Michelle Hannon, the new executive director of the Writers’ Colony at Diary Hollow, has goals of increasing funding, improving the occupancy rates of writers, expanding community outreach and developing new programming.
“We are so excited about having Michelle at the Writers’ Colony,” Dr. Peggy Kjelgaard said. “She has brought energy and ideas to our cause.”
Michelle Hannon and her husband, Dan, relocated to Eureka Springs last December after 14 years in Saranac Lake, in New York’s Adirondacks, which is closer to Montreal than New York City. They spent two years in Florida to “thaw out” before finding Eureka Springs.
The Hannons are known as “half backers.” They lived in upstate New York before deciding they need to live somewhere with warmer winters. They didn’t want to stay in Florida and so were looking at a number of places about halfway between Florida and New York. They put their things in storage while they searched for a new home.
“We had a list of towns we were looking at from here to New Mexico,” Michelle said. “We pulled into Eureka Springs November 30 for the Christmas Parade of Lights and by December 2, we had signed a lease. It was very serendipitous. The hardest thing after deciding to relocate here was finding a home. We found a great apartment downtown that had just been listed. It just fell into our laps. We jumped at the opportunity.”
Michelle has a diverse employment background including working in technical sales management, as customer service manager at a non-profit regional news magazine, and as director of development and communications at a non-profit community art center in the Adirondacks, BluSeed Studios.
While not an artist herself, Michelle loves being exposed to the creative spirit.
“I feel like it brings balance to my life and allows me to be more creative,” she said. “Artists are interesting, fun people to be around. The goals for my job at the Writers’ Colony will be very similar to what my goals were at BluSeed. One of the major things I did at was database maintenance. I’m a big believer in the power of a clean, well-organized database. I have set up databases for a number of organizations. We need to keep track not just of our funders, volunteers and other supporters, but our residents, as well. It’s important to keep relationships with these people who have benefitted by staying at WCDH. Our greatest marketing tool is word of mouth. People who have stayed with us before are so valuable to us.”
Michelle describes WCDH as “a little gem.” The facility has eight suites, and while occupancy rates fluctuate significantly throughout the year with the warmer months being more popular, her goal is to have 100 percent occupancy. She plans to market to groups that possibly haven’t been targeted before like book clubs and writers from northern parts of the U.S.
“Our slow time here is still much nicer than upstate New York,” she said. “Getting them to come down in March and April would be a great getaway for writers from the north.”
She also will be working to expand fellowships for funded stays for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to stay.
Michelle is big believer in the power of synergy.
“When you are with like-minded people who have the similar artistic goals, I believe it helps you develop your own ideas,” she said. “It gives you someone to talk to who understands what you are doing and what you are going through. The writers’ colony is set up in suites so writers can stay as sequestered as they like, but there are daily gourmet dinners from Monday through Friday. There are common areas where writers can congregate. They can collaborate as much as they like.
“The inspiration they get from seeing the successes of their peers helps them be more productive during their stay. Instead of having influences that sidetrack them, they have influences that encourage them to be productive. They are away from home life with dirty houses, and kids and spouses. We have no televisions in the suites. It is a very relaxing environment that is conducive to productivity.”
WDCH will celebrate its 20th birthday in 2020. In those two decades it has hosted more than 1,400 writers from 48 states and 11 countries.
“It’s a big milestone for us,” Hannon said. “There are not a whole lot of writers’ colonies in the states. One unique thing about WCDH is that it’s in a town that has a wonderful arts community. We also have a culinary suite so those writing cookbooks can come stay with us. We are also the only writers’ colony in the U.S. that offers a platform for our alumni and supporters to have their work published online in eMerge Magazine that features poetry, prose and artwork. You can find it on our website, writerscolony.org/.”
Michelle loves living downtown close enough to walk everywhere. Being in a walkable community was one of the things they were looking for.
“Lakes and mountains were on the list of things we wanted in our new home,” Michelle said. “It is amazingly beautiful here, and you have the four seasons. Spring in the Ozarks is amazing. I had never seen a redbud or a dogwood in bloom before. Everyone tells me fall is spectacular, too, another thing we missed in Florida.”
Current Director Linda Caldwell, who has been at WCDH for eight years, is retiring July 19.