Love being a part of the AWA community? Or new to AWA and seeking a generative, supportive gathering of writers and workshop leaders?
Attend our annual online retreat, September 25–27! Early Bird registration ends September 7.
Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) hosts a retreat every year. Originally, it brought our large network of trained writing workshop leaders together. Now, with all our new writer members, it is designed to connect our Affiliates and Writers.
It’s also a way that we invite new writers into the AWA fold. Members get a $50 discount on the retreat, and Writer membership is $50 annually—it’s a great deal to help you dive in and learn what AWA’s all about.
In the past, we offered the retreat in person. The pandemic had us shift to online, which made it more accessible for those who couldn’t travel. We even tried a hybrid event, both in-person and online. This year we are offering it exclusively online, so more of you can participate.
Join us if you’ve ever taken an AWA training, whether it was in 1999 or 2019, or if you’re a writer interested in developing your craft without damage to your self-esteem.
Our 2026 retreat will be online, from the evening of Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27. Our theme is The Pen as Possibility: From Inspiration to Impact.
What’s the Plan? Session Descriptions, Presenter Bios
Prefer to check out the program first? Here’s the schedule with the full session descriptions and presenter bios. Or, click on the images below to see a condensed, visual schedule for each day of the weekend.
Our retreats can offer inspiration and tools for your craft or business, and they can also serve as a restorative reset. You can trust the AWA practices to hold the creative space and sink deeply into your own work as a writer.
Participants bring their unique perspectives to a long weekend of panel discussions, facilitated writing sessions, presentations and workshops. The retreat is designed based on the interests and assets of our community.
Keynote and Masterclass
This year, Saturday’s Keynote and Masterclass will be offered by Lisa Cooper Ellison! If you’re not interested in joining the full retreat, you’re welcome to attend just her Keynote, The Nervous System is the First Reader, for $10 and/or the Masterclass, Building A Nervous-System-Aware Writing Practice, for $25.
Feedback on Past Retreats
Deep writing, new connections
My fellow leaders and the super-positive vibe of the retreat center facilitated a lot of deep writing, probably the deepest I’ve done in 15+ years. Other highlights included getting to know AWA folks from all over the country; brainstorming what turned into a new mini-workshop (“Playwright for a Day”) at one of the marketing sessions; and setting the wheels in motion for the May 2019 “Write Around the World” gathering of AWA Northeast colleagues in Salem, MA.
— Marian Calabro
I would love to attend again
I enjoyed the different topics, the sharing, and especially the writing. It was wonderful to write in the company of other AWA facilitators. There was an immediate sense of safety and community… The organizers did a great job of scheduling interesting and varied topics, and were quite generous in their time and spirit.
— Ruth Q. Leibowitz, Ph.D.
So much to love
The generous staff, the comfortable large room with smaller areas for writing. Terrific tech folks who made the online portion of the in-person retreat run so smoothly. Excellent attention to details by organizers. Wonderful location so close to Lake Erie for walking, swimming, and the beautiful forest paths adjacent to Jericho House made for lovely meditative walks.
— Anonymous