Her Spirit Women’s Writing Retreat:
Reawakening, Renewing, Re-envisioning
October 24 - 28, 2021
La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, New Mexico
It's been a long year. A year of solitude for some, re-adjustments for so many, a year of re-evaluating and re-assessing. Digging deep down and finding our true selves. Our true desires. Our true hopes and dreams.
For many of us this has been a year of excavating and finding what it is we really want to do, accomplish, create.
And one thing we’ve all pretty much agreed on: we deeply long for community. To sit around the proverbial campfire with other women and share stories, share our lives, open our hearts.
Through these past few months of the Story Summit Writer's School, we've made new friends, we've found a tribe that sees and hears us and wants the very best for us.
We’ve cheered each other on in Zoom classes, and now it's time for us to go back out into the world in person and do what we do best: raise each other up, lift each other high, and inspire one another to go further out into the world and create magic through our very words.
Please join us—all the extraordinary faculty pictured above, along with dozens of creative women like you—October 24th to 28th at La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe for our very first Her Spirit Retreat. To learn more about our faculty and program, please see below.
We’ll help you replenish, rejuvenate, recalibrate, reinvent, and restore—to write your life and shake the Universe with your power.
It’s time. It’s time for a sisterhood of women to come together after isolation, hug one another, and raise our voices through writing. To speak of joy and heartache, and what it means to be human. To learn about creativity and craft and feel the spark of creativity ignite and blaze—once again or for the very first time.
It’s everything you’d want in a gathering of women. A beautiful setting, Extraordinary faculty who are dedicated to creating a safe, intimate experience for you, and opportunities to discover something new so you can leave loving yourself and your writing even more.
Here’s how the retreat will unfold.
Her Spirit is part craft, part self-discovery. We’ll start Sunday night with a welcome reception and keynote. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll offer large group session, breakouts, free time and an evening activity. Wednesday night we’ll have an evening of appreciation, and Thursday morning we’ll say farewell over breakfast.
We’ll talk about reclaiming your voice through your writing, deepening your relationships, finding the heart of the story in you.
How do you find universal themes for your writing? How do you heal your past by telling your story? How can you and other women writers emerge as leaders, owning the power of your work?
You’ll write, you’ll share, you’ll move and stretch and remember. You’ll connect with the deepest layers of who you are as a writer and as a woman. And you’ll do it all in one of the most celebrated cities of the Southwest.
Look at the photo gallery of our past two events
We’ll gather at the historic La Fonda Hotel in the heart of Santa Fe.
The hotel itself is a character in this retreat’s story. A fixture on the plaza in downtown Santa Fe, it features the best of the American Southwest, with vibrant decor and authentic New Mexican architecture. The guest rooms are beautifully appointed with original artwork, handcrafted New Mexican furniture and luxury amenities.
From the rooftop meeting space where we’ll hold some of our sessions, you can hear the bells of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and see the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. And just wandering through the hotel is an experience in itself, with artwork from local artisans on display around every corner.
The location is ideal—easy to reach from the Albuquerque and Santa Fe airports, and just steps from some of Santa Fe’s best galleries, museums and gift shops.
Plus, like us, the hotel takes your safety very seriously. We're working closely with their staff to make sure important protocols are in place, and we're requiring double vaccinations or a negative Covid test dated no more than three days before the retreat for all faculty and participants. The hotel staff is fully vaccinated as well.
Check out our previous Story Summits in the Caribbean and Cape Cod
Register now!
Your registration includes four nights’ lodging, heavy appetizers at our Sunday evening reception, eight meals (the evening meal on Monday and Tuesday are on your own), transfers to and from airports on the 24th and 28th, parking at La Fonda, coffee and tea in your room, access to the on-site gym, Wi-Fi, and all Her Spirit presentations and sessions. We’ll also offer complimentary morning meditations and other experiences to restore and renew your spirit.
Alcohol, spa treatments and travel expenses are on your own. As you book your travel arrangements, feel free to reach out with questions so we can help.
What is the cost of Her Spirit Retreat?
Single-occupancy room at La Fonda: $3,400
Double-occupancy room La Fonda*: $3,000 (If you’re coming with a friend or family member and want to share a room, please let us know)
Commuter rate**: $1,500
To register, you may pay in full or make a 50% deposit and pay the rest within 30 days.
Please note: Your retreat hotel rate is good for three nights before or after the retreat. If you’d like to extend your stay, please register for the retreat, then contact us to make your extra reservations.
*Double-occupancy is a per-person price.
**The commuter rate is for locals who will not be staying at the hotel. This rate includes all meals except for the evening meal on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Our Sunday evening reception will include heavy appetizers.
Please sign up right away, as registration is limited, and enthusiasm for this retreat is as high as the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
If you have questions, please reach out to one of the Story Summit Writer's School co-directors: Debra Engle or Amy Ferris.
Frequently Asked Questions
Faculty
Please click on faculty member photo for more information.
Note: Faculty is subject to change.
Event Coordinators
HER SPIRIT WOMEN'S WRITING RETREAT
October 24 - 28, 2021
Refund Policy: If you need to cancel more than two weeks before the event, you’ll receive a full refund minus processing fees. Within two weeks of the event, you’ll receive a full refund minus fees if we’re able to replace your registration with another participant.
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER!
Thanks for submitting!