Friday, Sept. 25

10 – 10:30 am: Welcome & Faculty Introductions

10:45 – 11:45: Writers Drawing for Discovery | Philip Hartigan

noon: Lunch Break

1:30 – 4:30 pm: Workshop Groups

4:30 – 6 pm: Meet & Greet

5:30 – 7 pm: Manuscript Consultations [McNair, Rice, Shiflett]

Saturday, Sept. 26

9 am: Manuscript Consultations [McNair, Rice, Shiflett, Hammond, May]

10 am – noon: Workshop Groups

noon – 1 pm: Participant Open Mic

1 – 4 pm: Workshop Groups

4:30 – 5:30 pm: Writing About Race | Eric May

7:30 pm: Faculty and Local Author Reading

Sunday, Sept. 27

9:30 am: Manuscript Consultation [May]

10 – 10:45 am: Your Inner Child, an exercise in narrative distance | Sarah Hammond

11 – 12:15: Alternatives in Publishing | Patricia McNair, Justin O’Brien, Judith Sutcliffe

12:30 – 1:30 pm:  Participant Open Mic

1:45 – 3:45 pm: Workshop Groups conclude

4 – 4:30 pm: Closing Remarks

5:30 pm: James Baldwin in Paris | Philip Hartigan

Friday, Sept. 25 | 10:45-11:45 am

Philip Hartigan will lead a drawing activity to prime the creative pump for an exciting weekend of writing.

Writing Retreat participants may sign up for a 25-minute one-on-one manuscript consultation with any one of these faculty members:

• Sarah Hammond
• Eric May
• Patricia McNair
• Christine Rice
• Shawn Shiflett

Fifteen manuscript consultation appointments are available. You may submit one piece no longer than 12 pages. Cost is $40 (see below).

Call the Shake Rag Alley office at 608-987-3292 to schedule after purchase.

Saturday, Sept. 26 | noon-1 pm

Sunday, Sept. 27 | 12:30-1:30 pm

Registered workshop participants are invited to read from their own work during lunch. Please limit your selections to under 10 minutes. [DETAILS FOR SIGN UP FORTHCOMING]

Saturday, Sept. 26 | 4:30-5:30 pm

Eric May, Chicago Public Library 21^st Century Author, whose book Bedrock Faith was named a Notable African-American Title by Publishers Weekly, shortlisted for the 2014 Great Lakes Great Reads Prize and declared a top read by: Roxane Gay; Booklist; O, The Oprah Magazine; Chicago Reader; and Chicago Tribune/Printers Row, will give a talk on writing about race.

Saturday, Sept. 26 | 7:30 pm

Faculty and local authors will read from and discuss their work.

Sunday, Sept. 27 | 10 am

Sarah Hammond is an international author for young people and has published for both teens and younger readers. For almost a decade she worked as a lawyer in London, UK. Her first teen book The Night Sky in my Head was published by OUP and was shortlisted for the Calderdale Children’s Book of the Year Award, the Leeds Book Award (14-16 category), the James Reckitt Hull Children’s Book Award and the Angus Book Award. Her first picture book, Mine!, was published by Parragon. Sarah runs workshops and competitions, mentors students, and presents at conferences and universities.

Author Website

Sunday, Sept. 27 | 11 am

Justin O’Brien is a writer and typographer, retired from advertising and now working on his own projects. His writing has appeared in Living Blues, The Voice of the River Valley, Juke Blues, Sing Out!, Irish Music, Chicago Parent, and Elysian Fields. In 2018 he produced his first book, Chicago Yippie! ’68, on his experiences as a teenaged anti-war protester.

Judith Sutcliffe is a multi-faceted artist who enjoys creating and teaching in a variety of media, including concrete/mosaic art, doll-making, primitive weaving, book arts and printmaking, forged jewelry, tile, woodcarving, nonfiction and poetry. A native of Iowa, Judy spent 17 years as a tile muralist in Santa Barbara, CA, before returning to the Midwest in 1996. Her tile paintings grace many Santa Barbara public buildings and private homes. In addition to tile work, Judy, as The Electric Typographer, has designed over 30 typefaces, including calligraphic and image fonts. Judy is co-owner of the Longbranch Gallery, in Mineral Point. Additionally, Judy has long been active in writing groups in Galena, Illinois and is the author of A Collection of Old Men, Blue Eyed Grass, California Poppy, Wild Rose, The Little Mermaid and the Story of Kimballton in Iowa’s ‘Danishland’ and co-author of An Old House in Galena, with Sandy Scott, as well as Grandma’s Cherry Spoon: a Story of Tuberculosis, with Marjorie McVicker Sutcliffe.

Sunday, Sept. 27 | 5:30 pm