Conference students gather in the fields of the Bread Loaf campus.

The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, founded in 1926, is one of the oldest and finest of its kind in the country.

It is the cornerstone to the three Bread Loaf Conferences, which include the Writers’ Conference, the Environmental Writers’ Conference, and the Translators’ Conference.

In all the programs, you’ll experience the Bread Loaf model, which includes small-group workshops scheduled among enriching readings and lectures.

Each summer, our faculty members include some of the world’s most notable writers and translators.

Director Announces Changes to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in August

Attendees enjoying a relaxing social gathering.

A Collaborative Community

Our Conferences are diverse and inclusive communities giving voice to writers of all ages and experience. Rather than working in solitude, writers come together to test their assumptions of literature and seek advice on their progress as writers. Open-mindedness, respect, and appreciation are truly valued here, and each person can thrive and benefit from their time on the mountain.

Listen to Lectures and Readings

  • Lecturer Matvei Yankelevich explored “‘Kyiv’ or ‘Kiev’: Translation and Historical Sense” as part of the Translators’ Conference.

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  • Jennifer Finney Boylan discussed “The Heisenberg Variations: Invention, Revision, and Uncertainty” at the Writers’ Conference. 

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  • Jennifer Chang lectured on “Walking To, From, Away: An Intimate Theory of Walking Poems by Women” at the Environmental Writers’ Conference.

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Our Mission

The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences provide a time-tested model of instruction for writers, especially in their early stages, to strengthen their command of literary craft, to examine their assumptions about the art, and to seek advice about works-in-progress.

Immersive learning experiences that take place in both national and international contexts, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences bring together diverse and talented communities of writers to take part in workshops, lectures, readings, classes, meetings with professionals in the publishing industry, and other programming aiming to prepare, educate, and inspire.

Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference

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Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference

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Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference

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Archive of Lectures and Readings

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