Writers’ Conference Faculty Handbook

Dear Bread Loaf Faculty,

It’s been a pleasure working with you as we’ve been preparing for the session. We hope the details below are helpful as you continue to get ready for your time at the conference. We’re looking forward to seeing you very soon! 

-Bread Loaf Staff

Tuesday Arrival Information

Faculty and fellows arrive on Tuesday, August 13. There is an important orientation meeting for faculty and fellows in the Barn at 8:00 PM, so you should plan to arrive by then. If you can arrive earlier, please join us for a cocktail hour from 5:15 PM to 6:15 PM in the Treman Cottage, followed by a buffet dinner available at 6:15 PM in the Bread Loaf Inn Dining Room. When you get to campus, please go to the Front Desk of the Bread Loaf Inn to get your room assignment and mailbox information.  Registration packets will be distributed during the orientation meeting.

To make shared taxi arrangements from the Burlington Vermont Airport, Bread Loafers reserve a ride with Vermont Tour and Charter. Please submit the VTC Bread Loaf form as soon as possible so they can fit you into the schedule of rides. Please note that Vermont Tour and Charter will only give rides to and from from the Burlington,VT airport and Essex, VT train station.  For rides from the Middlebury, VT train station, and for more travel details, see the Travel Page.

Those arriving by car may park temporarily along Route 125 near the Bread Loaf Inn while getting their housing information and registration materials.  After that, Bread Loafers with cars park in the big parking lot in front of the Barn on campus. The Front Desk staff will provide more details about parking when they share your housing information with you on arrival day.

We want to highlight here that the Bread Loaf campus is a twenty-minute drive from the Middlebury College campus. The Bread Loaf campus address to use with GPS is 4229 Route 125, Ripton, VT 05766.

Tuesday Orientation Meeting

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 14, at 8:00 PM, in the Barn. In addition to meeting the fellow with whom you’ll be working, we will go over some important information about workshops and the conference in general. A reception with faculty, fellows, administrative staff scholars, and conference staff will take place just after the meeting.
 

First Wednesday on Campus

Though Wednesday is mostly a free day for faculty that can be used for workshop planning, etc., we ask that you stop by the Dining Room sometime between 11 AM and 12:30 PM to take care of important forms and administrative matters that must be addressed on the mountain and at the start of the conference.

In the Dining Room, please stop by the Back Office table, where we ask you to: sign your latest book for the Bread Loaf Library; sign the recording permission form; confirm/review your copy needs; and sign up for an afternoon tech run through (between 3 PM and 4 PM—time to be confirmed) if you’re planning to show slides or PowerPoint during the session.

Departure Information

Saturday, August 24, is the last day of the session. Saturday is a travel day—breakfast is available in the morning and then people head out by noon. 

Health and Safety on Campus this Summer

Required 2024 COVID-19 Protocols and Pledge Form

The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences 2024 COVID-19 Protocols and Pledge Form outlines the protocols we’ll have in place this summer. We are asking all Attendees including participants, faculty, summer administrative staff, and guests to read and sign this acknowledgement of the protocols and health pledge. 

Required Measles Proof of Immunity 

The Vermont Department of Health is requiring that all Bread Loafers be able to provide proof of immunization from measles before the start of our summer sessions. Soon we’ll share a letter from Mark Peluso, Chief Health Officer and College Physician of Middlebury College, and a link for uploading your proof of immunity document. In the meantime, please note that there will be three options for fulfilling this requirement of measles immunization:

  1. obtain proof of immunization from already extant records;
  2. get a blood test that proves immunity from a doctor or clinic;
  3. get an immunization shot for measles (MMR) from a local pharmacy or doctor and providing proof of it.

Note: Individuals born prior to January 1, 1957, are assumed to be immune to measles and do not have to provide proof of immunity. Instead of uploading a proof of immunity document via the forthcoming secure form, these individuals will provide a document showing their date of birth. 

Middlebury College and Bread Loaf Policies

Bread Loaf fosters communities where open-mindedness, respect, and appreciation are truly valued and where each person can thrive and benefit from their time on the mountain. Before your arrival on campus, we ask that you familiarize yourself with the Middlebury College and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences policies concerning community health, safety, and responsibility. Participants are responsible for knowing and understanding these polices, which are articulated HERE. Should you have any questions at any time, please do not hesitate to contact one of the following Bread Loaf staff members or one of the Middlebury College contacts noted in the policy information linked to above.

Jennifer Grotz, director, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences (jgrotz@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5286)

Lauren Francis-Sharma, assistant director, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference (lfrancissharma@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5286)

Noreen Cargill, administrative director, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences (ncargill@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5062)

Jason Lamb, coordinator, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences (jlamb@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5286)

Community Guidelines

Bread Loaf fosters communities where open-mindedness, respect, and appreciation are truly valued and where each person can thrive and benefit from their time on the mountain. Before your arrival, please take time to read the Bread Loaf Community Guidelines. In order to participate fully during the conference, all are expected to read and be familiar with the information included there.

A Middlebury Email for Faculty and Participants

Bread Loaf faculty and participants are assigned a temporary Middlebury email for use during the conference. Bread Loaf staff will continue to use the personal emails on file for conference communications, but the Middlebury email will be needed to access WiFi on campus and to print in the Apple Cellar computer room.

The ITS “Middlebury Account Activation Instructions” note is scheduled to go out to Bread Loafers’ personal emails on July 21 or soon after. Please activate your temporary Middlebury email right away upon receiving the ITS note.

If you do not receive the ITS activation email by July 24, please contact us at blwc@middlebury.edu to let us know.

Packing

Items you may want to bring

  • We strongly encourage bringing masks with you to campus, if you wish; masks will also be available on the Bread Loaf Campus while supplies last.
  • We strongly encourage attendees to bring antigen test kits with them to campus to have on hand in case they are needed; rapid test kits will be available on campus while supplies last.
  • Water bottle—Conference days are long and it’s important to stay hydrated.  Water fountains are located in the Barn, where most meeting spaces are located.
  • If you’re driving, you may want to bring a fan; there are no air conditioners on campus, and the evenings can be warm.  Evenings can also be quite cold, so an extra blanket may be useful as well.
  • You should plan to bring clothes for both warm and cool weather.  Temperatures during the day and evening could range from the 60s to mid-80s.
  • Raincoat
  • Flashlight or head lamp with batteries
  • Toiletries 
  • Sunscreen
  • Insect repellent
  • Medication such as Benadryl in case of bug bites
  • Your prescription medications and your medical insurance card. We also recommend that you bring a list of your current prescription and non-prescription medications and the phone and fax numbers for your health care provider.
  • Laundry detergent
  • Bathing suit—you can swim in Lake Pleiad (the outing will require use of a car and there is a short hike through the woods to get to the lake)
  • Hiking boots—in case you would like to explore hiking trails in the Green Mountain National Forest.  The Long Trail, stretching from Massachusetts to Canada, is just a few miles away.
  • Ear plugs, just in case
  • Bathrobe and flip flops, if you wish
  • Running and walking gear—in case you would like to explore the dirt trails near campus.  
  • Funds—the bookstore will accept cash and cards. The Barn Socials and evening Pubs will provide a cash bar, with cash and cards accepted.  There is no ATM on campus.
  • Alarm clock
  • Small cooler, if you wish—access to a refrigerator is not generally available.
  • Book-light
  • Eyeshade/sleep mask
  • Reusable mug/thermos
  • Yoga mat (see Yoga section below)
  • We’re sorry, but pets are not allowed on campus.
  • Binoculars (for the nature walk, if you would like to attend).
  • Extension cord
  • Adapter for your three-pronged laptop or hairdryer (in a few places on campus, some outlets are two-pronged)
  • This summer we are encouraging faculty to bring their personal laptop. In case of Covid on campus, Bread Loafers will transition from the in-person meeting to joining in via Zoom. 

Workshops

Workshops will meet five times during the conference. All workshops will meet on Thursday, August 15, from 1:30 PM to 4 PM (please note that this first workshop is 2.5 hours long). Thereafter, most of the sessions will take place from 10:10 AM to 12:10 PM (2 hours), and they will generally meet every other day depending on the genre: poetry and nonfiction workshops will meet on one day and fiction the next. On the final workshop day, Friday, August 23, all workshops meet at the same time, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.

The workshop meeting dates, times, and locations are noted on your workshop packet cover. Faculty received access to a folder that contains the student manuscripts and packet cover. 

Faculty Housing

Most faculty stay in Maple or Birch cottages, where each room has a private bath and there is a phone on each floor. Please note that some rooms are located on the second and third floors of buildings. If you have special needs for medical reasons, please let us know right away, so that we can make arrangements for you. There are a limited number of houses on campus for faculty members whose spouse/partner and children will be staying with them during the conference.

Pillows, sheets, blankets, and towels are provided. Each bed will have the folded stack of clean linens placed at the end of the mattress so attendees are able to make their bed. The Bread Loaf Inn Front Desk staff can assist with providing additional linens during the week as requested.

Bread Loaf is a smoke-free campus. Vermont State Law prohibits smoking in any building on campus, including dormitories.

Children on Campus

Each year some faculty members bring their children along. Fellows who live off-campus may also bring children for visits. Children will enjoy playing in the open, grassy fields on campus. Activities available to older children include tennis, volleyball, ping pong, and croquet. The Bread Loaf Inn Front Desk may have some equipment for borrowing.

Though there is a lot of open space on campus for exploring and fun, there is a road that runs through the campus, and it can be quite dangerous. The road looks quiet, but this is deceptive. Fast moving cars and trucks appear suddenly, so it’s important that children do not play anywhere near the road; this includes the grassy area across from the Bread Loaf Inn. We would also like to ask your help in keeping the area around the Little Theater quiet during readings and lectures in that building. The theater is very open with many screened doors and windows, so noises outside can be distracting.

Meals

Meals are served as a buffet in the Bread Loaf Inn dining room. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available, and the kitchen staff is able to accommodate food allergies.

Bread Loaf has a large Dining Room, but for those who would like to enjoy their meals outdoors, a selection of picnic blankets will be available as well as picnic tables and Adirondack chairs on the Bread Loaf lawns. We invite those driving from home to bring along camping chairs. 

Faculty and Fellow Readings in the Little Theater

Faculty will soon receive a draft of the Reading and Lecture schedule. Each faculty member presents a reading of up to 25 minutes, and each fellow presents a reading of up to 15 minutes.

Blue Parlor Readings

Blue Parlor readings are a nice opportunity for participants to share some of their work, meet people from other workshops, and get some experience reading before an audience. These informal readings are hosted by a Bread Loaf staff member and will take place in the Barn Tent. Readers are asked to sign up in advance. These readings can be a lot of fun, and when faculty and fellows attend, it boosts morale considerably. We encourage you to attend one or two, as a way of showing your support.

Barn Social and Barn Pub

The Barn, located in a central spot on the Bread Loaf campus, is a place for participants to gather and socialize. On most evenings from 9:30 PM to midnight a Barn Pub is set up with beer and wine and soda available for purchase. In addition to the Barn Pub, a Barn Social will take place on most days, from 5:15 PM to 6:15 PM. During this time, the same selection of munchies and drinks will be available as in the evening.

Faculty/Fellow Lounge

The first floor of Treman Cottage serves as a lounge for faculty, fellows, and conference guests, such as visiting agents and editors. The living room is a comfortable space, and there is a wonderful view from the side porch. The conference hosts a cocktail hour on most evenings from 5:15 to 6:15 PM. The cocktail hours, managed by Bread Loaf social staff, are available for faculty, fellows, visiting agents and editors, and administrative staff scholars. Cocktails, soda, juice, and snacks are available free of charge. (On a few occasions, these afternoon cocktail hours are pre-empted by all-conference cocktail parties.)

At 10 PM each evening, Bottle Club is available to faculty, fellows, and conference guests. (You are also welcome to visit the Barn Pub during this time.) During Bottle Club, soda, juice, and mixers for drinks are provided, and you can bring your own alcohol. A locked liquor cabinet and refrigerator are on hand for storing your bottles. A member of the social staff will be there to make sure all runs smoothly. In Vermont, beer and wine are sold in grocery stores; liquor is sold at the state liquor store in Middlebury.

During the conference, you will enjoy getting to know members of the administrative staff. Administrative staff scholars have attended the conference previously and are taking part in workshops during the session while working with conference staff.

Wi-Fi

Faculty will receive a temporary Middlebury email via an ITS Welcome note (see details in the Middlebury Email section above). Once on campus, participants access Wi-Fi by choosing MiddleburyCollege from the WiFi options that come up on their personal device and entering their Middlebury email and password.

Alternatively, participants may use the MiddleburyGuest WiFi option with your own personal information. Some applications may not be available if using the MiddleburyGuest WiFi.

Ways to Connect with Home While on Campus

Email:

You will be able to stay in touch via email. A computer lab located in the library on campus has Macs and PCs available. And if you bring your laptop, iPad, or phone, wireless access is available in public spaces (and possibly in your room, though that is not a sure thing). Please see the important wi-fi note above on how to register for wi-fi once on campus.

Phone:

Cell phone service is available in the Bread Loaf Inn and the Barn on the Bread Loaf campus but access is intermittent depending upon your provider. Verizon and AT&T should work fine.  Other providers may not work. While on campus attendees have successfully stayed in touch with home using their smartphone to access wi-fi calling, Facetime, or Zoom. There are landlines available on the campus—usually one phone per floor in each of the buildings. After you arrive, you could share that floor phone number with family at home. The phone for the main switchboard on campus is 802-443-2700 (hours are usually 8 AM to 10 PM). The Front Desk staff member will transfer the call to your floor or take a message for you, if needed. 

You can also give people the Bread Loaf Office info, and we will get any messages to you (e-mail: blwc@middlebury.edu; phone: 802-443-5286).

Mail

Address for mail

Participant’s Name
Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
PO Box 216
Ripton, VT 05766

Address for FedEx or UPS

Participant’s Name
Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
4229 Route 125
Ripton, VT 05766

Mail can only be received Monday, August 12, through Thursday, August 22. We cannot be responsible for mail arriving before August 12 or after August 22, as the Bread Loaf post office will be closed.

Library & Apple Cellar Computer Room

The Davison Memorial Library at Bread Loaf hosts a collection of reference books and literature, including reserve shelves stocked with books by faculty and fellows. It’s also the home of the Apple Cellar (Bread Loaf’s computer room), which is located on the bottom floor of the Library.  

There are PCs and Macs available to use in the Apple Cellar and also on the first and second floor of the Library. To print during the conference, Bread Loafers use their Middlebury email to log into one of these College computers and from there send their document to a printer nearby. (See the Middlebury Email section above for more details.)

Bookstore

Our bookstore partner during the conference is Phoenix Books, a locally-owned, independent store. Phoenix Books at Bread Loaf will stock books written by faculty and fellows as well as some participants and guests. Look for the store on the bottom floor of Annex Cottage, the building located next to the Bread loaf Inn. Cash and cards are accepted.

Front Desk

Visit the Front Desk in the Bread Loaf Inn for matters regarding your room and lodging, moose facts, lost and found items, local lore, information about local walking/running trails, buying postage, mailing packages, transportation tips, and other general information.

This summer the Front Desk will have masks and COVID-19 antigen tests available during the session.

Back Office

Visit the Back Office in the Bread Loaf Inn with any workshop, class, or scheduling questions. Faxing via the Back Office may be possible.

Laundry

Coin-op washers and dryers are in the Laundry House in front of the Barn. Attendees provide their own laundry detergent. If you need change for the machines, the Front Desk staff will be glad to help. Some irons are also available.

Parking

Please park your vehicle in the large parking lot in front of the Barn. It is illegal to park on Route 125 and you may get a ticket.

Self-care During the Conference

The conference schedule is quite busy, and we want to take this time to note how important it will be to pace yourself and to take care of yourself during the session. To this end, yoga classes will be offered daily. AA Meetings are scheduled to take place daily. See details below, and find more ideas listed in the Extracurricular Activities section later in this Handbook.

Yoga instructor Joanna Colwell will offer Iyengar yoga classes daily from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. in Barn 008. The classes are appropriate for all abilities and all are welcome. A handful of mats will be available. If you’re able to bring your mat from home, please do. There will be no yoga on Saturday, August 24, the departure day.

AA Meetings are scheduled to take place daily from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the Upstairs Library (Back end of Building). To schedule additional meeting times while on the mountain, just let a Back Office Staff member know. Staff will reserve the room and include a note about the meetings on the Crumb newsletter.

Health Matters

In case of emergency dial 911 from any campus phone. A sign near each phone lists important details including the exact address and phone number for that location.

For non-emergency health matters, a self-care cart is available near the lobby of the Bread Loaf Inn. The cart is stocked with items such as Band-Aids, Advil, and Tylenol.

Please plan to bring Benadryl pills and ointment in case of bug bites as well as any other first-aid items you feel might be necessary for your personal comfort during the session. And should you find that the cart does not address your particular concerns, the Bread Loaf Inn front desk staff will help you with a referral, and Porter Hospital is located in Middlebury, if needed.

Please see the Covid-19 section above for current policies.

For mental health matters, we invite you to schedule an appointment with the Bread Loaf counselor (contact details will be included in the registration packet). Bread Loaf staff members, Jennifer Grotz, Lauren Francis-Sharma, Noreen Cargill, and Jason Lamb, are also available to make a referral, if you wish, and the emergency number at the Counseling Service of Addison County is an option at any time (dial 9 and then 388-7641 from any campus phone; dial 1-802-388-7641 from your cell phone).

When packing, remember to bring your prescription medications and your medical insurance card. We also recommend that you bring a list of your current prescription and non-prescription medications and the phone and fax numbers for your health care provider.

Emergencies on the Bread Loaf Campus

In case of serious medical emergency or fire on the Bread Loaf Campus, always call 911 from any campus phone or from your cell phone. A sign near each campus phone lists important details including the exact address and phone number for that location.

In case of non-life threatening but urgent matters, contact the Bread Loaf Inn Front Desk at x2700 from any campus phone or 802-443-2700 from your cell phone (Front Desk Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Outside of office hours, call x2911 from any campus phone or 802-443-2911 from your cell phone to reach facilities staff who will help you with the situation.

We recommend making note of the numbers listed above so you can have them handy during the session.

For emergencies that affect the Bread Loaf campus, the Middlebury Department of Public Safety uses the RAVE alert system to notify attendees via email and also by text for those who have cell service on campus.

Extracurricular Activities

There are many things to do on campus and in the area when not in workshops. The Front Desk may have some equipment available for games such as volleyball, frisbee, wiffle ball, and croquet.

Scheduled

  • A dance
  • Writers’ Cramp Run for fun
  • Robert Frost picnic
  • Book signing
  • Outdoor receptions
  • An evening coffee reception
  • Barn Social and Barn Pub

Unscheduled

  • Hiking trails around campus
  • Visiting the stream just across the hayfield
  • Swimming in Lake Pleiad (transportation needed to get to the trail head)
  • Tennis

Middlebury College Athletics Facilities

The Middlebury College athletics facilities, located on Middlebury’s main campus, are available to Bread Loaf participants; however, you will want to note that a car will be needed to get to the facilities. The main campus is about a twenty-minute drive from the Bread Loaf campus. You’ll find the hours listed on the Athletics Facility web page. The athletics facility staff will have a list of conference participants on hand, so you will just need to give your name to a staff member upon entering the building. The Bread Loaf Inn Front Desk staff would be happy to give you directions to the athletics complex.

The Crumb

The Crumb is the daily Bread Loaf newsletter, which will be published throughout the conference. You’ll find copies of it just outside the Dining Room each morning. Be sure to pick up a copy each day and read through it. It will have notes on schedule changes, guests who will arrive that day, and other important conference information.