A "perfect way to begin a summer of writing," describes Karen Cooper of the Mount Holyoke Writers' Conference, an annual program of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction workshops. Cooper attended the conference in its second year, 1989. Since then, the program has earned a national reputation. The conference offers writers the opportunity to spend a week writing and working closely with a select group of professionals, and, according to 1988 participant Elaine Handley, a careful blend of "workshops, talks, and readings, with time to muse, write, and converse."

Beginning Saturday, June 17, the eight-day conference will bring approximately seventy-five participants with varied backgrounds and writing experience and twenty faculty from across the country to campus. In an informal atmosphere emphasizing personal attention, the program will include personal conferences and intensive workshops.

While morning hours will be reserved for writing, afternoon craft lectures will pay attention to topics such as "Autobiography As Fiction" and "Poetry and Place." Panels on publishing will bring together writers, agents, and editors from commercial arenas, universities, and the media. "To work all morning, then talk and hear about writing all afternoon and evening, and not have to cook--a writer's dream," says Hannah Wilson, who attended the conference in 1990. Resident participants stay in private rooms in Pearsons Hall and enjoy nightly receptions and small gatherings in the common rooms.

Also scheduled to take place are evening readings, which are open to the public. "Our reading series has been a cornerstone of this conference since its first year," says Michael Pettit, conference director and Mount Holyoke lecturer in English. "We are delighted to offer the community the chance to hear some of our most outstanding contemporary writers." Pettit recently edited an anthology of poetry and prose that includes works of faculty and participants from the Mount Holyoke Writers' Conference.

This year evening readings will host Francine Prose, Lisa Shea, Gerald Stern, Deborah Digges, Michael Martone, Michael Pettit, Linda Raymond, Stephen Dobyns, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Margot Livesey, Dave Smith, Reginald McKnight, Alec Wilkinson, and Richard Ford.