Black Walnut Bed & Breakfast Inn

Fall Memoir Writing Retreat for Women

  Women’s Memoir Writing Retreat

Hosted by The Black Walnut Bed and Breakfast Inn – Asheville, NC

 Dates of Retreat:  November 6-9, 2023

Location:                  The Black Walnut Bed and Breakfast Inn

288 Montford Ave.   Asheville, NC   28801

 

Overall Description:

This is a writing retreat for women at all stages of their writing journey.  This retreat offers the space and environment for renewal, brainstorming and inspiration and allows writers time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life so they can think, reflect, and create.  The theme for the workshops throughout the retreat will focus on “Memoir Writing” and will be led by Jennifer McGaha (see Jennifer’s Bio below).  Workshop sessions will include brief readings, generative writing activities, and informal sharing with an eye toward appreciating what is on the page and making constructive suggestions for development.  Participants are welcome to come with ideas for writing in mind or simply with an open mind.  Writers of all levels are welcome.

Cost: $850 + Applicable Taxes

The Cost includes room accommodations for three nights at The Black Walnut Bed and Breakfast Inn, workshops, breakfast each morning (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), lunch each afternoon (Tuesday and Wednesday), dinner Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and social hour drinks with light snacks throughout the retreat.  The cost also includes the two optional activities scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday (Tour of Asheville with focus on local writers and a Sound Healing Session at a local studio that is sure to make your creativity hum!  Pre-registration is required for both activities. 

Optional Manuscript Consultation sessions with Jennifer McGaha will be available at an added cost of $125.  Pre-Registration is required for any sessions, and anyone requesting consultation will need to submit a single creative nonfiction piece or multiple pieces totaling no more than twenty, double-spaced pages by October 5, 2023.  Jennifer will provide extensive written feedback and a 45-minute private consultation during the retreat.  Manuscripts should be sent as a Google or Word document to Jennifer at liberalgoats@gmail.com

How to Reserve Your Spot!

  • Either call us at: 828.254.3878 or email us at:  frontdesk@blackwalnut.com
  • A deposit of $400.00 is required to reserve your spot.
  • Room selection will be offered on a First-Come, First-Serve basis. Check the rooms out at blackwalnut.com.
  • Participation is limited. If all spots are reserved, we will gladly add you to the wait list if interested.  No deposits will be collected for wait-list participants until you have a confirmed reservation.
  • Participants are to adhere to The Black Walnut Bed and Breakfast Policies.

Cancellation Policy:

  • Refund of Deposit less a $35 process fee for any cancellation on or before October 6, 2023.
  • After October 6, 2023, deposits will only be refunded if we are able to fill the cancelled spot with a participant on our wait-list.

A little bit about Jennifer McGaha:

Jennifer’s memoir, Flat Broke with Two Goats, was chosen as a 2018 Big Library Read for OverDrive, an international digital library. Publisher’s Weekly calls her second book, Bushwhacking: How to Get Lost in the Woods and Write Your Way Out (Trinity University Press, 2023), “gutsy, entertaining, and heartening,” and her third creative nonfiction book, The Joy Document, is forthcoming in 2024. Her work has also appeared in many magazines and literary journals including Image, The Huffington Post, The New Pioneer, Lumina, PANK, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Brevity, Bitter Southerner, Crab Creek Review, River Teeth, and many other publications. A native of Appalachia, Jennifer lives in a wooded North Carolina hollow with her husband, two cats, three unruly dogs, ten relatively tame dairy goats, and an ever-changing number of chickens. She currently teaches at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, where she also coordinates the Great Smokies Writing Program. You can find her on Instagram @liberalgoats, on Facebook, and on Twitter (Jennifer McGaha). Her website is jennifermcgaha.com.

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