Hawthornden Foundation

The Hawthornden Foundation is a U.S. private charitable foundation supporting contemporary writers and literary arts. Founded by Drue Heinz, a patron and benefactor of the arts, the Foundation is named for the historic Hawthornden Castle in Scotland where an international residential fellowship program provides month-long retreats for creative writers. Hawthornden also supports a second historic property, Casa Ecco, on Lake Como in Italy, the site of years of “Conversazioni” among writers and now a retreat for invited authors to complete a literary work in progress. In addition, the Foundation sponsors the annual Hawthornden Prize, one of Britain’s oldest and foremost literary awards, and provides grant support to other literary programs.