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About the Program

For questions about this program, contact program lead Andy Verboom at communications@writers.ns.ca

Introduced in 2023 and administered by the Writers’ Federation of Nova (WFNS), the Jampolis Cottage Residency Program welcomes emerging, established, and professional authors from Nova Scotia and beyond. Through residencies and retreats, it provides committed writers with space and inspiration for focused development of their works-in-progress.

Self-Directed
Retreats

Self-Directed Retreats (one or two weeks in length) are open to Nova Scotian, Canadian, and international writers. Applicants should apply in creative groups (of two to five) but may also apply as solo writers. Self-Directed Retreats are private and provided at-cost: a base rate of $440 per week + $110 per week per creative resident.

Sponsored
Residencies

Sponsored Residencies (one to four weeks in length) are open to Nova Scotian writers and, for some residencies, Atlantic Canadian writers. Each successful applicant is provided with free, private residence and a $2000 honorarium. Low-residency and split-residency options are available to accommodate writers with work and care commitments.

Oliver-Craig
Black Writers'
Retreat

The Oliver-Craig Black Writers’ Retreat (two weeks in length) is open to Nova Scotian writers. Each successful applicant is provided with free, shared residence; a $500 honorarium; and the instruction, mentorship, and advice of a distinguished Black or African Nova Scotian author.

Past
Programming

WFNS encourages applicants to seek funding from arts organizations and charitable foundations to further support any residency or retreat at Jampolis Cottage.

Prospective and successful applicants can apply for public funding through the Canada Council for the Arts Research and Creation program. Only successful applicants are eligible for support through the Arts Nova Scotia Grants to Individual program. To ensure your residency or retreat is eligible for Canada Council or Arts Nova Scotia support, you must submit your funding application before your residency’s or retreat’s start date. If already successful, you should include your acceptance email from WFNS as a support document. Please note that you may need to undertake your residency or retreat (and consequent expenses) before receiving the results of any third-party funding applications.

Prospective and successful applicants who are new or emerging writers and who will use their residency or retreat to conduct a mentorship under a professional author or to conduct “self-led studies” (i.e., research or experimentation that will result in development as a writer) can apply for partial funding through the Nova Scotia Talent Trust Scholarship Program.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia maintains a limited Jampolis Travel Assistance Fund to help students, the underwaged, and those on fixed incomes with the expense of travelling to and from Jampolis Cottage. At this time, the fund is available only to those undertaking a Sponsored Residency or the Oliver-Craig Black Writers’ Retreat. When applying, you can choose to be considered for financial assistance through the application form.

WFNS is committed to growing Jampolis Cottage into a residency program that is accessible to writers of all backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and financial means. We acknowledge that we cannot accommodate all needs during the initial years of our residency program. We outline our accessibility efforts below.

For applicants to all Jampolis Cottage programming (Self-Directed Retreats, Sponsored Residencies, and Sponsored Retreats):

  • We will continue offering technical, accessibility, and financial assistance in completing and submitting applications through hands-on assistance from WFNS staff and application fee waivers, which are available upon request.

For applicants to sponsored Jampolis Cottage programming (Sponsored Residencies and Sponsored Retreats):

  • We will continue actively encouraging applications from equity-deserving writers (in particular, Mi’kmaw and other Indigenous writers, Black and African Nova Scotian writers, 2SLGBTQIA+ writers, and writers living with disabilities) through direct invitations to apply (see our equity & outreach notification sign-up form), through promotional partnerships with community organizations, and through continuing and new sponsorships for equity-oriented residencies and retreats.
  • We will continue offering an application assistance grace period, extending up to one week after a sponsored residency or sponsored retreat application deadline, to make the application process more equitable for writers who have less experience with arts applications in general (or digital applications in particular) or who may have been informed of an opportunity with insufficient notice to complete an application. This grace period applies as long as the initial request for application assistance is received by the application deadline.
  • We will continue providing space for applicants to self-disclose barriers to literary creation through the ‘letter of intent’ component of our sponsored residency/retreat application packages. Each letter of intent is assessed for the positive impact a residency could have on a writer and their career, making the process more equitable for writers who face significant barriers to literary creation and for whom a residency would provide a particularly valuable opportunity.

For successful applicants to sponsored Jampolis Cottage programming (Sponsored Residencies and Sponsored Retreats):

  • We will continue offering travel reimbursements (up to $330) through our Jampolis Travel Assistance Fund.
  • We will continue our no-charge policy for essential companions, including personal attendants, service animals, and dependants and domestic pets who require care.
  • We will continue offering split-residency options for Sponsored Residencies, allowing writers with work or care commitments to split their residency weeks across two separate periods.
  • We have introduced low-residency options for Sponsored Residencies, starting in our 2026/2027 programming year, allowing writers with work or care commitments to undertake a portion of their residency work at home.

Entering the third year of the Residency Program (2025 – 2026), Jampolis Cottage is significantly more physically accessible for users of wheelchairs and other mobility aids, particularly those visiting for a single-day event or accompanied by a personal assistant. However, significant physical barriers to independent use of the cottage remain. Regretfully, we cannot deliver on our original commitment of a physically accessible Jampolis Cottage by the end of 2025. We are now committed to this outcome by the end of 2027.

Completed physical accessibility renovations:

  • Replacement of exterior deck (converting the two-level design to a single level, adding an accessibility ramp leading to a concrete pad on the driveway, and raising the deck to reduce threshold when entering the main door)
  • Creation of ground-floor bedroom (converting the existing den space)
  • Widening of ground-floor doorways and removal of interior thresholds

Projected physical accessibility renovations:

  • Replacement of ground-floor bathroom with barrier-free wet room
  • Redesign of pantry and laundry room to widen doorways and replace shelving and cabinets with roll-out drawers
  • Redesign of kitchen (e.g., to incorporate roll-under range)

We continue seeking funding for accessibility renovations based on two physical accessibility audits, one provided by a certified architectural firm and one provided by a disabled writer.

This summary was last updated in May, 2025.

Investors

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is grateful to the Jampolis Living Trust; the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage; the Raddall family of Liverpool, Nova Scotia; and the Municipality of the County of Kings for their foundational investments in Jampolis Cottage and the Jampolis Cottage Residency Program.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is also grateful to Amanda Peters; the Honorable Don Oliver, CM, ONS, KC; The Craig Foundation; the Delmore “Buddy Daye” Learning Institute; and the Robert Pope Foundation for their ongoing investments in Sponsored Residencies and Retreats at Jampolis Cottage.

Craig Foundation
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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, and others) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca