JOURNEY TO JUPITER is a four day, three night writing retreat where participants with an existing project will work toward distilling their authentic authorial voice, recognizing and deepening the themes and preoccupations of their work, and coming to a greater understanding of how to create narrative that transcends familiar tropes and techniques and goes into the realm beyond. This communal experience will allow each writer to tackle their greatest challenges in a supportive group environment.
The Journey to Jupiter Workshop will assemble a group of committed writers working in all genres who are willing to keep grappling with the hard stuff, to support and bond with other writers, and to deepen their understanding of themselves and the stories they are trying to tell.
What we’re offering is a chance to go to Jupiter together–to go farther and faster than you ever have before. In our time together, you will develop skills that allow you to access deeper authenticity on the page, get clearer on your voice, and better execute the story you urgently want to tell.
All of these skills will stay with you long after the retreat ends and we part ways. Jupiter is in the night sky even when you can’t see it. Sometimes you have to reach for it in the dark.
This retreat is driven by our deep need to acknowledge the audacity of writing as both art and profession. Words on the page can elicit emotion, spark ideas, and inspire action, and we are driven toward these goals by a deep humility, working hard to find the words that cut through the noise and connect with another human being.
We are also driven by a deep urgency to spread joy. By joy, we don’t mean the sugary sweetness of laughter and frolic. We mean the joy of community and connection. The joy of going deep with our writing. The joy of believing in ourselves and each other, in survival in the face of chaos, in achievement in the face of obstacles. Going to Jupiter together will be a journey marked by the joy of overcoming fear and seeing into the unknown.
Are you ready for a journey that will take you and your writing farther than ever before? Are you ready to explore outer space with a community of like-minded people who have got your back?
Here are the launch coordinates:
What: Journey to Jupiter Writing Retreat
When: October 19-22, 2023
Where: Block and Hexter Retreat Center, Lakewood, PA
The cost of the retreat is $950 for double occupancy and $1325 for single occupancy. Payment in full will be due by August 1, 2023.
Financial assistance is available on a limited basis. All financial assistance will be confidential. If the cost is your only obstacle to attending, please still apply.
If you are able and would like to contribute to the financial assistance program to help bring another writer to the retreat, we welcome your contribution.
Ready to launch with us? Your first step is to fill out this application form. It’s not a test–we want to get to know you and your writing and understand if what we are offering can help you advance. We don’t care if you’ve published anything. We care about what you’re working on, how you’re approaching it, and what you need help with.
Please fill out the form and pay the initial application fee of $25 to be considered. Once received we will send you an email requesting your writing sample, 5-10 pages (in standard manuscript format) that represent a piece of what you are working on. We don't need a synopsis or query letter, more of a sample of your work and where you are at with your current project.
Applications are open now, and we’ll be accepting writers on a rolling basis until June 16.
