Pen Arts Writers’ Retreat Is Now A Thing
By Nancy Dafoe
When Virginia Woolf imagined Judith, an equally talented sister for William Shakespeare, in her feminist treatise, “A Room of One’s Own,” she knew first-hand the difficulty faced by women writers. Although Woolf did carve out the life of a writer for herself before she took her own life, women still face challenges and encumbrances that male writers do not. Even after all this time and “progress,” women continue to try to do it all, sometimes feeling as if they are trying to balance everything on the head of a pin.
The Pen Arts Writers’ Retreat is now “a thing.” The first two retreats were highly successful and well-received by participants from around the country.
Offering members the opportunity to “claim time for themselves and their writing,” the spring 2025 Writers’ Retreat will take place over four days and three nights, with dates to be announced soon. Writers in all genres are welcome to apply.
The submission process is competitive. NLAPW members must write a short description of their planned writing project-in-process and attach a two- to threepage sample of the project. The number of participants is limited by the rooms available at Pen Arts. Applications may be found on the NLAPW website. Entry fees are $50, applied to the full cost of $450 for the Writers’ Retreat for selected attendees. Similar writers’ retreat experiences range from $2,200 to upwards of $4,500. We wanted to make this opportunity accessible for all Pen Women by holding costs to a minimum.
I’m a creative writing and English teacher at the high school and college levels, as well as at numerous writing workshops, and I conducted the first series of writing retreats at Pen Arts. Future ones are open for applications from interested instructors to teach and coach.
The selected Pen Women bring their work, comfortable clothes and shoes, one going-out-to-dinner outfit, and a laptop. Participants receive private coaching in their chosen genre and editing suggestions, and share in a collegial, evening reading of their new work.
Bedding and bath materials are provided at Pen Arts. Breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and evening reading treats are part of the retreat package. A typical day at the retreat consists of breakfast, followed by breakout writing sessions, bag lunches with walking tour of DuPont Circle, and visits to inspirational locations in the city. Participants then return to Pen Arts for breakout writing sessions and dinner out or in. The evening ends with readings, critiques, and sharing new work together. Past retreats included visits to the new museum Planet Word, Kramers bookstore, etc. During the breakout sessions, the instructor visits each participant to discuss editing and project progress and brainstorm solutions to any issues faced in the writing.
Author and educator Nancy Avery Dafoe has 14 books published by independent publishers and presses in nearly every genre.