Valued contributor Sophie Masson dropped us this line:

Just to let you and Therese know: I got some exciting news last week: I’ve been granted a residency in Paris next year, by the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, Australia’s premier grant-giving body for the arts. It’s in the Cite Internationale des Arts, a complex which houses studios for artists of all disciplines from all over the world. While there I’ll be working on a novel and soaking in inspiration. I am pretty happy as you can imagine.

ETA: I pressed Sophie for more details, and here’s what she added (very exciting!):

I got a six-month residency grant in the Keesing Studio in the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris, in the 4th arrondissement(basically the Marais, right close to the Seine). It was given by the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, Australia’s federal government arts grant-awarding body. They give out two of these Paris residencies a year(they also award a couple in Rome, one in New York, one in Ireland.) It’s given in recognition of a writer’s work, of the project/s you will undertake in Paris and the way in which it will enrich and enhance both your work and your career. The grant includes a/the free use of the studio for 6 months; living expenses for 6 months; airfare to get there. They are highly sought after as you can imagine! The Keesing Studio is a generous bequest from Australian writer Nancy Keesing to the Literature Board–she bought a 75 year lease there with the stipulation it be used for writers’ residencies.

 What a fantastic opportunity! Congratulations, Sophie!