A meeting of writers, both established and emerging. A forum for thinking and debating. The definition of this enterprise is almost its lack of definition. The core principle is openness.
To the Lighthouse offers a chance for people to be generous with their time and their opinions without the need to be guarded or self-promoting. A chance to discuss one another's work - and the work of others in the culture - fiercely and honestly.
For a few days, convention and the values of success can be disregarded. Breaking form can have more weight than upholding it. Disagreement can be prized over approval. Writers can meet on a basis of equality, outside the usual transactional or sanctified cultural spaces.
The goal is to learn from one another.
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PILLAR
WRITERS
■ Attendees
Emerging writers
A group of emerging writers who attend following a selection process, contribute and develop their work during the sessions
Pillar
Forming the core of the discussion and learning groups, these invited writers are central to the debates as well as running sessions of their own
2027 cohort: Rachel Cusk, Sheila Heti, Sulaiman Addonia, Alexander Zeldin, Vincenzo Latronico
Moderator/interviewer: Adam Biles
Contributing
An invited wider group of artists and intellectuals who join and contribute, organising their own accommodation and food, etc.
Complimentary sessions
Drawing for writing – a learning session using the practice of drawing to widen observational skills
Composing music and writing – a learning session using the practice of composition of music to develop structural skills
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■ location
Overlooking the port of Mortagne-sur-Gironde, the eclectic Domaine de Meunier provides an environment deliberately removed from distraction.
The library, gardens, ponds, apartments, and social hall create an atmosphere designed for conversation, reflection, and artistic exchange.
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■ events
Emerging writers working directly alongside and in dialogue with established voices in sessions running across the 4 days.
Workshops and reading groups led by the residency’s pillar writers (Cusk, Heti, Zeldin, Addonia, Latronico). Sessions will also include form-breaking cross discipline work: drawing, music composition, and other practices designed to expand what writing can do
The format most encouraged is unplanned and spontaneous discussion and debate. The session hall offers space and opportunity for groups to form, evolve and grow. In addition to filming and broadcasting the symposia, the space is equipped to record these less formatted events
june 1-4
2027
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
WHO WE ARE
To the Lighthouse is a forum for inventive discussion about literature and literary form. It invites a group of writers to talk openly and candidly together, not just about their own writing but about literary culture in our times: its purpose, its problems, its moral role as a response to living.
This is not a writing retreat.
There will be no chef.
There will be no organised activities.
There will be no yoga.
Fifteen established, new, and emerging writers are invited to come together over four days to exchange their thinking and offer their influence. Five ‘pillar’ writers, invited separately, will shape the discussions and debates and conduct smaller group or individual workshops.
The forum will take place at Domaine de Meunière in Mortagne Sur Gironde, a small port on the Gironde estuary in western France. Domaine de Meunière has numerous spaces where screenings and music events can be held, as well as on-stage debates, and we hope to make these part of the evening programme. A wider audience of visual artists, musicians and film-makers will attend.
HOW TO APPLY
New and emerging writers will be chosen through an application process and their food and accommodation at Domaine de Meunière will be provided. Applications are invited from published or unpublished writers of fiction or creative nonfiction, as well as from dramatists. International applicants are encouraged; applicants must be able to apply and participate in the programme in English.
Please submit a short sample of your writing (maximum 5000 words) that you feel best represents your approach. A biographical note and a list of any works, whether published or unpublished, should also be included.
A radical funding model
There is no cost to attend. A modest application fee (€50) funds the programme, covering accommodation, food, and materials for the 10–15 selected writers (travel to the event is the only cost applicants bear). Every application directly enables someone's participation.
Accessible and Democratic
Most residencies are available only to those who can afford them. To the Lighthouse is built on the opposite principle: selection is on merit, and participation is funded. This is what a genuinely democratic literary gathering looks like.
A Broader Community
Unsuccessful applicants gain privileged access to the To the Lighthouse community: exclusive podcasts, filmed sessions, and discussion groups. The application is the beginning of a relationship, not the end of one
Applications are welcome from anyone published in English and will open soon…
LET’S ChAT
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Feel free to contact us via email or fill out our contact form to discuss the details. be part of the first of these events