The 2023 Writers Retreat is sold out! Fill out the linked form if you would like to be added to the waitlist.
The RMFW 2023 Writers Retreat is scheduled for July 20-23, 2023 at the beautiful Franciscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Immersed in this tranquil environment, authors are encouraged to come and work, network with other authors, join a critique group, and gather valuable knowledge from others in the industry. Lodging and meals are included in the price of the retreat. Registration opens February 1, 2023. Rooms sell out fast and reservations are first come first accepted. Questions can be directed to Bernadette Soehner, Retreat Chair, at retreat@rmfw.org.
Registration opens February 1, 2023 at 9am MST. https://forms.gle/PPEVDVeN3zBff38y9
Workshops and Schedule: Coming Soon
FAQ
How much does it cost to attend the retreat?
RMFW does not aim to make money on the retreat; we aim to break even. We divide the total costs (location rental plus speaker fees) by the target number of attendees to give you the most affordable experience possible.
The costs to attend the 2023 retreat are:
- $399 | Single attendee rate. Three nights with a room to yourself, plus meals.
- $299 | Roommate rate. Three nights sharing a room with two (or three) twin beds, plus meals.
- $65 | Days Only rate for writers who want to make their own lodging arrangements or drive home at night. This covers one day of the retreat plus all meals for that day. You may select one or more days.
What’s included in the cost of registration?
- Three nights’ lodging in one of the Franciscan Retreat Center’s comfortable rooms. Additional nights are available if you would like to extend your stay. Contact the FRC to check availability.
- All meals (Thursday dinner through Sunday breakfast).
- Access to FRC’s vast grounds and all their guest amenities, including massage therapy, native trails, a labyrinth, and a peace park.
- Minutes-away access to Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Cripple Creek, Glen Eyrie Castle, The Olympic Complex, and Pikes Peak Cog Railway.
- After-dinner author readings and informational chats.
- The opportunity to meet and spend time with other writers.
- The opportunity to relax and draw inspiration from the gorgeous mountain views and relaxed setting.
- The opportunity to spend time focusing solely on being a writer.
- Writing Time
Meet your 2023 RMFW Retreat Instructors
Amy Rivers writes novels, short stories and personal essays. She is the Director of Northern Colorado Writers, and was chosen as 2021 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project. Her novel All The Broken People was recently selected as the Colorado Author Project winner in the adult fiction category. She’s been published in We Got This: Solo Mom Stories of Grit, Heart, and Humor, Flash! A Celebration of Short Fiction, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Nurses, and Splice Today, as well as Novelty Bride Magazine and ESME.com.In April 2021, Complicit, the first book in the A Legacy of Silence series was published. It recently won 2nd place in the 2021 CIPA EVVY Awards. The second book in the series, Stumble & Fall, will be published in 2022. She was raised in New Mexico and now lives in Colorado with her husband and children. She is a former director for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) of Otero & Lincoln Counties. She holds degrees in psychology and political science, as well as continuing education in forensic criminology and victim advocacy, all topics she loves to write about.
Andre Gonzalez is the international bestselling author of the Wealth of Time Series. He writes time-travel, thriller, and horror books after spending many years reading and studying the works of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Keeping readers up late and their hearts pumping a bit faster than normal is his ultimate goal when cracking open one of his books. Andre is the recipient of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2021 Independent Writer of the Year award.
When he’s not writing, you can find Andre buried underneath a long to-do list and/or his three hyper children. He and his wife are raising their family in their hometown of Denver, CO.
Bestselling author Bernadette Marie began writing in the eighth grade. She sent off her epic family saga at the age of sixteen, but it was years before she would publish, finding her home in contemporary romance, and at the top of the charts.
The married mother of five sons promises romances with a Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it because she lives it. She also claims that her books are the antidote to anything heavy you might read.
Obsessed with the art of writing and the business of publishing, chronic entrepreneur Bernadette Marie established her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, in 2011 to bring her own work to market as well as offer an opportunity for fresh voices in fiction to find a home as well. To date, she has published the works of over sixty authors.
When not immersed in the literary world, Bernadette Marie can be found spending time with her family, traveling, and running multiple businesses. An avid martial artist, Bernadette Marie is a second-degree black belt and certified instructor in Tang Soo Do. A lover of a good stout craft beer, she might also have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate.
Kate Jonuska is a writer, author and yoga teacher from Boulder, Colorado. Though she’s practiced yoga for 20+ years — journeying through Iyengar, Bikram, power and even Kauit — she received her 200-hour teaching certification in April 2019 and is registered with the Yoga Alliance.