Join us for the 2026 She Writes Press Author Retreat!
All She Writes Press authors are invited to join us in Palm Springs for the 2026 She Writes Press Author Retreat. The retreat, being held from October 9-11, 2026, at The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage (adjacent to Palm Springs and ten minutes from the Palm Springs Airport), will be focused on craft/writing and networking/bonding with your fellow She Writes Press sisters.
What’s the She Writes Press Author Retreat?
The She Writes Press author retreat is open to all authors who have signed with She Writes Press. It’s an opportunity to network, inspire, and learn from one another. This weekend has a special focus on us spending time with each other—forging bonds and learning from one another. The 2026 retreat is a time of unprecedented access to your fellow SWP authors, the women behind the press and award-winning, bestselling authors, and “sister” panelists who will be sharing their insights and what they’ve learned along the way.
Save by signing up by March 15!
To save your spot, we’re asking for a $500 deposit following the button below. The total cost to attend the event is $2695, so make sure to take advantage of the early-bird discount for a total cost of $2395. This includes three nights at The Westin (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), all sessions meals, refreshments, and special opportunities throughout the weekend. (Not staying the whole time? Interested in a day-rate? Check out the FAQs section below for answers to these and more important retreat questions.)
The resort needs to try to estimate the size of the retreat, so we’re asking folks to register (with the $500 deposit) by March 15 so that we can get that head count as accurate as possible. Your registration fee is not refundable but is transferable to another author in the event you cannot attend.
Our 2026 Session Lineup
Our lineup is designed to give you insights into craft and motivation around your writing from best-selling authors, but also to spotlight and celebrate the fact that we have SO MANY amazing, successful writers and authors among us in our own sisterhood. As such, we are integrating much more of our own expertise at this retreat than we have in years past. We invite you to share your interest in being a panelist for Sessions 4 and 6 by filling out our Google form here.
Our full schedule is below, and we’re looking forward to welcoming keynote Christina Baker Kline, whose tenth book and most anticipated novel, The Foursome, is coming out this May. The Foursome is a fascinating historical novel that centers the story of Sarah Bunker, who in the late 1800s, along with her sister, married the famous conjoined twins, Eng and Chang Bunker. A perk of the retreat will be that we’ll send each and every participant a copy of The Foursome over the summer so we will all have read it by the time October rolls around.
Piper Kerman (author of Orange Is the New Black) and Gina Frangello (Blow Your House Down) will be teaching master classes that will appeal to writers of both nonfiction and fiction. The panels will be comprised of She Writes Press (and/or SparkPress) authors, and moderated by our team.
Thursday, October 8
4-7pm – Registration (find us at the entrance to the hotel—you won’t miss the signage)
[Optional] 7–9pm – Mix and Mingle with an inspirational welcoming message from Amy Ferris, author of Mighty Gorgeous
The sisterhood will meet up at the Fireside Lounge. Two drink tickets will be included with your registration, and you can eat on your own at Fireside Lounge or one of the other two onsite restaurants once you’ve met up with some of the sisterhood.
Friday, October 9
7-7:45am – Yoga on the lawn, with Jacquelyn Jackson, author of The Female Rogue
7:30-8:30 am – Registration continued for late arrivals
7:30-8:30am – Breakfast buffet
9-10:15am – Session 1: “Why We’re Here: Writing as an Act of Attention,” with by Brooke Warner
10:30-noon – Session 2: Breakout by Season –Meet up in seasonal cohorts to catch up, perhaps meet in person for the first time, and compare notes
12:30-2:30pm – Session 3: “Point of View Across Genres,” taught by Gina Frangello (with grab and go lunch to enjoy while you listen)
3-4:30pm – Session 4: Choose from one of two marketing panels
Panel A: Marketing for Novelists
Linda Kass, author of Tasa’s Song, A Ritchie Boy, Bessie, and World News from Waverley High; Sheila Grinell, author of Appetite and The Contract; Lee Adams, author of Love on Tour; and Michelle St. Romain, author of Song of Belonging
Panel B: Marketing for Memoirists
Andrea Leeb, author of Such a Pretty Picture; Susan J. Tweit, author of Bless the Birds; Julie McGue, author of Twice a Daughter and Twice the Family; and Barbara Caver, author of A Little Piece of Cuba
Alternative programming: Slipper camp with Linda Schreyer
5:30-7pm – Drinks and heavy apps on the patio/lawn outside of the Fireside Lounge
Saturday, October 10
7-7:45am – Yoga and breathwork on the lawn with Natalie Sager, author of Practical Magick
7:30-8:30am – Breakfast buffet
9-9:30am – Saturday opening session with Brooke and some members of the team, including poetry reading by Gail Warner, author of Weaving Myself Awake
10-noon– Session 5: “Narrative Propulsion: How Story Moves the Reader,” taught by Piper Kerman
noon-1:30pm – Lunch
1:30-3pm – Session 6: Choose from one of three special-interest panels
Panel A: Why the Name Matters: Rebranding Memoir as True Stories
Deb Miller, author of Forget the Fairy Tale and Find Your Happiness; Brenda Coffee, author of Maya Blue; Heidi Yewman, author of Dumb Girl, and Marty Ross-Dolen, author of Always There, Always Gone
Panel B: The Future Is Here: AI, Ethics, and Legal Matters
Jude Berman, author of The Die, The Vow, Shot, and The Lie; Heidi McCrary, author of Chasing North Star and I’m Your Person; and Lori B. Duff, author of Devil’s Defense, Devil’s Hand, and Devil’s Name.
Panel C: The Long Arc: Creativity, Aging, and the Work of Being (or Becoming) a Multibook Novelist
Linda Stewart Henley, author of Estelle, Waterbury Winter, and Kate’s War; Rebecca D’Harlingue, author of The Lines Between Us and The Map Colorist; Linda Ulleseit, author of The Aloha Spirit and The River Remembers; Elayne Kasson, author of Love Is a Rebellious Bird and The Earthquake Child
Alternative programming: Slipper camp with Linda Schreyer
3:30-5pm – Session 7: Breakout by Genre–Meet up with your like-genre sisters for conversation, strategy, networking, and inspiration (and maybe commiseration)
6-7pm – Mix and mingle (drink and light app hour)
7-9pm – Sit-down dinner and keynote: “Staying in the Work: Resilience, Risk, and the Writing Life,” with Christina Baker Kline
Sunday, October 12
7-7:45am – Laughter, Stretch, and Breathwork on the lawn with Amy S. Peele, author of Cut, Match, Hold, and Last Bite
8-9am – Breakfast buffet
9-11:30am – SWP Authors Read Aloud from their work
Noon – Lunch
Goodbyes!
The SWP Team Onsite
Slipper Camp and the SWP Retreat
For years, SWP author Linda Schreyer (author of The Goldsmith’s Daughter) has run Slipper Camp, an online writing program where participants stay home and write in their pajamas and slippers. We’re bringing a modified version of Slipper Camp to the SWP Retreat in two formats—one online leading up to the retreat as a way to write and connect (more details to come) leading up to the retreat, and one onsite with Linda running a session where participants can write and/or share (concurrent with the panels both days. If you choose to, you can show up in your favorite pair of slippers—we’re all for it. We’ve added Slipper Camp as a way for you to interact with your sisters online leading up to the retreat, and as a third option for those of you who might opt for a different kind of non-panel experience while you’re in Palm Springs.
SWP Author Bookstore
You asked, we’re delivering. There will be an opportunity to sell or swap books onsite. We’re figuring out the logistics of this, so more to come. We’re eager for everyone who has a book to showcase it at the retreat. So this will be happening, and details are forthcoming as we get closer.
2026 She Writes Press Author Retreat FAQs
Here are some details to help you plan your attendance at the retreat. We’re looking forward to hosting you in Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage and sharing some inspiring stories from our press, your fellow authors, and what’s to come.
Q: Where is the event being held?
The event is being held at The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, CA, just minutes outside of Palm Springs and ten minutes from the Palm Springs Airport. You will fly into Palm Springs Airport and grab a Lyft or Uber to the resort (again, just about ten minutes away). The site has three restaurants, spa services, multiple pools, and a golf course. It’s a beautiful location with all the amenities you need to stay onsite the whole time. For those of you who want to enjoy Palm Springs, please consider coming early or staying on after the retreat ends. There will be discounted room rates for those of you who want to stay extra days.
Q: What is the cost to attend the event and what does this cover?
The cost of the event is $2695 with the early-bird rate of $2395 if you indicate interest by March 15 by putting in a deposit. Your $500 reservation deposit will be applied to the total cost of the event. The event fee covers 3 nights in a beautiful suite at The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa, meals and refreshments, all sessions, and other activities, including full access to the spa and resort. Not included in the price is your flight and any onsite golf or spa services, though we encourage you to book those activities and take advantage of your stay in Palm Springs. REGISTER by March 15 and receive a $300 early bird discount.
Q: What if I don’t want to stay at the resort?
We would love to have as many of you there as possible as we have full days planned and don’t want you to miss anything. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from staying overnight with us, please email Brooke. Our strong preference is that you stay onsite.
Q: Can we share a room with one of our SWP sisters?
There aren’t any double occupancy rooms until we meet our baseline of 85 people, and even after that I’m not sure it’s going to be worth it. The difference in the rate looks like it will only be $200-$300.
Q: Who is invited to the retreat?
All past and present (and signed) She Writes Press (and women SparkPress) authors are encouraged to attend the event. In addition to the sessions and panels, the event will include ample time to connect with your fellow She Writes Press/SparkPress sisters.
Q: Is SWP offering scholarships?
We want to offer scholarships to those authors who cannot afford to come, but these in-person events are such these days that we’re basically breaking even on the event once you account for the cost of the resort, staffing, faculty, etc. So, we’re asking the author community to chip in if we can. Our goal is to be able to give two authors a full scholarship (meaning $2395 costs paid), and they’d have to pay their own way. You’ll see an optional scholarship add-on when you process your deposit, and thanks for supporting us to make this happen.
Q: What is the schedule for the retreat?
The retreat is designed to be both educational and social. You’ll get drink tickets if you come in on Thursday evening, and there are three onsite restaurant/bars to choose from for the times when it’s dinner on your own. Most of the retreat will be quite intimate and all about spending time with each other. Our full schedule is posted above.
Q: What if I’m not interested in all the sessions you’re offering?
We’ve tried hard to make sure there’s something for everyone and that each session will be informative no matter if you’re a first-time author or well established. If you don’t want to attend a particular session or panel, you are certainly free to spend your time however you want—writing in your room, getting a spa treatment, going on a walk with a SWP sister. Bring your works-in-progress and collaborate with your fellow She Writes Press authors.
Q: When should I arrive? When should I leave?
For those of you traveling in from out of town, arrive on Thursday to take full advantage of the three-night stay at The Westin. If you need to come first thing Friday morning, that’s perfectly fine, but we can’t offer a discount for those of you who don’t want to or can’t use all three nights of accommodations. We will end the retreat at lunchtime on Sunday, so if you’re able to book your travel to go home on Sunday afternoon, please do. The Westin will also provide discounted room rates to anyone who wants to stay on afterward, or come early.
Q: What will happen at the Sunday SWP Author Reading?
We’re designing the reading to be a fun and inspiring opportunity for authors to share their work with one another. We invite you to come looking your professional best because we’ll have a photographer on-hand taking shots that you can use on your website and social media. These will be images of you speaking onstage to a crowd, which is something that any author can use for self-promotional purposes. Plus, it gives you something to remember the retreat by!
Q: What question are we not answering?
If you see a glaring omission in our FAQ, please email Brooke so she can make an addition or update as needed.