Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices
The Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices is the nation’s premier LGBTQ writing residency. It is the only multi-genre writing residency devoted exclusively to emerging LGBTQ writers. The Retreat is an unparalleled opportunity to develop one’s craft and find community.
Since 2007, the Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices has offered sophisticated instruction in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young adult fiction, playwriting led by the most talented writers working today. In 2022, the Writer’s Retreat expanded to include instruction in screenwriting and speculative fiction, and in 2023, the community is growing even more with an all new completely virtual multi-genre cohort.
Faculty:
Fiction with Jeanne Thornton
Nonfiction with Meredith Talusan
Poetry with Phillip B. Williams
Playwriting with Victor I. Cazares
Screenwriting with Ashton Pina
Speculative Fiction with K-Ming Chang
Young Adult Fiction with Candice Iloh
Virtual Multi-Genre with Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
Location: Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Online
Dates: July 30-August 5, 2023
Tuition: $1,875. Full and partial scholarships are available.
Application Dates: Applications for the Writers Retreat closed on January 31, 2023. Decisions will go out in April.
Accessibility Strategy for In-Person Retreat:
Accessibility at Chestnut Hill: It is a very small campus, find their map here. The workshops, readings, and panels will take place in building 1, Fornier hall, which is the bulk of where fellows will be spending their days. Fellows will be staying overnight in building 4, Fitzsimmons hall, where all dorm rooms are air conditioned. The map doesn’t have distance on it, but Fitzsimmons hall is about .1 mile to Fornier hall.
The school has a variety of physical accessibility supports built in such as elevators in the dorm, ramps and lifts throughout for wheelchair users, and hand railings on all other steps. Outside of the dorms, our meeting rooms are all situated on the first floor, but there is elevator access throughout Fornier hall as well. All of the classrooms, larger meeting spaces, and dining hall are in close proximity inside Fonier hall. Bathrooms in the dorms and Fournier Hall are accessible for those with wheelchairs as well.
The school is about 40 minutes from the Philadelphia airport. The Retreat will be chartering buses on travel days to pick up and drop off at the Philadelphia airport and the train station closest to campus. For those with cars, parking will be available, and there is accessible parking in front of Fonier hall.
The food service at Chestnut Hill will offer a variety of options for those who may have allergies and dietary restrictions, we will be providing food all week for fellows.
In regards to the options for private rooms, we will have a number of single dorms available to fellows based on their individual needs.
The Retreat Team will be gathering information from Fellows on any other accessibility accommodations needed during the time of the Retreat–such as accessibility requirements within workshops, information on dietary restrictions, information on single dorming needs, and any other specific needs of the individuals attending The Retreat.
Please reach out to retreat@lambdaliterary.org with any questions or concerns.
Coming Together
“We know ourselves best when we see ourselves reflected in those who know what we want to do, what we fear, and what we can accomplish if we take the big risks. There were moments at the Retreat when I wept with gratitude and even more where I laughed out loud. The work takes us apart. As a tribe we come back together.”
Forging Community
“The Retreat helped me embark on a serious focus, not just in writing but — and this is what’s most important for me — forging a sense of community within the literary world.”
Finding Family
“As a faculty member I can attest to the unique and extraordinary talent who participated in this extremely competitive writing residency. I met a cohort of some of the most exciting and talented emerging artists in my field. I was inspired to help move the field forward and create a new body of work from one of the most diverse groups of artists I had ever worked with. We now have a new playwriting family.”
Writer’s Retreat Impact
Launched in 2007, Lambda Literary’s Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices is the only multi-genre writing residency in the world devoted exclusively to emerging LGBTQ writers. It provides a uniquely powerful opportunity to participants, jumpstarting the careers of dozens of LGBTQ writers every year.
637
Emerging writers since have taken part in the retreat since 2011.
53
Faculty, including Dorothy Allison, Danez Smith, Andrew Holleran.
9
genres, including poetry, young adult fiction, screenwriting, and playwriting
7
Anthologies, presenting Retreat Fellows work.
How To Apply
Applications for the 2023 Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices are now closed.
