Are you inspired by taste?
Do you relish in crafting your narrative to satiate a reader's appetite for your word craft in expressing all of the features of a particular experience - possibly around food?
You don't need to travel internationally to have a unique food, farm, or festival experience that may be different than what is in your own region. Schedule your writing retreat to experience this lovely area of mid-south Tennessee - geologically known as the Western Highland Rim.
During your writer retreat at Camp Wonder Wander, you can transport yourself to Provence with a short 10 minute drive to our friends at a lavender farm or imagine yourself in Tuscany with a visit to one of the various wineries in the area. The visual landscape can transport you in time to a distant untamed past or an imaginary future. Take a day trip on the historic Natchez Trace Parkway which is a 440 mile federal park with a 50mph speed limit between Nashville and the Mississippi Delta to imagine your historical characters, your plot in the woods by a waterfall, or to experience what it feels like to be on a virtually empty roadway with maybe a long distance bicyclist or the turkeys and deers romping into the woods.
Visit the writer retreat website page for a more comprehensive overview of the ways to enrich your senses in this area.
Most participants have found that they actually accomplish more in a shorter amount of time than they thought something might take primarily because you eliminate your distractions and you are in a place that is fully supportive of your writing endeavor including a host who cares deeply about our human experience in particular writing stories or poetry.
Residency Eligibility
Residency Experience Summary
Application Information
Rolling applications reviewed upon receipt.
Applicants with nature as their muse, inspiration, or collaborator will receive priority.
Individuals must be able to let the normal world and lifestyle go during your stay and it is encouraged that you utilize the time and access to the benefits of being away from contemporary society. This program is suited to those ready to embrace the natural immersion, a different sense of time, and a generally nurturing space as most people have experienced some sort of shift while on site - personally, creatively, professionally.
A variety of lodging and work spaces are available. Wifi signal reaches the 5 acres so you can sit outside to use a laptop.
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If you cannot go a day without your favorite coffee shop visit, have fast food on the brain, or need lots of people around to function, this is not the place for you. This is a rural location about 20 minutes drive to the closest small town - Hohenwald (German for High Forest) - with farm land and forestry in the area. The sounds are different, the colors and smells of the earth/air/water will entice you.
Be prepared for a different sense of time here and your project goals may actually go faster because you don't have your normal life distractions. Although there is broadband wifi, you are encouraged to have self-discipline to avoid doom-scrolling to focus on your work.
There is no guarantee as to how many people will be on site at the same time, so if you are seeking a more group experience indicate this on the application and consider applying for one of the seasonal highlights.
Transportation from and to the Nashville airport is an add-on option. Preference of arrival dates is Saturday or Sunday. Month-long or longer stays that have been approved after an additional interview may coordinate a calendar month arrival/departure.
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- no shoes inside the houses
- limited use of alcohol or use this time to be dry, no drugs, no weapons
- safe place for all walks of life, no bullying/harassment/fraternization acceptable
- please help maintain a clean/healthy space by not leaving out food, washing dishes by the end of the day, and cleaning as you go on counters or other surfaces
Additional expectations are outlined on the website so please review there.
All of the financial details are available on the website. There are sliding scale rates based on length of stay and room choice.
Farm Stay Scholarship ($150-300) is based on application interest and an interview to discuss your skills, if any. This funding deducts from the final fees and requires about 6 hours a week of participation in physical activities on the land - some of these hours are guided and working with your host, Val.
Depending on the season and the urgency of current projects, your help could be in gardening/weeding, shoveling/digging, transporting manure for compost pile or garden beds, chopping down bamboo to use in creative fencing projects, breaking/trimming limbs and wood pieces into kindling and firewood size chunks, helping carry or install various items like t-post fencing, picking up or transporting rocks or sticks, helping to clear trails or rake leaves in the winter transporting to the garden. There's usually always a small art project like a mural or organizing the upcycle pile to create something fun for the garden as well.
Please review the website for the limits on this funding scholarship.