HISTORY OF THE ASPEN WRITERS’ FOUNDATION

“Like so many things in Aspen, the Writers’ Foundation was born out of the passion of a small group of people who worked very hard to do what they love doing. They provided something more for the community and that’s how things grow in this town.
They can be very proud of what they have accomplished.”
— Helen Klanderud, Mayor of Aspen ('01 to present) and former AWF trustee ('79-'80, '94-'96)

The Aspen Writers’ Foundation found its roots, so to speak, in a nonprofit literary organization called Aspen Leaves, Inc. Founded by Indira Singh in 1972, the main project of the 501-c-3 nonprofit was to publish aspen leaves, a literary magazine featuring national authors. One of the periodical's editors, Kurt Brown, took over the organization as volunteer executive director in 1976 and changed the nonprofit’s name to the Aspen Literary Foundation, and the magazine's title to Aspen Anthology.

In addition to publishing the magazine, in 1976 Brown created the Aspen Writers’ Conference under the auspices of the Aspen Literary Foundation. This writing retreat for poets — which marks the official birth date of Aspen Summer Words and the Aspen Writers' Foundation — was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, private contributions, City of Aspen, Colorado Council on the Arts, and a much-anticipated annual gala. The Conference grew over the next 15 years into a month-long event in July with American and international faculty leading workshops in fiction, playwriting, screenwriting and non-fiction, held at various venues around Aspen.

Brown continued for many years to help the conference grow, while a number of executive directors helped lead the Aspen Literary Foundation whose programs included a radio show, a reading series and a small press book corner at a local bookstore. Subsequent directors included J.D. Muller ('78), Mary Waidner ('79), and Ruth Ganz (1982-85).

In 1985 local writer Karen Chamberlain became director of both the Conference and the Foundation. By 1987 she had expanded the offerings of the two-week writing retreat to include workshops in nonfiction, nature writing, screenwriting and playwriting. Chamberlain also developed the Writers in the Schools and Weekly Writers Group (then the Weekly Writers Workshop) programs.

In 1987, when Aspen writer Martie Sterling signed on as board president, she joined Chamberlain in giving the organization a new name (the Aspen Writers' Foundation) and creating a strong new board of trustees. Sterling also organized an annual Professional Magazine Writers' Symposium. In 1988, after three years under the umbrella of the Aspen/Snowmass Arts Council, the AWF applied for and in January 1989 renewed the 501-c-3 nonprofit status which had lapsed during the early ‘80s.

In 1990 and 1991, Kurt Brown and his wife, poet Laure-Anne Bosselaar, again directed the Writers' Conference, while the Foundation was headed up by Jamie Marshall (1990) and Patty Fox (1991). In 1992, Steve Alldredge was named executive director. During his two-year tenure the AWF grew to include a screenwriters' program in the annual conference and Scribes & Scribblers Creative Writing Camps.

By the mid-1990s, despite a popular following, the Aspen Writers’ Foundation found itself at an uncomfortable crossroads: a desire to present its 20th annual conference, but no money in the bank. The board cancelled the event in 1995 and shuttered the Foundation doors for a brief period of time, while a tiny group of board members, led by Larry Ladin, secured new funding, recruited new board members, and hired a new, part-time executive director.

With the appointment of Jeanne McGovern to the helm in 1996, the organization was getting back on its feet. The AWF revamped the Writers’ Conference to include a Literary Festival, and renamed the conference Aspen Summer Words to reflect the change. McGovern and the new board also oversaw the creation of the Winter Words author reading series, as well as AWF Reads, the televised book group originally known as Speak Volumes.

McGovern passed the reins to Julie Comins (1999-2003) who continued to strengthen the AWF. Comins focused on restoring AWF’s image by securing an important marketing grant from the Robert Gould Foundation, hiring full-time staff and redesigning the nonprofit’s identity and marketing materials. Another legacy of her tenure was the addition of Words Away (then known as the Jamaica Field Expedition), a weeklong international fiction workshop.

Today, as the Aspen Writers’ Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary, it is one of the most promising nonprofit organizations in the Aspen valley and Colorado's oldest nonprofit literary organization. Under the direction of Lisa Consiglio (2003-present), the AWF has implemented new programs, has established a larger and more diverse funding base, and continues to be a vital support for local writers and authors from around the world.