Community Engagement

How We Give Back

Your contribution to the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference goes beyond the Conference itself.

At the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, we are proud to call the Sun Valley area home.
We aim to educate, inspire, and fuel a love of literature and learning among students, teachers, and the entire Wood River Valley. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are able to fund multiple school and community programs, collaborating year-round with the area’s libraries and nonprofit organizations, and expanding access to free content both in-person and online.

Because of these community outreach programs, a student reaches for a book and falls in love with reading and a child who dreams of being an author now knows it’s possible. We believe in supporting educators and the underserved, inspiring the next generation of readers and burgeoning writers, and weaving a love of literature into the fabric of our community and beyond. Thank you to all who help make this possible!

In 2024, thanks to our donors, we were able to expand our offerings and school outreach programs even further. See below for a complete list of our ongoing community engagement projects and initiatives.

If you would like to get involved or learn more about donating, please reach out at [email protected].

SUPPORT SVWC

EDUCATE . . . Scholarships

TRANSFORM . . . Writing Fellowships

Writing Fellows Program

As part of our Writing Fellows Program, SVWC invites talented emerging writers from around the nation to attend the Conference each year. This is our unique way of investing in the Pulitzer Prize winners and New York Times bestsellers of tomorrow. These fledgling writers are scouted by SVWC from literary programs such as the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, WriteGirl LA, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Boise State University’s Creative Writing MFA Program, and more. Thanks to donor support, SVWC sponsors their travel and lodging and provides them with Full Conference Passes ($1,100 each). While at the Conference, they attend talks, private dinners, and often have one-on-one time with our visiting speakers who provide them with inspiration and direction as they embark on their creative journeys. If you are interested in learning more about this program, to support some of the country’s most promising and diverse writers, please email us.

New Voices Fellowship

Our literary conference is filled with recognizable and well-established authors, but this fellowship is offered specifically to debut novelists—young, award-winning writers whose budding work is both original and daring—to bring fresh perspectives and voices into the SVWC fold. These writers are hand-picked by our Literary Committee, and each year they join our lineup of writers and presenters, alongside such eminent names as Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, and Abraham Verghese. During the Conference, they give a “New Voices” breakout talk to discuss their work and decision to become writers. The New Voices Fellowship was inaugurated in 2022 thanks to the support of the Grossman Family Foundation (in honor of Peggy Grossman). Learn more about our most recent New Voices Fellows.

2023 New Voices Fellows Jonathan Escoffery & Sarah Thankam Mathews

INSPIRE . . . Blaine County School Initiatives

Student/Author Luncheon

The Student/Author Luncheon has been part of SVWC since 2017, when Colson Whitehead first spoke to high school students about his novel The Underground Railroad. As part of this program, each year SVWC partners with local teachers to select a writer and book relevant to students. The books, donated by SVWC, are then read as part of the spring high school language arts curriculum throughout the Wood River Valley.

During the Writers’ Conference in July, the students are invited to attend talks given by that featured writer as well as a private luncheon hosted by SVWC—allowing the students to experience intimate time with the writer so they can ask burning questions, get books signed, and dive deeper into the lessons within their text.

Past participating writers include Anthony Doerr and his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Cloud Cuckoo Land (2022), Dave Eggers and The Circle (2019), Karan Mahajan and The Association of Small Bombs (2018), and Alejandra Compoverdi and First Gen (2024).

Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Doerr speaking in 2022

School Speaker Series

This program first began when, in 2019, SVWC brought celebrated young adult author Pablo Cartaya to the Wood River Valley to visit the area’s schools and speak to students and teachers. During his talk at the Wood River Middle School, nearly 800 students gathered to hear him speak. Later, in collaboration with The Community Library and Iconoclast Books, he gave a free presentation and book signing in the library’s Lecture Hall.

In 2024, post-pandemic and thanks to a generous donation, the program was revived. In partnership with The Community Library, SVWC was able to bring Javier Zamora (a 2023 SVWC alum) back to our valley. He spoke to students and their families in Spanish at the Wood River Middle School, followed by a visit with “newcomer” Hispanic students at the Wood River High School.

We continue to program school speaker events throughout the year. Stay tuned for upcoming events by subscribing to our email newsletter.

“Thank you for sharing your story with us. I appreciate that you’re encouraging students to learn their stories and to get engaged with their family roots. Now it’s my time to find my story.”

– WRMS 6th Grader, Thank You Note to Pablo Cartaya

“Thank you for coming to our school and giving the most awesome book talk ever! I really liked the way you told the stories – it made me laugh so hard I almost cried. Not lying.”

– WRMS 7th Grader, Thank You Note to Pablo Cartaya

“Thank you for giving us your story. I have always thought authors of books are celebrities, but you reminded me that they are just ordinary people who have done extraordinary things.”

– WRMS 6th Grader, Thank You Note to Pablo Cartaya

Free Talks for Local Students, Teachers & Librarians

Each year, we invite local Wood River Valley students, teachers, and library staff to attend select Sun Valley Writers’ Conference talks for free in the Pavilion. We want to open our doors and make the Writers’ Conference as accessible as possible for our local community. For details, visit our Free Events & Community Programming page.