Welcome to The Writer’s Hotel.
Meet The Writer’s Hotel Directors, Shanna & Scott.
The Writer’s Hotel Founding Director and Editor, Shanna McNair
I’m proud to call myself a literary citizen. Writers should be good to one another and support one another.
The Writer’s Hotel Consulting Director and Editor, Scott Wolven
Be kind to yourself at your desk. Write forward at your own pace.
TWH is here to help. We want for your success. We are writers ourselves. It’s important that each writer coming to us here at TWH receives lots of personal attention, so that we can assess needs and goals. Our aim is to give every writers access to two general toolsets—tools that every writer needs in today’s publishing industry. The first toolset centers on writing craft. The second centers on best practices in terms of finding an agent or editor or press and how to go about marketing. TWH is rounding year ten! We also run a literary review, The New Guard. We are writers for writers’ sake. Our motto: Write better. Publish smarter. Get inspired. Let’s write!
“Shanna McNair has an eagle-eye and a deep understanding of the intricacies of the writing process. As editor of The New Guard, she helped me bring my memoir/essay on Saul Bellow into focus and being. Thank you, Shanna!
— Fred Marchant, poet, scholar and author of The Looking House and Tipping Point
“Scott Wolven’s feedback was honest and came from a place of respect and compassion. He told me what the stories needed and how to take the strengths and make them stronger. Receiving feedback is overwhelming, but with his guidance and support, I sat down and worked. I worked hard because his words, his honesty was exactly what I needed to hear to grow and challenge myself as a writer.”
—Kerri Quinn, author and playwright
The Writer’s Hotel in the news and on the web
The Writer’s Hotel in the Boothbay Register! Article by Lisa Kristoff, “The Writer’s Hotel: Check in with your imagination: Gov. Mills to take part”
The Writer’s Hotel in Portland Press Herald! Article by Ray Routhier, “Mainer moves writing conference from New York City back home”
The Writer’s Hotel on National Public Radio (NPR) with Clifford Brooks of Dante’s Old South Radio Show, on Spotify and Apple Podcast
The Blue Mountain Review Feature (pages 123-125) on The Writer’s Hotel and The New Guard directors, Shanna McNair and Scott Wolven
NewPages.com article by Nicole Foor, “The Writer’s Hotel Goes Virtual for Fall Conferences”
Portland Press Herald article by Bob Keyes, “For nation’s aspiring writers, there’s room at the inn” on The Writer's Hotel program and TWH Founding Director Shanna McNair's vision for writers
“The Magic Continues for The Writers Hotel” by TWH ‘17 & ’19 Fiction Alum and TA Lyndsie Manusos on Sacred Chickens
“The Writer's Hotel: My Experience and Why You Should Consider Applying” by TWH ‘17-’18 Fiction Alum and TA Julie Carpenter on Sacred Chickens
"The Only Writers Conference I Ever Dreamed of Attending” by Lisa Markuson
TWH Director Shanna McNair on Exaclair's "The Writer's Project"
TWH on the Poets & Writers Conferences and Residencies Database
*The Writer's Hotel holds a membership with the WC&C; The New Guard holds a membership with the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).
The Writer’s Hotel Partnerships.
PAST AND PRESENT FACULTY (INCLUDING TWH NYC AND VIRTUAL “MINI MFA” CONFERENCES): Maine Governor Janet Mills, Current U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, Former U.S. Poets Laureate Juan Felipe Hererra and Joy Harjo; Lidia Yuknavitch, Meghan Daum, Mary Gaitskill, Kim Addonizio, Terrance Hayes, Donald Antrim, Ladan Osman, Nathalie Handal, Lily King, Tess Gerritsen, Cathie Pelletier, Debra Spark, Isabella Hammad, Jorie Graham, Ellen Bass, Sherwin Bitsui, Peter Balakian, Alberto Ríos, Major Jackson, Thomas Lynch, Samiya Bashir, Marge Piercy, Pam Houston, Chris Abani, Cristina García, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Justin Torres, Dan Chaon, Marie Howe, Mark Doty, Cornelius Eady, Nami Mun, Alexandra Oliver, Tina Chang, Tod Goldberg, Richard Hoffman, Sapphire, James Patrick Kelly, David Anthony Durham, Francine Prose, Elizabeth Hand, Jeff Ford, Rick Moody, Kwame Dawes, Lewis Robinson, Richard Blanco, Roxana Robinson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Stephen Dunn, former Virginia Poet Laureate Tim Seibles, Dinaw Mengestu, Ernesto Quiñonez, Robyn Schneider, Jill Bialosky, Kimiko Hahn, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Bill Roorbach, Barbara Hurd, Marion Winik, Maine Poet Laureate Julia Bouwsma, Dana Isokawa, Melissa Faliveno, Elaine Trevorrow, Heather McHugh, Deborah Landau, Valzhyna Mort, Taylor Mali, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Camille T. Dungy, Javier Zamora, Jenny Xie, Carolyn Forché, Hisham Matar, Michael Thomas, Beth Ann Fennelly, Molly Peacock, Honor Moore, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Elyssa East, Jonathan M. Katz, Rob Spillman, Carey Salerno, Kevin Larimer. We are also noting a few of the literary agencies we have worked with over the years: Fuse Literary, Book Wyrm Literary Agency, Folio Literary, L. Perkins Agency, Gina Maccoby Literary Agency, Dunham Literary, Inc., Curtis Brown, Ltd., Waxman Literary Agency, Fine Print Literary, Fine Literary, Writers House, Creative Artists Agency, William Morris Endeavor, Trident Literary, Aragi, Inc., DiFiore and Company and more.