Registration covers attendance to all seminars, panel discussions, manuscript consultations, and evening readings during the week. Attendees choose 2 classes a day in any genre; attend evening readings from visiting faculty, panel discussions on the writing life, a seminar on publishing and editing, and have the opportunity to share their work during the attendee reading celebration at the end of the week. For attendees who would like a one-on-one manuscript meeting with our visiting writers we offer optional Manuscript Sessions. Registration does not cover travel/lodging/food on the island.

No!  MVICW believes in the importance of cross-genre, hybrid, and experimental work! Attendees are encouraged to take classes outside of their genre and to explore all the options available to them while at MVICW.

Absolutely!  We have had many returning attendees over the year. Our visiting writers and classes change every year, and one of the greatest parts of our program is the diversity of attendees who attend from around the world.  By returning to MVICW, attendees get the opportunity to continue to deepen their craft and their writing community. 

Check out our handy guide for travel to the island. There are many options including flying to the island, bus and ferry transportation, fast ferry travel (from RI, NY & NJ), and driving your car onto the boat for the island. 

Unlike other programs, MVICW's focus in generative, and we aim to reduce the feeling of pressure or trying to pitch/sell your work during your time at the institute. While the process of preparing work for submissions and publishing and editing is covered at the end of the program, we do not have agent-pitch meetings, etc. so that you can focus entirely on the writing and creative process.  

We allocate every dollar we receive in application fees to creating more fellowships for writers of color, queer writers, parent-writers, and educators. And so with each fellowship application you're not simply expanding your own chances of attending MVICW on a funded fellowship, but you're supporting increased opportunities for other deserving writers.

Absolutely! You can submit to as many fellowships that apply to you. Each fellowship you apply to does require its own application fee/letter and you are only eligible to win one fellowship prize. In the event that you are selected for multiple, you will receive the bigger prize.

Authors and poets who are interested in becoming a visiting writer should send a copy of their book/s to Alexander Weinstein. Please email him at director@mvicw.com to indicate your interest in teaching at MVICW and to request the mailing address. 

We’re very excited to keep growing, and thanks to all the incredible feedback from our amazing community members, we have lots of ideas on what you would like to see from us in the future, including increased online classes and workshops, and more island opportunities for community building. As we’re still a very small operation, expanding our organization does take time and we can always use more help! If you are interested in helping us expand, you can donate here or inquire about potential volunteer opportunities for future programs by emailing us at director@mvicw.com.