UPDATE: The R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency 2025
February 2025: Revision Reflections
In lieu of our traditional essay for this month’s Revision Reflections, we’ve decided to share news about some big developments regarding the R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency for 2025:
Some of you may recall an earlier newsletter announcing the date and location of our annual retreat this year. But we’ve made a major change! We are now offering a longer, even more exciting residency for five days and four nights, October 15-19th, 2025, in Vermont's beautiful Green Mountains during peak foliage season at Potash Hill. In addition, this year we are delighted to also include both an agent AND an editor as our special guests. (More details coming soon.)
All this for the same price as last year!
Potash Hill was founded in 2021 on the gorgeous campus of the former Marlboro College. What better place for a residency than a real New England college campus in October? Enjoy crisp nights, sparkling days, and mountainsides stitched in blazing fall colors!
"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
This residency is open to everyone. We welcome all writers to join us, from picture book to adult fiction, brand new visitors to the R(ev)ise and Shine! community and old friends alike. Whether you have published before or are just starting out, we will tailor your experience to meet you where you are in your writing journey.
You will be assigned two mentors who will work closely with you to determine your unique strengths and needs as a writer, as well as what’s working and what isn’t (yet!) in your current draft. Together we will help you design a plan of action for your next revision or for getting out of a stuck place. Come prepared to leap over hurdles that have been getting in your way.
The R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency Ethos:
We value your time and your resources, and we know that it sometimes takes a big push, a concerted effort, to get a project well-launched or over the finish line.
This won’t be your spa retreat. Your write-between-sight-seeing retreat. Your hang-with-friends retreat—although our location has some of the tastiest food, loveliest hikes, and best opportunities to build community during meals and fun-filled evening activities.
This will be your “I want to roll-up-my-sleeves and write the best book I possibly can” retreat.
"I felt a sense of community every single moment I was there. This was the residency I had hoped for when I started my MFA program."
—Maggie Webbert
The cost of this residency is $1995.
This 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.
To Register:
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.
"No matter where you are in the drafting, editing, or even brainstorming portion of your work in progress, it's worth it to R(ev)ise and Shine! After a weekend of encouraging community and unmatched inspiration, I have never felt more confident moving forward with a project before!"
—Brittany Drehobl
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. Keep your eyes peeled on this space for announcements in the coming weeks about our special guest editor and agent, as well as our full program of events.
Have any questions not addressed yet? Let us know in the comments or drop us a line.
Thank you to those who’ve already registered, and if you’re thinking about it now, don’t wait too long to do so: We anticipate spots will fill up quickly!
We can’t wait to welcome you to Potash Hill!
In community,
Lesa, Rob, Jo & Jennifer
Scene Studies with Erin Entrada Kelly
In this two-day intensive, students will analyze scenes from a wide range of novels to discuss character, pacing, dialogue, subtext, and other elements of craft. Students will learn the characteristics of effective scenes and revision strategies to apply what they learn. Open to writers of all levels and genres.
When: Saturday, March 22 & Sunday, March 23, 2025 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm ET both days
Where: Online
Cost: $195*
*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:
Erin Entrada Kelly is a two-time Newbery Medalist, National Book Award Finalist, and New York Times-bestselling author whose work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She is on faculty with the Hamline MFAC program and has taught workshops with the Highlights Foundation, Gotham Writers Workshop, the Writers Barn, and elsewhere. Find out more at: www.erinentradakelly.com
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:
I can't wait for all of these things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!