La Villa Gillet

Residency brief

The Villa Gillet is a European and international house for contemporary writing practices. It is a meeting place and a creation space, giving voice to writers, thinkers and artists in order to create a common language between literature and human sciences.

Located in the historical city of Lyon, a place of confluence with a rich history of interaction with Europe and the world, the Villa Gillet envisions itself as a thoughts laboratory on practices related to books, written and spoken words and contemporary debates, making it an entry point into contemporary literature and thoughts. The Villa Gillet is keen on featuring ways of thinking as diverse as the many languages and stories of the writers it hosts and encourages an active practice of debate, multilingualism and (reference comparisons ). For this, the Villa Gillet works across the spectrum of writing practices and contemporary storytelling, be it from fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's literature, research, sound writing as well as any other emerging writing practices.

Every year, it welcomes writers in the framework of international residencies, and cultural action residencies but also authors whose freedom of expression is compromised - be it due to censorship regulations, of them being testimony to social and political realities or them being public figures. The Villa Gillet is part of, with other partner spaces in Europe, a mobility network of authors whose aim is to create a public debate space by creating opportunities for foreign writers to contribute.

  • Thematic focus Literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, research, children's literature and other emerging writing practices).
  • Location Lyon (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)
  • Dates May 2025
  • Length of stay 4 weeks
  • Apply Now

Our space

The Villa Gillet is located in Lyon, inside the Cerisaie Park, in the historical neighbourhood of the Croix-Rousse. Designed by Lyon-based architect Joseph Folléa (1867-1927), the Villa was built in 1917 for a family of rich industrialists in the dyeing business, who sold it to the city of Lyon in 1976. A historically-listed building since 2015, it is home to three cultural organizations dedicated to books, debates and reading: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Livre et lecture, the Quais du Polar festival and the Villa Gillet.

The building has a theatre, three lounges and several offices and meeting rooms. Residents are hosted outside the building in a separate apartment in the city center and are invited to use the facilities at the Villa Gillet.

Residency conditions

  • The resident will be given accommodation in an individual apartment rented in the city centre, at walking distance from the Villa.
  • The resident’s travel costs to and from his/her home address will be covered by the French Institute in India.
  • The resident will receive a fixed stipend of INR. 60,000 per month to cover his/her food and living expenses.
  • The resident will receive a fixed residency grant of INR. 50 000 per month.
  • The resident should be willing to give up to 20% of his/her residency time to participate in lectures, workshops, conferences in local schools and local literary festivals organized by Villa Gillet or the French Institute in India.
  • The French Institute in India expects the selected resident to send them a short text (1000 - 2000 words) or strip testifying of their experience within 3 months of completion of the residency.
  • This is an exploratory residence, which means that there is no other obligation of results at the end of the residency. However, the residency program needs to be acknowledged in any artistic production resulting from the residency.

Eligibility criteria

  • Proficiency in English is required for the applicant, whereas fluency in French is not a prerequisite.
  • The resident must have a minimum of one published book to apply.
  • Applications from self-published writers will not be considered.