Writing Retreat

START THE SUMMER OFF WRITE!
3-DAY ACADEMIC WRITING RETREAT | MAY 27 - 29

Hosted by the Department of English with support from the Office of the Provost

Kick off your summer with an immersive, distraction-free writing retreat designed to advance your projects and inspire creativity!

The Start the Summer Off Write! retreat is designed to support writers looking to make substantial progress on their writing. Over the course of three days, writers are guided through the writing process: shaping ideas, drafting and revising, working through challenges, and moving projects toward completion and submission.

Our structured environment includes:

Focused Writing Sessions to help you settle into your writing flow and put words on the page.
Optional Skills Workshops led by writing professors that offer writing techniques and strategies to advance your productivity.
A Supportive Community that will keep you motivated, accountable, and help you celebrate.

Whether you are starting a new project or refining an existing one, the Start Your Summer Off Write! retreat is here to help you achieve your personal and professional writing goals.

EVENT DETAILS

DATE/TIME:
May 27 - 29, 2026
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

LOCATION:
Thurston Hall, Utica University

COST:*
Faculty: $150
Graduate Students and Independent Scholars: $120
*breakfast and lunch included in cost

Daily Schedule

Time	Program
9:00 - 9:30 a.m.	Welcome, Breakfast, and Project Goal Setting
9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.	Concentrated Writing Time
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.	Break for Lunch
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.	Skills Workshops (optional)
1:00 - 4:45 p.m.	Concentrated Writing Time
4:45 - 5:00 p.m.	Reflection and Next Day Goal Setting

Additional Support

Individual editing and coaching available. Contact us for more information.

"The hospitality was exceptional, and the workshop was highly informative, practical, and focused. Everything was well-organized and impactful."

Attendee Outcomes

Attendees working on academic projects reported having finished drafts and submitted articles for publication by the end of the retreat. Others reported making substantive progress reviewing and revising sections of article and monograph projects, outlining and beginning new projects, or addressing reviewer feedback on in-progress article revisions. Attendees working on creative projects reported advancing word count, as well as outlining, drafting, and revising sections of their work. For example, attendees stated they:

“Submitted an article, signed a book contract, wrote a section of the book introduction.”
“Learned to consider the ‘why’ of my writing.”
“Revisited a long-neglected project, revised my introduction, mapped an outline for the rest of the chapter, and got excited about starting my literature review next.”
“Learned the importance of creating protected time for scholarly writing and how valuable it is to work within a supportive community.”
“Tackled some detailed and contradictory feedback on an article, and got the revision ready to be sent off to the editors!”

Roughly one-third of attendees reported submitting their work for publication following progress made during the retreat.
Two writing groups initially formed during the Summer Retreat have continued to meet to support academic writing.