“We truly want the women writers to feel supported. Everything is designed so that the women who come to Storyknife walk away believing that they and their work are important.” – Erin Coughlin Hollowell, Storyknife executive director

At the end of Alaska’s scenic 142-mile Sterling Highway, where the mountains meet the sea and the birds, fish, and wildlife far outnumber the year-round residents, there is a place where women writers are invited to come, be cared for—and create.

Storyknife Writers Retreat, located on a bluff several miles outside the picturesque town of Homer, hosts two- and four-week self-guided residencies for women from around the globe. Founded by author Dana Stabenow, Storyknife’s mission is to give women writers the time and space to explore their craft without distraction.

Each year, from April through October, cohorts of six rotate through the retreat, staying in their own private cabins, which boast views of Cook Inlet and three active volcanoes on the horizon. The writers enjoy lunch delivered to their doors, flowers placed beside their beds, and a chef-prepared communal dinner awaiting each evening—all so they can focus on their craft.

“Storyknife hosts women for whom the idea that they are worthy of having unstructured time to write, daydream, nap is absolutely a new and incredible experience,” says Storyknife executive director, poet, and 2009 RWW graduate Erin Coughlin Hollowell.

“Sometimes they feel uncomfortable at the start because they are the nurturer and doer in their family and community, and to be told that their writing is the most important thing that they can give feels absolutely foreign. But then those words start to come, and I witness the sheer exhilaration of creating unfettered by the endless responsibilities of their lives. It’s a wonder.”

One of the many wonders Erin has witnessed over the years involved a fairly new writer who came to Storyknife to finish her memoir about her battle with breast cancer and her grandmother’s battle with dementia. “She was just about done, but had no idea what was next,” Erin says. “The published writers in her cohort took her under their wings and introduced her to the querying process, their agents, the whole shebang. Within a year she had a book contract and her work was published to much critical acclaim.”

Another recent example took place when Erin opened a package received in the mail: a book recently published by a retreat alum with a note that read, “This book wouldn’t exist without Storyknife.”

Current RWW student Kellie Richardson was among the 2025 writers in residence, spending four weeks at the retreat last September, where she focused on revising her current manuscript and researching in the Storyknife library. During her time there, Kellie found a rhythm alternating reading and writing days, interspersed with walks on the beach, trips into town, and time with other writers. “Storyknife is a unique balance of having individual time to dream and create, while also meeting and building friendships with other writers,” Kellie says, noting that the personal connections were among her favorite moments. “It was an incredibly diverse group of women—genre, identity, where we were from, levels of writing, and publishing experience.”

The focus on diverse women writers has been a cornerstone of Storyknife from the beginning. In 2005, Stabenow decided to create a women’s writing residency based on Hedgebrook, a retreat on Whidbey Island that she credits with igniting her writing career. Storyknife was established as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) in 2014. Hollowell joined the organization in 2016, the same year Storyknife began offering individual residencies and undertook a $1.25 million fundraising effort—a goal reached in 2019. Groundbreaking on the campus, including six individual cabins and a main house, began in May 2019, and Storyknife was preparing to welcome its first full cohort in spring 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic put the launch on pause. After a one-year hiatus, the first residency of six women arrived in June 2021. Since then, Storyknife has hosted 48 to 54 writers each year.

“I love that the board and the staff collaborated to build something good and strong and useful from the ground up,” Erin says. “I love creating a place and an atmosphere that tells women writers, especially those from communities that have been shut out of this kind of opportunity, that their work, their voice, is important.”

This inclusion is something Kellie found special. “Storyknife is very unique in that it specifically centers the experience and development of woman-identified writers. They shift the typical residency selection process to ensure there are women writers there who typically don’t get accepted or don’t have access to these kinds of spaces,” she says.

The Storyknife application is open to individuals who are woman-identified and 21 years of age or older. The process involves providing a work sample and responses to a series of questions, which are posted on the website. Writers are selected through a three-tier, anonymous adjudication process. Applications for 2027 will open July 1 and close August 1, 2026.

“Send your very strongest writing and know that each year the panel of adjudicators is different, so it might take more than one try,” Erin advises interested applicants. “The first two rounds of adjudication are focused solely on the work, with no information—so your first pages need to be strong enough to ensnare the interest and admiration of the adjudicators, all Storyknife alumni.”

“Storyknife was a once-in-a-lifetime experience in a beautiful place where I felt deeply cared for,” says Kellie. She encourages her fellow writers to “Apply!”