What

St. Nell’s is a writing residency in Williamsport, PA open to women+, non-binary folks, and other people of marginalized genders working in any humor-related field*. Besides the residency, we also offer Zoom classes led by working (and awesome!) humor professionals (the classes are open to everyone, EVEN CIS MEN, I KNOW THAT’S VERY NICE OF US). We do not charge for the residency itself; we are supported by application fees, class/merch fees, and donations (we’re on Patreon!).

*As far as what I mean by humor-related, I’m using a broad (heh) definition: Short satire pieces, stand-up routines, screenplays, pilot scripts, novels, comics, rock operas, engraved stelae. As long as its primary genre is humorous, it’s fair game.

Winter zoom classes coming soon!

Who

Emily Flake is the Owner and Operator. She is a humor writer and staff cartoonist for the New Yorker (and other places), the author of a small clutch of books, an illustrator, and a sometimes performer. She brought St. Nell’s to life via a successful Kickstarter campaign. Nell’s is named for Nell Gwyn, a comedic actress and bawd who was the toast of Restoration England (Its subtitle, “featuring Kim Scheinberg,” is in honor of a writer, poker expert, and exceptionally generous soul who backed the Kickstarter at the highest possible level). You can see more of her work at www.emilyflake.com when you’re done here.

Laura Ornella is the Director of Programming for St. Nell’s. While she has a lot to learn about Zoom (Laura’s words, not Emily’s), Laura is excited for her new journey with St. Nell’s. Laura is also a Cuban American actor and writer based in comedy. Her work has been showcased at Just For Laughs, on Vulture, and Comedy Central. She founded the comedy platform Humor Darling, is a writer and actor for sketch team Wilburn and hosts the character show JINX! You'll find Laura performing characters 'round town or filming something ridiculous in the streets. Visit www.lauraornella.com for more info.

Kate Villa was the Director of Programming, and is now the Ghost of Programming Past. She is now the Director of Comedy and Institutional Programming at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, an enormous job that we’re so proud of her for getting, even if it took her away from us. She is a comedian, writer, and producer who was born in DC, bred in Chicago, and buttered in New York. Kate has written and produced for TruTV, Showtime, Comedy Central, Discovery+, MTV, Cartuna/IFC, and Wondery. Kate has contributed jokes and games to NPR’s ‘Wait…Wait…Don’t Tell Me!,’ NPR’s ‘Ask Me Another,’ and formerly, Mad Magazine. More of her humor can be found in The New Yorker and McSweeneys. She wants to write a book. She’s manifesting it. You can visit her at www.kate-villa.com.

Ruth Ann Harnisch (henceforth to be referred to by her official title, Ruth Ann Har-Har-Harnisch) helps pay for all of this s***! Ruth Ann is the Founder and President of the Harnisch Foundation, which supports a constellation of entities doing visionary social change work. The Harnisch Foundation also operates Funny Girls, a program devoted to strengthen girls’ leadership skills through improv, and ran Awesome Without Borders, which distributed grants of $1000 each week to support projects all over the world.

Why

Writers need time and space to work, full stop. Residencies make time and space possible. Why marginalized genders in particular? Because this whole (cussword) world was made for men, and everyone else needs all the space it’s possible to carve out. St. Nell’s will be a writing space, a respite, and a community for the 51% of the population historically branded as “not funny.”

How

Residencies are two weeks in length. We host three residents at a time - enough for some companionship, but spacious enough for each resident to have her own space. We offer at least one family residence per year, where the writer could bring their kids, partner, babysitter, nana, whoever they have in their retinue (this is particularly important to me as a working mother). We will run two seasons: Fall and Spring, September-November and March-June. There will be a new cohort every moth, with applications opening for each session about three months in advance. We also offer classes, panels, and the occasional comedy show – open to the public, or via Zoom. See the contact info to sign up for the digital newsletter.

Learn more

Where

St. Nell’s is located in Williamsport, PA, a small and charming city on the west branch of the Susquehanna River. Williamsport is best known as the birthplace of Little League baseball, and hosts the Little League World Series every summer. It is a beautiful and walkable town, with lots of parks, restaurants, and things to do, but it is also surrounded by gorgeous mountains – it truly has the best of both worlds, if the worlds you’re talking are city living and nature.

Meet the Residents (so far)