Community Scholars Program (NEW in 2024!)
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, our Community Scholars Program has been expanded and enhanced for 2024! This is a new opportunity for educators and high school students across the Wood River Valley . . . four scholarship recipients will be chosen to attend SVWC 2024 and provided a Full Conference Pass!
The goal of this outreach program, focused specifically on students and teachers within the Blaine County school system, is to share the experience, inspiration, and learning offered at the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. We hope these “community scholars” will be inspired by their experience and will share it within their wider circles, weaving that knowledge further throughout our community.
The application window is now open through May 31 and recipients will be notified by June 5 . . . APPLY NOW.
Student/Author Luncheon
SVWC, in conjunction with local high school teachers, chooses an author and book with a topic pertinent to students. SVWC donates copies of the book for students in the spring/summer Language Arts classes. The students read the book and are invited to attend any of the talks given by that writer during the Conference, including Pavilion talks or smaller breakouts.
Most years, the students are also invited to join the writer at a private luncheon hosted by SVWC in July during the Conference. In 2022, the featured author was Anthony Doerr, who discussed his book, Cloud Cuckoo Land. Past authors have included Colson Whitehead discussing The Underground Railroad, Dave Eggers, with his novel The Circle, and Karan Mahajan and his novel, The Association of Small Bombs. In 2024, Alejandra Campoverdi will be meeting with the students to discuss her memoir, FIRST GEN.
School Speaker Series
In May 2024, Javier Zamora, author of the memoir Solito, returns to the Wood River Valley as The Community Library’s Hemingway Writer-in-Residence. He will give a presentation in Spanish at the Wood River Middle School for students and their families and visit with newcomer Hispanic students at the Wood River High School. This donor-funded initiative, part of the SVWC Blaine County Community Outreach Program, is being presented in partnership with The Community Library.
In the fall of 2019, SVWC brought celebrated middle grade author, Pablo Cartaya, to the Wood River Valley to visit the area’s schools and speak to students and teachers, free of charge. He spoke to nearly 800 students at the Wood River Middle School and, in collaboration with The Community Library and Iconoclast Books, also gave a free presentation and book signing in the library’s Lecture Hall.
“Thank you for sharing your story with us. I appreciate that you’re encouraging students to learn their story 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 Student/Teacher Talks
In an effort to share the SVWC experience with our community, local Wood River Valley students, teachers, and library staff are invited to attend Pavilion Talks for free! We have limited space, so if talks are at capacity, we may not be able to accommodate everyone. Please check in at the Bookstore Tent’s Info Desk on the Sun Valley Pavilion lawn 30 minutes prior to each talk to receive a pass (if there is availability). Please bring proof of identification in the form of a school or library ID.
To view the full schedule of available Pavilion Talks, visit our SCHEDULE & PROGRAM page, and filter by “Pavilion Talk” in the top right corner.
