The San Ysidro Ranch Writer’s Residency
The Mission
To provide unbridled time and unfettered space in a rural south Texas ranch setting for a published, emerging writer to create new work or continue work-in-progress. The San Ysidro Ranch Writer’s Residency was founded in 2017, and began hosting writers by invitation in January, 2019. This residency provides an isolated, simple space for an accomplished writer to explore the solitary creative process without urban, everyday distractions.
From the Director
San Ysidro Ranch has been a special place in my family for five decades. My hope is that writers will interact with the daily rhythm of the South Texas weather, brush land, and wild game movements in a way that could take the writer’s work in new directions. The ranch is a working cattle and horse-breeding ranch in a remote location in the south Texas brush country. The Istana (“Palace” in Malay) is a five-minutes’ walk from the ranch headquarters, where the Ranch Foreman lives. While there will be interaction as described below, the resident will be expected to inhabit the Istana and its immediate environs, though the ranch affords opportunity for hikes and exploring the brush land with caution.
Operations and Eligibility
The residency hosts one writer a month, primarily during October, November, February, March, and April. The residency does not accept applications; writers are recommended and invited by the Advisory Committee. The ideal resident will be a published writer in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, or an emerging writer with an impressive body of work and excellent credentials. Writers from the Southwest and Texas may be given special consideration for reasons of proximity and local knowledge. Writers in residence should be prepared to thrive in isolation and recognize the limited access to urban amenities and community.