Call for applications: Récit'Chazelles

The research unit of the University of Lorraine, the CREM (Centre de recherche sur les médiations, EA 3476) has partnered with the Conseil Départemental de la Moselle to set up, since 2016, a residence of French-speaking authors and
The Department’s Moselle Passion site.

This original device, combining literary creation, cultural mediation and research, aims to enhance the meeting between professional and amateur artists, writers and audiences, while being supported by many partners: DRAC Grand Est, Grand Est Region, the Book at Metz-Festival Littérature & journalisme, the Agora-médiathèque-centre social (city of Metz), the bookshop Autour du monde, the NFB, the Institut français de Luxembourg, the Goethe Institute (Nancy)...

Reference sites:

http://recitchazelles.univ-lorraine.fr

https://centrenationaldulivre.fr/les-residences-d-auteurs

The objectives

• Encourage literary creation by allowing a French or francophone author to develop a creative project.
• To forge links between the different actors of the book world and those of other artistic disciplines, on the Moselle territory and that of the Greater Region (Lorraine, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany);
• Promote meetings with various authors/audiences and society/university as part of the Shared Creation scheme and the laboratory outside the walls;
• Encourage the writer and audiences to digital creation via the residential blog;
• Create an innovative structure that is still little distributed in France, combining contemporary literary creation and scientific research in the Grand Est region;
• Fight through the creation of this device against the precariousness of the writer in France, economically the weakest link in the chain of the various book professionals. The residence of authors as a cultural device aiming to give the conditions and material means to the writer so that he continues his creative work on a territory, constitutes a means to fight against this real impoverishment.

Place of residence: The House of Robert Schuman

The House of Robert Schuman, home of the «Father of Europe» (1926-1963), heir to a double Franco-German culture, whose European commitment seems inscribed in its cross-border origins, was restored by the Moselle department in 2004. The site also includes a museum extension housing a permanent exhibition area on the life and work of Robert Schuman, as well as a temporary exhibition hall and an auditorium.  The author will have access to the museum library and a writing space. The creation of a residency in this museum space aims to allow authors to carry out a writing project, as well as a project of cultural mediations in connection with various audiences and in different forms (writing workshop, reading, conference, residential blog).

Purpose of the residence

According to the convention established between the host structure and the author, this residency will offer the time and freedom to pursue in all serenity a work of creation in progress concerning all contemporary writings (poetry, novel, fiction, essay,
youth comics). The author will be asked for public or professional meetings and his agreement will be necessary from this base: 70% creation and 30% mediation. It must commit, in partnership with the supporting structure, to ensure mediation actions 4 to 6 days a month, some of which to various audiences (inhabitants, schools, academics).
The author in residence will also be supported in his desire to meet authors, publishers, places and events in the Grand Est region concerned. This residence is delivered under the conditions and modalities defined below.

Eligibility

Be published on publisher’s account and carry a project at the beginning or in the process of development.
The author must at least have published a work for a publisher or have a work produced and must not have already benefited from this same device during the last twelve months preceding the date of selection. It is chosen on the basis of a dossier (a CV, a bibliography, a copy of the main published texts or works, a press review on significant actions already carried out, a note on current projects and the programme of the residency project).

Material and financial conditions of the residence

The author bears the costs of meals and travel outside mediation activities. In addition to the residency grant (2,000 euros net per month), the structure undertakes to cover:

• accommodation of the candidate in the commune of the place of residence (Scy-Chazelles);

• a round trip between his residence in metropolitan France and the structure of residence;

• as well as its business trips to the places of intervention during the time of residence, in connection with the public;

• The residence’s electric bike will be at his disposal throughout his stay;

The author will also be invited to return via two interventions:

• during the Book at Metz-Festival Littérature & Journalisme in April 2025, during the restitution of the residency;

• at the Institut français de Luxembourg.

The funding is as every year under the guise of granting the departmental and regional subsidy requested.

The author will be welcomed, a few steps from the House of Robert Schuman, in a guest house.

Organization

The application is free.
The designation of the artist will be made after the examination of the applications received by a jury composed of several personalities from the cultural world. If two candidates were to be ranked ex aequos, the jury could then conduct a video interview with each of the two people.

Selected or non-selected candidates will be notified by email.

Application file

Interested candidates must provide:
1) Letter of motivation from the candidate;
2) Photocopy of the applicant’s ID;
3) Curriculum vitae and bibliography, updated by the candidate;
4) Note of intent describing the writing project and the themes of animation (between 3 and 5 pages DIN A4);
5) Artistic dossier with visuals, texts, press reviews;
6) Works, documents, texts already produced to be sent by mail to:

University of Lorraine - Mediation Research Centre (Crem)
Carole Bisenius-Penin - UFR SHS-Metz-Espace Rabelais
Ile du Saulcy 57045 Metz Cedex 01

The application must be sent by e-mail to the following addresses:

Only complete and timely submissions will be processed.

carole.bisenius-penin@univ-lorraine.fr

laurent.thurnherr@moselle.fr

Registration deadline

The deadline for registration is 30 March 2024.

Obligations of the author

The author will devote the 8 weeks to his writing and meetings with the public and researchers of the CREM.
The residency will lead to the publication of a limited edition notebook (+/- 300 copies), containing the text(s) of the latter and audiences who participated in the writing workshops. The author accepts that information concerning him (bibliography, extracts) be put online on the websites of the partners (Scy-Chazelles Town Hall, Robert Schuman House, the Research Center on mediations, University of Lorraine) and the communication media used.

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