For Elise. For the Writers Still to Come.
Help us turn Gay Courter's $5,000 gift into a $10,000 endowment — and keep the Moondancer Fellowship alive in Elise Roenigk's name.
Keep the Words Flowing — In Elise's Honor
For years, Elise Roenigk quietly made room for writers — literally. She and her late husband gave The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow the building at 505 Spring Street, and every year she sponsored Moondancer, a fellowship for nature and environmental writers who needed time, space, and quiet to do the work. Elise didn't do it for recognition. She did it because she believed the writing mattered.
On July 19, 2026, we lost Elise. Her college roommate, author Gay Courter, has started the Elise Roenigk Writers' Fellowship Fund with a $5,000 gift to carry that tradition forward. Moondancer is now converting into the Elise Roenigk Writers' Fellowship Fund, carrying Elise's legacy forward under a new name.
The fund needs to reach $10,000 — the minimum to open an endowment. Join us in honoring Elise's memory — and in carrying forward what she made possible here.