Photo: Jill Newton Moore
Clockhouse Writers' Conference & Retreat Coordinators
Lucy Turner
lturner@clockhouse.net
Carolyn Bardos
cbardos@clockhouse.net
Photo by Joe DuPont
lturner@clockhouse.net
Carolyn Bardos
cbardos@clockhouse.net
Photo by Joe DuPont
2017 Registration
The 2017 Clockhouse Writers' Conference & Retreat will take place from July 3 through July 7 on Goddard College's Plainfield, Vermont, campus, with some participants staying on campus and others in area hotels (see registration materials for a list of suggestions). Registration materials are available here . This Conference & Retreat is usually capped at 25 participants, but in consideration of our 20th anniversary year, Goddard College and the Facilities staff have raised this year's cap to 35. Please note that registrations are accepted on a first-come, first serve basis. Please also note that, by registering for the CWC&R, you are agreeing to abide by Goddard College's Community Life Agreement and other applicable Policies.
What to Expect at the CWC Conference & Retreat
Each year's Conference & Retreat opens with a Plenary Panel featuring essay presentations on a theme chosen by consensus the previous year, and this Plenary Panel presentation is followed by a follow-up Q&A and discussion session. During the days that follow, there are quiet times for writing, as well as times to choose to gather together as writers: Works-in-Progress sessions provide opportunities for informal readings and feedback, “Impromptu Hours,” allow participants to share a variety of writing prompts, and workshops led by conference attendees cover a broad range of topics, from elements of craft to the writer’s relationship to society and social issues. The nationally-dispersed CWC Board of Stewards and CLOCKHOUSE editorial staff hold their annual in-person meetings during this time as well, and their discussions are brought back to the MFAW alumni community for its input at the Conference & Retreat's closing meeting. Evenings are filled with formal readings—and often, informal gatherings and writings games. At the same time, the CWC Conference & Retreat makes MFAW alumni available to the program’s current students as mentors, and it supports the program with such activities as its annual hosting of the closing party of the summer residency in Vermont and its unveiling of the most current issue of CLOCKHOUSE. In addition to these well-loved elements, this year's Clockhouse Writers' Conference & Retreat will include celebrations of CWC's 20th Anniversary.
We recognize that writing requires space and time in order to remain central in our lives, but that finding that space and time in writing retreats and conferences can be prohibitively expensive. Part of the mission of CWC is to offer a truly professional and truly affordable writing Conference and Retreat. To make this possible, each of the conference's participants contributes to its success. Everyone signs up for a task during the conference (such as moderating a reading, leading a workshop or a works-in-progress session, or helping to decorate for the MFAW closing party). In short, Clockhouse Writers’ Conference is an ongoing MFAW alumni group with a continuing presence on campus, offering a vibrant and sustained community that can be part of a graduate's life long after the two-year program is over.
If you're an MFAW alum of either Goddard's MFAW program in Plainfield, Vermont, or Port Townsend, Washington, please consider joining us! Registration materials are available here .
We recognize that writing requires space and time in order to remain central in our lives, but that finding that space and time in writing retreats and conferences can be prohibitively expensive. Part of the mission of CWC is to offer a truly professional and truly affordable writing Conference and Retreat. To make this possible, each of the conference's participants contributes to its success. Everyone signs up for a task during the conference (such as moderating a reading, leading a workshop or a works-in-progress session, or helping to decorate for the MFAW closing party). In short, Clockhouse Writers’ Conference is an ongoing MFAW alumni group with a continuing presence on campus, offering a vibrant and sustained community that can be part of a graduate's life long after the two-year program is over.
If you're an MFAW alum of either Goddard's MFAW program in Plainfield, Vermont, or Port Townsend, Washington, please consider joining us! Registration materials are available here .
