Up a long and winding road, past Little Switzerland and through the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, aspiring writers from around the world make their annual pilgrimage to Wildacres Retreat, seeking tranquility and inspiration. Some are making the trip for the first time, but for most, the week-long retreat and workshops are something they look forward to every year—almost like summer camp for adults.

Some attendees are published authors who come to get their work critiqued by their peers. Others are doctors, teachers, antiques dealers, psychologists, lawyers, former CEOs, actors and adventurers who are seeking a new or expanded midlife career. There are students and seniors—participants’ ages range from 19 to over 80. Attendees hail from all over the world: Lynette, Lois and Angela have come from Australia, Marga has come again from Brazil, Nicole is from Canada, and has brought her friend Joanne, a doctor, from Trinidad.

All of the participants have one thing in common: They’ve come to learn from the source, the South, which produced and inspired O. Henry, Faulkner, Poe, Capote, Tennessee Williams, Hemingway, Flannery O’Conner, Pat Conroy, Harper Lee, Thomas Wolfe and Dave Barry, to list a few names from a long, long list.

What It’s All About

Writers simply refer to Wildacres as “the mountain,” reminiscent of the appellation that climbers give Mt. Everest. Up on the mountain, there are workshops in novel writing, short stories, creative nonfiction, screenplays, poetry, playwriting, and flash fiction (under 500 words). Each workshop is limited to 10 participants.

Students send one sample of work to all participants in their particular workshop, who critique each submission and comment during the sessions. The critiques are the highlight of learning at Wildacres. Sessions are scheduled to allow writers to audit other workshops. Nightly reading opportunities provide entertainment, enlightenment, and exposure.

Wildacres is about inspiration, and every session includes a theme party. This year’s will focus on famous literary characters, real and imaginary, a celebration under the stars high above the possible subjects down
below. These parties are always occasions to remember and perhaps write about the morning after—or at least contemplate and perhaps incorporate into the GONG show later in the week. This is a show written and produced and presented by faculty and students without apology or modesty, a free-for-all of comedy and candor.

Faculty and Staff

Faculty for 2009 has been chosen from some of the best writers and writing teachers in the area, most of whom are returning. This year’s faculty again includes author Ron Rash, whose novel Serena has been picked up by a major motion picture studio. The word in Hollywood is that major actresses are vying for the female lead. Ron will teach a workshop on novel writing. Also teaching novel writing is Luke Whisnant, a brilliant teacher and prolific publisher, editor of Wildacres Writers’ Workshops newsletter “The Tunnel” and a host of WriteNow.TV—by writers, for writers and designed by a Wildacres Writers Workshop team.

Janice Fuller, also a host of WriteNow.TV, and John Lane, author of Kudzu Telegraph, will teach poetry writing. Ann Hood, whose latest collection is An Ornithologist’s Guide to Life, and Tim Poland, whose latest collection is Escapee, will teach the art of the short story. Nancy Bartholomew will teach contemporary commercial fiction, and Jon Tuttle will teach play and script writing. Lee Zacharias, a successful novel and short story writer, will teach creative nonfiction.

Wildacres Writers Workshop has been serving writers since 1986. Judi Hill, muse, star, director and the heart and soul of it all, runs the enterprise with boundless energy and great devotion. It has been said that getting to know Judi is worth the price of admission!

Want to Go?

Retreat: Begins on Saturday afternoon, June 27th. Ends Friday morning, July 3rd.

Workshop: Begins on Friday afternoon, July 3rd. Ends Friday morning, July 10th.

To bring a little inspiration to your own life, apply at www.wildacres.org/writers.htm.

Wildacres: A Little History

From April through October, Wildacres hosts over 50 nonprofit groups. The retreat’s story began in 1926, when Thomas Dixon purchased the land with his royalties from Birth of a Nation, which was based on his novel The Clansman. His goal was to create a haven for artists to come together, but he lost his money in the 1929 market crash, and his dream for Wildacres was shattered. In 1936, the property was bought for $6,500 by I.D. Blumenthal, and ten years later, he dedicated Wildacres “to the betterment of human relations.” In the years since, this beautiful property has touched the lives of many singers, storytellers, potters, painters, and writers—not to mention the countless nonprofit workers, leaders and visionaries who have come together at Wildacres to contemplate making the world a better place.

“It is a sight to inspire reverence, sunlight passing through openings in the windblown cumulus clouds, creating moving patches of light and shadow that silently travel across peaks, down slopes and through valleys of the verdantly lush Smoky Mountains. A thousand shades of summer green, constantly shifting hues and patterns, like kaleidoscopes we looked into as children whose every tiny twist and turn created a different geometric pattern of colors. But these sailing sun-shade shapes have no sharp points or edges, only softly curving boundaries where gliding light gently blends to shadow. Life should be so kind this way.”
Jules Riley • Wildacres 2008