Cottage provides an inspirational, creative space in the heart of Pat Conroy’s beloved Lowcountry. The residency location is a guest cottage on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, approximately 15 minutes from downtown Beaufort and 15 minutes from the beach at Hunting Island State Park.

The residency dates will be October 20 to 27, 2026, overlapping with the 11th annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival on October 23, 24, and 25, which the selected writer will be invited to attend.

TO APPLY FOR THE WRITER'S RESIDENCY

Please submit the following by August 30, 2026, to writersresidency@patconroyliterarycenter.org with the subject line CONROY CENTER WRITER'S RESIDENCY OCTOBER 2026 

1) Tell us a story: Fiction, non-fiction, or personal essay about how you've selected your books and/or what flares your candles and/or what was your road toward illumination or enchantment? (300 words)

2) What are you seeking? Tell us how being in the Lowcountry for a residency will benefit your writing, and how your presence will benefit the people you meet here. If you live in the Lowcountry you must help us understand why we should choose you over someone who has never been here. (150 words)

3) Who are you? Send us a short bio, along with your contact information in first person please. If you copy and paste from your website in third person, you will not be eating lunch with us. (100 words)

4) Do you have a favorite Pat Conroy book?  Tell us which one, or about a book by another author who is closest to your heart, and why. (Remember, you are applying for a Pat Conroy Writer's Residency. If you don't know who he is, find out quickly or prepare to go hungry.) (50 words)

5) How did you learn about this residency? Short answers welcome!

6) Let’s have a look. Attach a writing sample of your prose work, 3-5 double spaced pages in 12 Times New Roman or similar font.

Include items #1-5 in the body of the email and the

writing sample #6 as an attachment.

Completing all sections of the application as directed is essential. Incomplete applications will not be considered for the residency. Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of Conroy Center advisors. The selected writer will be notified by September 15.

The residency is open to both published and unpublished writers. If you have applied before but not been selected, we encourage you to apply again. Pat Conroy was a mentor to writers in all stages of their careers, and we wish to honor that legacy.

ABOUT THE COTTAGE

Learn more about MarshSong Cottage here. The selected writer must provide her or his own transportation. Residency is for the writer only; no guests or pets.

WRITERS, WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR SUBMISSIONS!