To be clear, there's no such person as Wally--I mean, of course there are people named Wally. What we mean is that there is no particular Wally after which the Warren Wilson MFA students are named. Somehow, at some point, we became Wallies and the annual alumni conference became Wally Camp. There are several apocryphal stories floating around about the origin of this name, but ultimately it's kind of a mystery. At any rate, Wally Camp is just a nickname given to the Warren Wilson MFA Alumni Conference. 

If you've never been to "Wally Camp," you can review some recent conference schedules and class details via the navigation links at the top of this page--although you won't get a sense of the presence of your fellow alums, or the porch, or dancing with your tribe!. 

Check out these testimonials from repeat attenders!

What is Wally Camp?

Wally Camp is organized and presented strictly by alumni of the Goddard and Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers. That's right, we teach our own classes, run our own workshops, emcee our own readings, and spin tunes for our own dances. Want to reprise your fourth semester class or investigate a new topic? Propose a class! (That includes lecture, class, panel, or caucus.)

We leave the cooking and washing dishes to the host college. Along with those amenities, colleges usually provide access to their library, gym, and certain other facilities. 

Except in times of pandemic, the conference is held on a rotating basis on the east coast, west coast, and in the middle; traditionally, on the five-year anniversary of the founding of the MFA Program we meet in Swannanoa immediately before the summer residency, but we skipped the last one, I think, and the jury is out right now on the question of whether that tradition will continue at the next five-year anniversary. 

We are grateful to Friends of Writers for helping underwrite the conference by providing funds up front and offering generous scholarships to enable more alumni to attend.