UPDATE: Editor & Agent Announcement!
The R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency 2025
Big news about the 2025 R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency: We’re delighted to welcome Eileen Robinson (as special guest editor) and Stephen Barbara (as special guest agent) to our upcoming October retreat at Potash Hill!
Eileen Robinson has worked in children’s publishing for close to 30 years and is still in love with creating children’s books, and helping authors gain confidence in telling their stories. She published in-house for Scholastic and Harcourt, and in 2019 helped build and launch Reycraft Books children’s imprint under Benchmark Education. As an entrepreneur and independent publisher, her company Move Books strove to get reluctant middle-graders (especially boys) back into reading. This mission was embraced by Charlesbridge Publishing in October 2022 when they acquired Move Books as a new imprint (now Charlesbridge Moves) and she came on as Editorial Director. She also teaches for the Highlights Foundation and mentors young writers and future publishers in underserved communities.
Stephen Barbara is a literary agent at InkWell Management.
A graduate of the University of Chicago, he began his career in publishing as an editorial assistant at HarperCollins. He then worked as contracts manager for the Donald Maass Agency for three years, prior to becoming a full-time agent with Foundry Literary + Media where he spent six years before joining InkWell in 2015.
Stephen represents authors in both the adult and young reader spaces, and he’s particularly excited about plot-driven fiction written with distinction and style. His adult clients include British Fantasy Award winner and New York Times bestseller Paul Tremblay (Horror Movie; The Cabin at the End of the World, recently adapted into the #1 film in the country, “Knock at the Cabin”), New York Times bestseller and creator, writer, and executive producer of Panic (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) Lauren Oliver; and Clémence Michallon, author of the international bestseller The Quiet Tenant, which has been published in 33 territories. His authors of books for young readers include New York Times bestseller and Newbery Medal winner Laura Amy Schlitz (Splendors and Glooms); National Book Award finalist Lisa Graff (A Tangle of Knots); USA Today bestseller Kamilla Benko; and award-winning and acclaimed picture book authors such as Minh Lê (Drawn Together), Betsy Bird, and Travis Jonker. Stephen has additionally represented a number of public figures from other fields, including actress Krysten Ritter, K-Pop star Jessica Jung, actor Diego Boneta, and shoe designer Kat Maconie, among others.
Stephen lives in Long Island City, New York with his wife and two young kids, and he’s always on the look-out for great new projects.
Both Eileen and Stephen will be joining us in person at Potash Hill to interact with students and participate in the residency. In addition, they have each graciously agreed to offer one-on-one feedback on manuscript pages with interested students (for a modest additional fee—more details coming soon).
More info on the R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency 2025:
Following on our hugely successful inaugural residency at the Highlights Foundation in 2024, we are delighted to offer a bigger, longer, more exciting and enriching experience for 2025!
The residency is scheduled for five days and four nights, October 15-19th, in Vermont's beautiful Green Mountains during peak foliage season at Potash Hill.
The cost of this residency is $1995.
This price includes: Private dorm room (with shared, dorm-style bathroom), delicious meals prepared by the Brattleboro Food Co-op, mentor feedback on 20 pages of your manuscript, and a full schedule of programming.
Register now through May 1, 2025 (or until full) with a $500 non-refundable deposit on our Eventbrite page.
Balance of tuition due by July 1, 2025.
The number of participants for this retreat is limited to 20, providing a low attendee-mentor ratio.
Consider adding an additional day of retreat time to your stay for only $150 all-inclusive!
We are also once again offering a $500 scholarship to a Black or Indigenous writer.
Our website offers loads more details, including a full FAQ and additional information about Potash Hill. We’ll also be posting updates as they become available.
"The R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency was like a crash course MFA. Complete with professionalization tips, a focus on revision, individualized writing help, and a warm community, this is a residency that stands out from all the rest."
—Jada Ford
Have questions? Let us know in the comments or drop us a line.
Ready to register? Click the image below:
And Don’t Forget:
Tarot for Writers: Character Magic with S Maxfield
Are you struggling with a clear arc for your main character? Have you written a side character that feels too one-dimensional? Are you looking for more depth and texture for a character you know well? All of these writerly challenges and more can be transformed through Tarot! In this 90-minute Zoomie, Tarot reader and writer S Maxfield will introduce the Tarot as a tool for unlocking our intuitive senses, leading to freer creativity and a fresh approach when feeling stuck. Participants are encouraged to join the session with a particular character in mind, as we will use some of them as samples for the workshop. You will leave this workshop with a “spread” (format for placing the cards), insight on using the Tarot for writing, and recommendations for free tools to learn more. Let’s make some magic!
When: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm ET
Where: Online
Cost: $30*
*For those who can’t attend live, a recording of each session will be made available for 30 days after the event for all ticket holders.
Click the image below to find out more and sign up:
S Maxfield is a genderqueer, bi+, and disabled writer, with roots in dance and theater. S/he is on the faculty of Chris Tebbetts’s Theater Camp for Writers and has a short story featured in the anthology WE MOSTLY COME OUT AT NIGHT (Running Press 2024). Maxfield’s flash fiction has been published by Black Fox Literary Magazine, Open OK State, Voyage YA/Uncharted, and WinC Magazine, and their debut comics collection ASSORTED SWEETS sold out at the legendary NYC comic shop Forbidden Planet, after successfully funding through Kickstarter. S grew up in a log cabin, but has spent the past two decades in NYC (Lenapehoking), where s/he currently reads Tarot—and far too many books for the tiny apartment they share with an equally bibliophilic family. Find out more about S here!
In Conversation: AN UGLY WORLD FOR BEAUTIFUL BOYS w/ Jennifer Richard Jacobson & Rob Costello
Join Jennifer Richard Jacobson and Rob Costello as they discuss Rob's debut novel, AN UGLY WORLD FOR BEAUTIFUL BOYS. Bring your own questions and join us for a fun & lively conversation!
“Toby's coming-of-age trainwreck reads like the tensest of thrillers and hurts like your worst teenage memory. It's gorgeously written, ultimately healing, and absolutely unforgettable."
-Nancy Werlin, National Book Award Finalist for The Rules of Survival
"If you’re looking for a raw, unfiltered journey into the heart of a difficult and complex queer experience, An Ugly World for Beautiful Boys is a must-read. Rob Costello has crafted an unflinching coming-of-age story that dives headfirst into the chaos of self-discovery, loss, and redemption through Toby Ryerson: an imperfect, impulsive young man who is trying to survive when everything falls apart. An unforgettable debut novel."
-Christopher Barzak, author of Stonewall Honor winning novel, Wonders of the Invisible World
Click here to find out more and pre-order your copy here!
When: Wednesday, April 30, 2025 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm ET
Where: Online
Cost: FREE
Click the image below to find out more and sign up:
