Writers: Looking for your next summer getaway? Want to find other writers to hang out with? This exciting writer’s retreat may be just what you need!
Brian Gresko and Trish Fancher of Writing Co-Lab are hosting Peitho’s Gift, a week-long writing community retreat, from August 29 to September 5. The retreat will take place on the Greek island of Crete. “It’s definitely open to writers of all levels and all [genres] of writing,” says Trish. “We really [think] everybody has something to contribute to the community.”
About the Retreat
Writers will fly into Heraklion International Airport and spend the night in Heraklion. From there, they will travel to Ammoudi Beach, where they will stay for the duration of the retreat. The daily schedule will include “morning movement” (such as seaside walks) and breakfast, evening happy hours with generative writing exercises, and plenty of open writing time in between. Writers seeking additional support and feedback on their work can participate in workshop sessions or schedule office hours with Brian and Trish.
In addition to the main itinerary, the retreat offers plenty of opportunities for writers to take a brain break or work through creative block. Writers can swim, snorkel, scuba dive, hike, go horseback riding, and experience local dining and live music. They can also participate in optional supplementary excursions, such as painting and cooking lessons or tours of the nearby vineyard and olive groves.
The retreat’s $1,750 fee includes hotel expenses, transportation from Heraklion to Ammoudi Beach, daily breakfast, nightly happy hour, and the first and last night of dinner. Participants are responsible for their own airfare, transportation from the airport to the hotel in Heraklion, and any meal not provided by the organizers, as well as any optional excursions.
About the Organizers
Writing Co-Lab (short for “cooperative laboratory”) is a teaching cooperative owned and operated by writers, for writers. It was co-founded in 2023 by Sara Lippmann, Amy Shearn, and Brian Gresko, who is cohosting the retreat with Trish Fancher. The Co-Lab offers various classes, workshops, reading groups, and free write-ins, as well as an online summer camp.
Brian Gresko is a Brooklyn-based writer, illustrator, literary journalist, and educator. They are the author of You Must Go On: 30 Inspirations on Writing & Creativity and the editor of When I First Held You: 22 Critically Acclaimed Writers Talk About the Triumphs, Challenges, and Transformative Experience of Fatherhood. Their writing has also been published in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, Literary Hub, and many others. They co-run the Pete’s Reading Series at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg.
Trish Fancher is a writer, researcher, and educator studying queer and feminist communities. She currently teaches in the Writing Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is the author of Queer Techné: Bodies, Rhetorics, and Desire in the History of Computing. Her creative nonfiction has been published in The Sun, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, and many others.
“My partner is Greek, so I’ve been spending the last few years in Greece, and I have given myself this writing retreat for the past three years,” says Trish. “I just really wanted to bring other writers there because [Americans] don’t really get to this part of Greece very much, so I thought it would be a really special opportunity for folks.”
How to Apply
Prospective attendees must complete this application form by June 15. If selected, attendees must submit their deposits (which can be paid in two installments) by July 1st. Applicants will be selected on a rolling basis.
Peitho’s Gift promises to be an incredible, rewarding writing getaway — a place for writers to join together in community as they tell their stories. Claim your spot now!
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