RENSSELAERVILLE — Twenty-three long-form journalists, from 11 countries, make up the second class of the Carey Nonfiction Residency.

The Carey Residency is one of very few places in the United States that supports in-depth reporting of documentarians, writers, and photographers at a time when funding for such long-form work is dwindling.

“Our new residents have covered war and conflict, clashes of race and class, environmental and economic crises,” said Program Director Tim Weiner, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, in a release from the institute. “Now, by coming to the Carey Institute, they can distill their years of work into groundbreaking books, long-form journalism, and documentaries.” 

Josh Friedman, Pulitzer Prize winner and vice chair of the Carey Institute added, “Our goal is to add to the understanding of and dialogue about the public policy challenges the world is grappling with today. These residents help us achieve that goal.”

Among the residents in the second cohort are recipients of the Pulitzer Prize, a duPont Silver Baton, and the Nieman Fellowship.

residents will be reporting on a diverse range of topics, including: the Armenian genocide of 1915; the future of the Great Lakes; the “financialization” of world food supply chains of pork, soybeans, tomato paste and canned tuna; the 1898 armed overthrow of an elected government in Wilmington, North Carolina by Klansmen; and a multimedia profile of the legendary polar explorer Robert Swan who is trying to wake up the world to rising sea levels.

The spring residency takes place between January and May. The third class of residents will begin in October 2016. Residents are provided meals, work space, mentorship, and lodging on the Carey Institute’s historic 100-acre campus in Rensselaerville. Stays range from three weeks to three months.

The program has received initial grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Reva and David Logan Foundation, the Mott Foundation, and the Dyson Foundation.  

A returning resident, Rania Abouzeid, said in the release, “They want you to write. They will give you everything you need to achieve that goal. All they ask is that you write. That is quite a luxury, especially in our current business environment where so many people are struggling to complete their long-form projects.”