Fruitmarket has been chosen as the host of the 2025 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship – a year-long writing residency that supports Scottish-based, mid-career writers to develop new work.
Applications are now open for The Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship – an opportunity for a mid-career writer to spend a year dedicated to producing their own new writing, gaining support and inspiration from the host organisation. Every year, the Fellowship has a broad theme to guide the relationship between the writer, their work, and the host.?Fruitmarket’s chosen theme is ‘Attached to Land: Mutual accountability within environmental permacrisis’.
Fruitmarket is inviting Scottish based writers – writing in English, Gaelic or Scots – to apply for the residency which will begin March 2025. Alongside a stipend of £24,000 to support them through their 12-month residency, Fruitmarket will work with the chosen Fellow to plan a structured year of support and activity, designed to help move their practice forward in the right way for them and to share their work with Fruitmarket’s audiences.
The environmental focus of the theme takes inspiration from Fruitmarket’s 2025–2026 programme including exhibitions from Native American artist Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith and Scotland-based artist Ilana Halperin. Working through the year could involve engagement with the existing Fruitmarket programmes; opportunity to plan public events/readings/sharings during their time with Fruitmarket; and the opportunity of a discrete publication or film that would document the research and writing processes of the fellowship. Fruitmarket is committed to ensuring accessibility across the Fellowship and will support any writer to take part in this opportunity on their own terms, whether remotely or digitally.
Fruitmarket is now increasingly known as a resource and home for writers and their writing practices. They work with Scottish and British writers as part of a growing strand of literature events and writing commissions. Over the last five years they have commissioned writers including Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Thomas A. Clark, and Janette Ayachi. They have built a reputation for and expertise in helping writers at mid-career, supporting them to develop and present new work in the context of an established and developing practice, and in supporting the publication of new writing in their in-house publications that offer writers a very hands-on experience of the design process.
We’re thrilled to be selected as the host for the 2025 Gavin Wallace Fellowship and can’t wait to welcome a writer to join us. Bringing new voices into our programmes gives our audiences the chance to think alongside them about important issues, often shifting collective conversations forward or in new directions. Through a theme exploring land, environment, indigeneity and activism, we can encourage new learning and thinking about climate action and environmental justice.
We’re excited to find out how the Gavin Wallace Fellow engages with the themes and ideas of the call, and we can’t wait to see what exciting applications come our way.
Fiona Bradley, Fruitmarket’s Director
Pardes by Jyll Bradley. Photo: Chris Scott.
The Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for a writer to push creative boundaries and bring bold new ideas to life. At its heart is the collaboration with a leading Scottish arts organisation, offering unique inspiration and support. For 2025, Fruitmarket provides an extraordinary setting, blending world-class exhibitions and commissions with the space and time to experiment and develop new work. This year’s theme, ‘Attached to Land,’ invites the selected Fellow to tackle some of the most urgent issues of our time, sparking transformative writing that engages deeply with environmental and cultural conversations.
Alan Bett, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland
The Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship was established in 2014 in memory of Dr Gavin Wallace who dedicated his entire professional life to supporting Scottish literature. Following the sad loss of Dr Wallace in February 2013, Creative Scotland established an annual fellowship in his name to honour his memory and commemorate and continue his good work. The fund is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Further info and how to apply: HERE
Fruitmarket is a free, public space for culture in the heart of Edinburgh, which provides inspiration and opportunity for artists and audiences. We programme, develop and present world-class exhibitions, commissions, publications, performances, events and engagement activities, opening up the artistic process. Creativity makes space for meaning, and we create a welcoming space for people to think with contemporary art and culture in ways that are helpful to them – for free. Further information at fruitmarket.co.uk. Follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery, which, now in its 30th year, has supported over 14,600 projects with more than £501.9 million in funding through Creative Scotland and its predecessor, the Scottish Arts Council. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
