The Community of Writers has lost our fearless and warmhearted leader, our co-founder, teacher and friend.

Oakley M. Hall
July 1, 1920 - May 12, 2008

Read more about Oakley

 

 
 

POETRY WORKSHOP: JULY 19 - 26, 2008

WRITERS WORKSHOPS: AUGUST 2 - 9, 2008

SCREENWRITING: AUGUST 2 - 9, 2008

Join Our Mailing List or Update Your Contact Information!

Community of Writers

Every summer for 39 years, the Community of Writers at Squaw valley has brought together poets and prose writers for separate weeks of workshops, individual conferences, lectures, panels, readings, and discussions of the craft and the business of writing.  Our goal is to assist writers to improve their craft and thus move them closer to publication.  The Community has a competitive admissions procedure and the level of writing is high, but interested writers and poets should not hesitate to apply.

Complete information on how to apply to each program can be found by following the program links above and then following the "How to Apply" links. Make sure your submission/application arrives before the May deadline; all submissions will be read and evaluated before any admissions decisions are made.

The Community of Writers was established in 1969 by novelists Blair Fuller and Oakley Hall, who were both residents of the valley. It was originally staffed by a band of San Francisco writers including David Perlman,  Barnaby Conrad and John Leggett, the latter two of whom went on to found, respectively, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and the Napa Writers Conference. 

The Community of Writers continues to be directed by Brett Jones.

Over the years the community has mounted workshops in Fiction, Nonfiction, Screenwriting, Playwriting, Poetry, and Nature Writing (the Art of the Wild Program, which was co-produced by the University of California at Davis), and Writing the Medical Experience. Lisa Alvarez and Louis B. Jones now direct the Writers Workshop, which was for twenty years directed by Carolyn Doty. Literary agent Michael Carlisle directs the Nonfiction Program. Galway Kinnell directed the Poetry Program for 17 years and Robert Hass has directed it since 2004. Diana Fuller directs the Screenwriters Workshop, which was founded by screenwriters Tom Rickman and Gill Dennis.

The Community publishes Omnium Gatherum & Newsletter, chronicling the publishing and other successes of its participants. The 2007/2008 Issue is available now!

The Community of Writers rents houses and condominiums in the Valley for participants to live in during the week of the conference. If, when you are accepted, you would like us to arrange your accommodations, you can choose between Single, Double and Multiple rooms within these units.

A Single will be a room in which a participant will stay alone and is $500* for the week.  A Double will have twin beds and will be shared with another participant of the same sex and is $350* for the week. A Multiple will have bunk beds and will be shared with two or more participants of the same sex and is $200* for the week, (subject to availability). If you will need a specific kind of room, return your deposit with the form as soon as possible after acceptance.

*Prices subject to change without notice.

Dinners are provided six evenings during the week. Participants are on their own for breakfast and lunch. There are major supermarkets in Tahoe City and Truckee, ten miles from Squaw Valley, and the Community Market or the 7-11 in Squaw Valley should have everything you need.  You may prepare your breakfasts and lunches in your house, or visit one of the cafes in the valley.

Squaw valley, located in the California Sierra Nevada, close to the north shore of Lake Tahoe, is a ski resort, the location of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Summers are warm and sunny; participants will have opportunities to hike to the local waterfalls, take nature walks up the mountain, swim in Lake Tahoe, and play tennis, ice skate, or bike along the Truckee River.

 

Brett Hall Jones, Executive  Director
Squaw Valley Community of Writers
PO Box 1416
Nevada City, CA 95959

(530) 470-8440

Email: brett "at sign" squawvalleywriters "dot" org

(We have removed the link, and spell it out this way to help reduce unwanted spam.)

SUMMER

(June 15 - August 15)

PO Box 2352, Olympic valley, CA 96146

(530) 583-5200

Email: brett "at sign" squawvalleywriters "dot" org

 


Join Our Mailing List or Update Your Contact Information!

The Community  is a 501(C)3 Nonprofit Corporation. We depend on the generosity of friends,  former participants and staff to fund the scholarship and tuition waivers  we grant to our talented participants. Donations of any size are appreciated.  Checks can be made out to The Community of Writers and mailed to the address  above. Or you can visit http://www.justgive.org and donate with a credit card.

Download Donation Letter

In 2003, under the directorship of Dr. David Watts, the Community of Writers presented Writing the Medical Experience. Sarah Lawrence College took over the conference in 2004. We are delighted to report that Sarah Lawrence College will host the conference again this year.

 

OAKLEY HALL OBITUARIES:

San Francisco Chronicle
The New York Times
The Los Angeles Times
San Diego Tribune

 

Updated 6/10/08

 
 

Writers
Workshops

Screenwriting

Poetry Workshop

Accommodations

Download 2008 Schedule of Events

Download 2008 Brochure (PDF)

Contact

Poetry Benefit Reading

Chronicle Books has published our first book of fiction craft lectures available at your local bookstore or through Amazon:


Mailing List

Scholarships & Donations

Writing the
Medi
cal
Experience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
2008_DOWNLOAD_BROCHURE