The Heart of It FAQ

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The Heart of It FAQ 〰️

If you have questions about The Heart of It, or you just want to know more about what we do — start here.
Be sure to read the overview page first.

HOW DO I APPLY? Apply here. Applications for The Heart of It 2025 are open February 1-28, 2025 To stay in the loop, sign up for our mailing list here.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Writers over 21 years old. Writers of any genre (though most workshops are poetry and creative nonfiction). Writers who want to spend time with the natural world, their craft, and community. The space is geared towards working writers, emerging writers, and writers that work well in communal settings. To find out more about what to expect and who this retreat is for, please read the overview page. We welcome and encourage applications from emerging, mid career, and established writers.

ARE SPOTS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED? No. Each application, regardless of submission date and time, will be considered equally. THOI is a competitive application process, and it is not a registration. A committee reads every application and we accept 10-26 writers each year, depending on the year.

WHERE IS IT? In 2025, The Heart of It is at Oz Farm, on the traditional lands of the Hopland Band of the Pomo Indians (Sho-Ka-Wah or “east of the river” is the name of the people for themselves in the Central Pomo language), now called Point Arena, California in Mendocino County. 240 private-acres. It is rustic. It is earthy. Keep that in mind as you consider applying, and we highly recommend you look around their website to get a feel for the location, region, and terrain.

This location requires, on average, .5-1 mile of walking each day. There is accessibility to motorized transportation and cabins in very close proximity to the community house. There are a mix of cabins, and your accessibility needs will be taken into consideration for cabin assignments. Please take the time to look at the Oz Farm website and determine if the setting is right for you, and reach out with any questions. Oz is a working organic farm, and you will encounter wildlife (rabbits, gophers, non-venomous snakes, bats, deer, etc). We will be hosting a Zoom Q&A in January 2025, so be sure you’re on the mailing list!

HOW MUCH IS TUITION? $1,500. Tuition includes all meals, lodging, and instruction. It does not include transportation to and from Oz farm.

Each year there are limited scholarships. If you would like to donate toward the scholarship fund, you can do that here.

ARE THERE SCHOLARSHIPS? Yes. These are our standing scholarships:

  • Community Educated: For writers with no college degree.

  • Yakoke: For writers Indigenous to Turtle Island (North America).

  • Rural Roots: For writers with rural lineage and roots, currently living in a rural area, and/or writers that write the stories of rurality.

  • Between The Worlds: For Black, Indigenous, and other writers of color who are also transgender and/or nonbinary.

  • Over Seas: For writers outside of the United States of America

When applying you will be considered for all applicatble scholarships. If you receive a scholarship you will be notified in your acceptance letter.

CAN I DONATE? Yes. You can donate here.

WHO WILL BE THERE? An accomplished and dynamic faculty of teaching artists, Desireé, 1-2 THOI alumni, and 12-18 writers. Before the retreat, you will receive contact information for your cohort.

I HAVE DIETARY RESTRICTIONS. No problem! We get to know everyone’s dietary needs and accommodate all possible needs and requests after acceptance. If you have a severe allergy, please reach out with your specific question. The main kitchen is communal, so do keep that in mind!

CAN MY PET/CHILD/PARTNER COME? No. This retreat is for you.

I DON’T FEEL QUALIFIED. You are qualified.

WHY IS THIS RETREAT SO SHORT? For 2025, we have added a day! THOI is 5 days and 4 nights. This allows folks to take minimal time off from work, studies, or other obligations. We’ve also found this to be the ideal amount of time for most writers.

ACCESSIBILITY? All indoor facilities for The Heart of It require walking up 2-15 stairs. Some cabins have up to 5 stairs leading in to them, and some beds are lofted. The property has varying levels of incline, some mild and some very steep as well as some hills with stairs cut into them. If you have other accessibility questions, please reach out. We encourage you to go to the Oz Farm website and explore the grounds. You can find each cabin listed individually on Hipcamp, and that can give you a great overview of the property.

WHAT IS THE COVID 19 POLICY FOR THE HEART OF IT? Every writer and staff member is required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination prior to arrival, with a current booster highly encouraged. 72 hours before your arrival and upon arrival, you will be required to provide a negative test result (2 tests total). If you do not have access to COVID-19 tests, the THOI team will mail the needed tests directly to you. Masks will be required for travel to and from, but will not be required during the retreat.

Leading up to THOI, we may continue to adjust and implement additional protocols as mandated by the state of California and other governmental agencies.

HOW ARE APPLICANTS REVIEWED/HOW ARE COHORTS SELECTED? The selection process is a mix of the following (as well as some other variables not listed here):

  • Strength and clarity of application: Each application is read anonymously using a scoring system that takes into account the writing sample, clarity of THOI ethos, understanding of purpose, need and access of the applicant, and articulated and perceived benefit to the applicant, cohort, and the larger community. Strength is not determined based on accolades, accomplishments, or affiliations, but rather fit, need, intent, and clarity. To submit the strongest application possible, we encourage you to be thorough, take your time, and read the application carefully.

  • Creating a diverse and mirroring cohort: We attempt to have writers with similar identity intersections and from similar communities in the same cohort as well as a wide mix of identities. Cohorts are formed with diversity and community in mind. Each cohort consists of varied fellows and writers that may develop close kinship with each other. We strive to have an array of intersections present but we do not sacrifice accompaniment of identity in your cohort in the process. 

  • Crafting a cohesive and meaningful cohort: Applications are considered individually as well as collectively in order to craft meaningful and cohesive cohorts. Strength of application is considered, as is cohort cohesion. The individual application and cohort harmony are considered equally.

  • Honoring the expert & honoring the novice: It’s our belief that the strongest, most meaningful cohorts include a mixed-ability and mixed-experience cohort. We strive to have a cohort consisting of fellows with a variety of levels and experiences in their writing career and/or journey. Each year, we have extreme novices and very traditionally accomplished writers alongside each other. We believe this is one of the pillars of the THOI experience.

    The selection process is not a perfect science, and a waitlist or rejection is not necessarily because you didn’t meet the requirements or desires of the cohorts. The Heart of It, traditionally, has an acceptance rate of 7-20%, depending on the year. Because of this, we are working diligently to increase capacity.

There is no fee to apply, and being rejected or waitlisted in a previous year has no bearing on how your application will be considered in the following year. Many THOI alumni were first waitlisted before their acceptance.

I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS. We welcome them! Contact us here.