Welcome to The 12-Hour Writers Retreat!
What’s the 12-Hour Writers Retreat?
It’s not easy to sneak away from daily life to attend a weeklong writers retreat. But might you sneak away for a day? Welcome to the 12-Hour Writers Retreat—a morning-to-night writing experience committed to supporting your work from idea to live reading! On Saturday, May 2, join 20 fellow writers for a fun (and food!) filled day at Forage. Enjoy guided writing exercises, unencumbered freewriting time, a supportive workshop, and a final show featuring you!
This retreat will be hosted by Tamara Dean author of Shelter and Stone: At Home in the Driftless. Click here to read an excerpt. Scroll on to learn more!
Writers 21+ are encouraged to register.
About the Writer-In-Residence
Tamara Dean is the author of Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless (University of Minnesota Press, 2025), a collection of twelve essays that invite readers to consider how we tend the earth in times of uncertainty, what we owe our neighbors, and ways we thrive in community. Reviewers call Shelter and Storm "luminous," "insightful," "fascinating," "captivating," and "a revelatory study of person and place, entwined." Yale Climate Connections named it one of summer 2025's must-read titles on climate change, and Poets & Writers called it one of the top twelve releases of spring. The Progressive named Shelter and Storm one of its favorite books of 2025, calling it "A delightful book that bears comparison to Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac and Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek."
Her short stories and essays have appeared in The American Scholar, Creative Nonfiction, The Georgia Review, the Guardian, One Story, Orion, The Progressive, The Southern Review, STORY Magazine, and other publications. She is also the author of a book on sustainable living, The Human-Powered Home, and bestselling college textbooks on computer networking. My essay "Safer Than Childbirth" received a 2024 Pushcart Prize Special Mention and "Slow Blues" was named a 2021 National Magazine Award finalist.
About The Space
Nestled in the heart of downtown Eau Claire, Forage is a versatile event venue perfectly suited for our writers retreat. Complete with writing spaces, performance spaces, and a beer and wine bar, Forage will help us create the ideal conditions to help your writing thrive.
About The Experience
The Chippewa Valley Writers Guild strives to provide inclusive writing experiences for all writers of all levels and genres. While Tamara is primarily a nonfiction writer, ALL writers of all genres are encouraged to attend! Our goal is to provide an opportunity to inspire, instruct, and rejuvenate writers in a safe, communal space. We create, collaborate, and celebrate together!
Schedule for May 2
9 :00 Arrive at Forage; welcome, Icebreakers
9:15 Writing Prompts w/ Tamara Dean
10:00 Freewriting Time/Optional Conferences w/ Tamara Dean and B.J. Hollars
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Freewriting Time/Optional Conferences w/ Tamara Dean and B.J. Hollars
3:00 Snack Break Social Hour
3:30 Mini-group workshops
4:30 Final revision/Reading guidelines established (4 minutes/reader)
5:00 Dinner
6:30 Show Prep
7:00 Showtime
9:00 Farewell
About The Food and Drink
Drinks: Complimentary coffee and tea will be provided throughout, and wine and beer will be served in the evening at your own expense.
Lunch and Dinner: Both our meals will be prepared on-site by Forage chefs.
Cost
$110.00 (includes coffee, tea, lunch and dinner from Forage, work space, writing prompts, and instruction courtesy of Tamara Dean and B.J. Hollars).
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