Department of Lore
Writing Assistant · Goa · Full-Time · Onsite

Application

A long-form collaboration in writing, research, and systems-driven storytelling. Please answer slowly and honestly.

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Prerequisites

Must be acknowledged before the rest of the form unlocks.

0.1 — Relocation to Goa (Prerequisite)

This is a full-time, onsite role based in Goa, working directly with Anand Gandhi on long-form writing, research, and creative development. Relocation to Goa is a non-negotiable requirement for this role.

0.2 — Full-time engagement (Prerequisite)

This role requires daily, immersive, hands-on collaboration. Full-time availability (40–50 hrs/week) is a non-negotiable requirement.

Once you confirm both prerequisites above, the rest of the form will unlock.

Basic Information

Who you are and how to reach you.

If you’re not sure of the exact date, choose your best approximation and clarify later in the form.

This helps provide quick context on your work and interests beyond this form.

This helps us understand what you’re transitioning from and how you might plug into ongoing work.

This helps align expectations early and avoid future friction. Your expectation will be assessed against our overall impression of this form.

Films & Filmmakers

Your cinematic compass.

List 4–10 filmmakers whose work feels close to your internal compass. For each, write 1–5 lines on what specifically in their work resonates with you (form, ethics, structure, ideas, sensibility, etc.).

Aim for 10; minimum 4. Honest, specific answers significantly help your case.

List 4–10 films that genuinely shaped you or feel like “home.” They need not be canon or traditionally “great”, only authentic.

Aim for 10; minimum 4. Thoughtful, precise, and honest reflections here are among the strongest indicators of fit.

This shows how you reason, dissent, and articulate nuance, independent of consensus.

Fiction

Narrative lineages you belong to.

These may include novels, short-story collections, plays, or graphic novels. List 4–10 works using the suggested format.

Aim for 10; minimum 4. Your choices and reflections reveal the narrative and aesthetic traditions you’re in conversation with.

Non-fiction & Ideas

How you build models of the world.

These can include science, philosophy, history, economics, anthropology, architecture, etc. List 4–10 books using the suggested format.

Aim for 10; minimum 4. This demonstrates how you build, revise, and refine mental models.

These may include podcasts, interviews, lectures, long essays, or extended conversations. List 4–10 items.

Aim for 10; minimum 4. This shows what intellectual worlds you inhabit and the discourse you consider meaningful.

List 4–10 questions that you find yourself returning to. Each may be 1–2 sentences.

Aim for 10; minimum 4. These questions are crucial for gauging deeper orientation and alignment.

Favourite Moments Across Media

Scenes and shards that stay with you.

Across films, books, games, television, theatre, or comics, list 4–10 moments you find unforgettable, using the suggested format.

Aim for 10; minimum 4. This shows how you notice, retain, and interpret fine narrative details and structural innovation.

Craft + Collaboration

How you work and why this matters to you.

This shows whether you can operate inside large, evolving knowledge systems without getting lost.

This helps us assess how your working method will integrate with ongoing drafts.

This demonstrates intellectual flexibility and rational rigour. Both are essential in this role.

This helps determine whether our working styles can meaningfully dovetail over the long term.

This helps with planning; it won’t automatically count against you, though earlier availability is strongly preferred.

This helps us understand alignment, intentionality, and clarity of motivation.

Legal consent & use of information

By submitting this form, you confirm that the information you provide is accurate to the best of your knowledge. You consent to Department of Lore Inc. and its collaborators storing, processing, and reviewing your responses for recruitment and potential future collaboration, and to our contacting you using the details provided. We may retain this information for a reasonable period for these purposes. Your answers may be discussed internally for creative, editorial, and organisational decision-making, but will not be published or commercially exploited as standalone work without your further explicit agreement. This consent does not waive any rights you have under applicable law; it simply allows us to responsibly use this material in order to evaluate and structure our work together.

The submit button will unlock once you confirm this consent.

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