Brighton librarian wins a stay at writer's retreat in Scottish castle

Allie Rogers, whose novel Little Gold was shortlisted for the prestigious Polari First Book Prize earlier this year, has been awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship 2019.

Writers from anywhere in the world can apply for the Fellowship, which was established in 1982 to provide a “peaceful setting where published writers can work without disturbance”. This setting is Hawthornden Castle, The International Retreat for Writers, in Lasswade, Midlothian.

The retreat houses five writers at a time. No monetary assistance is given, but once at the castle writers are free to use its facilities as a guest of the Retreat.

Allie, who will spend all of January in the castle, said: “I feel honoured to be chosen as a Hawthornden Fellow for 2019 as it's an international scheme and writers can apply from anywhere in the world.

“The chance to focus solely on my writing for a whole month is a truly wonderful opportunity for me. Like most writers, my day-to-day life is a juggling act of my regular work (as a librarian at Falmer Library), family responsibilities, writing-related events and admin, and actual writing time. A focused month with nothing to do but write is the stuff of dreams!”

There is a no-talking policy in the castle from 9.30am to 6.30pm every day and no internet access. “I’ve never had the chance to work in such a tranquil environment before,” said Allie. “It will be a wonderful opportunity to escape all those online diversions that eat up time. As soon as I heard about Hawthornden Fellowships I started to fantasise about writing in a castle.”

Allie will be working on a new novel during the retreat, her third after debut Little Gold (2017) and follow-up Tale of a Tooth (2018). She describes the new book as “intense and slightly claustrophobic” and is “hoping it will fit well with the silence and solitude of the castle”.

As for home, Allie said that she would miss her “lovely colleagues and all the library users” at the University of Brighton’s Falmer Library during the stay in Scotland.

She said: “I've worked at Falmer for nearly 18 years and, though I only work part-time, I also spend time writing in the computer room, so Falmer Library is a second home to me.

“I'm hugely grateful to my colleagues who will be having to cover some of the fairly anti-social hours I work – including several Sundays. I've promised them a present on my return and I'd better make it a good one.”