A one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience the North

Berton House Writers’ Residency

Highlights

Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria

• Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• Professional writer (min. one professionally published book)

Important Dates

Selected writers will be announced in May

Writers-in-Residence

$4,000 stipend

Contact

Program Director
Amanda Hopkins
ahopkins@writerstrust.com

About the Program

It could be the best two months of your life — a time to reflect, to discover the Yukon, and to fully dedicate yourself to your work-in-progress.

Berton House is situated in Dawson City, Yukon, on the contemporary and traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. Located in the childhood home of iconic Canadian author and Writers’ Trust co-founder Pierre Berton, it has operated as a writers’ residency since 1996 and has been owned and operated by Writers’ Trust since 2007. Nearly 100 writers have served as writers-in-residence and the residency has played an influential role in the publication of dozens of manuscripts.

Poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, playwrights, and writers of children’s literature are invited to apply. Housing and travel costs to and from Dawson City are covered. Residents also receive a $4,000 stipend. Writers are required to deliver two public readings and encouraged to interact with the community during their stay.

The Story of a House: Berton House Writers' Residency

The House

Berton House is a fully furnished one-bedroom bungalow located on Eighth Avenue, between Mission and Hanson in Dawson City, Yukon, five hundred kilometers north-west of Whitehorse.

The house is situated on the southern edge of town on “Writers’ Row,” across the street from Robert Service’s historic cabin and just up the street from Jack London’s cabin. 

The home includes a bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, and office with a 100-year-old writing desk. It is fully furnished and fully equipped (i.e. sheets, towels, dishes, etc.). All the amenities necessary for you to immerse yourself completely in your work are provided (internet access, printer, landline telephone, television, washer and dryer). Plus, the house features a unique library containing treasures of the Canadian North, Pierre Berton’s voluminous collection, and works published by Berton House alumni dating back to 1996. 

In 1989, Berton himself contributed $50,000 to the Yukon Arts Council so his childhood home, vacant and run down at the time, could be a place for Canadian authors to experience the North and pursue their craft. An eclectic and vibrant northern community, Dawson has a thriving arts scene.

Other Residency Programs ◢

Views from Berton House

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With its picturesque setting, warm, friendly residents, and storied past, I can’t say Dawson City stole my heart; I gave it freely. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Pierre Berton’s childhood home, spitting distance from Robert Service’s cabin. I wrote a lot and explored the area on foot. I’d hoped to witness the Northern Lights crackle to life over Service’s cabin. They did. Ever wow! And I wonder if xeʔłkʷúpiʔ saw something similar after He said, ‘Let there be light…’
With its picturesque setting, warm, friendly residents, and storied past, I can’t say Dawson City stole my heart; I gave it freely. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Pierre Berton’s childhood home, spitting distance from Robert Service’s cabin. I wrote a lot and explored the area on foot. I’d hoped to witness the Northern Lights crackle to life over Service’s cabin. They did. Ever wow! And I wonder if xeʔłkʷúpiʔ saw something similar after He said, ‘Let there be light…’

— Gord Grisenthwaite

Berton House is a premier residency for writers in Canada. It remains one of the best experiences of my creative life. I hosted meetings and workshops with local writers, visual artists, and film makers — building bridges across different art forms. Living within the community also taught me about specific regional, ecological, and Indigenous issues. Primarily known as a novelist when I was selected, the Berton House residency allowed me to grow creatively by providing time and inspiration to develop a debut poetry collection. This Report Is Strictly Confidential has since been published. I whole-heartedly endorse the program.
Berton House is a premier residency for writers in Canada. It remains one of the best experiences of my creative life. I hosted meetings and workshops with local writers, visual artists, and film makers — building bridges across different art forms. Living within the community also taught me about specific regional, ecological, and Indigenous issues. Primarily known as a novelist when I was selected, the Berton House residency allowed me to grow creatively by providing time and inspiration to develop a debut poetry collection. This Report Is Strictly Confidential has since been published. I whole-heartedly endorse the program.

— Elizabeth Ruth

The people in Dawson City were friendly and open, the town itself was quiet enough to let me get a lot of writing done but interesting and eclectic enough for me not to get bored. The walls of Berton House dripped with inspiration and motivation. You're not just a resident of the house, but of the entire town of Dawson City. It adopts you. There is a tide in that town and if you're lucky, you can float along for the ride. I came. I saw. I wrote.
The people in Dawson City were friendly and open, the town itself was quiet enough to let me get a lot of writing done but interesting and eclectic enough for me not to get bored. The walls of Berton House dripped with inspiration and motivation. You're not just a resident of the house, but of the entire town of Dawson City. It adopts you. There is a tide in that town and if you're lucky, you can float along for the ride. I came. I saw. I wrote.

— Drew Hayden Taylor

It’s very isolated. I was living there during the winter when it got to negative 40 degrees — I went out hiking every day and it cleared my mind. In three days and nights — but really one endless night, because there was almost no daylight at that point — I wrote 20,000 words, and the novel kind of broke open.

— Kim Fu

The endless summer daylight and the long winter darkness generate a strange, intense energy. So do the gorgeous landscapes, the remoteness, the Northern Lights, and the active clouds. People treat you with respect there and encourage you to pursue your dreams and be who you are. Maybe that’s why I’ll always imagine going back to Dawson City.

— Tim Falconer

My stay at Berton House was like stepping into another dimension. I was satisfyingly productive in a house that welcomes each newcomer. I felt the pull that Dawson City, and the North, has always exerted on people: the excitement of spring break-up, the magnificence of the landscape, the adrenaline of endless light at midsummer. I met extraordinary people, relished my new friends’ eccentricity and creativity, and cannot wait to return.
My stay at Berton House was like stepping into another dimension. I was satisfyingly productive in a house that welcomes each newcomer. I felt the pull that Dawson City, and the North, has always exerted on people: the excitement of spring break-up, the magnificence of the landscape, the adrenaline of endless light at midsummer. I met extraordinary people, relished my new friends’ eccentricity and creativity, and cannot wait to return.

— Charlotte Gray

I came to Dawson City expecting to do a lot of typing; what I wasn't prepared for was how relentlessly fascinating a place it is. Here you're confronted with history at every corner, and the past looms large in a way you don't find most places in Canada. I would recommend the Berton House residency to any writer interested in getting work done — and some thinking, too.

— Pasha Malla

Partners

While Berton House is owned and administered by Writers' Trust of Canada, crucial operational support is provided by the Dawson City Community Library Board, the Klondike Visitors Association, and the Whitehorse Public Library, for which we are thankful.