GEOFFREY GARTON CREATIVE ARTS FELLOWSHIP IN CREATIVE WRITING 2026 (NON-ACADEMIC FELLOWSHIP)
Salary
£13,128 per annum
Length of contract
fixed term for 2 years
Hours
part time
Application deadline
Friday, 27 March 2026
Applications are invited for a Creative Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing at Wolfson College, a graduate College of the University of Oxford.
Founded in 1966, Wolfson is one of the University’s largest graduate colleges and distinctive in its academic scope and international reach. Wolfson has grown and evolved over the past 60 years, retaining its founding President Sir Isaiah Berlin’s egalitarian ethos of being ‘new, untrammelled and unpyramided’. The College motto is ‘Humani nil alienum’ – nothing human is foreign to me’; it is international, interdisciplinary, and diverse. In line with this legacy we encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds and communities, with a variety of skills, abilities and experiences.
Wolfson is a community of about 850 students, studying for both master’s degrees and doctorates, and around 110 research fellows, housed in architecturally outstanding buildings, which are set in beautiful gardens beside the River Cherwell in North Oxford. We have an impressive new academic wing and auditorium, added over the last ten years. The College is the most biodiverse in Oxford and the leader in decarbonization, having become completely zero-carbon across the whole estate in 2023. The College has a strong egalitarian and democratic ethos and is known as one of the most energetic, innovative, and welcoming scholarly communities in Oxford. There is a single Common Room for all members of College, with shared dining facilities and an extremely family-friendly environment and an on-site nursery.
The College offers a stipend of £13,128 per annum plus an allowance of £2,300 per annum towards the expenses of the Fellow, and provides an office for the duration of the Fellowship. The Fellowship was established with an endowment by Geoffrey Garton, former Fellow at the College, and rotates through creative writing, music, performing arts and visual arts.
The Fellowship is not an academic post. It is intended for a person engaged in any aspect of creative writing, and writing of any style. The Fellow should be prepared to be an active member of the College, and should live within commuting distance of Oxford. We are open to applications from anyone involved in creative writing, and are not prescriptive. What matters most is that candidates should be interested in working within the community here as they advance their craft. You may want to look at our website to see the range of work done by our research clusters and consider whether there are possible collaborations. The Oxford Centre for Life Writing includes those working in creative non-fiction; the Earth Emergency Cluster is particularly focussed on climate change issues, as part of the College’s overall commitment to decarbonisation; other research clusters offer the potential for interchange with creative writers.
There are no set hours of work and the person appointed will be expected to use their own judgement and discretion as to how best to allocate their time to achieve their goals. We would not generally anticipate that the hours of work, which will be undertaken on a flexible basis as necessary, will exceed 20 hours per week. The appointment is subject to producing satisfactory evidence of your right to work in the UK, obtaining satisfactory references, satisfactory completion of a medical questionnaire and signing a contract of employment.
The Fellowship will carry full membership of College and Common Table rights (ie an allowance of up to £59.50 a week for the Fellow’s own meals taken in the College Hall). The Fellowship will be tenable from 1 October 2026 for a period of two years, with the possibility of extension for one further year.
The Successful Candidate will:
• Clearly demonstrate their creative engagement with an aspect of creative writing.
• Demonstrate experience relevant to this Fellowship.
• Provide evidence of sustained professional artistic activities of a high calibre.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm for contributing to the cultural life of the College and a commitment to engaging with the College community, with a view to increasing awareness of and interest in creative writing.
References
References will be requested after the shortlisting stage for interview candidates who should themselves contact their two referees asking them without further request to send a confidential reference to the President’s Office before the interview date. References should be emailed (as a pdf) to the President’s Office on presidents.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk
Applications
Applications should include:
• A completed application form and a curriculum vitae (no more than two pages).
Please email your complete application to arrive by the closing date to: presidents.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk Please send as ONE pdf file (excluding the optional Recruitment Monitoring form which should be sent separately as it does not constitute part of the application.)
OPTIONAL – if you wish to complete and return the optional Recruitment Monitoring Form, please send as a separate pdf. It does not form part of the application.
CLOSING DATE: FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2026 INTERVIEW DATE THURSDAY 14TH MAY 2026
No alternative interview date will be offered
UK Border Agency legislation on the Right to Work in the UK
Successful candidates will be required to provide satisfactory evidence of their Right to Work in the UK. This is a requirement for ‘unpaid’ positions as well as paid employment.
Non-Stipendiary Research Fellowshipsin Humanities and Social Sciences 2026
Salary
Non-Stipendiary
Application deadline
SUNDAY 22 MARCH 2026. INTERVIEW DATE THURSDAY 21 MAY 2026 - No alternative interview date will be offered
The College proposes to elect up to twelve non-stipendiary Research and Junior Research Fellows in Humanities and Social Sciences, if candidates of sufficient merit present themselves, without limitation of subject, from 1 October 2026. Candidates must hold a doctorate. Candidates who have received a doctorate over five years and (other than in exceptional situations) under ten years before that date will be eligible for a Research Fellowship; most candidates, who have received a doctorate less than five years before that date, will be eligible for a Junior Research Fellowship. Candidates will be required to be engaged in research, with a full-time University of Oxford contract of employment for the duration of the Fellowship or have full-time external funding for research with the formal contractual support of a University of Oxford Department or Faculty. These positions are designed to support early career researchers. They are not for those on sabbaticals or already holding Professorships. Wolfson does operate a Visiting Scholars Scheme. Applications will be welcomed from candidates with caring responsibilities or a disability, who choose to work less than full-time. Candidates will also be required to spend the greater part of the academic year in Oxford, and notify the College of any changes to their circumstances, at which point the Fellowship may be reviewed.
Junior Research Fellowships are intended for those with limited research experience, who have recently completed or are shortly about to complete a doctorate. These Fellowships are not suitable for those at an early stage of their doctoral studies. Applications are encouraged from candidates holding Research Council or charity fellowships. No more than five years should have elapsed since receipt of a doctorate, other than candidates whose postdoctoral academic career has been interrupted by, for example, childbirth, family commitments, illness or compulsory military service. A statement giving reasons why an exception should be considered must be included with the application.
Research Fellowships are intended for those whose careers are progressing to a point where they are becoming established scholars in their field. No more than ten years should have elapsed since receipt of a doctorate, other than candidates whose postdoctoral academic career has been interrupted by, for example, childbirth, family commitments, illness or compulsory military service. A statement giving reasons why an exception should be considered must be included with the application. Research Fellowships are not suitable for those taking sabbatical leave from an academic post. Applications from candidates with fewer than three years of postdoctoral experience are discouraged since it is very unlikely that they will have acquired sufficient experience and seniority, and it may be more appropriate for these candidates to apply for a Junior Research Fellowship.
All Fellowships carry Common Table rights (currently up to £59.50 a week for own meals in Hall), and other benefits. Applications are particularly welcome from women, black and minority ethnic candidates who are under-represented in academic posts in Oxford. Preference will be given to candidates who have not already held a Fellowship at the same level with another College.
Research and Junior Research Fellows are not ipso facto members of the Governing Body of the College, but they are eligible to sit on nearly all College committees and may be elected as representative members of the Governing Body. Research Fellows may be asked to act as a College Advisor to graduate students.
Tenure and Renewal Junior Research Fellows will be elected for three years in the first instance, and may apply for renewal/election as a Research Fellow for a further four years. Research Fellows will be elected for three years in the first instance, and may apply for renewal for a further final four years. Renewal, which is not automatic, is subject to approval by the Governing Body and is considered on the basis of satisfactory progress in research, evidence of adequate financial support for the further term, and, of course, good standing in the College
Funding The Fellowships are non-stipendiary. Candidates are asked to demonstrate their financial independence with evidence of their means of support. Where funds are applied for but not confirmed, any offer will be conditional on proof of funding being provided before the start of the Fellowship. All successful candidates will be asked to provide a copy of their contract with the University of Oxford before the Fellowship starts.ReferencesReferences will be requested after the shortlisting stage for interview candidates who should themselves contact their two referees, asking them
without further requestto send a confidential reference to the President’s Office before the interview date. References should be emailed (as a pdf) to the President’s Office on
presidents.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk
UK Border Agency legislation on the Right to Work in the UKSuccessful candidates will be required to provide satisfactory evidence of their Right to Work in the UK. This is a requirement for ‘unpaid’ positions as well as paid employment.