Authors and trains? It's a natural fit. Amtrak has begun offering "writers' residencies" in the form of "long roundtrip rides aboard Amtrak trains dedicated solely for the purpose of writing," the Atlantic Wire reported, adding that the company plans to "turn the writers' residencies into an established, long-term program, sending writers on trains throughout its network of routes."The genesis of the idea was a remark made by Alexander Chee in a Pen America interview, where he said, "I still like a train best for [writing]. I wish Amtrak had residencies for writers." Jessica Gross tweeted her support for the concept, and "though such lofty fantasies often die unrealized, by the grace of some transportation-and-prose-loving god, Amtrak actually responded to Gross on Twitter, and liked the idea," the Wire wrote. She was offered the first "test-run" residency, traveling from New York City to Chicago and back.
"I've seen a billion tweets (#AmtrakResidency) from other writers saying 'I want one of these,' " Gross said.
Julia Quinn, social media director for Amtrak, confirmed there has been "overwhelming demand" from people interested in the program--part of the reason the company is intent on turning this into a regular operation. And what about the guy who started it all? Chee tweeted he had set up his own test run.
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