Smokies Life accepting applications for writer’s residency
Former residency writers Jim and Leslie Costa.
Donated photo
Smokies Life, a nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is now accepting applications for its sixth Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency. The annual program is designed to help writers of any medium connect in meaningful ways with the national park while focusing on their craft in an inspiring, retreat-like setting.
Following the application process, one writer will be selected to live in the Great Smoky Mountains for six weeks in 2026. The chosen writer will have the opportunity to be immersed in the natural environment and cultural history of the Smokies, learning about the park in ways that will inform their chosen genre — whether this is narrative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, playwriting, music or another form of writing. Applications for the 2026 Kemp Residency are being accepted now through Nov. 1.
The residency’s namesake, Steve Kemp, retired from Smokies Life in 2017 after spending 30 years writing, editing and directing the publication of hundreds of books, magazines, brochures and newsletters that continue to support the preservation of the national park. As part of the residency, each writer works with Kemp, Smokies Life Creative Director Frances Figart and other park professionals and partners.
Previous program awardees include author Daron K. Roberts, Western Carolina University professor Dr. Brian Railsback, nature writer Sue Wasserman, journalist Latria Graham and poet Elise Anderson.
(For full residency details, as well as instructions for submitting an application prior to the Nov. 1 deadline, visit smokieslife.org/the-steve-kemp-writers-residency.)
