Austin

Unleash your creativity, UT Austin offers a writer's retreat at John Steinbeck's NY home

UT Austin is currently home to the John Steinbeck collection, containing the author's archives, novels, and short stories

(Original Caption) Wearing an old skipper’s cap, John Steinbeck enjoys a stroll with his famous French Poodle, “Charley.” The pooch is the “hero” of the best-selling Travels with Charley, which relates Steinbeck’s recent tour of the United States “to rediscover my people.”
Getty Images/Bettmann Collection

If you've got writer's block, UT Austin has the program for you.

The University of Texas at Austinโ€™s Michener Center for Writers has unveiled the Steinbeck Writers Retreat, an opportunity for writers to live and write at Nobel and Pulitzer-prize-winning author John Steinbeck's former residence.

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Steinbeck is famous for a number of iconic works, most notably "Of Mice and Men," "The Grapes of Wrath," "Tortilla Flat," and "East of Eden."

Sitting on the East Coast in Sag Harbor, New York, the home is where Steinbeck wrote his two final books and where he learned he'd won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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The Steinbeck Writers' Retreat will allow writers the breathing room to unlock their creativity in one of the most inspiring settings on the East Coast as they walk in the steps of one of time's greatest authors, John Steinbeck.

UT President Jay Hartzell, in a statement

While writers stay and write at the residence, they will also deliver public readings, workshops and work with Michener Center students.

The residencies will be available to writers of fiction, poetry, plays, and scripts that are at different stages of their careers. They will also be offered to alumni of the UT Austin Michener Center for Writers.

"During his lifetime, John Steinbeck was committed to supporting young writers and enabling them to succeed," said Bret Johnston, director of the Michener Center and Steinbeck Writers' Retreat in a statement. "The Steinbeck Writers' Retreat will continue Steinbeck's legacy and offer Michener Center alumni an unparalleled resource among creative writing programs."

The first author to stay at the residence will be Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Ayad Akhtar according to a university statement.

The Steinbeck home offers regular day visits on its website, with select dates available for weekend visits.

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