Greenway Residency
The Greenway Residency is open to published writers from the 57 UNESCO Cities of Literature located outside of the UK.
The residency will provide space and support for three writers to develop their practice in the inspiring and uniquely Devon-based literary setting of Greenway — the summer home of Agatha Christie who described it as “the loveliest place in the world”.
A view of Greenway in winter - National Trust/James Dobson
About The Residency
The residency aims to give space and support for writers from three Cities of Literature to visit Devon where they can develop their practice in an inspiring and important literary setting. The residencies will run simultaneously with each writer hosted in a room of their own within Greenway to help foster exchange between writers from different countries.
The inaugural residency will run from 25th September – 16th October 2026 . The first two weeks will be spent at Greenway, where the writers will each have a private room in shared accommodation, workspaces, and a programme of activities to connect with the region’s network of passionate readers, writers, and storytellers. Residents will then spend a further week in Exeter with accommodation provided by Exeter City of Literature.
Selected Writers for the 2026 Residency
On Thursday 14th May, we unveiled the trio of talented writers selected for the inaugural writer residency at National Trust’s Greenway set to take place in September and October of 2026.
Aining Wen | Nanjing City of Literature, China
Aining is a Children’s book author and illustrator, who graduated from the Cambridge School of Art with a degree in Children’s Book Illustration. She is passionate about creating multi-media picture books by combining storytelling, illustration, composition, and animation.
Since 2014, she has published over 30 picture books, including A Rainy Afternoon, Fairy Song, The Secret of Chinese Music, An Old Piano and Cherry Tree, and Little Music Forest Picture Book Series, among others. She has also published illustration collection books such as Drawing in Cambridge and How to make Picture Books?. Her works have been translated into Chinese, English, Spanish, Thai and Korean, and have been distributed globally.
Her accolades include being a finalist at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition, the iJUNGLE International Illustration Award, the Apila International Picture Book Award in Spain, and the Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award. In 2021, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
Judith Rossell | Melbourne City of Literature, Australia
Judith Rossell is the award-winning author-illustrator of the bestselling Stella Montgomery trilogy, the middle-grade novel, The Midwatch, and the new, junior fiction series, Spud and Snowball.
She also illustrates picture books by other writers, like Pink! and Bogtrotter, both by Margaret Wild. She has written eighteen books and illustrated more than eighty, and her books have been translated into twenty languages.
Before becoming an illustrator, she was a government scientist, and also worked for a cotton spinning company.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with an excellent cat called Chimney.
Manjiri Prabhu | Kozhikode City of Literature, India
Dr. Manjiri Prabhu is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of 24 books and a pioneering voice in contemporary mystery fiction. A trailblazer in Indian literature, she is the first female mystery author from India to be published internationally.
She is also a short-film-maker, a cultural advocate and the Curator & Founder/Director of two international festivals - Pune International Literary Festival and International Festival of Spiritual India (for Humanity & Wisdom).
She has played a significant role in taking Indian mystery fiction to a global audience. The Cosmic Clues was selected as a “Killer Book” by the Independent Mystery Booksellers of America, and The Astral Alibi, was honoured in the Kiriyama Prize. Her recent title, The Rampur Raza Mystery, received the rare honour of being launched by the Hon’ble President of India, Droupadi Murmu.
Her non-fiction book The DOGtrine of Peace proposes a spiritual blueprint for world peace through dogs.
The Judging Panel
Anna Cohn Orchard
Executive Director
Exeter UNESCO City of Literature
Anna Cohn Orchard is the inaugural Executive Director of Exeter UNESCO City of Literature. With a passion for establishing and developing unique initiatives and a keen eye for cultural development, Anna has been instrumental in elevating Exeter's status on the global literary stage.
Carla Jenkins
Writer and Founder of Raw Writing
Carla Jenkins is the founder of Raw Writing, the creative writing school that teaches courses in novel, memoir, and more in Exeter and online. Carla’s debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published to critical acclaim by Hachette, and her second novel, Touched, is coming out in 2027.
Fiona Williams
Author and past resident of a UNESCO residency
Fiona Williams is a writer of literary fiction and her debut novel The House of Broken Bricks was published by Faber in 2024. She is the winner of the 2021 Bridport Prize First Novel Award and was shortlisted for the 2025 Diverse Book Awards.
Gary Calland
General Manager, Greenway,
National Trust
Gary Calland is a General Manager for the National Trust. He looks after a variety of houses, gardens, and coastal landscapes across south Devon. This includes Greenway the holiday home of Agatha Christie, the internationally loved crime writer.