Millay House Rockland Writers-in-Residence 2026-2027

Writers craving time, solitude, and salt air will soon have a rare opportunity to create in a special historical landmark. On February 22, applications will open for The Millay House Rockland Writer’s Residency, a month-long solo retreat housed in the historic Rockland home where Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay was born.

Situated in the heart of Maine’s midcoast, the residency offers a private, light-filled space for one writer at a time. Along with uninterrupted time to write, residents will receive a $1,200 stipend to support their stay from the Ellis Beaureagard Foundation, in partnership with the Millay House Rockland. Residents will also be invited to offer a reading, workshop, or conversation with students or the general public.

Millay knew the courage and solitude writing requires. This residency honors her bold spirit, offering writers a space to engage deeply with their work while drawing inspiration from the coastal town that was the birthplace of one of America’s most distinctive poetic voices.

Applications are open to emerging and established writers of all genres. The program seeks applicants who will use the time for creative exploration and reflection. The residency period runs for one month and includes lodging and a dedicated writing space in the rich community of Rockland that is a working harbor, home to the Farnsworth Art Museum, and a vibrant Main Street lined with independent shops and restaurants.

This call for submissions marks the third year of writing residencies at the Millay House Rockland. Writers in residence have included poets from California and Maine and a fiction writer from Virginia. This year’s judge is award-winning poet Dorianne Laux, who was also born in Maine. 

Applications open: On Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Birthday, February 22, 2026
Deadline to apply: April 1, 2026, or sooner if the submission cap of 100 is reached
Residency dates: Either the month of October, 2026, or the month of July, 2027
Location: Rockland, Maine
Stipend: $1,200

Our submission window opens on Edna St. Vincent Millay’s birthday, February 22, and closes on April 1 at 11:59am EST, or when we reach 100 submissions, whichever comes first. 

  • Applicants must be U.S. citizens, 21 years old or older, and not enrolled in an educational program at the time of the residency.

  • Submission fee is $30 and includes a 2026 membership to the Millay House Rockland.

  • Relatives, close friends, and current students of the final judge, Dorianne Laux, and the staff and volunteers of Millay House Rockland, are not eligible to enter. 

  • Applicants must choose October 2026 or July 2027 on their application (or both if they want to be considered for either). 

  • Emerging and established writers are welcome to submit.

  • The residency is open to writers of any genre—poetry, fiction, non-fiction, plays, or journalism.

  • This is a solo residency: no partners, friends, or spouses may accompany the writer. No group projects will be considered.

  • Each resident chosen will be asked to offer one public event while they are in residence: a reading, workshop, or a conversation with writing students and/or the general public.

  • Winners will be announced June 1, 2026.

Application Guidelines

In PDF format, in 12-pt type, please submit these three elements as separate documents:

  • your resume to be used as reference after the final selection, not to be read  by the jurors or judge, so this one element may include your name and contact information.

  • a short statement about the project you plan to work on and why you want this residency, without your name or identifying information.

  • examples of your work, without your name or identifying information: 

    • Prose writers should submit up to 25 pages of a novel, short stories, play, or nonfiction writing, double spaced.

    • Poets should submit up to ten pages of poetry with each poem beginning on a new page. 

    • Works may be previously published or in process. 

Important Note: In order to avoid bias, and to facilitate a blind read, your name or identifying information should not appear on your statement or work in any way. Please do not include acknowledgements or publication information of any kind. If your name appears, your application will not be considered. 

Application Details

Located at 198 Broadway in Rockland, Maine, the Millay House is a recently renovated duplex. Built in 1891, it was the birthplace of Edna St. Vincent Millay. The house includes a living/dining room, fully equipped kitchen, two bedrooms, a study, one and a half baths, a washer and dryer (shared use with the renter next door), WiFi, and off-street parking. A bicycle is available for your use. Food is not included but there are grocery and specialty stores nearby. If you aren’t driving here, we do recommend that you plan to rent a car to explore the area, pick up groceries, etc.

It is within easy walking distance of downtown Rockland, where you will find a vibrant array of art galleries and museums, restaurants and coffee shops, a public library and bookstores, the Harbor Trail, daily ferry service to the islands, as well as the weekly farmers market.

Location & Facilities

2026-2027 Millay House Rockland Writer-in-Residence Jurors

  • Allison Worden

    is the founder of Arctic Tern Books & Sanctuary in Rockland, Maine. A lifelong reader, an editor, a lover of language, and champion of authors, Allison believes ardently in the power of words. Pairing people with books that meet their emotional or practical need is one of her greatest joys. Seeing people connect over books, poems, or sentences they’ve loved, is one of her favorite pastimes. Reading poetry aloud is her go-to elixir. Arctic Tern Books and Sanctuary

  • Chelsea Jackson

    is a cross-genre writer, editor, and writing coach, and the author of the poetry collection All Things Holy and Heathen (April Gloaming). Chelsea believes in creativity as a catalyst for change and enjoys work that asks hard questions and makes readers think. Their work has been featured in Fatal Flaw, Coffin Bell Journal, and Beyond Queer Words, among other publications. Chelsea has an MFA in Poetry from Drew University and is the Co-Editor of The Maine Review.They live in Richmond, Virginia, with their partner and cuddly pitbull.

  • Lucia Graves

    is a writer and journalist based in Midcoast Maine, where she lives with her husband and daughter. She often writes about literature and place and the work of women she admires. Her essay “Almost There: Unexpected Thresholds of Revelation,” which appeared in the most recent issue of Millay House’s Third Fig Review, explores Millay and Dickinson and the landscapes — literal and interior — that shaped their writing. Her review of the latest biography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton is forthcoming in the spring issue of Smithsonian magazine. IG LuciaGraves

  • Mike Bove

    Mike’s fifth poetry collection, Mineralia, is forthcoming from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. His debut novella, A Catalog of Imaginary Houses, is forthcoming from Split/Lip Press. He is a former writer-in-residence at Acadia National Park and the current Editor-in-Chief of Hole in the Head Review, a biannual poetry journal. Mike is Professor of English at Southern Maine Community College and lives in Portland. MikeBove.com

  • William Dameron

    is the author of The New York Times Editors’ Choice, The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages; Catfishing & Coming Out, and The Washington Post notable book, The Way Life Should Be. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Salon, The Huffington Post, Oprah Magazine and his essays have appeared in multiple anthologies. He is an IT Director for a global economic consulting firm, where he educates users on the perils of social engineering in cybersecurity. WilliamDameron.com

2026-2027 Judge Dorianne Laux

Dorianne Laux’s sixth collection, Only As the Day is Long: New and Selected Poems was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her fifth collection, The Book of Men, was awarded The Paterson Prize. Her fourth book of poems, Facts About the Moon, won The Oregon Book Award and was short-listed for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. Laux is also the author of Awake; What We Carry, a finalist for the National Book Critic’s Circle Award; Smoke; as well as a fine small press edition, The Book of Women. She is the co-author of the celebrated text  The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. Her latest collection of poetry is Life On Earth and was released in January of 2024. Finger Exercises for Poets, a book of concise craft essays and exercises for poets was released in July 2024.