At Bread Loaf, aspiring writers wait on literary lions

RIPTON, Vermont: It is billed as the oldest writers' conference in the US, a gathering at a picturesque mountaintop retreat where literary giants, book editors and up-and-coming novelists have been coming together once a year since the 1920s.

But somebody has got to serve the meals. At the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the job falls to two dozen young writers who serve as waiters for the two-week summer summit, donning aprons and name tags to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to the 225 participants.

Most are professors, graduate students in the fine arts or prize-winning writers, chosen from 600 applicants for work-study scholarships that cover the $2,300 tuition.