The Jack Kerouac Writers In Residence Project Of Orlando Inc

What The Jack Kerouac Writers In Residence Project Of Orlando Inc does

The Jack Kerouac Writers In Residence Project Of Orlando Inc is a Florida-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 by Orlando NBC reporter Bob Kealing to preserve and operationalize Jack Kerouac's former College Park residence at 1418½ Clouser Avenue — the circa-1920 cottage where Kerouac lived from July 1957 to spring 1958, typed the original manuscript of The Dharma Bums, and lived during the publication of On The Road. The organization runs the only writers' residency located in Kerouac's actual home, offering 4-7 week residencies to selected emerging writers worldwide across five categories (Poetry, Fiction/Short Story, Creative Nonfiction, Play, and Screenplay), with intentional focus on BIPOC and LGBTQ writers.

The core product is the residency itself: free lodging, utilities (internet, water, electricity, lawn, alarm), a $300-$600 grocery-store gift card, a bicycle for local transport, and integration into the Central Florida literary community via required workshops (1-2 per resident) and a final public reading. Applications are managed through the third-party Submittable platform with a $50 per-category application fee. The organization has no proprietary technology, no paid headcount, and is operated by volunteers and an unpaid 12-member Board of Directors.

Revenue mechanics consist of three streams: tax-deductible donations and memberships (the primary, undisclosed stream); $50 application processing fees; and modest proceeds from resident-hosted workshops. The organization accepts international applicants, maintains a member program offering invitations to exclusive events at the house, and is preparing for 2026 house renovations that will reshape the 2027 residency calendar. A recent partnership with the St Pete Kerouac House extends operations into a second location during the renovation window.

Name

The Jack Kerouac Writers In Residence Project Of Orlando Inc

Legal name

The Jack Kerouac Writers In Residence Project Of Orlando Inc

Website

https://kerouac-project.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Kerouac Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a writers-in-residence program out of Jack Kerouac's former 1957-1958 home in Orlando, Florida, offering selected emerging writers worldwide free 4-7 week residencies with lodging, utilities, and a grocery stipend.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Orlando

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The 501(c)(3) nonprofit relies on donor support. Members are invited to exclusive events at the Kerouac Project house with writers in residence.
2. Application Fees: $50 application fee per submission covers administrative costs, food stipends for residents, utilities, and house upkeep. Multiple submissions in different categories require separate fees.
3. Workshop Proceeds: Writers-in-residence are required to host 1-2 creative writing workshops. Proceeds from workshops benefit the Kerouac Project to continue future residencies and community outreach.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Kerouac Project operates a 4-7 week writer-in-residence program at Jack Kerouac's historic College Park cottage in Orlando, Florida. Residents receive free lodging, utilities, a grocery stipend ($300 for 4 weeks or $600 for 7 weeks), a bicycle for local transportation, and access to Orlando's literary community. In exchange, residents must host 1-2 creative writing workshops and give a final public reading. Applications are accepted globally in categories including Poetry, Fiction/Short Story, Creative Nonfiction, Play, and Screenplay, with intentional outreach to BIPOC and LGBTQ writers.

Product overview

The Kerouac Project operates a single core offering: a writer-in-residence program at Jack Kerouac's former residence at 1418½ Clouser Avenue in College Park, Orlando. The program provides emerging writers with 4-7 week residencies including lodging, utilities, food stipends ($300 for 4 weeks, $600 for 7 weeks), and access to the historic house where Kerouac wrote 'The Dharma Bums' and lived during the publication of 'On The Road.' Residents participate in community events including welcome potlucks, creative writing workshops, and final readings. The program accepts writers worldwide in categories including Poetry, Fiction/Short Story, Creative Nonfiction, Play, and Screenplay.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Writer-in-Residence Program A residency program offering writers the opportunity to live and work for 4-7 weeks in Jack Kerouac's former home in Orlando, Florida, providing lodging, utilities, a grocery stipend, a bicycle for local transportation, and integration into the Orlando literary community. Residents must host 1-2 creative writing workshops and present a final reading. Applications are accepted globally in categories including Poetry, Fiction/Short Story, Creative Nonfiction, Play, and Screenplay, with a $50 application fee per submission category.

Quantifiable outcome

• No cost to residents for lodging - covered by nonprofit
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• St Pete Kerouac HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Due to restorations at the Orlando Kerouac house in 2026, the St Pete house (where Jack wrote On the Road) is hosting Sylvia Jones for the Kerouac Project 2026 residency. The partnership includes hosting the resident's potluck and final reading at that location.
• The Drunken OdysseyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLiterary podcast partner mentioned in board section. John King, board member, is the host of The Drunken Odyssey: A Podcast About the Writing Life.
• Mad About WordsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization featured in board section alongside The Drunken Odyssey.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Civitella Ranieri Foundation: Civitella Ranieri is an Italian residency foundation hosting international writers and artists in a historic Italian castle. Comparable to the Kerouac Project in the heritage-property, free-residency model, though geographically distinct and with broader artistic scope.

Direct peers

• Ragdale Foundation: Ragdale is an artist residency in Lake Forest, IL, offering residencies to writers, composers, and visual artists in a historic house. It shares the Kerouac Project's model of providing free residencies in a single heritage property to selected emerging creative writers.
• Ucross Foundation: Ucross is an artist residency in Wyoming offering residencies to writers, composers, and visual artists at no cost. Comparable to the Kerouac Project in that it provides free, dedicated time and lodging to selected writers through a competitive application process, though at a significantly larger scale.
• Blue Mountain Center: Blue Mountain Center is an artist residency in the Adirondacks, NY, hosting writers, visual artists, and other creatives for residencies. Comparable in its free, selective, single-property residency model to the Kerouac Project.
• Yaddo: Yaddo is a historic artist residency in Saratoga Springs, NY, offering working space to writers, composers, and visual artists. Like the Kerouac Project, it is a heritage nonprofit residency providing free residency at a culturally significant estate, with a similarly selective application process for emerging and established writers.
• Bread Loaf Writers' Conference: Bread Loaf is a historic writers' conference operated by Middlebury College in Vermont, hosting residencies and workshops for emerging and established writers. Like the Kerouac Project, it is a heritage-focused literary community with competitive selection, but operates as an annual conference rather than ongoing residency.
• Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown: The Fine Arts Work Center offers seven-month residencies to emerging writers and visual artists in Provincetown, MA. It shares the Kerouac Project's selective-application, free-residency model focused on emerging writers, though at a longer residency duration and larger cohort scale.
• MacDowell: MacDowell is one of the oldest and most prestigious U.S. artist residency programs, offering free residencies to writers, composers, and visual artists in New Hampshire. Like the Kerouac Project, it provides dedicated writing time and lodging at no cost to selected creators, though it operates at much larger scale and broader artistic scope.
• Hedgebrook: Hedgebrook is a women writers' residency on Whidbey Island, WA, offering free residencies for writing projects. Like the Kerouac Project, it is a mission-driven nonprofit offering free writing-focused residencies to a defined writer community, with a similar small cohort size.
• Norman Mailer Center: The Norman Mailer Center hosts writers' residencies and literary programming, including the Mailer Prize. Comparable to the Kerouac Project as a heritage-author-named literary nonprofit supporting emerging writers through residencies and community programming.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/kerouacproject
• Xx.com/Kerouac_Project
• Facebookfacebook.com/KerouacProject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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