Writer-in-Residence

Update: Hugo House is seeking a poet for the next Writer-in-Residence spot!

The writer-in-residence program is the lifeblood of the writing community at Hugo House. Since 1999, we have given writers financial support and charged them with creating exciting new work and offering a range of teaching and mentoring services.

The writer-in-residence holds office hours (for free but by appointment only) for anyone seeking advice and feedback on their writing, and they also lead writing workshops and programs that reach into the heart of Seattle's communities, with a specific focus on underserved populations who may not have access to the arts.

Residencies run from September through June and may last for up to two terms.

Tara Hardy and Peter Mountford will begin taking appointments in September.

2012-2013 Writers-in-Residence

Tara Hardy is the working class queer femme poet who founded Bent, a writing institute for LGBTIQ people in Seattle. Her first full length book of poems, “Bring Down the Chandeliers,” was published by Write Bloody Press in the spring, 2011. She is a founding member of Salt Lines, the all woman performance poetry group that has toured the U.S. since March, 2009. By a vote of the people, the Seattle City Council named Tara Seattle Poet Populist in 2002. She is the recipient of the 2011 Washington Poets Association Burning Word Award and has been a finalist on seven National Poetry Slam stages. Tara’s work has been published in various journals and anthologies, including two anthologies by Seal Press, “Sex and Single Girls” and “Without a Net.” She holds a MFA in Fiction from Norwich University and a MA in Social Work from the University of Michigan.

To make an appointment with Tara, email her at tarahardy@hugohouse.org

Peter Mountford’s debut novel “A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) won the 2012 Washington State Book Award. His second novel, “The Dismal Science,” will be published in 2014 by Tin House Books. Since earning his MFA from the University of Washington in 2006, Peter’s fiction and personal essays have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Best American Voices 2008, Conjunctions, ZYZZYVA, Granta, Salon, and Boston Review. Recipient of grants and fellowships from The Corporation of Yaddo, the Elizabeth George Foundation, 4Culture, Bread Loaf and Seattle’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, he has been a writer-in-residence for Seattle Arts and Lectures since 2008. He currently lives in Ballard with his wife and daughter.

To make an appointment with Peter, email him at petermountford@hugohouse.org. Please note that it might take Peter as much as two weeks to return your email, and appointments are typically scheduled as much as a month and a half in advance.

Past Hugo House Writers-in-Residence  
2009-2010: Ryan Boudinot & Karen Finneyfrock
2008-2009: Angela Jane Fountas & Ed Skoog
2006-2008: Wendy Call & David Wagoner
2004-2005: Matt Briggs & Anna Maria Hong
2001-2003: Kathleen Alcala & Emily White
1999-2001: Joan Fiset & Charles Mudede
1999-2000: Rebecca Brown

Past Hugo Huts Writers-in-Residence
(This program was discontinued in 2010.)
2008-2010: Cienna Madrid & Storme Webber
2006-2008: Todd Faulkner & Cody Walker
2005-2006: Bryan Miller & Bob Redmond
2004-2005: James Arthur & Grant Cogswell
2003-2004: Brenda Bell & Brian Goedde