Help Emilly Prado Attend Artist Residency in VT

Hola <3

My name is Emilly Prado and I'm a writer, community organizer, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. After eight residency rejections since 2021, I'm honored that the ninth one has stuck & I've been offered a two-week residency at the Vermont Studio Center (VSC) for May 2023 which coincides with the final sprint ahead of my MFA thesis submission.

The challenge is the residency fee is due in full by March 30, 2023—six weeks away—and my cash flow is currently very low as a self-employed student who has solely worked on creative writing and grant applications for the past five weeks, without completing paid work opportunities. I wish I was in a financial situation where I could easily say yes and afford this expense, but I am not in that place yet. However, I am hoping community, near and far, may be able to chip in to support my attendance at this special professional development opportunity. Any amount at all helps and is deeply appreciated. It's very hard to ask for help and I usually overextend myself with rewards, but I am trying to learn from the past and simply ask this time.

Why a Residency & Why Now?

After a decade of beginning my work on what I thought would be my first book, I have a clear vision, shape, and outline for my sophomore memoir. I am 2/3 drafted as of this fundraiser with incredible momentum after years of being unsure. My goal is to finish a rough draft by May 2023 so that I can leave my MFA with a roadmap for the next stage of my career.

Residencies afford artists time to ease into stillness and focus on whatever needs tending. Your basic needs are taken care of once there—accommodations, all meals in this case, and a community of fellow creatives to keep company at mealtime. They are a luxury and a privilege, and I know how much they can change the trajectory of a project and career.

My first and only formal admission to an artist residency was six years ago at the beginning of 2017. I received support from a RACC professional development grant to afford the stay and it was life-changing. I spent three uninterrupted weeks in my parents' home state of Michoacán, MX, where I read, rested, and wrote the seeds which many years later became Funeral for Flaca, back when I had no idea how to write a book, or that I was already doing it. I read my creative writing in public for the first time there, in Spanish, and later when I returned to Portland I had the chance to read from the bilingual zine I created.

In 2019 I was accepted to VSC and offered a partial artist grant but could not afford the fee and declined the invitation. This time, I really hope I can make it with your help. I've been searching for local and national grants to support my artist residency, but can't find any. Both RACC & OAC grants don't allow students to apply. I warmly welcome any suggestions for resources but I have decided to turn to you all and humbly ask for a people-powered, community-backed grant to support my next book instead.

About the Book

In 2012, I admitted myself to a psychiatric ward seeking help for deteriorating mental health. I had hit rock bottom and was scaring myself and others. Upon release, I sought resources to restructure my life for greater balance and I yearned for memoirs that might help me learn, but moreover, feel less alone and reassured that my dream of being an author was still possible. I was grateful to find books like MADNESS, but no bipolar disorder memoirs from a Chicana existed. A decade later, I know of just two. I haven't announced many details publicly about this book, but I'm nervous and excited to share the working description below. I am writing this book for the 20-year-old version of me that needed this book, and others who may also feel less alone when reading it. For those of you who've read FFF, this is a book-length version of the essay, "You Will Always Bring Me Flowers."

OUTLINES is a braided coming-of-age memoir exploring a 20-year-old first-generation Chicana's diagnosis with bipolar disorder during a self-admitted psychiatric stay that may jeopardize her ability to walk for her days-away college commencement ceremony. Through weaving timelines OUTLINES follows Emilly Prado's decades-long search for healing as she navigates the fears of receiving mental illness diagnoses, internalized and external stigmas within her Latinx family, and discovering her path as a writer. OUTLINES sheds light on the human-impact of an imperfect mental health care system, especially for women of color, and is a testament to the power of writing.

Budget

Breakdown by line item:

TOTAL: $4220

Any additional amount will support bills since I will be unable to work during my time away.

Acknowledgments & Thanks

Thank you for reading this, donating, and sharing. Check out my website for more about my work.

Photo caption for image above: My first public reading. Guapamacátaro, Michoacán, Mexico. 2017.

Photo caption for header image: A photo of me during my first residency. Guapamacátaro, Michoacán, Mexico. 2017.

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