Since 2021, the library scholarship has given authors of all literary genres (novel, poetry, drama, etc.) the opportunity to engage with the rich and varied holdings of the Gotha Research Library during the research phase of their literary projects. These include not only more than 11,000 emigrant letters or numerous ego documents, manuscripts, books and historical prints from the private libraries of the Ernestine dukes and duchesses as well as from the official ducal library. Many original sources from the time of Martin Luther and the early phase of Protestantism or documents that shed light on the history of knowledge and collection in the early modern period and the Enlightenment are also available for research.
The one-month scholarship is awarded in cooperation with the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Thuringia, the Friends of the Gotha Research Library, the Gotha Research Centre and the Literary Society of Thuringia.
Among the first scholarship holders were Rainer Merkel (Berlin), Xenia Helms (Berlin), Ralph Grüneberger (Leipzig), Sebastian Stuertz (Hamburg) and Yulia Marfutova (Boston / USA). During the stay, a reading designed by the scholarship holders is also planned.
The application deadline is February 28, 2023. For more information on the scholarship and the application form, please visit: www.kulturstiftung-thueringen.de.