Art Omi: Writers, formerly known as Ledig House, hosts authors and translators from around the world for residencies throughout the spring and fall. The program’s strong international emphasis provides exposure for global literary voices and reflects the spirit of cultural exchange that is essential to Art Omi’s mission.

Guests may select a residency of one week to two months; about ten writers at a time gather to live and work in a rural setting overlooking the Catskill Mountains. Daytime is reserved for writing and quiet activities, while evenings are more communal. A program of weekly visits bring guests from the New York publishing community. Noted editors, agents and book scouts are invited to share dinner and conversation on both creative and practical subjects, offering insight into the workings of the publishing industry, and introductions to some of its key professionals. Readings throughout the year invite the public to experience finished and in-process work by writers and translators in residence.

Art Omi: Writers welcomes published writers and translators of every type of literature. All text-based projects -- fiction, nonfiction, theater, film, poetry, etc. -- are eligible. International, cultural and creative exchange is a foundation of our mission, and a wide distribution of national background is an important part of our selection process.

All residencies are fully funded with accommodations, food, local transport and public programming provided. However, please note that Art Omi: Writers does not provide travel funds. Selected residents are responsible for funding their own travel or securing travel funds from a third party. (Text sourced from Art Omi.)

Sebastià Portell (Ses Salines, Mallorca, 1992), studied publicity and public relations at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Catalan language and literature at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. He has a master’s in the construction and representation of cultural identity from Universitat de Barcelona. He made his fiction debut with the short-story collection Maracaibo (Adia Edicions, 2014), followed by La recerca del flamenc (LaBreu Edicions, 2015). He participates in RISC with Jaume C. Pons Alorda and Joan Todó. He also published Antologia de textos :Rata_ (Rata, 2017), edited by Ricard Ruiz Garzón, and El dia que va morir David Bowie (LaBreu Edicions, 2016), which was his first novel. This novel won the Time Out 2016 prize for Best Creator of the Year. He also wrote Antònia Vicens. Massa deutes amb les flors (Lleonard Muntaner Editor, 2016), a biography formatted as an interview on the life and works of the Mallorcan author Antònia Vicens. He also wrote the plays Entre tu i jo, gris (2010), La mort de na Margalida (Lleonard Muntaner Editor, 2012), Un torrent que era la mar (Pont del Petroli, 2013, Ciutat de Badalona theater prize), Com elles (2014), Una paraula grega (2016), the monologue La plaga (2014), and the musical L’endemà de Fedra (Adia Edicions, 2015), with music by Víctor Ferragut.