Application & Tuition

For participants willing to share their room, tuition for the full week would cost $2,550 (an early bird discount price of $2,490 for those that pay in full on or before June 17). For those requesting a single room, that cost would be $3,150 (with early bird discount price of $3,090). Our commuter rate for those staying off-campus is $2,050 (early bird discount price of $1,990). If you need financial assistance, look towards the end of this page for more information.

Here is a breakdown of our costs and what’s included:

 *$2,550 (early bird discount price of $2,490 if you pay on or before June 17) includes:

-Poetry workshops (5 classes totaling 13 hours).

-Outdoor classes / guided “awe” walks with our ecology faculty (3 classes total).

-Craft talks from our poetry faculty (4 total) as well as a group panel featuring both our ecology and poetry faculty.

-Four nights of readings and book signings, including those by our poetry faculty and our special keynote guest. We’ll also have readings for fellows, interns, and all participants (which may just mean you!) to share their work.

-Invitation to our mid-week dance party celebration.

-Invitation to our ceremonial American Chestnut tree planting.

-Personal time set aside for your writing (8.5 hours)—though you might make far more time for your writing, these hours are baked into the schedule to help assure that you’ll have time for your poems.

-All meals from Monday evening to Sunday morning (6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 6 dinners).

-Six-night stay in a shared room. Accommodations are in hotel-style room with private baths, air conditioning, and elevator access to all floors.

*$3,150 (early bird discount price of $3,090 if you pay on or before June 17) includes:

-All of the above but with a single room.

*Our commuter rate is $2,050 (early bird discount price of $1,990 if you pay on or before June 17), includes:

-Everything above with the exception of a room. A meal plan of lunch and dinner only (no breakfast) is included.

We’re not yet able to offer as much financial assistance as we’d like this very first year. But yes, we do have some funding we can offer, including small stipends of up to $500 for a number of participants as well as one full fellowship for a poet of sixty years or older.

You can read about that towards the bottom of this page.

Well, we’ve tried to keep it simple. Starting April 13, a link to submittable will be available, and here’s the list of all you’ll need for that application:

*A short application form providing us with your basic deets.

 *A cover letter of no more than one page that tells us a little about yourself and addresses the question of why you want to attend the Hellbender Gathering.

 *Five pages of poems.

 *A non-refundable application fee of $25. This is to help us cover our administrative costs. Should you end up coming to our gathering, this amount will be credited to your balance.

Sure! Again, this should only be one page long that tells us a little about yourself and addresses the question of why you want to attend the Hellbender Gathering.

This will just allow us to get to know you a little better, so be yourself! Feel free to tell us a bit about your background, your interests and hobbies, perhaps a few of your quirks or accolades and achievements.

Most importantly, don’t feel as if you need to alter the description of yourself just to fit our mission. Are you a dedicated eco-poet and naturalist? That’s absolutely fantastic; you might be a great fit as our week together aims to bring environmental science together with poetry. But perhaps you’re a poet with little experience at all outdoors, but you are—like so many of us—trying to navigate the growing crisis of the biosphere and are seeking a way forward. You too, might be just the addition we need. If you’d like an overview of our aim in forming this community, read this statement.

No problem. So, these five pages could consist of five poems that are each one-page long, one poem that’s five-pages long, or anything in between. We’ll leave that up to you. Just make sure not to put more than one poem per page. Also, keep it legible with a one-inch margin and 12-point font.

Send us work you’ve carefully considered and that you think is your strongest. But don’t be intimidated—know that we see our gathering as an opportunity for growth. Sharing published work is fine, as is work that no one has seen but you!

Also, there is no expectation about your work’s subject matter other than that it’s representative of your capability and potential as a writer. Again, read this statement about our idea of who might join us. While our gathering is focused on finding the words to protect and repair our climate-changed world, it’s not necessary that you send along eco-poems or work with a focus on nature and the environment. Our week together has a generative focus, so hopefully, you’ll be inspired to write poems that do that work in our time together.

We owe our entire foundation to Miles Coon and the many years that went into forming the lasting community of the annual gathering in Delray. So yes, absolutely, let us know about your experience there, including what year(s) you attended and with whom you worked. It’s all relevant experience to mention in your cover letter, and trust us, it will do our hearts some good!

Your letter of acceptance will come as soon as we can send it. If you’re still eager to join us, we’ll ask for a non-refundable deposit of $300 upon acceptance to secure your spot. Full tuition payment is due by July 1.

In August, we’ll tell you who your workshop leader will be and will ask you for two pages of poetry to share with your workshop. At that time, we’ll also give you all of the details so that you can make your travel arrangements and gear up for joining us.

In September, there will also be opportunities to meet the entire cohort and ask us any questions you might have before you make your way to us in October.

After the gathering in November and again in February of the following year, there will be online opportunities to reconnect with the inaugural cohort and share work you’ve had a chance to refine and revise.

After that, we’re sure to bring you together in other ways as we can! We aim to nurture and build our community for years to come.

Workshops seats will be limited in size so that each participant receives individualized attention, feedback, and focused time. Each class will have no more than twelve students.

On the application, we’ll give you the opportunity to rank your preferences for our four poetry faculty. We’ll certainly keep this in mind as we assign individuals to workshop leaders, but there are a lot of factors at play that will make these determinations (including your cover letter, which we’ll use for class matchmaking).

We cannot make any promises, but know this—we’ve selected our mentors very carefully. Each of them shines in their own right as a poet, but just as essential to us is that they’re dedicated teachers, warm and generous and ready to help you find the words you most need. Also, you’ll have ample access to all of our faculty, no matter to whose class you’re assigned. Their craft talks, readings, and book signings are open to everyone, and we’ll all be sharing meals together as well.

If you’re invited to join us, you’ll receive an acceptance letter far before we make workshop designations, so know that we’ll be asking you to trust the process. Only by the end of summer will we let you know which of our four faculty with which you’ll be working and will provide you with all of the information you’ll need to prepare.

One thing that makes Hellbender unique is our determination to bring together environmental science with poetry.

As such, in addition to our writing workshops, we’ll offer three sessions with faculty members Laura Boggess and Luke Cannon, and all participants will have the opportunity to spend time with both of these amazing ecologists.

Weather permitting, these classes will be outside as you stroll the grounds there at the Blue Ridge Assembly. Our aim is that these encounters—while not physically challenging—will be filled with awe as you come into communication with the plants, mushrooms, lichen, and wildlife of the incredibly biodiverse region of the mountains here. These expert naturalists will help bring you back to your own body as they guide you through this experiential learning, which will hopefully inform your poems that speaks for and about our planet and more-than-human kin.

There will also be opportunities during these sessions for generative writing prompts and reflection, and should you prefer to take the time set aside for these classes simply to write, don’t worry—you’re free to do that.

You bet! There will be ample opportunities for interaction with those in other classes during meals, campfire gatherings, and as part of our outdoor classes with our ecology faculty. In addition, our craft talks, readings, and book signings are open to all, including writers in the area who will join just for those events.

Our guiding formula is poetry + environmental science + community = a joyful rising. And so, yes, we’ve crafted our gathering to be large enough—and small enough—with only 48 core participants—to allow everyone to connect and bond.

The focus at Hellbender will largely be generative. Classes will be a mix craft discussions, readings, prompts, and opportunities to possibly share your new work (and celebrate the new work of others).

Know that the work you share as part of your application is for our eyes only. But should you be admitted, we’ll ask you to send us two pages of poems by August 15. These pages will be sent to your workshop group to allow them to get a taste of your work and will be used to kickstart your class time together, but no preparation is required for citique.

Before July 31, refunds (minus your $325 deposit and application fee) will be available. Due to commitments with our venue, no refunds will be granted for cancelations on August 1 or after. No refund will be issued if a participant needs to leave the conference early.

No, but we highly recommend that you stay with us at the Blue Ridge Lodge if possible—the Hellbender Gathering has secured all available rooms for us in that same lodge, which should foster a great deal of community between our relatively small cohort as well make things mighty convenient (the bedrooms there are in the same building, as all of our meeting rooms, classrooms, and the cafeteria).

The hotel-style rooms are perfectly comfortable with private baths and air-conditioning. The facilities there are incredibly affordable and accessible, and staying there would put you within walking distance to all programming. You can read more about our location here.

That said, should you want to commute from your own home in the area or other accommodations, we’re open to that. Your tuition package wouldn’t include a room but would we would include a meal package so that you can join us for lunch and dinner as we consider that an important part of our social time together (and because time between sessions can be tight).

You can see a breakdown of costs at the top of this page.

Yes, just let us know on your application in the designated area. The YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly offers ADA-compliant features like handicapped accessible rooms, elevators, wheelchair-accessible parking and entrances. The hotel-style rooms there have private baths, air conditioning, and elevator access to all floors, including handicapped accessible rooms. Parking and entrances are also wheelchair-accessible.

 We aim to accommodate various other needs as well. Please let us know in your application so that we can plan accordingly.

It’s possible, but space is limited. To help your chances of securing a single room, apply early and make your preference known.

As long as your roommate is an accepted workshop participant and also wants to room with you, sure thing! Just make sure you both make note of it your application in the designated area for this, and we’ll do our best to accommodate.

No, there is no camping available on the campus there.

Yes. The Blue Ridge dining hall offers vegetarian options as a part of their standard buffet, but can accommodate other specific dietary restrictions and/or allergies if requested in advance. Please let us know on your application in the designated area.

Our craft lectures and readings will be open to the public. While you need not apply to attend these, you would need to purchase a ticket to reserve your spot. We’ll have a link available for you to do that in April when applications open.

No, requesting financial aid will have no bearing on the acceptance of your application, but it might mean that you hear from us a little later as we’ll wait to consider all requests for aid together before making any final decisions.

Yes! We’re proud in this first year to offer the Miles Coon Fellowship to one participant. Thanks to the generosity of Mimi Coon, this fellowship honors Miles Coon, the founder of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, which was the organization of twenty years from which the Hellbender Gathering sprung. Miles dedicated himself to the service and writing of poetry when he was sixty years old, so this fellowship covers the full cost of tuition, room, & board for one poet of sixty years or older who has not yet published a full-length book.

Travel costs or incidentals are not included. To apply for this fellowship, please make note on your application along with five additional pages of poems and a statement in the designated area.  

Yes, we surely do! We’ll offer a $200 discount on the cost of tuition to participants who are funded all or in part by an educational, institutional, or tribal partner who may believe enough in you to assist your ability to attend the Hellbender Gathering.  institution such as a college or university. We’ll just need an official letter directly from them detailing their financial support.

Yes. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor and named after his beloved wife of many years, The Julia Fund offers a limited number of scholarships of up to $500 for those who could benefit from a little boost in funding to paricipate. To apply for this assistance, please make note on your application along with a statement of need in the designated area.  

Not officially, no. But our organization is small and communication between us and our participants is open. If there’s an arrangement that might mean you can overcome prohibitive circumstances, reach out. We’ll talk.

Yes, please! Starting in this first year, we’ll start passing the hat for a community fund, gathering as many donations as possible to help ease the financial strain of those who want to attend but might find it challenging to afford. Should you be able to give to this cause, please donate here. Please click the “give in honor of” box and mark “community fund.” We’ll set whatever money we raise for this aside and make as much of it available to as many as we can!

Of course! Listed below are three ways in which you might touch base with us. We welcome any question or concern you might have.