1. Funding Opportunities
  2. Whiteley Center Faculty Writing Retreats

For Faculty

Whiteley Center Faculty Writing Retreats

Eligibility

Tenure-track and teaching-track (assistant, associate, and full teaching professors) faculty in the humanities and humanistic social sciences, from all three University of Washington campuses. Groups may include a minimum of three and a maximum of six participants, and must include participants from at least two different departments or disciplines. If all participants are from the same department, the proposal should explain how group members bring different disciplinary perspectives and types of expertise to their shared research interests.

Description

Faculty writing retreats bring together crossdisciplinary groups of UW faculty who share broad research interests. Writing retreats provide time and space for a range of intellectual activities. These may include sitting alone and writing, providing commentary to one another on works-in-progress, and/or sharing advice and resources over meals in a spirit of collegiality and community-building. Writing retreats are also ideal settings for small groups of faculty to further collaborative research projects that will result in co-authored publications or co-produced public outcomes of various kinds. 

All retreats will take place at the Whiteley Center at UW Friday Harbor Laboratories between September 30, 2026 and May 15, 2027. No other locations for writing retreats will be considered.

Terms of Award

Funding will cover expenses for ground and ferry transportation, meals, and up to three nights of lodging at the Whiteley Center. For more details, please see below faculty writing retreat budget spreadsheet. Awardees will work directly with Whiteley Center staff to determine lodging availability and schedule the dates for their retreat.

Afterwards, all groups are expected to provide a brief report on the intellectual work that took place over retreat, how those activities furthered scholarly projects, and next steps for bringing those projects to publication or public presentation.

Evaluation Criteria

Award decisions will be based on assessment of the scholarly merit of the individual and/or collaborative projects, the intellectual synergy between group members, and the soundness of the work plan and objectives. 

Preference will be given to groups that do not include faculty who have participated in a Simpson-supported faculty writing retreat in the past year.

Application Instructions

Complete the Application Form and please upload the below materials as a single, bundled PDF. Before commencing your application, be sure to review the Simpson Center’s AI Policy.

  • Proposal Narrative. Limit 750 words. This brief narrative should address:
  1. Scholarly Merit
    What is the significance and contribution to scholarship of the individual and/or collaborative projects to be undertaken and/or discussed at the writing retreat?
  2. Intellectual Synergy
    What broad research interest(s) do group members share? How do group members bring different disciplinary perspectives and/or types of expertise to bear on those interests?
  3. Work Plan & Objectives
    What are the planned activities and schedule for the writing retreat? What objectives will those activities support or enable?
  • Participant List. List participants, by name and department, and give brief (max 100 words each) bios.
  • Abstracts. Limit 250 words each. Please include an abstract for each individual or collaborative project to be undertaken by members of the group.
  • CV. Include one for the lead organizer only (limit 3 pages).
  • Budget. Download the required budget spreadsheet. Complete it using the guidance included and submit it through our Application Form with your completed proposal. If you have questions about building your budget, contact Julie Stoverink at scfiscal@uw.edu.

Questions

Please direct any questions to Rachel Arteaga, Simpson Center Associate Director, at rarteaga@uw.edu.