By Dave Rank, NIP Director
With the extraordinary circumstances we now are living through, I assure everyone associated with our 2021 NIP Bookcamps & Writing Retreats your safety and comfort are our first priority. With that in mind, here are the Covid-19 Health Safety Policies we will follow during our 2021 NIP events. This incorporates safety requirements Cedar Valley UCCI will enforce. These policies will remain in effect until further notice.
Policies
1. If it is at all possible, we ask everyone attending an NIP event to please obtain an approved Covid-19 vaccination prior to arriving at the event. This would be the best way to assure your personal safety and the safety of staff and visiting writers.
2. The two 2021 NIP events will be held
August 1-7, Speculative Fiction NIP Bookcamp and Writing Retreat.
August 8-14, All-Genre NIP Bookcamp and Writing Retreat
Cancellation Policy: If changing circumstances require, one or both NIPs may be canceled for the safety of staff and registered writers. If that occurs, we will offer our 2021 registered writers two options:
a. Automatic enrollment into either of our 2022 scheduled residential programs, applying all or a portion of their 2021 registration fees to help pay for 2022 enrollment.
b. A full refund.
3. Cedar Valley Check-in: All guests will have a temperature screening upon arrival. NOTE: Prior to arrival, the NIP director will provide Cedar Valley with a list of all attendees; including name, address, telephone number and email in the event we need to contact them.
Check-out: Overnight room check-out is 9 a.m. Guests are asked to place used bed linens and all towels in green/blue bags provided in their room. Bags should be left in their bathroom. Room key can be returned to the reception desk.
4. Please do not attend the NIP if you feel ill within seven days prior to the start of your NIP program. Notify Director Dave Rank you cannot attend and you will have the same options for your registration fee as listed in Policy 2. If during the NIP you become ill, you should arrange to go home and your registration fee will be refunded on a prorated basis following the same options as listed in Policy 2.
5. During each NIP, we will follow social distancing policies, unless restrictions can be lessened:
a. We will follow a no-touch policy. Refrain from shaking hands, hugging, and casual touches. Elbow bumps or Japanese ojigi bows are suggested.
b. Masks: Cedar Valley will enforce a strict policy that masks be worn in all public areas, meeting rooms, and the dining room when not eating. Please bring a mask with you. Staff will ask guests to put on their masks if seen without one. The NIP will have its own supply of disposable masks available on request. Cedar Valley will sell you a disposable mask if needed.
c. Dining room: Chairs will be spaced out for social distancing. Cedar Valley asks guests not to move chairs from their spaces. Guests need to wear appropriate clothing and shoes when entering the dining room. Guests must wear a mask when not eating. The dining room will be cleaned thoroughly between meals and locked at night.
d. Meals Times and Service: Continental breakfast will be served from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be served at Noon. Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. Food will be plated by Cedar Valley staff and picked up at the buffet line by the guest.
Cedar Valley asks guests to sit at the tables when they enter the dining room and tables take turns going through the buffet and beverage areas; NIP staff will coordinate this. Disposable dishes and silverware will be used.
Coffee and Tea Service: Self-serve coffee and tea will be available in the dining room from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Guests are asked to use hand sanitizer before using the beverage area.
e. Social distancing will be followed at all group activities, spreading out seating in classrooms, and elsewhere in the main building of Cedar Valley. Weather permitting, classes may be held outdoors. Furniture in the lobby has been positioned to maintain social distancing. Please do not move any furniture. Cedar Valley offers spacious indoor and outdoor facilities. We encourage everyone to use this space to spread out as much as possible during the NIP.
6. Please use hand sanitizer frequently. The NIP will provide individual hand sanitizers. Cedar Valley will have sanitation stations throughout the Main Building. Of course, everyone is invited to bring their own sanitizer just in case. Please wash hands frequently.
7. The Cedar Valley staff will clean all public areas on a regular basis. The NIP will provide disposable cleaning wipes and asks everyone to use them to wipe down their portable items.
8. Public refrigerators are currently not available. If you wish to bring a cooler for your room, you may get ice from our kitchen staff between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. The NIP is likely to bring one or more coolers for bottled water.
9. The NIP’s Philip N. Martin Memorial Book Collection is located in the Cedar Valley Library on the lower level of the Main Building. A collection of reference books on writing, genres, publishing, and editing, the Collection is available to writers enrolled in the NIP, staff, and alumni. If you need to borrow a Collection book, notify Director Dave Rank or Assistant Director Lisa Lickel you are borrowing it. The book must be returned to the Director or Assistant Director before the end of the NIP week. Collection books are not for sale nor can they be removed from the Cedar Valley grounds.
NOTE: Cedar Valley staff will be in the Main Building from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. NIP staff will have an emergency contact person to call during off hours. NIP staff will be available 24/7 during the week.
For questions, further clarification, or suggestions, contact NIP Director Dave Rank, director@novelbookcamp.org, or 262-717-5154.
