2026 Writer-in-Residence Program

Hedgebrook’s Writer-in-Residence Program supports writers from all over the world for residencies of two to three weeks. The cottage, all meals, and the entire residency experience at Hedgebrook is free to selected writers. Travel is not included and is the responsibility of the writer to arrange and pay for. Up to 6 writers can be in residence at a time, each housed in their own handcrafted cottage. They spend their days in solitude – writing, reading, taking walks in the woods on the property or on nearby Double Bluff beach. In the evenings, “The Gathering” is a social time for residents to connect and share over their freshly prepared meals.

Hedgebrook’s mission is to support visionary women-identified writers, 18 and older, whose stories and ideas shape our culture now and for generations to come. Writers must be women, which is inclusive of transgender women and female-identified individuals. Because gender inequity still occurs in all spaces including literary ones, it is part of our explicit mission to support and promote women’s voices. Residents must be willing to adhere to a specific set of health and safety protocols we have implemented to keep writers, staff, and surrounding communities safer. 

Our application and adjudication processes are genre-specific. In 2025, we're innovating with an eye toward sustainability and doing things a bit differently. Our 2026 Writer in Residence (WiR) applications are open from February 14 to April 14, 2025 for the following genres: Poetry, Prose-Non-fiction, Prose-Fiction, Playwriting and Screenwriting/TV. Applications are read by jurors who are proficient to read in each genre. 

For updates, please visit our website: www.hedgebrook.org