Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers 2026
Our American Story
June 23–28, 2026
Wallowa Lake Lodge
Registration $975 or $875 for Fishtrappers. Registration fee does not include lodging or meals. Installment payment options available.
Join us this June at Wallowa Lake where you’re sure to get some writing done! Spend a week in community with fellow writers, learning from some of the best teaching artists in the West. Each weeklong workshop is limited to no more than 13 students, creating a brave space for you to explore your craft in new and creative ways. Registration includes your five-day workshop, plus craft talks, featured author readings, panel discussions, open mics, discussions, and much more. Workshops offered include fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and poetry.
What makes Summer Fishtrap unique among writing conferences is our focus on generative writing — focusing on the craft of writing over the final product. It’s about connecting to your creativity and writing something brand new. You will take creative risks while you learn from the instructors and writers that go on this journey with you. And of course, you’ll be inspired by the stunning beauty of the the lake, river and mountains of Wallowa County the whole time. It’s why, for so many, a week at Summer Fishtrap is a life-changing experience.
The whole setting was incredibly supportive, freeing, encouraging, and gorgeous. You’ve crafted a stunningly open creative space, which brightened my thinking, launched so many ideas, and provided a nudge to keep writing. Thank you!
2026 Summer Fishtrap Faculty
Chip Blake – Cross Genre
Writing Naturally
Craig Childs – Nonfiction
The Emerging Story
Tim Z. Hernandez – Cross Genre
Letters to America
Perrin Kerns – Lyric Essay
Making Good Trouble with the Lyric Essay
Beth Piatote – Fiction
Minor Characters
Ana Maria Spagna – Nonfiction
Changing Places
Kim Stafford – Cross Genre
Patriot of Place – SOLD OUT – Join the waitlist
Ellen Waterston – Poetry
US at a Loss for Words
2025 Yearlong Workshop with Karen Auvinen
2025-26 Yearlong Workshop
2026 Yearlong Writers Workshop with Laura Pritchett – SOLD OUT
Learn more
2026 Theme: Our American Story
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In 2026, the United States of America will recognize the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For many, it is a celebration of a time when people first identified themselves as “American.” For others, it is aspirational, representing freedom and possibility. And for some, it represents loss, exclusion, and violence.
Our individual roots and lived experiences as Americans are as diverse and complex as the landscapes and communities that make up this place. In 2026, Winter Fishtrap and the Summer Fishtrap Gathering will provide opportunities for each of us to explore our individual histories and understandings of what it means to be “American” — while listening to and learning from the experiences of others. Together, we’ll begin to uncover our rich, inclusive, collective American story.