Thanks to all who have participated, donated, and volunteered to make this an eventful year.

Upcoming Events: 

Mark the Date: September 5th Levis Reading!

Join us as we celebrate the winners of the Larry Levis Stipend 2023 – Roseanne Perriera and Mallory Rodenberg. The reading takes place September 5th 2024 at 8 pm EST. Zoom registration required. Register here. 

The Levis award provides $5,000 stipends for first books in poetry and fiction to the alumni of the MFA Program for Writers at WWC and submissions open on September 15th 2024. Read submission guidelines here. Please contact Nuha Fariha with any questions [email protected].  

Mark the Date: October 26th Fall Fete 

FOW is holding an in-person reading and fundraiser with co-hosted Bull City Press’s House Party Reading Series. The evening will feature readings by alumni and faculty from the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College including Sarah Audsley, Rita Banerjee, Megan Pinto, Carter Sickles, and Connie Voisine. Register today!

Highlights From the Year:

New Mission, Same Values

This year, FOW had its first ever Board retreat during which we updated our mission statement and clarified our values. This step is a vital step in continuing to grow and evolve as an organization. You can read our updated mission and values statement on our website. 

Scholarship and Fundraising 

This year, we awarded over $134,080 to provide scholarships and support for students and alumni of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. We are also thankful to Aidan O’Brien and Rebecca Griswold who led a successful Class Drive for the Class of 2024, leading to 100% participation. You can read more about FOW’s many scholarships here. 

July 2024 Graduation Ceremony – MFA Program

On July 12, six poets and seven fiction writers were awarded the degree of Master of Fine Arts from the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Brief remarks were offered by WWC president Damián J. Fernández, Provost Jay Roberts, and MFA director Rita Banerjee. The faculty speaker was Christine Kitano. You can access Christine Kitano’s speech here and view the graduation ceremony here.

Alumni Conference

A small, wonderful conference was held in Walla Walla, Washington at Whitman College. Twenty alumni registered to share writing, engage in workshops, and lead classes. The readings were, as usual, spectacular, and, in part because of the tiny but mighty group size, two brand new kinds of reading evenings were possible: the flash reading experience, where everyone in attendance was invited to read 500 words, and the Reading In Memoriam to honor Wallies who had recently passed. Both of these experiences provided powerful opportunities for alumni to share more deeply and more often than is usually possible. As always, FOW offers scholarships to attend the conference. We are grateful to Michael Jarmer for organizing the conference, with helpful advice from Ashley Nissler and David Ruekberg. Thanks to David Ruekberg for coordinating the online sessions. Thanks to Dawn Abeita for organizing and leading the auction, which raised funds for FOW scholarships. Learn more about the alumni conferences and scholarship opportunities here. 

FOW Forum Summer Digest

Thanks to the tireless work of FOW Blogger Aidan O’Brien, the Community News Digest now comes out twice a year. Please read the New Books and Awards, Print Magazine Publications and More and celebrate all the wonderful accomplishments of our community!

FOW Monthly Donations

If you can, FOW strongly encourages monthly donations. Our monthly donors give between $10-100 a month. Giving a monthly gift may be easier on the donor’s wallet and assists FOW in long term financial planning. If you are interested in making a monthly gift, please contact Nuha [email protected] for more information. 

Have FOW history or news to share? 

Email Nuha at [email protected]. We welcome any news past, present and future to celebrate with the FOW community!

All best, 

Abigail Wender

President, Friends of Writers

P.S. If you recently changed your contact information, please send it to Nuha ([email protected]).