Casa Morphosi - HOSTING

Application Process

Those who have either won or been shortlisted within the past two years for selected literary/artistic awards are invited to express interest in the available hosting months at Casa Morphosi. The list of selected awards will be finalised soon, and added here.

If you are eligible and would like to express interest in this hosting opportunity, please contact casamorphosi@gmail.com for an application link. Available hosting months are usually May to October in the following year; they will be listed for selection in the application link.

The annual deadline for expressing interest for hosting in the following year is 21 October.

On an annual basis, guests for the following year will be selected and notified by early November. If more than one eligible person expresses interest in an available month, we will use a ballot process to select guest(s).

Hosting Experience

We host guests in a fully furnished and self-contained apartment with its own entrance and key, that includes:

large double bedroom, with bed linen provided
living room with a dining table for four, and a sofa bed
kitchen with an oven/stove/fridge, appliances and utensils
bathroom with a shower, towels and clothes washing machine
high-speed wifi.

Creative guests are hosted at no charge, and the Casa Morphosi hosts are able to contribute up to AUD$2,500 to help fund travel expenses for those who require it.

Those Australian creatives who are selected and require help with travel expenses are asked to create a profile with the Australian Cultural Fund, in order to receive this financial support - that profile can be used by the guest to raise further funds from others if required.

We have a local person in Introdacqua to assist with key access, questions and post-stay cleaning, as the hosts are based in Australia and may or may not be on site during the guest's stay.

Guests are welcome to use the bicycles and equipment stored in the cellar provided they accept responsibility to replace whatever is damaged or lost.

We request that writers read a sample of their work at a public event, either in Italy during the hosting, in Australia after their return, and/or for display on the Casa Morphosi website/Instagram page. Event proceeds, if any, would be used to fund future guests at Casa Morphosi.

Please note the apartment is not wheelchair accessible as there are four stair steps to enter it, and some cobbled streets in the village.

Before arriving, we ask guests to sign an agreement (draft is here) with a short list of guest requirements to ensure the hosting experience is safe, rewarding and fulfilling for everyone involved.

Inspiration

Irish poet Anne Pender has generously allowed us to share her poem below, which we cherish for how aligned it is with our inspiration for Casa Morphosi:

Metamorphose

“My spirit moves to tell of shapes transformed

into new bodies…” – Ovid, Metamorphoses Book 1.

Skins shedding, soft surfaces emerging,

letting go of holding on

as I freefall into a formless future.

No blueprints, only that whisper of a knowing

beyond the imagined boundaries of my mind.

But still I hesitate.

What I feel called to do makes no sense

in a world on fire,

yet the yearning is unyielding,

a tantalising taste of joyous being.

Maybe sense only becomes sensible

when the step forward is taken,

the path only formed by the walking.

Let courage be my compass, then,

leading me on through the turbulence

to the beckoning calm beyond.

Anne Pender, 2025

Application Process

Hosting Experience

Inspiration

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