The Kimbilio Retreat
An annual immersive writing residency for new and returning Kimbilio Fellows.
About the Retreat
The Kimbilio Retreat provides new and emerging fiction writers with dedicated time, space, and community support to develop their work.
In 2026, it will be hosted at Wildacres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Kimbilio’s signature program facilitates writers finding their voices and honing their craft through culturally responsive teaching, and through the nurturing support and mentorship of established writers. Previous Fellows have published over a dozen novels and short story collections and have been nominated for and have been awarded major literary prizes.
Support to Attend the Kimbilio Retreat
Fellows’ participation in the annual retreat is underwritten through the generous support of our partners at SMU. Additional support for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 retreats was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and through individual gifts from our donors.
The following fellowship has been established and funded by donors to Kimbilio:
The Figueroa Sisters Fellowship
The Figueroa Sisters Fellowship has been established and seeded with funds by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. She writes:
“As a Kimbilio alumna, I am pleased to offer a fellowship, named after three Afro-Puerto Rican women who were, in their very quiet, very private way, role models for me and other women in our family. My mother Carmen, and her sisters, Betty and Cani, were my first storytellers and, unbeknownst to them, started me on my long journey to being a published writer. I can almost hear them cheering as they stand at my back, delighting in the narratives, many based on their own stories, that I now share with my readers. I am equally sure, that they rejoice in knowing that this modest fellowship will help propel another woman in her journey on the road to becoming a storyteller in her own right. Women of color, 50 years and over, are encouraged to apply. We need to tell our own, authentic stories, in our own authentic voices.”
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa is a novelist, author of “Daughters of the Stone” (Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa, 2019) and “A Woman of Endurance” (Amistad, 2022)
Kimbilio welcomes support of the retreat! To contribute, please find our donation portal at this link: DONATE TO KIMBILIO. If you are interested in establishing a new fellowship, please contact us via email.
We encourage you to donate in honor of someone who has made a difference in your life.