Bear in mind that you do still need to pay your tuition of $2,450 before August 15. Don’t worry – we’ll send you some reminders with a link that lets you pay.
We’ll be in touch over the coming days and weeks to make sure everything’s organized, but in the meantime here are some next steps for you to take:
Within the next 48 hours, you should receive an emailed invitation to the Viable Paradise Slack Group. If you’re not familiar with it, Slack is a private chat service that will let you talk to your classmates using your computer, phone, or tablet. This group lets you meet VP alumni and your current classmates with a private #vp2023 channel that’s just for your class.
Come join the conversation, and meet the rest of your classmates!
We have a detailed explanation of Accessibility at Viable Paradise that we recommend you review.
The workshop officially begins at 4pm on Sunday, October 16th, and ends around 5pm on Friday, October 21st. Some people choose to arrive on Saturday before the workshop, but there will be limited assistance from staff. Most people stay until Saturday morning, but it is not required to do so.
If you are coming by air, you will almost certainly be flying into Boston Logan. From there, you can take Cape Air directly to Martha’s Vineyard, or you can take the bus, then ferry.
Peter Pan runs a bus route from the airport to the Woods Hole ferry terminal. Tickets for the bus should be purchased in advance, however be aware that the fall schedule is usually either not available or is not final until sometime in September. The bus line delivers you right to the ferry terminal.
The ferry runs from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven. Tickets for the ferry can be purchased at the ferry terminal, and the bus schedule is designed to give you enough time to purchase a walk-on ticket before boarding. If you are planning to take a car to the Island, you will need to purchase ferry tickets in advance from the Steamship Authority.
Staff will help you get to and from the Martha’s Vineyard airport or Vineyard Haven ferry terminal if you arrive on Saturday or Sunday and depart on Friday or Saturday. Taxi service is also available.
Finally, you’ll need a place to sleep at the Island Inn. All workshop activities take place in Building G, and we recommend that students stay in one of the condos or townhouses in that building.
Students are responsible for making their own lodging arrangements at the Island Inn, including sharing suites. Bookings at the Island Inn are managed by a company called Vacasa, and you can book your rooms by either:
- calling Vacasa’s reservation team at +1 850-466-8882, Monday – Friday between 8am – 5pm Pacific time, or
- emailing Vacasa’s group reservation team at Group.Reservations@vacasa.com
When making your reservation, please be sure to tell Vacasa that:
- You are with the “Viable Paradise Writers Workshop” and
- Provide them with the group ID “MAMVGRP018“, and
- Request a room in Building G, which is where the workshop itself takes place and where faculty, students, and staff will be staying.
To receive our group rates, please be sure that you do this before August 15th, 2023.
The Inn offers:
- Condo Suites: One-story units with a bedroom, a living-room, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. Depending on the particular room, there may be additional sleeping capacities (typically, twin beds in a low-partitioned space adjacent to the living-room, a convertible couch, etc.).
- Townhouse Suites: Two-story units with a master bedroom and half bath (or bath with shower) on the upper floor, and a bedroom, bathroom, living-room, and kitchen on the lower floor. These also vary, so some may not have full kitchens, upstairs showers, etc.
- There are also studio apartments at the Island Inn, but these are somewhat isolated from the rest of the workshop areas and are not included in the VIABLE PARADISE group.
The rate for each unit depends on the unit itself, but this year’s room rates range from $190.00 – 225.00 (plus tax and fees) per night.
The workshop’s students come from all over the world, so you might not be familiar with Martha’s Vineyard or New England. To help plan for your trip, we’ve compiled a little bit of helpful information about Martha’s Vineyard here for you.
If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend that you read up on the Viable Paradise Experience. It’s a powerful, exciting, and often life-changing week for many of our students, and we’ve compiled some helpful resources for you: