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Unparalleled for its rigor, thoroughness, and integrity, Colrain is the original, one-of-a-kind manuscript conference.  Faculty includes nationally-renowned poet-editors and publishers. Work with the best for the best results!
Our unique, realistic method of manuscript evaluation sets poets with a manuscript-in-progress on a path toward publication. Poets also get a look into the publication world and make important contacts with leading editors, teachers, and publishers.

Participants Speak

"Here were editors and poets, who, prominent as they are, were some of the friendliest, most down-to-earth and most passionate readers of poetry I’ve ever witnessed, offering us a rare and pure transparent glimpse into their editorial process and the thinking they do.."
—Robert Fanning, June, 2014 alum

The Colrain Practicum

Barred Owl Retreat | Leicester, Massachusetts
April 25 & 26, 2015

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Learn More & Apply

The Colrain Practicum is designed to guide poets in selecting and assembling five (out of ten) essential poems for submitting to journals and magazines or to use as a work sample when applying to MFA programs, Writers' Retreats, Residencies, Fellowships, and so on. You will work with seasoned Colrain faculty Joan Houlihan (founder) and Ellen Doré Watson (poetry editor, Massachusetts Review).

The Practicum is open to all applications. Enrollment is selective.

 

 

 

The Colrain Classic

The White House Inn | Wilmington, Vermont
May 15 – 18, 2015

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Learn More | Apply Now 

A select group of poets will bring their completed or in-progress manuscripts to the White House Inn in Wilmington, Vermont. In a majestic Victorian estate set on the crest of a high, rolling hill surrounded by trees and formal flower gardens, they will work with nationally known poets, publishers, and editors Joan Houlihan (Conference Founder / Lesley University); Fred Marchant (Suffolk University); Martha Rhodes (Four Way Books); and Jeffrey Shotts (Graywolf Press).

All poets with an in-progress book-length or chapbook-length manuscript are welcome to apply.

The Colrain Classic

Truchas Peaks Place | Truchas, New Mexico June 5 – 8, 2015

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Learn More | Apply Now

A select group of poets will bring their completed or in-progress manuscripts to this spacious, adobe style retreat with panoramic views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where they will meet and work with nationally known poets, publishers, and editors Rusty Morrison (Co-founder/Publisher Omnidawn Press); Richard Greenfield (Co-founder/Publisher Apostrophe Books); Hilda Raz (Editor, University of New Mexico Press Poetry Series); Joan Houlihan (Conference Founder / Lesley University); and Ellen Dore Watson (Director of Poetry Center / Smith College).

All poets with an in-progress book-length or chapbook-length manuscript are welcome to apply.