The Giancarlo DiTrapano Foundation for Literature and the Arts, which was established in 2021 to continue the legacy of the late founder and publisher of Tyrant Books and New York Tyrant magazine, has announced its first fully funded class of residents. The two-week residency is housed in Sezze Romano, Italy, at the DiTrapano estate, a 14-acre property that includes a villa and 17th-century castelletto.

The residency’s incumbent class is an eclectic group of five, including three writers and two artists:

  • Nathan Dragon, a writer from Virginia and regular contributor to Diane Williams’s NOON annual.
  • Zans Brady Krohn, a 26-year-old writer based in New York whose influences include Joy Williams and James Purdy
  • Honor Levy, whose writing has been published in New York Tyrant and the New Yorker; her story collection, My First Book, is set for publication by Penguin in May 2024
  • Alejandro Parisi, an Italo-Argentinian painter
  • Amanda VanValkenburg, a visual artist exploring contemporary anxiety through a combination of traditional and digital techniques

DiTrapano’s Tyrant Books championed the work of the literary avant-garde, including publishing the work of such then-emerging authors as Marie Calloway, Atticus Lish, and Scott McClanahan. Additionally, DiTrapano founded the Mors Tua Vita Mea workshop with Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I’m Someone Else and founder of Rose Books, to directly help teach and foster study of the literary craft.

The foundation board consists of a mixture of DiTrapano’s colleagues and close friends, family, and associates: Jordan Castro, author and former editor of New York Tyrant; Catherine Foulkrod, author and former assistant publisher of New York Tyrant; Peter Wolfgang, an artist, Methodist pastor, and founding editor of New York Tyrant; Meredith Gould Dean, DiTrapano's cousin; and DiTrapano's friend Rob Rankin.

“The literary and art worlds are generally out of touch and afraid to take risks,” says Castro. “The Foundation [hopes to] help shepherd some exciting work.”

Making sure that the residency is within reach of new and emerging writers is paramount, Foulkrod said. "So many residency programs out there are out of reach for people who have to take time off of work to take part, or who can't afford plane tickets. That's why we pay for everything."

In addition to the residency, the foundation hosts readings in New York City, and is planning an anthology. The goal is “to help form a community around the work,” explains Wolfgang. By offering writers a space to create and share their work, the Foundation hopes to keep DiTrapano’s passion and legacy alive.

“We want to give [our] residents the inspiration and the empowerment of what it felt like when Gian believed in you,” Foulkrod said.

This article has been updated with further information.