Event
The Write Together Retreat with Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya and Kristen Arnett
with Write or Die
September 23 • 11:00 AM (EST) - 4:30 PM (EST)
Dates
September 23 • 11:00 AM (EST) - 4:30 PM (EST)
Duration
6 hours
Location
Online
Price
US$49
About the event
Join us for a virtual writing retreat during which you will have the opportunity to write alongside other writers in real time. This will be a time of encouragement and a chance to make real progress.
Details
Whether you’re just starting a project or are deep into revisions, working on a shorter piece, or a novel, this is for you. We will focus on the outer work of prioritizing our writing and the inner work of pushing past fear and resistance.
The retreat will include an hour-long session with authors Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya and Kristen Arnett who will talk about the elasticity of process and why questions matter more than answers.
Wherever you are in your process, we welcome you with open arms. You don’t have to write alone. Your art matters. Time to deepen your love for your own work and set it into motion.
Let’s write together.
Additional info
This retreat includes:
- 3 one-hour live writing sessions over Zoom
- Breaks in between sessions
- 1 hour-long author chat with Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya and Kristen Arnett which will include encouragement for writers and a lesson/writing prompt
- Resources and author notes sent via email at the end of the retreat
- Generative writing prompts before each session to get you started
Retreat Schedule
11:00 AM: Welcome with Kailey and Tamar
11:15 -12:15 PM: First writing session
12:15 -12:30 PM: Break
12:30 - 1:30 PM: Second writing session
1:30 -2:00 PM: Break
2:00-3:00 PM: Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya and Kristen Arnett’s author chat
3:00-3:15 PM: Break
3:15-4:15 PM: Third writing session
4:15 PM: Wrap up with Kailey and Tamar
TESTIMONIALS
"The simple act of signing up for this retreat released a particular type of tension I hadn't realized I had been holding. Sitting in community with writers from all over the country grounded me in a way I haven't felt since my MFA program." — Michael Jerome Plunkett
"I had the BEST time at the Write or Die retreat! I signed off at the end of the day feeling so inspired and creatively energized. Blocking off time in your calendar for writing is crucial and this is the perfect way to do it!"— Abigail Oswald
"I found the retreat immensely helpful and the perfect way to kickstart a new writing practice or renewal. "
"Having an intentional space to focus on writing was an incredible opportunity because it can be so hard to find the time in normal life — dedicating hours to my craft was much needed! " — Amanda Karch
"The exercises and guidance alongside totally quiet and open-ended time to write was exactly what I needed to take advantage of a weekend day to get some work done without distraction. "
Featured authors
Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the author of Helen House, a queer horror novelette. She is the managing editor of Autostraddle and the assistant managing editor at TriQuarterly. Her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Catapult, The Offing, Joyland, The Rumpus, Cake Zine, and others.
Kristen Arnett
Kristen Arnett is the queer author of With Teeth: A Novel (Riverhead Books, 2021) which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction and the New York Times bestselling debut novel Mostly Dead Things (Tin House, 2019) which was also a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction and was shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. She was awarded a Shearing Fellowship at Black Mountain Institute, has held residencies at Ragdale Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, and the Millay Colony, and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize recognizing mid-career writers of fiction. Her work has appeared at The New York Times, TIME, The Cut, Oprah Magazine, Guernica, Buzzfeed, McSweeneys, PBS Newshour, The Guardian, Salon, and elsewhere. Her next book (an untitled collection of short stories) will be published by Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House). She has a Masters in Library and Information Science from Florida State University and lives in Orlando, Florida.
Hosted by
Kailey Brennan DelloRusso
Kailey is a writer from Plymouth, MA. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Write or Die Magazine and is currently working on her first novel. Visit her newsletter, In the Weeds, or find her on Instagram @kaileydellorusso and Twitter @kaileydello
Tamar Mekredijian
Tamar is the fiction editor of Write or Die Magazine. Her work appears at Literary Mama and Coffee and Crumbs. She is working on her first novel, which was long-listed for The Master's Review 2021 Novel Excerpt Contest. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.