NEHALEM – Soapstone, North Tillamook County’s Writing Retreat for Women, will begin accepting applications for 2008 residencies July 1.

Each year the nonprofit retreat offers approximately 30 women one- to four-week writing residencies at the facility, which is located on 22 acres of forested land along Soapstone Creek on Highway 53. While the two writers’ studios aren’t far from shopping and dining, “for some women who have never been out in the country, it feels very isolated,” said Ruth Gundle, Soapstone director and owner and operator of Eighth Mountain Press in Portland. Gundle and her partner, poet, memoirist and creative writing teacher Judith Barrington founded Soapstone in the early 1990s. Barrington is president of the organization’s board of directors.

Despite its proximity to Manzanita, Nehalem and Wheeler, Soapstone offers a relatively rustic experience. Writers-in-residence must fetch firewood, build wood stove fires, haul out garbage and recyclable materials and cook their own meals. The writers share a fully equipped modern kitchen (electric stove, microwave, toaster oven, coffeemaker, blender, etc.), bathroom with shower, living room, outdoor hot tub in the breezeway and washer and dryer.

The two writers’ studios are set up to accommodate one writer each at a time. “Wind” is 40 feet high and reached by scaling ladders, while “Water” is at ground level. Both feature large windows that afford views of the forest and creek.

The studios each have their own phones but share a phone line. The living room includes a small library of books about birds, mammals, fish and other aspects of the natural world, as well as literary journals and a selection of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction.

So far, about 300 women have participated in the program, noted Gundle. Most of these hail from the West Coast. “Quite a lot of them have been accomplished writers; some are very well-known.”

Soapstone offers residencies to women over 25 working on any form of literary writing, said Gundle. “Academic, scholarly, journalistic or research-related writing does not qualify. Our focus is on what is generally understood to be ‘creative writing,’ a term of art that does not mean to imply that other writing lacks creativity.”

A committee comprised of different writers each year reads the applications and selects residents. All applicants are notified by the middle of October. Women may apply in pairs or singly; those applying in pairs should each send a separate application. Each application will be considered on its own merits. If only one of the applicants in a pair is offered a residency, she will be paired up with another writer, noted Gundle. Former residents will be considered on the same basis as all other applicants.

Applications must be postmarked no earlier than July 1 and no later than August 1. Request an application by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Soapstone, 622 S.E. 29th Ave., Portland, OR 97214, or visit www.soapstone.org to download the application.