Discipline/Field: Fiction Based in: Madison, WI About: Michael Kaplan is a lover of the Northern California landscape (hailing from the Bay Area) who is fascinated by internet culture, Silicon Valley, and the creep of technology into every element of our world. His fiction focuses on the day-to-day experience of those who grew up in the…
Author: YNR
Ena Selimović
Discipline/Field: Translation Based in: Walnut Creek, CA About: Ena Selimović is a Yugoslav-born writer and translator. Her work has appeared in numerous publications and she has been awarded the ALTA Travel Fellowship, an ACLS Emerging Voices Fellowship, and an NEA Literary Translation Fellowship. She holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Washington University in St….
Researchers
///Humanities, natural science, social science and other academic and non-academic disciplines/// A hypothetical Researcher applicant scenario: Your research brings knowledge and discoveries that are converging around cloud technology, data gathering, and smart sensor systems. You are familiar with the incisive and entertaining fiction of a considerable talent and you are aware that it is being…
#FinalStage
Click through The Dialogue to see how residents can transform their projects at YNR. The Yefe Nof Residency is designed as an opportunity to cross-fertilize intelligent ideas in a system less reliant on market forces. Residents are granted between two and four weeks to complete the final stage of their work as part of an ongoing narrative addressing civilization’s most pressing challenges. The two…
#Cultivate
This is a new culture in which one rises above oneself to grow. During their stay a resident is encouraged to see his work differently, think more diversely, and be more open to advancing the genetic code of his own material within a more spontaneous context. Yefe Nof is collaborative in the sense that there…
#Redesign
The Yefe Nof Residency is an imaginative process of invention. If perfectionism and over-formality often straightjacket our designs, we see inconsistency as the great enabler of the working creative. How she chooses to use her resources is entirely up to the resident, and outcomes will differ with each approach, but it’s the possibility of getting under…
#YouJudge
The Yefe Nof Residency is designed for residents to consider unknown authors and think about their work and not to be strangled by conformity. It requires enormous energy and support to produce a work and bring it to market. We are committed to being a part of that process as it reflects the natural outgrowth of our network. When…
#Hope
To perpetuate an ideal of human decency, and not a narrow-minded, prejudiced one, we have to guard hope. In his career as a psychologist, Dr. Zvi Leo Soltz gave thousands of people hope. He can give millions more. If egoism flat-lines the shared experience, we want to select creators who promote visions of community. We want authorship…
#InspirationDrive
Category: Promonostory Challenge: Cancer Key Words: father and son, goodbye, melanoma, Alpha Chapters, redesign Created by: Gil Soltz Funded & Produced by: Kickstarter backers, Teg Down Publishing Link: Amazon Description: I took six weeks to write Inspiration Drive from notebooks I filled during the final year of life with my father. In the midst of life,…
#Fire on the Mojave
Category: Nonfiction Challenge: Wildland fire practices, effects, and outcomes on the land, ecologies, and human populations Key Words: wildfire, fire ecology, resource management, regional firefighters Created by: Ruth Nolan Funded & Curated by: the Desert Institute Link: YouTube Description: The scope of the book includes a focus on American Indians’ uses of wildfire as a…
#Kathy Fiscus
Category: Historical Biography Challenge: The event that invented reality television and proved that real-time television news broadcasting could work and could transfix the public. Key Words: breaking-news event, live broadcast, spectacle, American history, tragedy Created by: William Deverell Link: Angel City Press Description: In Kathy Fiscus: A Tragedy that Transfixed the Nation historian William Deverell tells the story…
#California Stories
Category: Creative Nonfiction Challenge: perspective on health, racism, climate change, history, and nature, weaving through the lives of rural Californians of color. Key Words: agribusiness, agriculture, topsoil, slaughterhouse, Oxnard, and California geography like never before. Created by: Amanda Kim Links: Literary Hub; Pank Magazine Description: A California childhood told with love and gusto, as illuminating…
#All Kinds of Other
Category: Teen and Young Adult Fiction Challenge: The intersectionality of race, sexuality, and gender identity within the frame of a simple love story. Key Words: cisgender, newly-out, gay, transgender, coming-of-age Created by: James Sie Link: HarperCollins Publishers Description: Two boys have been guarding their hearts, until their feelings for each other give them a reason…
Designers
///Object design, architecture, urban planning, fashion, photography, performance, studio art/// A hypothetical Designer applicant scenario: Your recent work is predicated on the benefits of replacing expensive and weighty metal alloys with a new material that better combats overheated circuitry. High license fees and inventor fees have prevented you from testing your theories. The doctors in…
Location
Solitude is not the same thing as isolation. You go to Yefe Nof to become reinvigorated by the mountains, experience the lake, and push your work to completion – but Lake Arrowhead is also in an ideal location. Beyond the Village at the lake, Blue Jay, and the rest of the gigantic Inland Empire, its…
Welcome
If awarded a residency you will be contacted by phone and a digital information packet will be sent to you by email. This will contain a summary of the comprehensive detailed welcome book that greets residents when they check into the house. It will include information about the history of the house and the community,…
Working Environment
Yefe Nof is a fully equipped two bedroom, two bath family home with all of the necessities for four season living and all the amenities which will help you focus on your work. The spacious master bedroom and bathroom has a queen bed, bay window, walk-in-closet, and separate toilet and shower. The second bedroom has a…
Recommended Gear
Residents should anticipate seasonal packing. Your backyard will be forest flora and fauna (yes, you may see bears and coyotes). Any time of year is good for walking the many loops and trails and there are nearby options for water and snow sports. Mountain living can be complicated in the harshest months, but not to…
People
Currently, there are a number of volunteer greeters who will check you into the house and check you out. During and between residencies a small team on the mountain will look after the house. They are available throughout your stay in case of extreme issues. Our selection committee is a rotating group of individuals committed…