Applications are accepted between February 15 and March 19. The application deadline is March 19 by midnight EST.

Application

You can apply to the Workshop Series by submitting an application online.

  • Application deadline is March 19.
  • There is a $20 application fee.
  • Notification letters are sent by email in mid-April

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 Bread Loaf staff at Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences.

Apply

Workshops

Introductory Workshop

The Introductory Workshop is ideal for the following applicants:

  • Those interested in literary translation but still acquiring sufficient proficiency in a foreign language.
  • Those who have some language skills but do not yet have a translation sample to submit for critique.
  • Students of literature, comparative literature, and creative writing.
  • Teachers interested in learning how to incorporate translation into the classroom.

The workshop acquaints participants with recurring questions, problems, and pleasures of the activity of literary translation. Students are provided with literary texts from different genres and languages and expected to create translations that will be reviewed in class.

Applicants for the Introductory Workshop are not required to submit a translation sample but will be provided with a prompt in the online application where they are asked to address their interest in translation and what they hope to gain from the conference.

Manuscript Workshop

The Manuscript Workshop is intended for students who already have sufficient foreign language skills and are working on translations that are in-progress. Manuscripts of up to 6,000 words (for prose) or ten pages (for poems) will be reviewed in the workshop and in a one-on-one conference with the instructor.

Applicants for the Manuscript Workshop submit the online application with a sample of current work. Applicants should send their strongest unpublished work. See Manuscript Guidelines.

Workshops by category and genre:

  • Three introductory workshops (Jody Gladding, David Hinton, and Elisabeth Jaquette)
  • Three workshops working exclusively in prose, either fiction or nonfiction (Jennifer Croft, Edward Gauvin, and Padma Viswanathan)
  • One poetry workshop (Kareem James Abu-Zeid)
  • Three mixed workshops in prose or poetry (Geoffrey Brock, Karen Emmerich, and Achy Abejas)

Financial Aid

Thanks to the generous support of Middlebury and to an endowment fund established by past Bread Loafers and other donors, financial aid is available.

To apply for financial aid: A financial aid section is included near the bottom of the Workshop Series online application. Applicants interested in applying for financial aid should submit a statement of up to 800 words to be considered along with the strength and quality of the application itself. Those applying for financial aid are asked to describe how their participation in the conference will add diversity to the community of voices, and also addressing their financial need. Though the merit of the application carries the most weight, the applicant’s financial aid statement is also considered.

Acceptance and Notification

  • Acceptance into the Introductory Workshop will be based on the strength of the application and the degree to which the applicant will benefit from the conference.
  • Acceptance into the Manuscript Workshops will be based on the strength and promise of the translation sample submitted and the degree to which the applicant and his or her work will benefit from the conference. Only applications of work being translated into English are able to be considered. The application will require submitting a writing sample both in the original source language and the target language of English.
  • Applicants submit a ranked list of workshop leader choices within the application and those accepted are then assigned to a workshop based on our commitment to try give all attendees one of their top choices.
  • Notification letters will be sent in mid-April. All participants must pay in full before participating in the first workshop. No refund of fees will be made for participants who are unable to finish the workshop series.

2021 Fees

  • Application Fee: $20
  • Comprehensive Workshop Series Fee: $750