Writers in the Mountains Literary Retreat

ANDES — Writers in the Mountains (WIM) announces its 2024 Literary Retreat in the Catskills, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 15–17, 2024. The event is open to both resident writers and locals who can attend the day’s programs and activities without having to book a room. Local writers are encouraged to participate as they are an integral part of the Writers in the Mountains’ literary community year-round.

The weekend-long event will offer writers a stimulating and cozy environment to discuss ideas, improve craft, and build a better writing practice while at the same time bond with fellow writers, make lifelong friendships, and pursue future collaborations. Writers may choose to stay at the Retreat or only attend the day’s programs and activities. The Retreat will offer five different workshops led by accomplished writers and educators as well as a public reading at the Andes Hotel on Saturday evening, followed by a film screening hosted by Derek Curl. All participants will have plenty of time to write, give and receive feedback, and read their works.

The workshops will include an introduction to the Amherst Method, which will help writers access their authentic voice and develop their style. In From Idea to Essay to Book: Climbing the Ladder from Small to Big, Step by Step, participants will explore how to move their essays from destination to waypoint on a longer journey, and how to see beyond it. In Modern Love, writers will analyze The New York Times’ Modern Love column (including Tiny Love Stories), and begin a story to develop for future submissions. The Magic of Metaphor will help writers to brainstorm exciting new forms to help break open possibilities of diction, vocabulary and metaphor. Finally, in Poetry Forms, poets will learn about major forms of poetry and discuss how forms came into being and why they continue to hold an important place in contemporary poetry.

On Saturday evening participating writers will be reading at The Andes Hotel, where literature lovers and the general public will have the opportunity to hear new works and mingle with the writers. The readings will be recorded and professionally produced to post online on YouTube, and made available to local TV stations. They will be followed by a film screening and Q&A, also open to the general public. At the end of the Retreat selected works will be curated and included in a publication specially designed to help writers find new readership, and gain further visibility.

The fees are as follows: meals $225 / early bird $195; workshops $100 / early bird $85; private room $575 / early bird $490; shared room $375 / early bird $320. All participants are required to purchase the meals and workshops plan. To benefit from the early bird rates, register and pay by August 31. The refund policy is 75% by Sept. 1 and 50% by Oct. 1. To register, email writersinthemountains@gmail.com. The Board of Directors will award one or two scholarships to qualified writers. The scholarship application guidelines are posted on the website. The deadline to apply for scholarship is July 20. Download the program at https://www.writersinthemountains.org/literaryretreat

Writers in the Mountains is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide a nurturing environment for the practice, appreciation and sharing of creative writing. For more information, visit writersinthemountains.org.