Computational Writing 2026
About This Opportunity
In our Computational Writing residency, participants can better engage with computing to develop their own systems, whether their goals are conventional book publication or other manifestations of literary art. Methods participants can engage include (but are not limited to) templates, document schemata, grammars, Markov processes, rule-based transformation of existing texts, simulation of characters and settings, vector-space models and word embeddings, and work with LLMs —including fine-tuning them and training them from scratch. Delve deep into your creative project and take advantage of the artistic community of your peers around you.
Faculty include computational writing specialists Dr. Nick Montfort, Dr. Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, Kalen Iwamoto, and professional guest Dr. Daniel Snelson (UCLA).
All the program elements are optional, giving participants the flexibility to choose the amount of support they want.
This two-week self-directed residency offers computational writers:
- thematic teachings from faculty members and professional guests.
- a community of artistic peers.
- one-on-one workshopping with faculty.
- optional group sessions exploring useful literary tools, aspects, and devices.
- an opportunity to showcase your work at a public reading.
- a personal studio space equipped for creative work.
Eligibility & Requirements
Career Stage
Geographic Eligibility
Disciplines
Applicant Type
Individual artists only
Note
Program is designed for computational writers working at any stage of their artistic careers. Participants will benefit most if they are comfortable working autonomously in an unstructured environment. The program suits those focused on working on a specific project or creating new works within the genre. While this program is run in English, it will accept projects that are being written in English, French, or Spanish and can offer mentorship in these languages.
Compensation & Benefits
Overview
Residency fee with scholarship support available. Base fee $3,602 CAD covers tuition, accommodation and meal plan. All arts participants receive scholarship covering 100% of tuition and 25% of accommodation/meal costs.
Includes
Detailed Breakdown
Total Fee Before Scholarships for tuition, accommodation and a meal plan: $3,602.55 CAD. Banff Centre Arts Scholarship: All arts participants receive a scholarship covering 100% of tuition and 25% of meal plan and accommodation costs. Canadian Indigenous Scholarship: Canadian Indigenous applicants receive support covering 100% of tuition, meal plan and accommodation costs.
What's Provided
Housing Provided
Studio Access
Private Studios
Accessibility
ADA Compliant, Partially Accessible (50% or more) housing and studios/facilities