Craft poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, essays, or children’s stories in a conducive, retreat-like setting. Overcome the blank page, shape your thoughts, and execute your story in written form.
Writing Classes
Explore The Studio
Harvest Room in Orchard House
Located in Orchard House, this building was originally constructed in the 1950s as a residence for a board member. The studio and house overlook an orchard in the front yard and a rolling pasture leading to the creek in the back. The Photography & Writing Studio offers students a quiet classroom space equipped with high-speed internet along with Mac and PC computers. The studio’s large central table is ideal for coming together to review images or discuss your latest draft. In addition to the Harvest Room, Orchard House includes student housing.
News & Stories: What's Happening in Writing
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April 16, 2025
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January 10, 2025
We’re excited to welcome back...
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December 10, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
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November 26, 2024
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November 21, 2024
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November 6, 2024
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August 28, 2024
Are you ready to think...
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July 23, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
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June 28, 2024
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March 5, 2024
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November 9, 2023
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July 24, 2023
Browse our August 2023–June 2024...
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June 28, 2023
Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle's debut, Even...
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February 14, 2023
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December 6, 2022
Robert Grand is a writer,...
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November 25, 2022
If you love the Folk School and are interested in our history, I highly recommend curling up with Anna Fariello’s wonderful new book, Craft & Community, which explores the first 20 years of the Folk School, with a focus on Olive Dame Campbell. Earlier this summer, Fariello was given a Lifetime Achievement Award during the annual meeting of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. In addition to Craft & Community, Fariello has written numerous books about craft, curated many shows, and she developed the online Craft Revival archive. Let’s get to know more about an impressive WNC craft powerhouse!
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August 29, 2022
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July 25, 2022
Building on your feedback, we're...
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July 22, 2022
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February 13, 2020
When you take a Folk School class, you never know who you will meet. Last fall, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Robin Edgar in the herbalism class during Shaker Week. I learned that she and her husband, David Edgar, have been teaching classes at the Folk School since 1996! Robin teaches writing and David teaches the unique craft of turning recycled plastic into fantastic creations. This year, they are both teaching during Earth Week, April 19–24, 2020. In her upcoming class, Turning Fond Memories into Family Histories, students will discover how to use sights, sounds, and even smells to recall and record meaningful memories.
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February 14, 2019
It is Thursday afternoon. Outside the writing studio window, the day is bathed in sunlight, the limb patterns on the grass motionless. Inside the studio, writers are at work with pen or laptop, or staring out the window, or sitting chin in hand. Chairs squeak, the printer clacks, the clock ticks. Small sounds that only accentuate the silence. The writing group is focused, which is different from a focus group . . . or maybe it isn’t.
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August 28, 2016
Donna Glee Williams, is a writer of fantasies for the teenager in all of us, as well as being a seminar leader, dream worker, and creative coach. She has recently published two novels and her work has been featured in anthologies, literary magazines, academic journals, spoken-word podcasts, and more. Without further ado, let’s get to know Donna Glee!
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March 3, 2015
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September 25, 2014
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August 26, 2014
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June 24, 2014
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June 8, 2010
It’s raining again, and if this were boy-scout camp, there’d be a lot of soggy tents, unroasted marshmallows, and unhappy campers. But here at the John C. Campbell Folk School, each shower puts another bud on the lilies and another apple on the bough over at Orchard House, which will make for fine cider come the Fall Festival. Over one hundred people have gathered to weave backpacks from straw, piece fabric into quilted jackets, build their own mountain dulcimer or learn to play one–just a few of the projects this week.
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March 8, 2010
Resident Artist in Writing
Kitty Taylor
Kitty has always found her closest friends and truest self in the written word. She studied literature and professional writing at Western Carolina University and received a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School. In a yearlong residency as a hospital chaplain, Kitty found her niche in creative nonfiction. She has written for Ministry Matters and She Is Kindred, and was a contributing essayist in Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It: Life Journeys Inspired by the Bestselling Memoir. Kitty is currently working on her first book – an essay collection that blends spirituality with public transportation.
Book & Paper Arts, Printmaking, Marbling, Calligraphy, Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media, Photography, Writing Coordinator
Rachel Watson
Rachel is an interdisciplinary artist working in alternative and traditional photography, printmaking, jewelry, woodworking, book arts, textiles, and installation. After completing her MFA at the University of Georgia in 2020, she digitized the 7,000-piece collection at Newcomb Art Museum in New Orleans. Originally from Northeast Georgia, Rachel has traveled the world learning alternative photography processes and participating in photography and printmaking conferences. She is currently renovating Elf School, a historic school in Hayesville, NC, where she plans to build studios and continue her art practice while sharing her passion, skills, and experience with others at the Folk School.
Images from the Studio
Interested in Attending?
You can find more information about the many aspects that make up the Folk School Experience using the menu below.
Housing & Meals
There’s nothing like staying on campus to fully immerse yourself in the Folk’s School experience.
A Typical Week or Weekend
A quick glance of what you can expect when you take a class as the Folk School.
General Information & Policies
Find our policies and procedures along with answers to commonly asked questions.