Due to COVID-19, the Veritas Writing Retreat for Women has been cancelled for the summer of 2020. Please watch for information on the retreat in 2021.
If you’d like to be included in early emails about Veritas 2021, email your contact information HERE with the subject “VERITAS.”
In March 2019, Elin Stebbins Waldal and I held the first VERITAS Writing Retreat for Women on Permission. A small group of us gathered on Whidbey Island, WA for four days, granting ourselves time and space for creativity.
Through workshops, exercises, and respite (and an amazing hike), we gained a closer look at our work, our creative selves, the things that hold us back, and what nudges us forward.
I am thrilled to offer another VERITAS retreat in Summer, 2020, this time in Wisconsin.
VERITAS 2020: Place, Permission, and Productivity
July 23-27, 2020 | Bay View, WI
Your Leaders
CHRISTI CRAIG lives in Wisconsin, working by day as a sign language interpreter and moonlighting as a writer, teacher, and editor. She is also the Publisher at Hidden Timber Books. Her own stories and essays have appeared online and in print, and she received an Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train’s Family Matters Competition, 2010.
In addition to being the director of the Electa Quinney Institute at UWM, MARGARET NOODIN is a Professor in the English Department and American Indian Studies. She is a poet and the author of Bawaajimo: A Dialect of Dreams in Anishinaabe Language and Literature (2014) and Weweni: Poems in Anishinaabemowin and English (2015). She teaches the Anishinaabemowin language at UWM and is the editor of ojibwe.net. Noodin holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a PhD in English and Linguistics, both received at the University of Minnesota.
To learn more about Margaret Noodin, watch her TEDx Talk, “The Good Land” and read her author Q&A.
Even while we move the retreat east, we will remain close to water with just a 5 minute drive to Lake Michigan. We’ll also be in a bustling part of the city and begin our time together with a night out at an annual Milwaukee literary event.
During the retreat, we’ll discuss the importance of Place, which is a concept that extends well beyond the boundaries of setting. Whether speaking of a physical structure or a landscape, Place inhabits a long history of culture and experience that is often minimally explored when we sit down to write. In workshops, we’ll dig into this concept, then we’ll continue discussions outside with a closer study of Lake Michigan and all the history she carries.
We will also discuss Permission in relation to place, looking at how we might become stewards of a story by finding a greater connection to the places we aim to write about. In applying this topic to our work, we may see our writing open up in new and unexpected ways.
Finally, we’ll take a look at tools and tips for Productivity to help us tackle these challenging aspects of writing. And being productive begins the minute you sign up for this retreat. You can expect three full days of workshops and plenty of time to spend writing on your own, to cultivate new ideas, and to relax in the mix of other writers.
VERITAS 2020 offers two registration options for participants:
Full Registration *
Tuition includes lodging and meals (except for one dinner out), all workshops, and plenty of time to write. Lodging and will be provided on two different sites (The Muse Gallery Guesthouse and a historic bungalow home), both within walking distance. You can check out the accommodations by clicking the site links above.
- Single: $675
- Double: $500/person
Lodging is limited! If Full Registrations fill up quickly, and you still want to attend from out of town, other lodging nearby may be available to use in tandem with a Day Retreat Registration.
Day Retreat Registration
Tuition includes all meals (except for one dinner out) all workshops, and plenty of time to write. Join us at breakfast, stay through dinner. As we will work from two different sites, you’ll find ample space to hang out, rest, and put pen to paper.
- Fees for each Day Retreat participant are set at $325.
- Day Retreat Registrations are limited to 5 participants.
Add-ons
- 1/2 hour consult & conversation with either Christi or Margaret. This half hour is dedicated to work produced during the retreat and allows for an informal one-on-one meeting with one of your leaders to discuss that work.*
- An opportunity to donate to a writer in need.**
Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please do so by April 30, 2020 for a 50% refund. If another writer fills your space, you may receive a full refund.
