Tacoma’s current Poet Laureate Tammy Robacker has just been awarded a writer’s residency for 2011 at Hedgebrook on Whidbey Island, selected as one of 38 recipients out of 795 applicants across the country and beyond.

Founded in 1988 by Seattle philanthropist Nancy Nordhoff, Hedgebrook supports women writers by offering free residencies and programs in cottages on the island. Residencies last from two to six weeks.

Robacker, who published her first book of poetry “The Vicissitudes” last year, was awarded the 2010-11 Tacoma Urban Grace Poet Laureateship, and has led a number of local workshops and reading. The Hedgebrook residency will allow her to develop new material and complete a second book, thematically focused on “the trials and tribulations of the American teenage girl.”

Information about Tammy Robacker can be found at www.tammyrobacker.com. For more information about Hedgebrook, visit www.hedgebrook.org