Application and Acceptance

Application

You can apply to the conference by submitting a sample of original work and an application online.

• Rolling admissions November 1 to February 1 or until places fill.
• There is a $25 application fee.
• Acceptances will be made on a rolling basis and applicants will be notified whether they have been admitted approximately four to six weeks after they apply. With rolling admissions, those who apply early increase their chances of acceptance; therefore, we encourage you to apply early.

We use Submittable, the online application program. Applicants who already have a Submittable account will be asked to login. Others will be prompted to set up a free account.

For financial assistance with the application fee, please contact staff at the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference.

Workshops

Three workshops are offered in poetry (Tarfia Faizullah, John Murillo, and Nicole Sealey); two in fiction (Lydia Millet and Luis Alberto Urrea); and three in creative nonfiction (Jennifer Ackerman, Nathaniel Rich, and Abe Streep). Applicants submit their top choices for workshop leader upon acceptance to the conference. Participants are assigned to a workshop based on our commitment to giving all attendees one of their choices.

Participant Applicants

Participants take part in a workshop by contributing a manuscript for which they will receive feedback. The fee for Contributors is $2,830, including tuition, room, and board.

Acceptance is based on the strength and promise of the writing sample and on the Admissions Board’s judgment that the applicant will benefit from the conference. Along with the online application, participant applicants submit a writing sample in the genre in which they are applying (the writing sample can be work that is published or unpublished). See the Manuscript Guidelines for important details.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is limited, but thanks to support from Middlebury College and also many donors and former Bread Loafers who have contributed over the years, a number of full and partial scholarships will be awarded. 

Though it’s possible for a former financial aid winner to apply again in a subsequent year, please note that the admissions board gives preference to first-time financial aid applicants.

In addition, we are pleased to note that a full scholarship including a travel stipend of $500 is made possible by The Rona Jaffe Foundation. This scholarship will be awarded to a woman in early career who has not attended Bread Loaf in the past and also meets one or both of the following criteria: an applicant with a nontraditional literary background, who is working outside of academia with or without a writing degree and/or an individual who is in particular need of financial and creative support. Candidates must be permanent residents of the United States, and writers who have published a book (a standard trade edition of their work) are not eligible for this scholarship. All financial aid applicants who meet the criteria as described above will be considered for this scholarship.

See more about Financial Aid.

Auditor Applicants

Auditors attend the workshop without a manuscript. The fee for auditors is $2,450, including tuition, room, and board.

Auditors do not submit a manuscript for review and do not receive an individual manuscript conference with the instructor. Auditors are assigned to a workshop and, as the name implies, are asked primarily to listen and observe during manuscript critiques. Outside of the workshop, auditors participate in all aspects of the conference including the daily readings, lectures, craft classes, receptions, and social events. Acceptance is based on the Admissions Board’s judgment that the applicant will benefit from the conference. The auditor application is submitted online, and a writing sample is not required.

Acceptance

Acceptance is based on the strength and promise of the writing sample and on the Admissions Board’s judgment that the applicant will benefit from the conference.

Acceptances will be made on a rolling basis and applicants will be notified whether they have been admitted approximately four to six weeks after they apply. With rolling admissions, those who apply early increase their chances of acceptance.

• We do not enroll anyone for less than the full seven days of the conference.
• Applicants must be at least eighteen years of age.