Community of Writers

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Community of Writers

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Celebrating over Fifty Years of summer Writing Workshops in the High Sierra, now, year-round & online

Summer Writing Workshops

For 50 summers, the Community of Writers 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 aim is to assist writers in the refinement of their craft and thus, in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual support, move them closer to achieving their goals. The Community of Writers holds its summer writing workshops in Squaw Valley in the ski lodge at the foot of the ski slopes. Panels, talks, staff readings and workshops take place in these venues with a spectacular view up the mountain. The Community has a competitive admissions procedure and the level of writing is high, but interested writers , poets and screenwriters should not hesitate to apply. SUMMER WORKSHOPS:
The Poetry Program is founded on the belief that when poets gather in a community to write new poems, each poet may well break through old habits and write something stronger and truer than before. To help this happen we work together to create an atmosphere in which everyone might feel free to try anything. In the mornings we meet in workshops to read to each other the work of the previous twenty-four hours; each participant also has an opportunity to work with each staff poet. In the late afternoons we gather for a conversation about some aspect of craft. On several afternoons staff poets hold brief individual conferences. https://www.communityofwriters.org/poetry_ws.htm

Are you an Alum? Join our Poetry Alumni Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/poetryworkshopalumni/

The Writers Workshops in Fiction, Nonfiction and Memoir assist serious writers by exploring the art and craft as well as the business of writing. The week offers daily morning workshops, craft lectures, panel discussions on editing and publishing, staff readings, as well as brief individual conferences. The morning workshops are led by the writer-teachers, editors, or agents of the staff. There are separate morning workshops for Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction/Memoir. In addition to their workshop manuscript, participants may have a second manuscript read by a staff member who meets with them in an individual conference. https://www.communityofwriters.org/writers_ws.htm

Are you an Alum? Join our Writers Workshops Alumni Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CommunityofWritersSquawValleyAlumni/

10/29/2026

In the spirit of a popup course, here is a choppy video inviting you to join us for three (or four) weeks in November to read Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Whether you've read the book previously or are brand new to it, or if you just enjoy watching Peter Orner struggle to contain a course's duration to the parameters he sets for himself, please do join us starting Sunday, November 8 for this surprise popup short course from the Writers' Annex. Learn more and register at communityofwriters.org. hope you can join!

09/17/2026

Every quarter, we celebrate the successes of our wide-ranging community. We are proud to highlight a selection of new work by our alums and staff. We hope you are inspired to pick up their books. More info at link in bio!

08/28/2026

Our twenty-second issue of the OGQ (Omnium Gatherum Quarterly) features book excerpts by Mary Fariba Afsari, Mark Coggins, and Bubba Henson, an essay and poem by Molly Fisk, and Charles Harper Webb, a reprint from The New York Times by Dylan Landis, the 2027 Writers Workshops opening talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jason Roberts, and essays by Norman Minnick, Martin J. Smith, Brian Sonia-Wallace, and Tamika Thompson.

08/21/2026

The 56th session of the Community of Writers Summer Writing Workshops has come to end, and after a few weeks to recover, all of us here at the Community of Writers want to express our gratitude to all of you who were a part of our summer programs.

Swipe to hear about the summer and the wonderful people who came together and made it happen. Thank you to all of our community members - near and far, past and present. Without you, we certainly wouldn't be this Community of Writers.

Photo: poets say goodbye on the last day of the Poetry Program. Photo by Nicholas Nichols

👆➡️➡️➡️

We want to thank our brilliant and generous teaching staff. In poetry this year, in addition to returning staff Kazim Ali Kazim Ali (this year's Lucille Clifton Poetry Chair), Carmen Giménez Carmen Giménez and Matthew Zapruder Matthew Zapruder , we were joined by two new staff poets: Brian Teare, and Ama Codjoe.

Essential to it all is our Poetry Director, Brenda Hillman Brenda Hillman . Brenda worked all year in collaboration with Lisa and Brett to develop this year’s program, through staffing choices and programming decisions; her work is manifest in all of the incredible experiences had by our participants and staff this year.

From the inception of our planning for the 2026 Poetry week, from the creative to the administrative and logistical, we need to express our gratitude to the folks who worked so hard to make it happen: Lisa Alvarez Lisa Alvarez , Leah Skoyles, Catie Van D**e and Hunter Jones.

Photo: the 2026 Poetry Program Staff: Matthew Zapruder, Kazim Ali, Carmen Giménez, Brenda Hillman, Ama Codjoe, and Brian Teare. Photo by Nicholas Nichols

Poets and prose writers experienced mild weather for the most part, though we had a few wonderful rainstorms throughout the summer. We hosted another COVID-free gathering! Our testing requirements ensured that we had a healthy and productive week.

Poetry week shone this year with brilliant first drafts written by our visiting poets who came from all over the country and beyond. The Headquarters was a hubbub of printers printing and copiers copying poems for the morning sessions. And one of the best things ever this year was six-month-old b

08/19/2026

Only a few days left for Early Bird Tuition for the latest short course from the Writers' Annex. Join Brenda Hillman and Robert Hass for Sailing to Byzantium, a short course on the poetry of William Butler Yeats. Online every Tuesday in September. Financial aid and returnee discounts available. Learn more and register at communityofwriters.org or at the link in our bio.

08/07/2026

Early Bird Tuition is live for the latest offering from the Writers' Annex. Brenda Hillman and Robert Hass lead Sailing to Byzantium: a Short Course on William Butler Yeats. Every Tuesday in September. Registration and more at communityofwriters.org

07/13/2026

Join us online today for all of our Market Day events, plus our Published Alumni Reading, and an evening reading featuring Francisco Goldman, Peter Orner, Shobha Rao and Bee Sacks. View the full week's schedule, find past event recordings and stream today's events at the link in our bio or at communityofwriters.org.

07/11/2026

We’re back in the Valley for our 56th annual Writers Workshops! Swipe to see Pulitzer Prize winning author Jason Roberts delivering the opening talk, “You Are Here (Also, you’ve arrived).” View or listen to the recording of this at the communityofwriters.org

07/10/2026

Join us live online or in person for our Public Literary Events from the 2026 Writers’ Workshops in Olympic Valley. Entirely for free, tune in daily for a livestream of our afternoon and evening literary events, including craft talks, panel discussions and readings. Recordings of all public events will be added to our podcast feed daily, so you can listen from wherever you may be. A full schedule and more information are available at communityofwriters.org.

06/25/2026

Carmen Giménez and Brian Teare read their craft talks on days 3 & 4 of the Poetry Program.

Address

PO Box 1416
Nevada City, CA
95959

Telephone

+15304708440

Website

https://www.communityofwriters.org/, https://linktr.ee/communityofwriters

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