From the Farmhouse Table: August 2024
Oh, you gotta have friends
Last month, something new and extraordinary happened at Hedgebrook. We hosted a small group of leaders on the land for a short stay while they selected their first-ever literary fellow.
We’ve been fortunate to have partners underwrite fellowships (grateful shout out to the Rona Jaffe Foundation, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Artist Communities Alliance (ACA) & the McKnight Foundation, and the Carol Shields Prize). What we hadn’t tried before was to bring paying partners to the farm for the opportunity to experience a taste of what Hedgebrook writers experience: The beauty. The space to write. The farm-to-table chef-prepared meals. The digital disconnect and rustic hospitality. The chance to let the imagination wander without interruption. The camaraderie. The respite. Members of BECU Women's Leadership Group employee resource group were our first such visitors. But they will not be our last.
This summer, we’ve begun inviting our closest partners and friends to envision how a stay at Hedgebrook might help them move the needle during retreats of between two and six nights. Paid land stays are part of our new strategy to ensure that Hedgebrook, founded 36 years ago, is still going strong for another 36 years. Revenue from these stays helps to support our core mission: to provide women-identified writers unfettered time, solitude and sisterhood to start, finish, edit, reimagine and experiment with the stories they are driven to tell, all at no cost to the writer.
In the words of Gloria Dixon, Director of Philanthropy & Executive Director at BECU Foundation, Hedgebrook takes seriously the long work of “offering sacred space for visionary writers as well as people who seek extraordinary books, poetry, plays, films, and music by women.” Gloria, and BECU, get Hedgebrook and we are thrilled to have them as sponsors, fellowship partners, guests on the land and friends for the long haul.
We have set aside a finite amount of time in 2025 for this effort. Are you a part of an organization, like BECU, that wants to build a deep relationship with women writers in a time of book bans and classroom and library restrictions? Do you have a group that wants to convene in spaces that have held and nurtured Ruth Ozeki, Janet Mock, Gloria Steinem, Ursula K. LeGuin, Monique Truong, Valerie June, Michelle Alexander, and so many others? From national bestsellers to award-winning films, from Broadway theaters to concert stages, Hedgebrookians represent some of the most influential and powerful voices of our time. Many came to Hedgebrook when they were still emerging writers whose talents and stories were just beginning to reach readers.
Does the chance to spend time in a space where big ideas come to life sound like a fit for your team? Does knowing you’re supporting that work resonate with your mission? Reach out for more information. We would love to share our special place with you!
— Kimberly A. C. Wilson, Executive Director, Hedgebrook