My Blog From Edinburgh City of Literature's Writer's Room

By Devika Ponnambalam

It's important to us at Edinburgh City of Literature to help writers and creatives working across Edinburgh to use our opportunites to support ther development, craft and projects. Edinburgh-based writer Devika Ponnambalam was selected for the second Writer's Room programme. You can read below a blog entry from Devika on the reasons to apply for the programme.

Devika Ponnambalam

29 January 2025

The residency at the John Knox House gave me the opportunity to move away from my usual routine to look at my writing with fresh eyes in a new space. It injected an excitement and a sense of purpose into the project that I took there – my second novel in progress. Knowing my possession of an ‘office’ in the heart of Edinburgh would eventually come to an end, it also gave me a deadline and a determination to make the most of this incredible opportunity.

You are given a room in the city to write, and it will be your sacred space for two whole months, plus a stipend go alongside it, to write whatever you please – a chance like this does not come along very often.

At times, it felt like I was holed up at the top of a lighthouse looking down on the world. Below me, the streets throbbed with life, the hum of traffic and music and voice, so that I never felt truly alone. It was a very special time, which I’ll never forget, where I travelled in quiet magnitude and deep gratitude to the heart of my story.

Interested in the Writer's Room programme?

If you are interested in applying, you can access more information on the current open call on this link.