Writers Week
Writers from around the world have found a special home at Idyllwild Arts. For decades, it has gathered thoughtful, provoking, and notable faculty and guests—among them Ray Bradbury, Lucille Clifton, Natalie Diaz, Sharon Olds, Terrance Hayes, Billy Collins, Ellen Bryant Voigt, Philip Levine, David St. John, and Natasha Trethewey. Join us to be inspired and challenged by world-class voices at our annual Writers Week.
Work and engage with some of the country’s premier literary artists. Writers Week includes:
- Workshops
- Daily craft talks
- Readings
- Book signing receptions
- Opportunities to socialize and exchange ideas
- Four Merit Fellowship opportunities
idyllwildarts.submittable.com/submit - Participant reading and farewell reception
WORKSHOPS
The Idyllwild Arts Writers Week gathers a diverse community of writers who are committed to working together to explore new ideas in the world and in their own creative work. As a Writers Week participant, you will work closely with nationally-regarded faculty in small morning workshops focused on fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Each afternoon, you’ll hear special guests speak about their craft, the field of writing, or social issues in inspirational and thought-provoking sessions. Evenings include social time and readings by special guests, teachers, fellows and students.
After enrolling in a genre (poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction), you’ll be assigned to a specific faculty member’s workshop group. These meet for three hours each morning, Monday through Friday. Workshops are focused on respectful critique of work you submit in advance: 10 pages of poetry (one poem on each page, all in one document), or 15 pages of fiction or creative nonfiction sent by June 10. The workshops will also provide opportunities for writing new work.
Submissions for Writers Week Fellowships are now closed
You will send in advance 10 pages of poetry (one poem on each page, all in one document), OR 15 pages of fiction, memoir, or creative nonfiction. Due by June 7. You will receive instructions to send in your work from our registration staff before the program begins.
Sergio Lima is a poet and educator from Southern California. His work has appeared in Poetry Magazine, The Breakbeat Poets LatiNext anthology, and The Bastard’s Review. Sergio teaches high school English in Southeast L.A. County and lives in Long Beach, CA with his family.
Allison Hedge Coke, Distinguished Professor UC Riverside, is the author of a memoir and several books of poetry, including Blood Run, Streaming and the forthcoming Look at This Blue, and editor of ten anthology collections. A Fulbright Scholar, recently inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters and awarded the 2021 AWP George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service, she is the director of Writers Week, the VA NCA Along the Chaparral Legacy Program.
Angela Morales, a graduate of the University of Iowa’s nonfiction writing program, is the author of The Girls in My Town, a collection of personal essays. Her work has appeared in Best American Essays 2013, Harvard Review, The Southern Review, The Southwest Review, and other journals. Her book is the 2017 winner of the River Teeth Book Prize and the PEN Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Currently she is working on her second essay collection.
Willie Perdomo is the author of Smoking Lovely: The Remix, The Crazy Bunch, The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon, and Where a Nickel Costs of Dime. Winner of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, and the PEN Open Book Award, Perdomo was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award. He is co-editor of the anthology, Latínext, and his work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Poetry, Washington Post, The Best American Poetry 2019, and African Voices. He teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy and was recently appointed New York State Poet Laureate.
Vanessa Martir
Keenan Norris
Program Coordinators:
Sergio Lima & Leonora Simonovis
Faculty:
Willie Perdomo, Poetry
Allison Hedge Coke, Poetry
Angela Morales, Creative Non-fiction
Vanessa Mártir, Memoir
Keenan Norris, Fiction
Dates: June 26- June 30, 2023
Tuition: $925
Tuition, room and board: $1,804
Lab Fee: $20
Skill Level: Idyllwild Arts Writers Week is open to anyone with an interest in writing, from enthusiastic beginners to emerging and established writers, as well as MFA students and recent graduates.
Enrollment limited to 8 students