Los Angeles Writers Retreat 2026

Saturday, April 25 – Saturday May 2

Join Us March12, at 6 PM PDT

for Virtual Retreat!

If you’re joining us or thinking about joining us in Los Angeles at the end of April (we have a couple of spots left) or if you know you can’t, what about the small bite? We all need a writing retreat. We all need a reprieve. We all need a little corner of the world where our voices matter and connect and uplift. Where art and talent are nurtured, where story shines, where ease reigns. How else to keep writing, to keep fighting, to stay true?

We invite you to the one hour story retreat. Come get a taste of our LA Retreat. Get a taste so you can decide if you want to come, or get a taste so you get some joyful reprieve, even if you can’t come. It’s free, it’s on zoom, it will be recorded, it will be amazing, and it’s next week Thursday, March 12, 6-7 PM PT. Sign up here. We can’t wait to have fun together!

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What Do You Need Most From a Writing Retreat?

Writing Retreat Needs

Say YES!

A word filled with possibilities.

Yes, you can give yourself the support you need as a writer.

Yes, you can unfurl the story living inside you.

Yes, you can present yourself to the world as a writer, pitching your story, pitching yourself.

But you can get stuck in that state of possibility unless you act on your yes.

And this is true for your characters, too. When the story starts, your characters are living with the consequences of "no" -- what they have turned away from, refused to believe or embrace, denied themselves. As a result they are living a too-small life. But their inciting incident gives them an opportunity--challenging, maybe terrifying--to change all of that. And the YES at the end of act one forces them to engage, to thrust themselves into a world full of challenges and growth.

At this retreat we will guide you to create propulsive tension as you force your characters to say yes and take action. In your story arc and on the page, beat by beat, you will create pages that land with maximum impact.

Yes, and! In a session with an improv actor/ film producer, open this rich vein of creativity in yourselves and tap into this fruitful, inspiring pathway for writers.

Propel your characters, your writing and yourself into a bigger world. Step out of the possibility and into the YES. Yes to your work, your voice, your stories, your characters! Yes to joining us in Los Angeles for a life-changing, work-changing, career-changing adventure.

YOUR CREATIVE MENTORS

Elizabeth Stark

Elizabeth Stark is a novelist (Shy Girl: FSG, finalist for the Ferro-Grumely and Lambda Literary Awards) and award-winning filmmaker (producer of Lost in the Middle: Best Feature at Broad Humor 2019 and a Festival Favorite at Cinema Diverse; co-director and co-writer of FtF: Female to Femme and Little Mutinies, distributed by Frameline), co-hosts the podcast Story Makers Show, and co-directs and teaches at Sonoma County Writers Camp and Story Makers Academy, and serves on the advisory board for the Bay Area Book Festival. She earned her MFA from Columbia University, and her work has appeared in The New York Times and The Rumpus.

Nanou Matteson

Nanou Matteson has produced five feature films and written, directed and produced many short films. Her films have won multiple awards at numerous festivals across the country and around the world. She has consulted on scripts for dozens of screenwriters and taught writing in the States and in Europe. Whether teaching classes, consulting, producing movies or mentoring individuals, she has been helping writers and filmmakers achieve their goals for more than thirty years, including works of fiction, screenplays, films, academic books, memoirs, newsletters, and more. Nanou believes that story is a blueprint for life and loves coaching people to express their story.

GUEST EXPERTS!

top Literary agent

B.J. Robbins

BJ Robbins opened her Los Angeles-based agency in 1992 after a multifaceted career in book publishing in NY. She started in publicity at Simon & Schuster and was later Marketing Director and then Senior Editor at Harcourt. Her agency represents quality fiction, both literary and commercial, and general nonfiction, with a particular interest in memoir, biography, narrative history, pop culture, sports, travel/adventure, medicine and health.

Additional Literary Agent From Major Agency to be Revealed Soon!

SCREENWRITER FILM/TELEVISION

DAVIS DUBOSE-MARLER

DAVIS DUBOSE-MARLER is a screenwriter whose Russian ballet training has led her to Cold War thriller PONIES (Peacock) as the Writer’s Assistant and Interim Script Coordinator. Prior to assisting David Iserson (NEW GIRL, MAD MEN) and Susanna Fogel (BOOKSMART, CAT PERSON), Davis worked under Rain's founding partner Jonathan Baruch and veteran manager/producer Adam Robinson developing and proofing clients' projects and running the intern program. Before landing in LA, Davis pivoted from pursuing ballet in Utah to studying screenwriting at Chapman. A San Francisco native, she continues to work on capturing her beloved hometown's essence in her writing - clown school, sinister dance moms, and being raised by three gay parents.

MANAGER, YAK YAK MANAGEMENT

Adrian Gonzalez

ADRIAN GONZALEZ: After graduating from the Radio-Television-Film program at The University of Texas at Austin, Adrian started as an intern at Culture Creative Entertainment and quickly worked his way up to EA, promoted to a literary coordinator, and then an agent at the agency. He was instrumental in developing the agency’s well regarded internship program, built a rapport with numerous execs across the industry, and developed a passion for storytelling. Driven by his love for his clients and their material, he took a step back from the agent world and stepped into being a manager at Yak Yak mgmt.; which has allowed him to immerse himself into the talent’s world and foster a community while redefining storytelling for a global audience.

IMPROV ACTOR/FILM PRODUCER

Alexander Matteson

ALEXANDER MATTESON has always loved a good story. His lifelong connection to acting and filmmaking led him to Los Angeles, where he fell in love with longform improvisational comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. There, his eyes were opened to powerful truths about creativity, and improv quickly became one of his primary lenses through which to see the world. When he’s not acting or preaching the virtues of improv, he works as a producer. He thrives in the fast-paced intensity of production, and is deeply committed to finding the optimal experience for everyone on the call sheet. Producing a feature film requires a penetrating vision to find the key elements that belong in a story. Each movie he works on helps him refine those essential aspects to bring out the best story possible.

What's Included?

deep dive craft workshops

with Elizabeth stark

story development workshops

with Nanou matteson

All meals

LODGING IN

HOLLYWOOD HILLS

AGENT MEETINGS &

PITCH SESSIONS

Agent/ Industry Presentations

end of retreat show in LA

Table Reads for screenplays and prose

improv skills for writers

creative community

individualized guidance

Your Investment

$5995 for a single room

$4495 for a double room

includes full tuition for workshops with Nanou and Elizabeth, student readings, agent meetings and optional group writing times throughout the day, plus all meals and lodging, and final night show

POLICY: $1000 deposit is non-refundable. The remainder of your tuition is due March 1 and is non-refundable after that time.

Ready to Sign Up? Fill Out the Form Below!