- Pat Conroy Literary Center - https://patconroyliterarycenter.org -

Third Writers’ Retreat at the Anchorage Inn – Beaufort, SC

The Pat Conroy Literary Center presents
Our Third Writers Retreat Weekend at the Anchorage 1770 Inn

September 6-8, 2019

Anchorage 1770 Inn

Join us for our third Writers Retreat Weekend at the award-winning Anchorage 1770 Inn, September 6-8/2019

You’re invited to join us for an exclusive writers retreat weekend at the award-winning historic Anchorage 1770 Inn, located in the heart of beautiful Beaufort by the sea. Participating writers will immerse themselves in a collaborative experience certain to inspire and enlighten.

Our distinguished faculty of award-winning writers and publishing professionals will share their insights and experiences in the same generous mentoring spirit as the late Pat Conroy. In the retreat’s intimate setting, writers will get to know one another as well as our instructors over a span of three days and two nights of empowering workshops, discussions, writing prompts, readings, critiques, and social gatherings.

Proceeds benefit the year-round educational programming of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, TripAdvisor’s top-ranked destination in Beaufort, winner of the 2019 Civitas Award for Tourism Leadership, an affiliate of the American Writers Museum, and an American Library Association United for Libraries Literary Landmark.

Retreat Faculty: Novelists Kimberly Brock, Carla Damron, and Reavis Z. Wortham; memoirist and humorist Harrison Scott Key; biographer and book review editor Adam Parker; and literary agents Jeff Kleinman and Marly Rusoff.

Registration: $1500 per person Includes two-night stay at the Anchorage 1770 Inn on September 14-16, all retreat sessions, evening receptions on Friday and Saturday, breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday, and lunch on Saturday. The registration fee will be billed in three equal installments to be paid in full by September 6. Rooms are selected on a first-come-first-served basis. Registration is limited to 15 participants. Please call the Anchorage 1770 Inn to reserve your spot today: (877) 951-1770.

Our deep gratitude to our distinguished faculty for generously donating their time at the retreat in support of the year-round programs and outreach of the Conroy Center.

Schedule of Events

Friday,  September 6

Optional afternoon activities

Noon–4:00 p.m.: Visit the Pat Conroy Literary Center at 905 Port Republic Street (a short walk from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) for a guided exploration of the writing life of the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides. Free and open to the public. www.patconroyliterarycenter.org

2:00–3:30 p.m.: Reserve your seat on Beaufort Tour’s guided bus tour of Pat Conroy’s Beaufort. Departs from the Beaufort Marina Store (across from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) promptly at 2:00 p.m. for a 90-minute tour. Advance registration required: www.beauforttoursllc.com/pat_conroys_beaufort.html

RETREAT BEGINS

5:00–6:45 p.m.: First Friday Reading at the Pat Conroy Literary Center
Meet faculty members and novelists Carla Damron (The Stone Necklace), Kimberly Brock (The River Witch), Reavis Z. Wortham (Hawke’s Target) as they read from and discuss their work at the Pat Conroy Literary Center, 905 Port Republic St. This event is open to the public. Light refreshments.

7:00–8:00 p.m.: Welcome and Introductions
Meet the retreat faculty in the parlor of the Anchorage 1770 Inn. Come prepared to introduce yourself and briefly explain the topic (or desired topic) of your work.
Dessert, wine and non-alcoholic refreshments served.

8:00–9:00 p.m.: Story Hour #1**
During Story Hour retreat participants will have the opportunity to share a five-minute reading sample—preferably the opening—of their writing. The reading can come from a finished product, an idea, or a work in progress. The retreat faculty will offer constructive feedback. Faculty: Kimberly Brock, Carla Damron, Jeff Kleinman, Marly Rusoff, Reavis Z. Wortham

Requirements: Readings not to exceed five minutes. Each individual reading in the group setting will be followed by supportive and constructive feedback from the retreat leaders. Samples are to be read out loud or circulated as a handout if the participant prefers. (Participants are to provide adequate number of handouts for participants and retreat leaders.)

**Participants should be prepared to share on either night, as half the participants will share on Friday and the remaining half on Saturday.

Saturday, September 7

8:00–9:15 a.m.: Breakfast with our faculty

9:30–10:30 a.m.: Reavis Z. Wortham, What I’ve Learned on This Writing Road
We think writing is the easy part, and it might be for some folks, but there are a thousand things freshmen authors might not know. In this fast-paced, intensive session, Spur Award-winning author Reavis Z. Wortham discusses his road to publication and the tips he’s developed to brighten dialogue, delete common problems authors don’t even know they have, to paint a unique plot that grabs a reader’s attention, to eliminate unnecessary “fat” in the manuscript that slows pacing, and most important, how to keep that story charging forward to an electric climax. Be prepared to write fast and bring your questions to this energetic and informative session.

Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking and writing exercises.

10:30–11:00 a.m.: Coffee break

11:00 a.m.–noon: Carla Damron, Who the Heck ARE You? Techniques for Climbing Inside your Characters
“My characters pull me, push me, take me further than I want to go, fling open doors to rooms I don’t want to enter, throw me into interstellar space, and all this long before my mind is ready for it.”—Madeleine L’Engle

Some writers use worksheets to flesh them out. Some create collages. The “how” of character development is less important than the fully realized “who”. This session will explore ways characters reveal themselves—to the author and the reader—and hone specific techniques to give them life on the page.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking and writing exercises.

Noon–1:30 p.m.: Lunch with our faculty
Retreat faculty will join participants for lunch and conversation on the writing craft.

1:30–5:30 p.m. (with breaks): Kimberly Brock, Write from Your Tinderbox: Living from Your Creative Core
In this workshop, Kimberly Brock, creator of Tinderbox Workshops and Retreats, will share secrets to overcoming common struggles for writers and inspiration from her own battle with writer’s block, the internal pressure to succeed, and fears about doing the story justice. Incorporating studies in brain science, attendees will be guided through simple, fool-proof exercises that inform and inspire through the use of mixed-media art techniques, music, kinesthetic movement, and oral storytelling. The result is a finished piece of original art, and several deeply intuitive written pieces. Workshop attendees will come away with a reenergized relationship with the muse.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking and writing exercises.

5:30–6:00 p.m.: Break

6:00–7:15 p.m.: Story Hour #2**
During Story Hour retreat participants will have the opportunity to share a five-minute reading sample—preferably the opening—of their writing. The reading can come from a finished product, an idea, or a work in progress. The retreat faculty will offer constructive feedback. Faculty: Kimberly Brock, Carla Damron, Harrison Scott Key, Jeff Kleinman, Marly Rusoff, Reavis Z. Wortham

Requirements: Readings not to exceed five minutes. Each individual reading in the group setting will be followed by supportive and constructive feedback from the retreat faculty. (Participants are to provide copies of their pieces for retreat faculty.)

**Participants should be prepared to share on either night, as half the participants will share on Friday and the remaining half on Saturday.
Cocktails and light hors d’oeuvres served.

7:30 p.m.: Dinner on your own
The Anchorage 1770 Inn will provide a list of recommended restaurants within walking distance of the Anchorage 1770 inn for dinner on your own along Beaufort’s iconic waterfront and downtown.

Sunday, September 8

8:30–10:00 a.m.: Breakfast—Jeff Kleinman and Marly Rusoff, Agent 101
Join top literary agents Marly Rusoff of the Marly Rusoff Literary Agency and Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management as they share their insights and experiences on everything a writer needs to know about finding and working with an agent, including how to research, locate, and approach the agent best for you and your project; what material you need to submit to an agent; standard author/agent agreement terms; what to expect your agent to do and not do for you; what you should do and not do for your agent, and more. Full breakfast and coffee served.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking.

10:15–10:45 a.m.: Break & check-out time (bags can be held in the lobby until departure)

10:45–11:45 a.m.: Adam Parker, Ask a Book Reviewer
Post and Courier arts writer and book page editor Adam Parker will discuss how and why books get reviewed, what reviewers look for and respond to, and why book reviews still matter to writers and readers.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking.

11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.: Faculty Roundtable: Closing discussion with your retreat faculty. This is your last chance to ask that all-important question!

1:00 p.m.: Lunch on Your Own

3:30–5:00: Harrison Scott Key at the Pat Conroy Literary Center
Join faculty member and award-winning humorist Harrison Scott Key for a reading of instructive and cautionary tales drawn from his own writing life as chronicled in his memoir, Congratulations! Who Are You Again? Held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center, this closing event is also open to the public.

Optional afternoon activities

Noon–3:30 p.m.: Visit the Pat Conroy Literary Center at 905 Port Republic Street (a short walk from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) for a guided exploration of the writing life of the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides. Free and open to the public. www.patconroyliterarycenter.org

2:00–3:30 p.m.: Reserve your seat on Beaufort Tour’s guided bus tour of Pat Conroy’s Beaufort. Departs from the Beaufort Marina Store (across from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) promptly at 2:00 p.m. for a 90-minute tour. Advance registration required: www.beauforttoursllc.com/pat_conroys_beaufort.html

Meet Your Faculty

Kimberly Brock

Kimberly Brock is the author of the award-winning modern gothic novel, The River Witch, which received the Georgia Author of the Year award for first fiction in 2013. A former actor and special needs educator, Brock has also served as the Blog Network Coordinator for national online book club, She Reads, founded Tinderbox Writer’s Workshop and Retreat, and is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Psychology Today and Writer Unboxed, among other publications. www.kimberlybrockbooks.com

Faye Bender

Carla Damron is a novelist, short story writer, advocate, and social worker. Her novel The Stone Necklace, which was selected the 2016 One Book, One Community read for Richland County, South Carolina, was chosen to receive the prestigious “Star” Award for Best Novel by the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Her short stories have appeared in the Offbeat Literary Journal, Fall Lines, Jasper’s Marked by Water, Melusine Magazine, and other journals. Carla began her writing career (not counting the bird poem she wrote at age eight) authoring the Caleb Knowles Mystery series. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and a masters degree in social work.

Harrison Scott Key

Harrison Scott Key’s writing has been featured in The Best American Travel Writing, the New York TimesOutsideSalonThe Chronicle of Higher EducationMcSweeney’s Internet TendencySouthern LivingReader’s DigestImageCreative NonfictionThe MockingbirdThe Green County IndependentThe American ConservativeBrevityGulf Coast, and Oxford American, where he is also a contributing editor. He teaches at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia, where he lives with his wife and three children. Harper published his first memoir, The World’s Largest Man, which won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. His second memoir, Congratulations! Who Are You Again? was published in November 2018. www.harrisonscottkey.com

Jeff Kleinman

Jeff Kleinman is a founding partner at Folio Literary Management. He loves unique voices, strong characters, unusual premises, and books that offer up some new perspective on something he thought he already knew something about or never even dreamed existed. He represents bestselling authors Garth Stein, Eowyn Ivey, Jacqueline Mitchard, Elizabeth Letts, Karen Dionne, and Charles Shields; many first novels, including Lara Prescott’s The Secrets We Kept , Val Emmich’s The Reminders, and Rhiannon Navin’s Only Child ; and iconic twentieth-century works like Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby and Richard Adams’ Watership Down. www.foliolit.com

Adam Parker

Charleston Post and Courier journalist and book page editor Adam Parker is the arts writer for the paper and a long-time student of the civil rights movement and race in America who has written extensively about the African American experience. His first book, Outside Agitator: The Civil Rights Struggle of Cleveland Sellers Jr., was published in 2018.

Marly Rusoff

Marly Rusoff Literary Agency, www.rusoffagency.com
Marly Rusoff started working with authors in her early twenties when she opened a small campus bookstore in Minneapolis. The gatherings in her bookstore grew into a nonprofit organization The Loft which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. It was in the poetry section of her bookstore that she first met Pat Conroy. Rusoff moved to New York in 1983 to head up the publicity department of Houghton Mifflin. She worked on campaigns for many now classic works of fiction, including Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale, The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy, and Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. She then held executive positions at Doubleday and William Morrow. In 2001 she opened her own literary agency. Rusoff has served on committees for literary organizations including NEA and AAP on non-profit boards, including the Anne Frank Center, the International Peace Academy, and Teachers & Writers. Marly and her partner Mihai Radulescu are founding board members of the Pat Conroy Literary Center.

Reavis Wortham

Spur Award winner Reavis Z. Wortham launched his acclaimed Sonny Hawke thriller series with Hawke’s Prey and followed up with Hawke’s War (which won the 2019 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America) and, most recently, Hawke’s Target. He is also the award-winning author of the Red River Mystery series, including UnraveledThe Right Side of WrongVengeance is MineDark PlacesBurrows, and The Rock Hole (winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award). He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Writers’ League of Texas, the International Association of Crime Writers, Western Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. Each week Reavis pens a self-syndicated weekly outdoor column for numerous Texas newspapers, writing on everything from fishing to deer hunting. He lives in northeast Texas with his wife.  www.reaviszwortham.com