Usawa Writing Residency in Goa, Featuring Hemali Sodhi, Arpita Das, Smita Sahay & Others

Days: 6 days/ 5 nights

Dates: 3 – 8 October

Location – Turiya Villa, Goa

Open to all.

Description:
The Usawa Writing Residency is an intensive residential programme for early-career writers developing a sustained body of work and looking for time, guidance and community to deepen their practice.

Writing can often be solitary. The residency creates a space for writers to step away from everyday demands, focus on their craft, reflect on their writing goals and engage in thoughtful conversations around literature and publishing.

The residency will bring together a small cohort of 12 writers working on prose, either fiction or non-fiction. Over the course of the programme, participants will take part in workshops, guided writing exercises and individual editorial sessions designed to strengthen their work and help them think more clearly about the journey from draft to publication.

Each day will be structured around three key components, combining collective discussion with focused individual mentorship:

1. Workshops
Participants will attend craft workshops led by invited writers, editors and publishing professionals. These sessions will explore elements of writing and the literary ecosystem, offering practical insights alongside craft discussions.

2. Writing Exercises
Guided writing sessions will encourage participants to experiment with form, voice and perspective. These exercises are designed to generate new work and help writers approach their drafts in fresh ways.

3. Mentorship Sessions
Each participant will receive direct editorial feedback on a selected piece of work through individual reading and feedback sessions with mentors and peers.

The residency will begin with a reflective conversation led by Smita Sahay, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Usawa, where participants will introduce themselves and speak about their writing journeys, motivations and goals. The session will set the tone for the residency by encouraging writers to think carefully about their relationship with writing.

Spokespersons :

The residency will have sessions by Arpita Das, founder-publisher at Yoda Press, Dr. Rupleena Bose, professor and author of Summer of Then, Kavita Kabeer, writer and content creator, Smita Sahay, editor-in-chief and founder Usawa Literary Review, Sumana Roy, author and professor, and Hemali Sodhi, founder of A Suitable Agency.