Founded in 1969 the Community of Writers is a writers' conference held each summer in

Olympic Valley, California Olympic Valley (historically and informally known as Squaw Valley) is an unincorporated community located in Placer County, California, United States. It lies northwest of Tahoe City along California State Highway 89 on the banks of the Truckee ...

. The Community of Writers is a nonprofit

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

and has a governing Board of Directors.

History

The Community of Writers was founded by novelist

Oakley Hall Oakley Maxwell Hall (July 1, 1920 – May 12, 2008) was an American novelist. He was born in San Diego, California, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and served in the United States Marine Corps, Marines during World War II ...

and writer Blair Fuller in 1969. Its first conference was held in August 1970 in the lodges of the ski area; to this day, panels, talks, staff readings and workshops take place in off-season ski lodge facilities. It was originally staffed by San Francisco writers including David Perlman, Walter Ballenger,

Barnaby Conrad Barnaby Conrad, Jr. (March 27, 1922 – February 12, 2013) was an American artist, author, nightclub proprietor, matador and boxer. Born in San Francisco, California, to an affluent family, Conrad was raised in Hillsborough. He spent a year at ...

and

John Leggett John Ward Leggett (November 11, 1917 – January 25, 2015) was an American writer who served as the third director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop from 1970 to 1987. Biography Leggett was born in Manhattan to Bleecker Noel Leggett, a real estate ma ...

, the latter two of whom went on to found, respectively, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and the Napa Valley Writers Conference. The organization was originally known as Squaw Valley Community of Writers, reflecting the name of the area at the time it was founded. In December 2003, the Board of Directors voted to change the organization’s name to The Community of Writers at Squaw Valley to clarify that the term "Squaw Valley" referred to the location only, as the word "squaw" was seen as a racially derogatory term by some. By 2021, the organization had shortened its name to Community of Writers and switched to calling the valley Olympic Valley when the locality itself did.

Workshop

Workshops are held in fiction, (directors Lisa D. Alvarez and

Louis B. Jones Louis B. Jones is an American author and essayist. He has written five novels, the first three of which were named New York Times Notable Books of their respective years.Robert Hass Robert L. Hass (born March 1, 1941) is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He won the 2007 National Book AwardWilliam Fox
directed the poetry program during the years when it was integrated with prose. Later, poet

Galway Kinnell Galway Mills Kinnell (February 1, 1927 – October 28, 2014) was an American poet. His dark poetry emphasized scenes and experiences in threatening, ego-less natural environments. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1982 collection, ''Se ...

reinvented and directed the Poetry Program for 17 years until 2004. The Screenwriters Workshop was founded by screenwriters Tom Rickman and

Gill Dennis Gill Dennis (January 25, 1941 – May 13, 2015) was an American director and screenwriter. Early life and career Dennis was the son of psychologist Wayne Dennis, author of "The Hopi Child." He attended Reed College for two years and served in Ko ...

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

Admission

The Community has a formal and competitive admissions procedure. Applicants are asked to submit an application fee and a writing sample. Average acceptance rate is 33%. Roughly 50% of those who attend are granted some form of financial aid. Scholarships and financial aid is provided through the donations for alumni, staff and friends. The conference generally offers 8 fiction workshops of 12 participants each and two narrative nonfiction/memoir workshops of 12 each.

Authors

Noted authors who have been associated with the conference over the years include Bill Barich,

Henry Carlisle Henry Coffin Carlisle (September 14, 1926 – July 11, 2011) was a translator, novelist, and anti-censorship activist. Carlisle, with his wife Olga Andreyeva Carlisle, was notable for translating Alexander Solzhenitsyn's work into English. Alt ...

, Olga Carlisle,

Don Carpenter Don Carpenter (March 16, 1931 – July 27, 1995) was an American writer, best known as the author of '' Hard Rain Falling''. He wrote numerous novels, novellas, short stories and screenplays over the course of a 22-year career that took him from ...

Alan Cheuse Alan Stuart Cheuse (January 23, 1940 – July 31, 2015) was an American writer, editor, professor of literature, and radio commentator. A longtime NPR book commentator, he was also the author of five novels, five collections of short stories and ...

Mark Childress Mark Childress (born 1957) is an American novelist and Southern writer. Biography Born in Monroeville, Alabama, Childress grew up in Ohio, Indiana, Mississippi, and Louisiana. He is a member of the Mallet Assembly at the University of Alaba ...

, Lucille Clifton,

Janet Fitch Janet Fitch (born November 9, 1955) is an American author. She wrote the novel '' White Oleander'', which became a film in 2002. She is a graduate of Reed College. Fitch was born in Los Angeles, a third-generation native, and grew up in a fam ...

Herbert Gold Herbert Gold (March 9, 1924 – November 19, 2023) was an American novelist. Early life Herbert Gold was born on March 9, 1924, in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, Ohio, to a Russian Jewish family. His parents were Samuel S. and Frieda (Fra ...

, Jay Gummerman, Gerald Haslam, James D. Houston,

Diane Johnson Diane Johnson (born Diane Lain, April 28, 1934) is an American novelist and essayist whose satirical novels often feature American heroines living in contemporary France. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her novel ''Persian Nights'' ...

Yusef Komunyakaa Yusef Komunyakaa (born James William Brown; April 29, 1941) is an American poet who teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, for '' ...

Li-Young Lee Li-Young Lee (李立揚, pinyin: Lǐ Lìyáng) (born August 19, 1957) is an American poet. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. His maternal great-grandfather was Yuan Shikai, China's first Republican President, who attempted t ...

, Philip Levine,

Peter Matthiessen Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher and onetime CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'', he is the only writer to have won the Nat ...

, David Perlman,

Alice Sebold Alice Sebold (born September 6, 1963) is an American author. She is known for her novels '' The Lovely Bones'' and '' The Almost Moon'', and a memoir, '' Lucky''. ''The Lovely Bones'' was on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list and was adapt ...

Mary Lee Settle Mary Lee Settle (July 29, 1918 – September 27, 2005) was an American writer. She won the 1978 National Book Award for her novel '' Blood Tie''.

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...

, Max Steele, Robert Stone,

Mark Strand Mark Strand (April 11, 1934 – November 29, 2014) was a Canadian-born American poet, essayist and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990 and received the Wallace Stevens Award in 2004 ...

, Charles Wright, Dean Young.

Faculty

Recent teaching staff included Poets:

Kazim Ali Kazim Ali (born April 5, 1971) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and professor. His most recent books are ''Inquisition'' (Wesleyan University Press, 2018) and ''All One's Blue'' (Harper Collins India, 2016). His honors include an Individu ...

Don Mee Choi

Camille Dungy Camille T. Dungy (born 1972) is an American poet and professor. Career Born in Denver, Colorado, Dungy graduated from Stanford University (BA) and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, where she earned her MFA. She is the author of four ...

Cornelius Eady Cornelius Eady (born 1954) is an American writer focusing largely on matters of race and society. His poetry often centers on jazz and blues, family life, violence, and societal problems stemming from questions of race and class. His poetry is o ...

, Katie Ford,

Forrest Gander Forrest Gander (born January 21, 1956) is an American poet, translator, essayist, and novelist. The A.K. Seaver Professor Emeritus of Literary Arts & Comparative Literature at Brown University, Gander won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2019 for ...

Robert Hass Robert L. Hass (born March 1, 1941) is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He won the 2007 National Book Award Brenda Hillman Brenda Hillman (born March 27, 1951, in Tucson, Arizona) is an American poet and translator. She is the author of ten collections of poetry: ''White Dress'', ''Fortress'', ''Death Tractates'', ''Bright Existence'', ''Loose Sugar'', ''Cascadia'', ' ...

Cathy Park Hong Cathy Park Hong is an American poet, writer, and professor who has published three volumes of poetry. Much of her work includes mixed language and serialized narrative. She was named on the Time 100, 2021 ''Time'' 100 list for her writings and ad ...

, Juan Felipe Herrera,

Major Jackson Major Jackson (born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American poet and professor at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of six collections of poetry: ''Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems 2002-2022'' (W.W. Norton, 2023), ''The Absurd Ma ...

Ada Limón Ada Limón (born March 28, 1976) is an American poet. On July 12, 2022, she was named the 24th United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate of the United States by the Librarian of Congress. This made her the first Latinas, Latina to be Poet Laurea ...

Harryette Mullen Harryette Mullen (born July 1, 1953), Professor of English at University of California, Los Angeles, is an American poet, short story writer, and literary scholar. Life Mullen was born in Florence, Alabama, grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, gradua ...

Sharon Olds Sharon Olds (born November 19, 1942) is an American poet. She won the first San Francisco Poetry Center Award in 1980, the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award, and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Evie Shockley Evie Shockley is an American poet. Shockley received the 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry for her book ''the new black'' and the 2012 Holmes National Poetry Prize. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2018. Early life and education ...

, CD Wright, Matthew Zapruder Recent Fiction and Nonfiction writers:

Steve Almond Steve Almond (born October 27, 1966) is an American short-story writer, essayist, and author of fifteen books, four of which are self-published. Life Steve Almond was born on October 27, 1966, in California. Almond was raised in Palo Alto, Ca ...

Tom Barbash Tom Barbash is an American writer of fiction and nonfiction, as well as an educator and critic. Speaker, panelist, and interviewer Barbash has served as host for onstage events for The Commonwealth Club, Litquake, BookPassage, and the Lannan ...

Sarah Shun-lien Bynum Sarah Shun-lien Bynum (born February 14, 1972) is an American writer, of Chinese descent. She previously taught writing and literature in the graduate MFA writing program at Otis College of Art and Design until 2015. She lives in Los Angeles, Cali ...

, Ron Carlson,

, Alex Espinoza,

Dagoberto Gilb Dagoberto Gilb (born 1950 in Los Angeles), is an American writer who writes extensively about the American Southwest. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned both bachelor's and master's degrees. Gilb embarked on a ...

, Lynn Freed,

Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story author, and writer of a series of novels featuring the character Frank Bascombe. Ford's first collection of short stories, ''Rock Springs (short stories), Rock Springs ...

Karen Joy Fowler Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the 19th century, nineteenth century, the Woman, lives of women, and social alienation. She is best known as the author of the b ...

Glen David Gold Glen David Gold (born 1964) is an American novelist, memoirist and screenwriter. Known for his bestselling novels exploring the roles of entertainment and popular culture in historical America, he has also published a critically acclaimed memoi ...

, Sands Hall, Dana Johnson,

Anne Lamott Anne Lamott (born April 10, 1954) is an American novelist and nonfiction writer. She is also a progressive political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher. Lamott is based in Marin County, California. Her nonfiction works are largely a ...

, Michelle Latiolais,

Yiyun Li Yiyun Li (Chinese: 李翊雲 - ''Li Yiyun'') (born November 4, 1972) is a Chinese-born writer and professor who has lived and worked in the United States since entering graduate school. She writes exclusively in English. Her short stories and no ...

Malcolm Margolin Malcolm Margolin (born October 27, 1940) is an author, publisher, and former executive director of Heyday Books, an independent nonprofit publisher and cultural institution in Berkeley, California. From his founding of Heyday in 1974 until his r ...

, Joanne Meschery, Victoria Patterson, Varley O'Connor, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Jason Roberts, Robin Romm,

, Martin J. Smith, Gregory Spatz, Elizabeth Tallent,

Amy Tan Amy Ruth Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American author best known for her novel '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1989), which was adapted into a 1993 film. She is also known for other novels, short story collections, children's books, and a memoir. ...

Hector Tobar In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

, Diana Wagman, Josh Weil, Tiphanie Yanique,

Al Young Albert James Young (May 31, 1939 – April 17, 2021) was an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. He was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2005 to 2008. Young's many books includ ...

For over 30 years,

taught the special Finding the Story Workshop at the Community of Writers until his death in 2015. Teaching Screenwriters include: Eugene Corr,

Trey Ellis Trey Ellis (born 1962) is an American novelist, screenwriter, professor, playwright, and essayist. He was born in Washington D.C. and graduated from Hopkins School and Phillips Academy, Andover, where he studied under Alexander Theroux before at ...

Christopher Monger Christopher Monger (born 1950, in Taff's Well, Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh screenwriter, director and editor, best known for writing and directing ''The Englishman who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain'' and writing the HBO biopic ''Temple ...

Frank Pierson Frank Romer Pierson (May 12, 1925 – July 22, 2012) was an American screenwriter and film director.Byrge, Duane (July 23, 2012). rank Pierson, Former Movie Academy President, Writer and Director, Dies at 87.''The Hollywood Reporter''Yardley, Wi ...

, Judith Rascoe, Tom Rickman,

Don Roos Donald Paul Roos (born April 14, 1955) is an American screenwriter and film director. Life and career Roos was born in upstate New York into a conservative Roman Catholic family of mostly Irish descent. He attended the University of Notre Dame i ...

, Camille Thomasson, Christopher Upham, Michael Urban, Jason Wolos

Other projects

The Poetry Program publishes an annual anthology of poems first written at the workshop. In 2007,
Writers Workshop in a Book: The S.V. Community of Writers on the Art of Fiction
" edited by

and Lisa Alvarez, with a foreword by

, was published. The Community of Writers once sponsored the "Art of the Wild Writers' Conference" along with U.C. Davis, but that program has been discontinued. Published Alumni Reading Series Each summer, recently published alumni return to the conference with their recently published books. Alumni who have been part of this reading series include Anita Amirrezvani, Eddy Ancinas, Ramona Ausubel, David Bajo, Charmaine Craig, Eileen Cronin,

Heather Donahue Rei Hance (born Heather Donahue, December 22, 1974) is an American retired actress, credited under her birth name during her acting career. She is known for starring in the horror film ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999) and the miniseries '' Take ...

, Cai Emmons, Amy Franklin-Willis,

Joshua Ferris Joshua Ferris (born November 8, 1974) is an American author best known for his debut novel '' Then We Came to the End'' (2007). The novel is a comedy about the American workplace, is narrated in the first-person plural, and is set in a fictitiou ...

Jamie Ford Jamie Ford (born July 9, 1968) is an American author. He is best known for his debut novel, ''Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.'' The book spent 130 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, and was also awarded best "Adult Fiction" b ...

, Vicki Forman, Alison Singh Gee, Tanya Egan Gibson, Alan Grostephan, Judith Hendricks, Susan Henderson, Sara J. Henry, Rhoda Huffey,

Alma Katsu Alma Katsu (born November 29, 1959) is an American writer of adult fiction. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages, and have been published in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Spain, and Italy. Katsu has also had a 29-year career ...

, Krys Lee, Edan Lepucki, Paulette Livers, Regina Louise, Michael David Lukas, Peyton Marshall, Marisa Matarazzo, Mark Maynard,

Janis Cooke Newman Janis Cooke Newman is an American writer. She is known for her novels, ''Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln'' (McAdam/Cage 2006, Harcourt 2007) and ''A Master Plan for Rescue'' (Riverhead 2015) as well as her memoir ''The Russian Word for Snow'' (St. Martin's ...

, Jessica O’Dwyer, Aline Ohanesian, Victoria Patterson, Andrew Roe, Adrienne Sharp, Jordan Fisher Smith, Scott Sparling, Ellen Sussman, Lisa Tucker, Brenda Rickman Vantrease, Mary Volmer, Dora Calott Wang, M.D., Andrew Winer, Alia Yunis, Désirée Zamorano among others including those who have returned as teaching staff.

Alumni

Writers and poets who have attended the Community of Writers as participants (students) include:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born Grace Ngozi Adichie; 15 September 1977) is a Nigerians, Nigerian writer of novels, short stories, poem, and children's books; she is also a book reviewer and literary critic. Her most famous works include ''Purple ...

, Phillip Barron,

Aimee Bender Aimee Bender (born June 28, 1969) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal stories and characters. She is a 2011 recipient of the Alex Awards. Biography Born to a American Jews, Jewish family, Bender received her un ...

David Benioff David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known for co-creating ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–201 ...

Elise Blackwell Elise Blackwell is an American novelist and writer. She is the author of five novels, as well as numerous short stories and essays. Her books have been translated into five languages, adapted for the stage, and served as the inspiration for the s ...

Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, D.C., he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, ...

, Meg Waite Clayton,

Carol Edgarian Carol Louise Edgarian is an American writer, editor, and publisher. Her novels include '' Rise the Euphrates,'' '' Three Stages of Amazement'', and ''Vera''. She is the co-founder and editor of the non-profit ''Narrative Magazine'', a digital pub ...

Selden Edwards Selden Spaulding Edwards (born 1941) is an American writer and educator. His first novel '' The Little Book'' was a ''New York Times'' bestseller. His second novel '' The Lost Prince'', a sequel to ''The Little Book'', was published by Dutton i ...

Jennifer Egan Jennifer Egan (born September 7, 1962) is an American novelist and short-story writer. Her novel, ''A Visit from the Goon Squad,'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. From 2018 to 2020, she ...

Thomas Sayers Ellis Thomas Sayers Ellis (born Washington, D.C.) is an American poet, photographer and bandleader. He previously taught as an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Bennington College in Vermont, and also at Sarah Lawrence ...

, Molly Fisk,

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), '' The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technolo ...

Patricia Spears Jones Patricia Spears Jones (born 1951) is an American poet. She is the author of five books of poetry. Jones is the editor of "The Future Differently Imagined", an issue of ''About Place Journal'', the online publication of Black Earth Institute. Pre ...

, Troy Jollimore,

Maile Meloy Maile Meloy (born January 1, 1972) is an American novelist and short story writer. Early life and education Born and raised in Helena, Montana, Meloy received a bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1994 and an MFA from the University of ...

Nami Mun Nami Mun is a Korean American novelist and short story writer. Life Nami Mun was born in Seoul, South Korea, though she grew up in The Bronx. She graduated from University of California, Berkeley, and from the University of Michigan, with an MFA. ...

Kem Nunn Kem Nunn (born 1948) is a third-generation Californian novelist, surfer, and magazine and television writer who lives in southern California. He has been described as "the inventor of ''surf-noir''" for his novels' dark themes, political overton ...

, Kris Saknussemm, Frederick Reiken,

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...

, Elizabeth Rosner and many others, including those who have returned as teaching staff.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://communityofwriters.org/
The Word on Writers Conferences, the Chronicle of Higher Education

from Readings and Workshops blog, Poets and Writers

Dispatches From Squaw’s Annual High-Altititude Literary Gathering

Writer Retreats: My Experience at Squaw Valley

The Writers' Guide: UC Berkeley Alumni Association profile of Oakley Hall and the conference
American writers' organizations Writers' conferences Events in California Tourist attractions in Placer County, California Olympic Valley, California