Calendar of Events
2025 Writer in Residence Applications Open
Applications for our 2025 Residencies are now open!
Our core Writer in Residence (WiR) applications are available in the following genres:
✨Prose—Non-fiction
✨Prose—Fiction
✨Poetry
This will be our ONLY application cycle for 2025 and the deadline is June 12th.
These residencies will take place from January to early November 2025.
While we will not have applications open for all genres this cycle, we are working on some exciting offerings for songwriters, screenwriters, and playwrights. More to come!
Read our FAQs and more about our residencies here.
2025 Mother Tree Residency Applications
We are thrilled to introduce The Mother Tree Residency! In 2025, we're innovating with an eye toward sustainability and this is a new option for women-identified writers to experience Hedgebrook. These partially subsidized residencies are a conscious act of radical reciprocity - the gift of time on the land for yourself and your creative practice works to sustain our historic free-to-writers residency program and allows us to continue to support women who are authoring change. This program is an opportunity for new residents and returning alumnae to plan a residency that fits their schedule, foregoing our anonymous adjudication process.
Radical Craft Retreat with Claire Dederer
Applications are now open!
Join us for a 5-day summer retreat at Hedgebrook with award-winning author and alumna, Claire Dederer.
Adventures in Overwhelm: A Creative Non-Fiction Workshop
June 22-26, 2024
Find out more and apply here.
2024 Great Minds Event
Save the date for an evening event on Thursday, September 19th to kick off our Writers Conference, be in conversation with our illustrious alumnae, and more!
We hope you will join us — more details to come.
2024 Writers Conference
We are coming together again for an in-person conference in Seattle!
We will kick off the 2024 conference with an evening event on Thursday, September 19th followed by 3 days of learning with our illustrious alumnae (we will reveal them soon!) and writing in community.
More details here.
VorTEXT Intensive Retreat with Sherri L. Smith
Sherri L. Smith will lead a virtual VorTEXT Intensive Retreat on Saturday, November 2, 2024. Registration will open soon.
Radical Craft Retreat with Deborah Harkness
Join us for a 5-day retreat at Hedgebrook with award-winning author and alumna, Deborah Harkness.
November 12-17, 2024
More details and application coming soon.
Speculative Fiction Convening with Clarion West
This Speculative Fiction Convening is in partnership with Clarion West in honor of Octavia Butler.
Participants will gather virtually for a 4-day retreat, learn with our illustrious alumnae instructors, enjoy an intimate cohort of writers, and more.
Details coming soon!
Social Justice Convening for BIPOC Writers
A Radical Craft Retreat for BIPOC Writers Authoring New Works on Rest & Resistance
Join us for this 4-day virtual retreat January 26-29th, 2024
Each day you will enjoy:
✨A Check-in + Intention Setting
✨An Instructor-led Group Workshop
✨Facilitated Circle & Resource Share
✨Facilitated Out-of-the-Box Creative Time
✨Open Mic Space/Community Space
More details and registration here.
Hedgebrook Songwriters Showcase
Join us as we showcase our alumnae songwriters and delight in their work!
Our featured alumnae artists include Sera Cahoone, Mary Lambert, Grace Love, Jamila Woods, and Hollis Wong-Wear.
The details:
The Forum at Town Hall Seattle
December 1, 2023
5:30 pm Doors open
6:00 pm Program begins
Support Hedgebrook and our alumnae by purchasing your tickets here. See you there!
Virtual VorTEXT Intensive Retreat with Magogodi Makhene
Alumna and author, Magogodi Makhene, will lead Speaking in Tongues: English as Liberation Language on Saturday, November 4th.
More details and registration here.
Radical Craft Retreat in Tuscany with Natalie Baszile
Compelling Storytelling: Activating Your Work
with Natalie Baszile
October 21-28, 2023
This retreat will be in Tuscany!
More details and applications here.
Great Minds: On the Unreliable Narrator, the Necessity of Joy, and What Doesn't Make the Cut
Join us for an evening of celebration as we uplift and delight in the work of our conference instructors! Sonora Jha, Ijeoma Oluo, and Idrissa Simmonds-Nastili will come together for a performance of their work by The Bushwick Bookclub Seattle followed by a moderated conversation about creativity and joy.
Before the show, join us for some joy and radical hospitality as we feature treats from the land, books by our alumnae, and more.
6:30 pm Reception
7:30 pm Show begins
Tickets are available here.
Can’t make it in person? We will be streaming live and there are virtual tickets available so you won’t miss a thing!
2023 Hedgebrook Writers Conference
Join us for 3 days of workshop intensives, industry talks, work groups, an evening performance, and more!
More details and registration here.
Hedgebrook Open House
Come join us on the land on September 10th!
Hedgebrook is delighted to announce the return of its Open House! Experience the Radical Hospitality we provide our Writers in Residence and learn more about our organization and why we believe it's essential for women to be empowered to author change. You'll be treated to a cottage and land tour, live music by Whidbey Island String Trio, plus signature cocktails and a preview sample of Fulla Farm—a food truck offering wood-fired pizzas made by one of our talented chefs, Sam Leingang. Save the date and kindly R.S.V.P. at events@hedgebrook.org; we hope to see you there!
Apply to be a Writer in Residence!
Hedgebrook’s Writer-in-Residence Program supports writers from all over the world for residencies of two to four weeks. The cottage, all meals, and the entire residency experience at Hedgebrook are free to selected writers.
2024 Summer/Fall Residency Season:
Applications Open: Aug 15-Sept 11, 2023 - Notifications: Late January 2024
More details here.
2023 Hedgebrook Filmmakers Showcase
5/19 Friday: In-person at Northwest Film Forum
5/20 Saturday: In-person at Northwest Film Forum
5/20 Sunday: Virtual kick-off
May 20-June 2: VIRTUAL via Northwest Film Forum
6/3 Saturday: In person at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts
TICKETS AND MORE DETAILS COMING SOON!
Cottage Chat with Nicole Shawan Junior and Crystal Wilkinson
Join alumnae Nicole Shawan Junior and Crystal Wilkinson for our May Cottage Chat. They will be in conversation with Amber Flame talking about joy, their craft, and more!
More details here.
Virtual Radical Craft Retreat with Mira Jacob
Description
So, you’ve spent years writing this thing (is it a novel? Is it a memoir? Is it a love letter, poodle hair, and dreams?), and you just can’t get it to move forward. You know it goes wrong somewhere, you’re just not sure why, exactly. Welcome to a class tailor-made for you— where we will talk through some basics of plot, structure, conflict and character, see where you’re stuck, and come up with ways to get unstuck! Generative and curiosity-rich, this is a class for anyone who wants to make sure they’re making stories with a good, strong engine— the kind that can take us to unexpected places.
Details and application here.
GiveBIG 2023
GiveBIG to celebrate 35 years of women-identified writers who have emerged from Hedgebrook. What exists inside of you thanks to a woman’s book, film, play, or album that spoke to you? We want to raise $3,500 to commemorate 35 years of storytellers who have come before—and those who have yet to come too! Support Hedgebrook May 2nd and May 3rd here: https://www.wagives.org/organization/Hedgebrook
Radical Craft Retreat in Tuscany with Ellen Sussman
Write, Re-Vision, Revise with Ellen Sussman
April 29-May 6, 2023
This retreat will be in Tuscany!
More details and applications here.
Chenxing Han and Jane Wong in conversation
On Thursday, April 25th Hedgebrook and Elliott Bay Book Company will co-present an in-person conversation with alumnae Chenxing Han and Jane Wong.
Chenxing’s new book, One Long Listening: A Memoir of Grief, Friendship, and Spiritual Care comes out on April 11th.
More details here.
Cottage Chat with JP Howard and Cynthia Manick
Join JP Howard and Cynthia Manick for our April Cottage Chat. They will be in conversation with Amber Fmae talking about joy, their craft, and more!
More details here.
EQUIVOX '23 | Equal Voice
About the Event:
Join us for EQUIVOX '23 to celebrate 35 years of women coming together, growing together, and authoring change together at Hedgebrook. We’ll gather as a community on Sunday, March 19 to nourish each other’s dreams and voices through music, poetry, and conversation with fellow writers Kristen Millares Young, Casey Parks, and Putsata Reang. We’ll honor writers who came before us and sowed the seeds that now support us, continuing that growth for future generations of women.
How to join us at EQUIVOX '23 on Sunday, March 19:
Brunch Event: Purchase your ticket for a special EQUIVOX '23 brunch at Sodo Park. We’ll welcome you at 11:00 AM for social hour, mimosas, and champagne, followed by brunch and a powerful program. Afterward, we’ll have a live auction that’ll help continue making Hedgebrook’s retreats tuition-free.
Online Broadcast: Tune in online at 12:30 PM (PT) and say hello to our Sodo Park guests as we come together for a community-centered program. Invite friends and family to join—the online broadcast is free for everyone.
We gather to empower one another by uplifting our collective voices. You are our community. We hope you’ll join us in reverence of your dreams, and the dreams of women everywhere.
Transmutation Practice for Writers with Michelle Ruiz Keil
Join us for this live webinar with alumna, Michelle Ruiz Keil. Using techniques from depth psychology, alchemy, and various forms of divination, we will generate new work and provide tools for revivifying existing pieces.
More details and registration here.
Getting Into the Mind of Your Character: Delving into POV with Monica West
Join Monica West for a two-hour webinar exploring how to get into the mind of your character, regardless of the point of view that you've chosen.
More details and registration here.
Pulling Yourself out of Writer Quicksand (Forever) with MK Chavez
Join MK Chavez for a quick and dirty dive into literary coaching. This is a highly interactive workshop where attendees will explore their personal quicksand, engage in a writing values clarification exercise, and leave with a toolkit for addressing writer’s block, book inertia, and other writing crises while they build a sustainable writing practice. Open to all genres and levels of experience. Everyone is welcome.
More details and registration here.
Mapping the Wilds of Grief with Katrina Goldsaito
Last year, Katrina led a Grief + Healing Series with this same title. It was one of our most popular offerings so we are bringing her back for a deeper dive.
More details and registration here.
Radical Craft Retreat with Meg LeFauve
Screenwriting Intensive: Finding Your Story, Finding Your Voice
with Meg LeFauve
November 11-17, 2022
This retreat will be in-person.
More details and applications here.
Possibilities of Forms: Using Experimentation to Invigorate Your Writing with Leanne Dunic
Join writer Leanne Dunic for a two-hour generative writing workshop exploring fresh approaches to your writing. Not all narratives are best-suited to double-spaced, left-to-right, top-to-bottom text, but how does one start experimenting with form? Open to all genres and levels of experience. Everyone is welcome.
Details and registration here.
Radical Craft Retreat with Minal Hajratwala
Seeds, Spores, Survival: A New Generative Methodology for Writing in Our Times (for BIPOC writers)
with Minal Hajratwala
November 3-9, 2022
This retreat will be in-person.
More details and applications here.
Subversive Joy: Writing Pleasure as an Act of Resistance with Joshunda Sanders
Join writer Joshunda Sanders for a generative webinar that offers a joyous space with a mixture of lecture, meditation and grounding rituals, writing practices, exercises and prompts for reflection.
Details and registration here.
Two Truths and A Lie: Complicating Your Characters and Story with Reiko Rizzuto
Join writer Reiko Rizzuto for a two-hour generative writing workshop exploring play, association, stray thoughts, wild leaps and even out of body experiences to get your imagination going, and break your work open and see it in a new way. Open to all genres and levels of experience. Everyone is welcome.
Details and registration here.
Cottage Chat with Mira Jacob & Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
Join us for our September Cottage Chat with Mira Jacob and Jocelyn Nicole Johnson.
This chat will stream live on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Opening Night Performance - Writers Conference
In addition to leading the workshop intensives, Dr. Rommi Smith, Breezy Janae and Arisa White will come together for a performance of their work and a moderated conversation. This opening event is open to the public and tickets are available as a single event or part of the industry talk package.
Writers Conference
Hedgebrook’s inaugural Writers Conference is a three-day (virtual) intensive for women-identified writers across the globe. Alumnae Instructors craft and guide participants through interconnected lessons, proving “No Writer Is An Island”. Opening night performance by our Alumnae Instructors are followed by three evening Industry Talks that are open to the public.