Dinner
Breakfast
Lunch
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Dessert
Wine
You've started a novel, but can't find time to finish? You've a great idea for a book but haven't sat down and begun? You're stuck on a difficult section, and needing peace and support to see your way through? Does that endless daily to-do list keep you from what you love most--writing?
Whether you're just beginning or a seasoned pro, writing fiction or nonfiction, literary or commericial, we invite you to come together in a community of writers and write your heart out. Away from all the distractions of home, in beautiful surroundings with prepared meals, come find your muse, and the time and energy to answer.
St. Benedict Abbey -
February 10 -12, 2012
Leave the modern world with all its noise and distractions behind for a writing retreat where simplicity and stillness, solitude and reflecton are everyday virtues.
St. Benedict Abbey, located in Still River, a small community next to the town of Harvard, is
just 30 miles Northwest of Boston and in view of Mount Wachusett. The abbey, once a monastery, is now home to 11 monks who follow a monastic schedule. Yet in the tradition of St. Benedict, the monks open the Abbey to spiritual pilgrims as well as the general public as a hostelry and retreat center. It offers its guests simple yet comfortable single-bed accommodations, several shared bathrooms, a small community kitchen, cozy sitting rooms and quiet conference space.
All meals are prepared on site and served buffet-style in the dining room of the main building.
As guest of the abbey you are always welcome to break from your writing for a brisk, winter walk, a moment of quiet reflection or to join the monks at daily Common Prayer, much of which is sung in Gregorian Chant.
In the stillness of St. Benedict, writers will find the solitude and serenity to create.
Information
Registration
I was born outside of Chicago. Astute listeners can still pick up an occasional mid-western twang. By elementary school, I was a Jersey girl writing in my teal faux-leather diary. During high school in Maryland, I worked at a florist, wrote a locally-published children's book, and saw my first article published in a local newspaper.
I studied English at Dickinson College for two years, but missed my flowers. Two and a half years later I graduated magna cum laude with a BA in English and a BS in Horticulture from The Pennsylvania State University.
I took a job on Capitol Hill editing a building trades magazine, and began to freelance for Baltimore and Washington newspapers and in-flight magazines. Since then, I've written for newspapers and magazines across the country, and for numerous clients.. I am the author of How To Coach Youth Baseball , and The Confident Coach's Guide to Teaching Basketball with my husband, NBA coach and ESPN analyst John Carroll. And although I began my career as a non-fiction writer, I am an eternal fan of the happy ending. A member of Romance Writers of America, I write romantic short stories for Women’s World and The Wild Rose Press as Beverly Breton.
I've taught writing at various colleges and universities, and I teach adult-ed and conference workshops on a regular basis. I recently received a 2011 Kip Tiernan Social Justice fellowship award from Rosie’s Place, a women’s shelter and advocacy center in Boston, to teach writing to women in Nashua, NH.
I live in Massachusetts with my husband and son and our Katrina-rescued lab-mix Abby. I still adore nature and art, and recently returned to floral design. I dabble in clothing and quilt design, and dream about making hats.
Any listener can hear my Boston accent from a mile away. I grew up in the city, my orange suitcase under my bed, dreaming of traveling the world. When I finished high school, the travel urge stilll burned bright so I spent a few years exploring the US, including a prolonged trip with my best friend to San Francisco, the coolest place I'd ever been to, and backpacking through Europe. After I graduated from Boston University with an MS in Journalism, I took a job as a police and general assignment reporter for a metro-west daily. Later, I taught elementary education in Boston and for a short while, owned a consignment business. But the open road still called.
In 1989 I signed on with Collette Vacations and began managing tours in Europe, Asia and the U.S. I have guided tours as close to home as Bar Harbor and as far away as Hong Kong. Somewhere along the way the urge to write returned. Now a wife and mother of two teenage boys, I still work as a tour manager whenever the schedule permits. In addition, I plan events for local and community groups as well as day tours. I believe that the best gift anyone can give themselves is a mini-sabbatical. To that end, I have organized small writing retreats in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and on Cape Cod. Classes at Boston's Grub Street have aided me in writing a nearly-finished travel memoir about a cross-country adventure that evolved into a personal quest.. But I, too, struggle to find writing time at home--hence, Writeaway Retreats!
I am a Francophile who dreams of the ultimate writing retreat in Provence. When home, I like to sew, create photo collages and am learning to quilt.
Package Information - St. Benedict Abbey - February 10 -12
Your WEEKEND PACKAGE includes:
Two nights, single-room accommodations
Friday Evening Receiption, Dinner and Community Reading
Saturday Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Reception and Dinner
Sunday Breakfast and Lunch - $220
Early saver discount - $210 - $50 deposit due by January 15th
Your FRIDAY-NIGHT Only Option includes:
Friday Evening Reception, Dinner and Community Reading
Saturday Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Reception and Dinner - $140
Early saver discount - $130 - $50 deposit due by January 15th
Your SATURDAY-NIGHT Only Option includes:
Saturday Lunch, Evening Reception, Dinner and Community Reading
Sunday Breakfast and Lunch - $140
Your DAY SESSION Only Option includes:
Saturday Lunch, Reception, Dinner and Community Reading - $70
Early saver discount - $65 - paid in full by January 15th
ALL PACKAGES include:
Non-writing partners/friends who want a
getaway to read, relax, and restore are welcome.
A confirmation will be e-mailed once your deposit has been received. Final payment is due by Feb. 1, 2012.. Travel directions and other pertinent information will be e-mailed upon receipt of final payment.
Writeaway Retreats reserves the right to change any component of the retreat without prior notice.
Cancellation Policy: The $50 deposit is non-refundble. No-shows cannot be refunded.
Watch for information on our spring retreat
Writeaway Retreat Weekend
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Our Rates Are:
Weekend Package $220 Feb 10 - 12, 2012 - $210 early saver
Friday night option $140 Feb 10 - 11, 2012 - $130 early saver
Saturday night option $140 Feb 11 - 12, 2012 - $130 early saver
Day session only $70 Feb 11, 2012 - $65 early saver
Program Fee Includes:
• Lodging
• Writing activities
• All meals as noted in brochure and on website
Early Saver
To receive the early saver discount, your $50 deposit must be received by January 15, 2012. Final payment is due by February 1, 2012
Please return this form with your payment in full (check or money order) to:
Writeaway Retreats
Attn: Robin Grace
22 Page Road
Bedford, MA 01730
Name:
E-Mail:
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Message:
Email: writeawayretreats_gmail.com
Snail Mail: 22 Page Road
Bedford, Massachusetts 01730
