"Finding A Writing Room was a gift to me from the universe. I am a new writer."
- Leslie, Writing Room Member
Every writer you’ve ever admired had mentors, trusted confidants, and a supportive community to guide and challenge them. Writing isn’t just about inspiration — it’s about systems, tools, and the right environment to bring out your best.
It’s time to write like real writers do. It’s time to surround yourself with the people and practices that make progress inevitable. Our Digital Retreat will jumpstart your potential and remind you of the power of your words.
"A Writing Room has me firmly rooted in living the life I've always dreamed of. It now feels so normal to be writing all the time, instead of worrying about all the writing I wasn't doing. I've finally come home."
— Jacque Stonehocker, Member Since 2023
"A Writing Room was life-changing and deeply healing. It was one of those experiences that feels perfect and leaves you completely fulfilled. I feel grateful and lucky to have been a part of it."
—Effie, Writing Room Member
Whether you’re just starting out, or deep into your third draft, our Digital Retreat is your invitation to kickstart new momentum, dream bigger, and transform your ideas into publications.
Our Digital Retreat is the perfect time for existing members to reignite their passion and for newcomers to feel an immediate sense of belonging. You’ll explore all facets of our community, bond over shared challenges, and emerge feeling like a true part of A Writing Room.
Listen To What Other Members Have To Say About A Writing Room
Our Digital Retreat captures the spirit of our annual fall retreat — immersion, focus, and craft mastery — while offering flexibility for busy writers who can’t simply step away from the demands of daily life.
All of our main sessions take place after standard working hours, letting you dive into the highest-impact talks, guest speakers, and community events without sidelining your daytime commitments. And for those who crave the full, deep-dive experience, our daytime programming is rich with opportunities to write and collaborate alongside fellow storytellers.
The Open House is a special event designed to open our vibrant community to both current and prospective members. It’s an opportunity for everyone to come together, share in our successes, and preview the exciting developments on the horizon. Expect to hear inspiring stories from standout members, learn about upcoming projects, and experience the camaraderie that makes our community unique. Whether you’re a long-time member, or someone considering joining, this event offers a warm, inviting glimpse into the heart of A Writing Room.
A dedicated, structured time where writers gather in a supportive, accountable environment to write together — silently.
Study Hall offers structured periods for researching, outlining, organizing, and editing in a focused & studious setting.
Renowned author Maggie Smith will outline how to get the heart of a lived experience onto the page. Learn how to feel confident sharing your personal life with a public audience, and discover what form and craft elements to lean on. Based on her new book, Dear Writer, this session offers a unique opportunity to learn directly from a literary luminary.
Two brilliant literary figures, Anne Lamott and Maggie Smith, engage in an heartfelt, enlightening conversation on the craft of writing. This unique event allows you to be a fly on the wall as they share stories, insights, and creative inspirations.
A dedicated, structured time where writers gather in a supportive, accountable environment to write together — silently.
Study Hall offers structured periods for researching, outlining, organizing, and editing in a focused & studious setting.
Live Editing offers a unique opportunity to watch a professional editor at work. Join professor Dr. Selig as she offers personalized feedback in real time, with the chance to have your own writing reviewed.
Writing is a powerful tool for healing, but it can also bring up difficult emotions and past memories, leading to overwhelm, or shutdown. In this workshop, we’ll create a trauma-informed practice on how to navigate emotional triggers, regulate your nervous system, and set up personal safety stops to avoid creative burnout.
Outline & Organize is a workshop dedicated to teaching you how to effectively structure and organize your book projects so you never feel lost in your writing and always have a tailored roadmap to follow.
A dedicated, structured time where writers gather in a supportive, accountable environment to write together — silently.
Characters and Conflict is an immersive workshop focused on crafting nuanced characters and exploring the tension and dynamics between them that drive stories.
Calling all poets! Refresh Your Poetry invites writers to rejuvenate their unfinished poems — or write new ones — through playful, spontaneous exercises that spark fresh metaphors and connections.
A dedicated, structured time where writers gather in a supportive, accountable environment to write together — silently.
Study Hall offers structured periods for researching, outlining, organizing, and editing in a focused & studious setting.
The process of writing can act as its own form of therapy. And as writers, we are often "playing psychologist" with our characters, diagnosing their problems and prescribing their cures. But what happens when the main character is you? Join a resident mental-health professional to help you write through emotional blocks.
Live Editing offers a unique opportunity to watch a professional editor at work, providing insights into the editing process and personalized feedback. You'll have the chance to have your own writing reviewed in real time.
This workshop is all about endings — knowing how to wrap your story up in a way that makes a lasting impression on readers.
A dedicated, structured time where writers gather in a supportive, accountable environment to write together — silently.
Feedback Friday is a cornerstone event where writers exchange meaningful critique on selected pieces, helping each other grow and refine their craft.
Critique Circle offers a supportive environment to share your work, exchange feedback, and gain insights from an established professional writer, with the chance to have your writing reviewed in real time.
Ink and Improv is a rapid-fire writing game designed to break perfectionism, encouraging participants to have fun and write freely.
A dedicated, structured time where writers gather in a supportive, accountable environment to write together — silently.
Critique Circle offers writers a safe environment to receive serious critique. You'll have the chance to have your writing reviewed in real time, exchange feedback, and gain insights from an established writer.
Ask an Agent offers an exclusive opportunity to engage with a seasoned literary agent and learn the secrets to getting your book represented, with the chance to have your query letter reviewed in real time.
Open Mic invites writers to read their work aloud, share their voice, and enjoy the warmth of a supportive writing community.
A dedicated, structured time where writers gather in a supportive, accountable environment to write together — silently.
Submission Sunday is a transformative session where writers gather to submit their work for publication, turning the daunting process into a collective adventure.
Our Q&As offers a unique opportunity for writers to engage in an extended, meaningful conversation with a renowned author or expert.
Victory Lap is an open platform for writers to proudly share their successes and celebrate their creative accomplishments.
The beloved author of ten New York Times bestselling books, California Hall of Fame Inductee, and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Anne Lamott is a living literary legend.
Anne partnered with A Writing Room at our very first retreat in 2022, and shortly after became a full-time artist in residence at A Writing Room. She brings her passion, humor, and skill as a writer — and human — to this year's cohort, as well as a little “benevolent pressure.” Through her guidance, you will learn how to stop not writing and officially be able to call Anne a mentor who is in your corner.
Maggie Smith is the author of seven award-winning books, including Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Lamp of the Body, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison, and Good Bones, named by the Washington Post as one of the Five Best Poetry Books of 2017. Her most recent poetry collection, A Suit or a Suitcase, is forthcoming from Washington Square Press in 2026. The title poem of Good Bones was called the “Official Poem of 2016” by Public Radio International and has been translated into nearly a dozen languages. We're thrilled to welcome her to A Writing Room as a teacher and mentor.
If you love to read, you’ve almost certainly loved a book that Jake Morrissey helped bring into the world. From Calvin and Hobbes to The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store to Bird by Bird, Morrissey’s taste has largely defined the modern bookshelf, and he has a deep love for making a writer’s work shine, even if his own influence is invisible. Jake is an editor at Penguin and one of Writing Room’s industry experts where he offers his unique insight gained through an editor’s lens.
Kelly Fremon Craig is a screenwriter, director, and producer known for her poignant and witty coming-of-age stories. She studied English before launching her film career, and her breakout came with The Edge of Seventeen (2016), which she wrote and directed to critical acclaim. In 2023, she adapted and directed Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, earning the rare approval of author Judy Blume for her thoughtful and heartfelt interpretation. We’re thrilled to invite her to A Writing Room to lead a brand new session, Characters & Conflict.
Transformation, power, love — these are things we all seek, but perhaps none so much as writers, and Reema Zaman’s story will lead you to them all. Her critically acclaimed memoir, I Am Yours, has been adopted into the Oregon high school curriculum through an Innovation Grant, and through her consulting and coaching, she teaches authors and speakers “the art of being unforgettable.” She was the 2018 Oregon Literary Arts’ Writer of Color Fellow and is a two-time RACC Award recipient.
Jake Lancaster is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was awarded the Henfield Prize for Fiction. His short stories have appeared in The Common, TriQuarterly, Heavy Traffic, Forever Magazine, Adroit Journal, Bellevue Literary Review, Cutbank, and elsewhere. He's a lecturer in the English Department at the University of Minnesota, where he lives with his family.
Brad Aaron Modlin's internationally viral poetry has been experienced over two million times, including in the Pushcart Prize, Poetry Unbound with Pádraig Ó Tuama, The Slowdown with Ada Limón, Brevity and The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is The Reynolds Endowed Chair of Creative Writing and Associate Professor at University of Nebraska, where he teaches undergrads and the master's program.
After a long career on the faculty at Pacifica, professor and author Dr. Jennifer Selig wrote the book Deep Memoir: An Archetypal Approach to Deepening Your Story and Broadening Its Appeal. After joining one of our Author-Led Book Clubs, Jennifer joined the Writing Room staff to offer Live Editing sessions focused on memoir. Members have the opportunity to submit their writing for her review to help perfect and finish their manuscript.
BJ Robbins started in publicity at Simon & Schuster and was later Senior Editor at Harcourt, before opening her LA-based agency. She represents quality fiction, both literary and commercial, and general nonfiction, with a particular interest in memoir, biography, narrative history, and pop culture. BJ has taught at UCLA Extension, UC Irvine Extension, the Community of Writers Fiction Workshop, and now inside the Collective. In her Ask An Agent series, she helps members edit their query letters through her unique agent lense.
Megan Febuary is a trauma-informed writing coach and the founder of the global storytelling platform and literary magazine For Women Who Roar. Called a leading expert in creative recovery, Megan received her MA from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, where she focused her research on the body as a storyteller. She is the Author of Brave The Page: How Writing Our Hard Stories Brings Healing and Wholeness.
Mary Berman is a Philadelphia-based author. Her debut novel, UNTIL DEATH, is forthcoming from Little, Brown, and her short work has been published in PseudoPod, Fireside, Cicada, and elsewhere. She has taught fiction workshops at the University of Mississippi, the MetroWest Writers’ Guild, and the Philly-based non-profit Blue Stoop.
Therapist and creative coach Emily Schreter (M.S.Ed, LMHC, LPC) regularly uses writing as a therapeutic tool to help clients reclaim their past and reimagine their future. In our Story & Self series, Emily will guide you through the power of writing as a therapeutic tool by focusing on a different methodologies for writing.
As a teen dad, college dropout and ex-meth-head, Jack alchemized his origin story into art and emerged as a creative leader. Creator of the award-winning podcast Hello Humans and life-long advocate for recovery and mental health, Jack channeled years of artistic collaboration into his role as Creative Director and co-founder of A Writing Room. He’s excited to lead a brand new offering at this year’s retreat, Ink & Improv.
Sign up for Digital Retreat by purchasing an annual membership to A Writing Room (here), then RSVP to each Digital Retreat event in "Event Gatherings."
Or you can sign up for just the retreat here, and you'll receive the emails with links to each event.
$399 = Retreat only: Access to all 7 days + replays (buy now)
$499 = Retreat + membership: Access to all seven days + replays + one year of membership (buy now)
Replays will be available within 24 hours for all sessions except Silent Writing and Study Hall.
Absolutely! This year there are six opportunities to get your writing reviewed by authors, editors and agents. Although not guaranteed, we encourage you to submit your writing to as many of these sessions as possible so you have the highest chance possible to be selected (selections are made via a lottery). All writing must be submitted by May 14th to be considered for selection.
This year, these sessions include:
1) Live Editing with Penguin Editor Jake Morrissey
2) Live Editing with writing professor Dr. Jennifer Selig
3) Critique Circle with author Megan Febuary
4) Critique Circle with author Mary Berman
5) Ask An Agent with literary agent BJ Robbins
6) Feedback Friday with author Carly Vair
Do you have questions, comments, or need extra assistance? Reach out using the contact form and we'll get back to you shortly, or email support@awritingroom.com.
