Fifteen years ago, Vermont College set out to create a new kind of summer gathering designed to address the interests and needs of experienced writers, with MFAs or equivalent backgrounds. In 1996, we hosted the first annual Postgraduate Writers’ Conference. Today, in 2010, the Conference is flourishing, and widely recognized as a haven for serious emerging writers, seeking to connect and recharge and lift their process and craft to new levels.

 

At the heart of the PWC’s unique formula is our small workshop size, with outstanding author-teachers leading daily groups limited to five or six writers in Creative Nonfiction, Novel, Short Story, Young Adult, Poetry and Poetry Manuscript. Along with the postgraduate level of the participants, the intimate setting allows for an extraordinarily in-depth, far-reaching discussion of each writer’s work. Our attendees often rate this as their best-ever workshop experience—one which has a transforming impact not only on the specific pages and projects considered but on their broader vision and artistic development.

 

Beyond the group sessions, each participant has an individual meeting with workshop faculty. Our schedule also includes a provocative and eclectic menu of craft talks, guided exercise sessions and forums on issues facing the Postgraduate Writer, all of them open to participants across the genres.

 

Supportive, inclusive community is another hallmark of VCFA’s Postgraduate Writers’ week. We’ve all heard the horror stories about cut-throat and/or rigidly stratified conference and program environments. That’s never been the Vermont College ethos. The same prevailing philosophy that for almost 30 years has welcomed and celebrated all of our writers as colleagues and peers defines the spirit of the August gathering.

 

Here on the historic VCFA campus, you’ll find faculty and participants, across genres and workshop groups, talking passionately together about writing and life over meals in our gourmet cafeteria. Our series of afternoon Participant Readings generates as much excitement as nightly readings by faculty. We all share a fun lineup of evening social activities—from a soiree and campfire at the nearby home of the Conference director to an open-mike evening with the terrific northern-Vermont-based “Po-Jazz” ensemble to our own “private” party at a favorite Montpelier night spot—as well as group trail-walk and swim outings. 

 

If this sounds like the kind of summer week you’d enjoy, and that would inspire and energize you in your writing life, please read on to learn more, including how to apply and/or register.  

 

 

The majority of our participants have MFAs. This includes graduates of the Vermont College programs, both in Writing and Writing for Children and Young Adults, who find the August week a great way to return to what they’ve come to see as their writing “home.” But the gathering is definitely not limited to returning alumni. In fact, given how word about the Conference has spread, writers hailing from other programs all over the country outnumber VCFA graduates.

 

And the Conference isn’t limited to MFAs. Some of our participants have PhDs, or MAs. Some have pursued their graduate study in other disciplines. We also welcome writers who haven’t gone the conventional grad-school route but have garnered their “equivalent experience” along other avenues, including attendance at workshops and conferences. Our concern is not with formal credentials, but rather with ensuring that all of our participants are at the appropriate level of development to benefit from and contribute to the Conference community. And while we’re ready to applaud an applicant’s publishing credits, they’re certainly not a prerequisite. For us it’s about the work, and a writer’s desire to take it to the next level.  

 

If you have a terminal graduate degree (MFA or PhD) in creative writing, you don’t need to apply for the Conference; you can simply register. If you would like to attend the Conference based on your equivalent experience, please send a letter of interest detailing your writing and related background, along with a five-page sample manuscript (by Word file attachment) to Ellen Lesser, Conference Director (pgconference@vermontcollege.edu). Ellen will review your materials in consultation with the Conference faculty in your genre, and get back to you shortly.

 

Each year, we pride ourselves on assembling a roster of exceptional author-teachers for the August Conference. About half of the instructors are either current or former members of VCFA’s own distinguished MFA faculty, with the other half drawn from different schools all over the country. We select our mentors based on the quality of their original work, but also on their devotion to teaching excellence and their willingness to fully immerse themselves in the Conference week. Our desire to foster diversity, aesthetic as well as ethnic and cultural, also helps guide our selection.

 

From the faculty standpoint, the Postgraduate Writers’ Conference is a demanding but unusually rewarding “gig,” which is why writers are eager to come back again once they’ve taught with us. For 2010, our lineup combines returning favorites with some new faces at VCFA, for a mix we know will ensure a great Conference. By workshop genre, they are: 

 

 

Click on the individual faculty names for complete bios and photos. You can also click here to learn more about our Conference Coordinator, Anne Connor, who works closely with the Director, faculty and participants. 

 

 

 

PWC workshops are led by a single faculty member and limited to six participants, except for the Poetry Manuscript groups, which are capped at five. Workshop meets every morning for between two and two ½ hours, for a total of five daily sessions. Manuscripts from all registered writers are due in to the Conference office on July 1, and distributed a few weeks in advance of our starting date to facilitate thoughtful preparation for the group discussions. Submissions go up to 25 standard manuscript pages of prose and six pages of poetry; members of the Poetry Manuscript workshops submit drafts of book-length collections, with up to 50 pages of poems.  

 

Depending on the group and instructor, workshop sessions may include other activities beyond the critiques, such as in-class exercises and consideration of additional texts and pertinent, broader craft topics. Some groups take on “homework” during the Conference week, including revision work on their manuscripts, or generation of new material. To cite one recent example, the members of Clint McCown’s novel workshop last summer tackled a specific scenic assignment involving their novels-in-progress, and all agreed to present those fresh (and rather dazzling!) passages in their Participant Reading slot. 

 

The small workshop size and meeting schedule permit a full discussion of each participant’s manuscript. There’s lots of opportunity for follow-up exploration as the workshop groups bond and spend extra time together throughout the Conference day. In each writer’s one-on-one consultation with faculty, he or she can choose to pursue ideas and questions from the group session or head off in different directions.  

       

 

Mornings are devoted to workshop group meetings. Following lunch and a little breathing time, we have a full afternoon schedule. This usually begins with one or more hour-long craft talks or classes presented by Conference faculty. Later most afternoons we have one in our extremely well-attended and high-energy series of Participant Readings, organized according to workshop groups. (Each writer gets a five-minute reading slot. This may not sound like a lot, but wow, do people show off their stuff in this format!) After dinner, we have readings by two or three faculty members most evenings, followed by a reception or special social gathering.

 

We often get the question, “Will I have time to write?” For some prospective participants, that ranks as a priority, at least in theory. Many others figure they spend the rest of the year fitting writing in, and prefer to soak up as much stimulation and interaction as possible while they’re here as part of this vibrant community. Whichever your inclination, please note that we do not leave large, unstructured blocks in our schedule. We opt instead to present a rich program of offerings, and leave it to individual writers to pick and choose how many events to attend, carving out their own blocks of free time (for writing and whatever else) at their discretion. If the attraction of our events makes skipping them difficult, we figure we’re doing our job as a Conference (as distinct from an artist’s residency/retreat). 

 

That said, participants manage to structure in private writing time. For early risers, this can happen pretty naturally in the morning, before the 10 a.m. workshop start, though we do also hold a couple of generative writing sessions during the post-breakfast period. For workshop groups that agree to take on targeted revision or other assignments, there’s the added challenge of getting those done, but it’s all part of the intensive immersion. 

 

An approach some folks have found beneficial is extending their stay, either on campus or in the area, before or after the Conference, or both. That way they add extra days for writing as well as absorbing all that they’ve learned at the Conference.  

 

 

For writers who studied at Vermont College, along with our loyal tribe of repeat PWC participants, Montpelier and the surrounding countryside are themselves a real draw. Montpelier is the nation’s smallest, and arguably its most charming, state capitol. It’s hardly a city, much more a small town, but one which packs a lot of both hip and sophisticated offerings into its compact area. 

 

A short walk from VCFA’s peaceful, hilltop quadrangle brings you to Montpelier’s “downtown,” comprised of a couple of commercial blocks extending in either direction from the central corner of State and Main Streets. The architecture has been celebrated in travel articles in The New York Times and elsewhere as un-compromised, classic New England. The thriving business community includes four independent bookstores, a mainstream and an art cinema, a couple of coffeehouses, an impressive array of eating and drinking establishments, a cooperative craft gallery, a store for outdoor enthusiasts, a health club, a natural foods coop, a farmer’s market and boutique shopping for various tastes and interests. 

 

One of the charms of Montpelier is that you need only head out about a mile in any direction to find yourself in the Vermont countryside—a scenic and recreational paradise. Within the city limits, perched on rocky outcroppings above the Capitol district, sits Hubbard Park, with its large network of wooded walking trails. The Conference schedule includes a guided hike in the Park as an introduction, as well as a carpool-and-caravan drive out to a pristine nearby reservoir for swimming or kayaking. (No, you don’t need your own vehicle to participate.)       

 

How much time you spend off-campus, discovering Montpelier and the Green Mountains, is up to you. When you arrive, your welcome packet will contain both a map and our “Insider’s Guide to Montpelier,” to tell you what’s here and help you find what you’re looking for. If you’re able, do consider staying a little bit longer to take full advantage of having landed in this beautiful destination.     

 

 

Montpelier is an easy drive from Northeastern U.S. locations, at Exit 8 on I-89. The town is also accessible by Amtrak and bus lines. Our home airport of Burlington, VT, served by most major airlines, is a 35-minute drive from Montpelier. Through the Vermont Tour & Charter company, the Conference coordinates airport transfers to and from campus on our main arrival and departure dates (August 9 and 15), to facilitate discounted group shuttle fares for participants. We can also arrange local rides between campus and train or bus drop-off points.  

 

 

Most writers opt for VCFA’s on-campus housing. These are simple, dormitory accommodations, with a choice of single or shared rooms, and shared baths except in special-needs situations (and according to availability). The facilities aren’t luxurious but they’re livable, and participants appreciate the convenience and camaraderie as part of the overall Conference experience. 

 

We also offer a full Conference meal plan, provided by the award-winning, resident staff and students of the New England Culinary Institute in our campus dining hall. Participants not taking the plan can join us in the cafeteria, and purchase individual meals as they go.

 

For writers who don’t care to live in the dorm, Montpelier offers a range of hotels, inns, motels and guest houses (listing available), and many off-campus eating spots. 

 

 

Conference tuition for all workshops except Poetry Manuscript is $850. Poetry Manuscript tuition is $975. 

On-campus room and board fees for six nights (arrival 8/9, a.m. departure 8/15) are as follows: $330 and $180 for single and shared rooms respectively, and $150 for the full meal plan. Dorm rooms can also be reserved for additional nights before or after the Conference, at the rate of $55 per night.

 

At the time of registration, a non-refundable deposit of $200 is required of all participants. This will officially hold your place in a workshop. You will receive an invoice for your balance due in June, payable by July 15.

 

 

Yes, we do have limited scholarship monies, which we work to spread as widely as we can among many deserving applicants. 

 

If you require tuition support to make your participation possible, please contact Ellen Lesser, Conference Director at pgconference@vermontcollege.edu, to submit a scholarship request and explain your level of need. Please also attach a Word file with a brief (five-page) sample manuscript.  We also have a small number of spots on our work-study crew, which Ellen can discuss with you if you’re interested. 

 

Our available scholarship funds are awarded on a rolling basis as we receive requests, and do run out as the season progresses. Please contact the Director early to avoid disappointment.   

 

 

If you have a pre-qualifying graduate degree in creative writing, you can proceed directly to our online registration system. (See “Who is a Postgraduate Writer?”) The registration process includes selecting your preferences for workshop and faculty. (Poets, see special note below.) You will be able to make your deposit online by credit card, or opt to pay by personal check mailed to the Conference’s VCFA office.

 

For writers seeking admission to the Conference based on “equivalent experience,” please follow the instructions in the last paragraph under “Who Is a Postgraduate Writer?” Once the Director notifies you of your acceptance, you may proceed to register.

 

 

Important Note for all Poetry registrants:   You will be choosing either a Poetry or Poetry Manuscript workshop, or ranking a combination of both options in order of preference.   Year to year, the level of demand for the two types of workshop can vary. For this reason, we’re trying a more flexible system for the assignments to Poetry faculty. Cleopatra Mathis will be leading a regular Poetry (non-manuscript) group. Richard Jackson and A. Van Jordan will teach Poetry Manuscript. Cynthia Huntington is our “switch-hitter;” her assignment will be determined in response to actual registration requests. Poets noting their preferences for either type of workshop will find Cynthia listed. Please provide us with at least two choices, and more if you like. The Conference Director will be in touch if there are any questions. While preferences will be honored in the order in which your registration comes in, the placements may not be confirmed until spring, as we approach full enrollment and finalize the assignment for Cynthia.         

 

 

For all questions relating to the Conference’s writing program, including applications and scholarship requests, please contact Ellen Lesser, Director, at pgconference@vermontcollege.edu or by phone at 802-828-8835. (You will be instructed to leave a voicemail for Ellen, and she’ll return your call shortly.)

 

For inquiries about campus facilities, logistics and travel, and requests relating to special needs, please contact Anne Connor, PWC Coordinator, at Anne.Connor@vermontcollege.edu. You can also leave a specific message for Anne on the Conference voicemail (# above).