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Monday, Mar 23, 2026
What might it mean to write with, rather than about, the cosmos? As we launch the Open Call for the 2026–2027 Cosmic Consciousness Literary Residency, we invite writers and poets to engage directly with the SETI Institute’s central questions around intelligence and consciousness. The most recent SETI Live conversation on Exoplanetary Poetry offers a compelling glimpse into what such an approach can look like in practice, where planetary data, chemistry, and AI become collaborators in the act of writing. Cosmic Consciousness points toward new literary forms that do not simply describe other worlds, but attempt to think and sense with them.
As always, make sure to catch up on our SETI AIR’s news and events.
Clear skies,
Bettina
AIR Program Spotlight
Cosmic Consciousness Residency Open Call 2026
The SETI Institute is accepting proposals for the Cosmic Consciousness Literary Residency for 2026/2027. This 18-month residency comes with a stipend of $10K.
The Cosmic Consciousness residency invites writers and poets working in all areas of literature, including but not limited to speculative fiction/sci-fi, experimental writing and poetry. The artworks resulting from this residency should reflect and expand on the SETI Institute’s “Intelligence and Consciousness” research division, whose central science questions are: “What is the nature of consciousness?” and “What is the nature and evolution of intelligence?” At the end of the residency, the resulting texts may be published and presented at a special event that includes readings by the authors.
Deadline to submit: 1 June 2026, 11:59pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)
Watch SETI AIR
daniela brill estrada, Bart Kuipers, Julie-Michèle Morin
SETI Live: Exoplanetary Poetry: AI, Chemistry, and Alien Communication
Our current Cosmic Consciousness residency artists daniela brill estrada, Bart Kuipers, and Julie-Michèle Morin recently discussed an art-science collaboration that imagines how language might emerge from alien worlds. Hosts: Bettina Forget and Cosmic Consciousness residency advisor Gregory Betts.
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