Moondancer Fellowship

The 2026 Moondancer Fellowship for Environmental and Nature Writers

The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow is pleased to announce the official opening of applications for the 2026 Moondancer Fellowship. Designed for authors who express their passion for the natural world and address vital environmental issues through their work, this fellowship supports poets, fiction writers, playwrights, screenwriters, essayists, memoirists, and columnists alike. Prior publication is not required. Applicants will be evaluated on insight, honesty, literary merit, and the potential for future publication or production.

The Moondancer Fellowship is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the late Elise Roenigk, a longtime WCDH board member, given in loving memory of her husband, Marty Roenigk. WCDH is honored to carry their legacy forward through the writers this fellowship supports.

The selected fellow will receive a complimentary two-week stay at The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, allowing uninterrupted focus on their writing project. Travel to and from Eureka Springs is the responsibility of the fellow. Each private suite provides a peaceful atmosphere complete with a bedroom, private bathroom, separate writing space, and high-speed wireless internet. Fellows enjoy a supportive creative environment with dinners prepared six nights a week, access to a fully stocked community kitchen, and the opportunity to connect with a community of fellow professional writers.

Application Details & Timeline

Applications open: September 1, 2026
Applications close: October 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM CST
Application requirements: A writing sample proposing one distinct project, plus a non-refundable $35 application fee. Writers submitting multiple projects must complete a separate application for each proposal.
Judging period: November – December 2026
Winner announced: December 2026
Residency must be completed within one year of the award announcement.

Volunteer Readers

We are currently looking for individuals interested in reading applications for the Moondancer Fellowship and future fellowship cycles.Volunteer readers help review submissions and play a meaningful role in selecting the writer who will carry this fellowship’s legacy forward. No publishing background required, just a love of good writing and a thoughtful eye.

Interested in serving as a reader? Apply to be a Moondancer Reader.

Flavors of the South Fellowship: Celebrating Southern Food Culture & Storytelling

Applications for this fellowship are now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted an application for our inaugural Flavors of the South fellowship, the response was wonderful to see. We also want to extend a huge thank-you to the volunteer readers who gave their time and careful attention to every submission. Meet them below.

Meet our inaugural Flavors of the South fellow, Trelani Michelle, on our Fellowship Winners page.

Full Guidelines & How to Apply

The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow is excited to announce the Flavors of the South Fellowship — a new residency celebrating writers whose work explores the food, culture, and stories of the American South. Fellows will enjoy a two-week stay in our acclaimed culinary suite, plus a $1,500 unrestricted stipend.

Applications open April 1, 2026, and close June 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM CST.

Who Should Apply?

This fellowship welcomes writers at any career stage whose work engages with Southern food culture, culinary history, food justice, memoir, fiction, journalism, or any genre that connects food and story.

What to Prepare Your application will include:

Your writing background and culinary experience
A description of your proposed project and its connection to Southern cuisine
A statement on how the residency will support your work
A description of your platform and reach
A work sample (PDF or short video, 3–5 minutes)

Application Fee $35 (non-refundable) per application submitted.

Questions? fellowships@writerscolony.org

Meet The Guest Judges

Shantell Moore

FOOD BLOGGER, CONTENT CREATOR AND TASTE TESTER

Known online as SkinniTheGreat, Shantell has spent the past three years creating food content that brings people together, from Southern cooking to flavors from around the world. Her love of food started in the kitchen with her Aunt Janelle, who taught her to cook, and she carries that memory into everything she shares. She was honored to join Flavors of the South as a judge this year, celebrating talented cooks and building community around great food. Find her @SkinniTheGreat on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

Crescent Dragonwagon

WCDH CO-FOUNDER & JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER

The author of 58 traditionally published books, including eight cookbook-memoirs and a James Beard Award winner, Crescent Dragonwagon is honored to serve as a judge for the Flavors of the South Fellowship. She is a co-founder of WCDH and believes good culinary writing is truly literary, taking pride that WCDH is the only writers’ colony in the world with a suite dedicated to its special needs. Her novel The Year It Rained was a New York Times Notable Book published in four foreign editions, and her Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread has sold nearly a million copies. Her children’s books include a Coretta Scott King Award winner, a Golden Kite Award winner, and numerous Parents’ Choice Awards.

You can find her food writing through Deep Feast: Writing the World through Food and her workshops through Crescent Dragonwagon’s Fearless Writing.

Kat Robinson

ARKANSAS FOOD HISTORIAN & EMMY NOMINATED HOST

Kat Robinson has spent nearly two decades researching Arkansas foodways from tiller to table. A Little Rock native, she has dedicated her career to exploring The Natural State and sharing what makes its culinary culture unique through articles, columns, books, and documentaries. Her 14 books include the latest, What We Eat in Arkansas: 50 Recipes for the State’s Signature Dishes, Volume 1. She writes the column River Valley Eats for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and contributes to publications including Arkansas Living, The Local Palate, and Forbes Travel Guide. She has received Emmy nominations for her documentary Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats and for Make Room for Pie, both available on PBS.org, and serves as co-chair of the Arkansas Pie Festival and a selection committee member for the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.

Follow Kat on her adventures and learn more about her work at tiedyetravels.com.