Since 1981, the Napa Valley Writers' Conference has provided an opportunity for fellowship and serious work with a focus on craft amidst the hills and vineyards that have made the region famous. The conference is sponsored and hosted by Napa Valley College.

Writing Toward a Sustainable Community: March 22

George PackerCan writing change the world?  Can it address the challenges we face as a community and nation? We think it can.  We believe, as Margaret Atwood says, that “A word after a word after a word.  That is power.”

We explore the power and reach of the written word in a new series: Writing Toward a Sustainable Community. The inaugural event in the series will be a one-day symposium featuring George Packer, author of The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, winner of the 2013 National Book Award.

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Applications open! 2014 Writers’ Conference: July 27 – August 1

Applications are now open for the 2014 conference using our new online form. The application link and complete guidelines are available on our Apply page. You may also consult information about financial assistance and our frequently asked questions about the application process. Rolling admissions will officially open February 26 at AWP – stop by our booth to say hello!

The 2014 faculty lineup:

  • In poetry, Kazim Ali, Camille Dungy, Brenda Hillman and Brian Teare
  • In fiction, Michael Byers, Lan Samanthan Chang, Ayana Mathis and Justin Torres

For up-to-the-minute news, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to email updates using the form at right.

Fall alumni update: renown from near and far

White Sheets by conference alumna Beverly Bie BrahicConference alumni have been as busy as ever since our last alumni update in January — earning plaudits and publication around the world. A conference poet was a finalist for the United Kingdom’s top poetry prize with a collection 2012 faculty member Eavan Boland called “a book of craft, music and a collected vision of life that provides pleasure on every page.” Meantime, a recent fiction attendee has won the Iowa Review Award, and a poetry participant has published a remembrance of Pulitzer Prize winner and mentor Philip Levine.

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