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It's a cruise ship. On the ocean. With writers.

You’re invited to The Writing Excuses Cruise—an annual event for writers who want dedicated time to focus on honing their craft, connecting with their peers, and getting away from the grind of daily life.

This year, we’re sailing along the stunning Mexico coast on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. We’ll embark from Los Angeles, CA and visit Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, and Mazatlán.

During the event, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in seminars, writing exercises, small-group breakout sessions, and more. Every year, this event brings writers together to learn and grow (while also enjoying great food, adventurous excursions, and fun shipboard activities).

The cruise is hosted by Writing Excuses podcast hosts Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, DongWon Song, and Erin Roberts. We will also welcome aboard our guest instructor, author Mark Oshiro.

Relaxation, learning, and writing . . . the perfect combination!

Event Programming: Bringing Yourself to the Business of Writing

This year's focus is how to bring yourself to the business side of publishing. If you want to get your work in front of others, having a plan for harnessing and even enjoying the business aspect of writing is essential—whether you’re a novelist or short story writer, or operating in indie or traditional spheres.

Learn vital skills like crafting pitches, interpreting editorial feedback, and navigating readings and conventions. Wherever you are in your process, we've got a set of essential tools to build your writing career.

Throughout the event, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in various types of instruction.

Group Classes & Seminars

Each large-group class is designed to help writers level up their skill set around a specific topic. Classes will be taught by a rotation of instructors and often include writing exercises and Q&A time with the instructor.

While final programming is still in the works, some of the classes you might see include:

• How to Craft a Compelling Pitch
• Responding to Editorial Feedback
• Navigating Convention Spaces with Confidence
• How to Host a Public Reading

Small-Group Breakout Sessions

Small-group sessions are an excellent way to connect with your fellow writers and receive feedback. Participants will have the option of signing up for small-group breakout sessions with our instructors.

Breakout sessions typically include:

Query Letter Critique Session: Members will submit query letters for critique by one of the instructors.

Novel Critique Session: Members will submit novel or short-story excerpts up to 3,000 words for critique by the group as well as one of the instructors. *Note: Signing up for a critique session means you are committing to read and critique the stories of other members in your group.

Unlocking Session: These small group sessions are places to brainstorm with a group about your writing project or process. Unlocking sessions in the past have included discussion on everything from how to make time to write to the intricacies of a specific magic system.

*Please note that due to time constraints we may not be able to accommodate everyone with their first choice of breakout session.

1:1 Office Hours

Dig deeper into what’s currently blocking you, ask for clarity over a topic covered in class, or explore a new idea you’re excited about through a 1:1 session with instructors. These drop-in appointments will be made available throughout the retreat.

Lightning Readings

Public readings are a part of life as an author, but many writers don’t have the chance to practice this skill. Lightning readings are an opportunity for you to read a 2-minute reading segment to a rapt audience who’s ready to cheer you on!

Family Programming

Do you have a family member attending the cruise? We understand that balancing family and fiction is often difficult. To this end, we may include optional classes and/or social events specifically for family members of writers.

Retreat Itinerary

Your writing voyage sets sail out of Los Angeles, CA and will visit Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, and Mazatlán. Here is the broad schedule for the event

• September 19th: Mandatory orientation at hotel near LAX Airport
• September 20th: Boarding day and set sail
• September 21st: Ensenada from 8 AM - 5 PM
• September 22nd: Sea day
• September 23rd: Cabo San Lucas from 8 AM - 6 PM
• September 24th: Mazatlán from 8 AM - 6 PM
• September 25th: Sea Day
• September 26th: Sea Day
• September 27th: Disembarkation 

Meet Your Instructors

Mark Oshiro (they/them) is the award-winning author of the young adult books ANGER IS A GIFT (2019 Schneider Family Book Award), EACH OF US A DESERT, and INTO THE LIGHT, as well as their middle grade books THE INSIDERS, YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, DAVID BRAVO, and STAR WARS HUNTERS: BATTLE FOR THE ARENA. They are also the co-author (with Rick Riordan) of the #1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 Indie Bestseller THE SUN AND THE STAR: A NICO DI ANGELO ADVENTURE. When not writing, they are trying to pet every dog in the world. Visit their website here. 

New York Times bestselling author Dan Wells is best known for his horror series I Am Not a Serial Killer, of which the first book is now an award-winning movie. His most recent work is The Zero Chronicles, an audible-only best-selling middle grade science fiction series. His other novels include The Hollow City, Extreme Makeover, and two science-fiction series: Partials and Mirador. He co-hosts the Hugo-winning podcast Writing Excuses, which has expanded to include its own writing conference, WXR. He has written for television and the stage, writes short fiction and game fiction, edited the anthology Altered Perceptions, and is a professional gamemaster for online RPGs. He has recently joined Dragonsteel Entertainment as Vice-President of Narrative, co-writing with Brandon Sanderson and guiding the future of the Cosmere. Dan lives in northern Utah with his wife, 6 children, and more than 450 board games. Visit his website here.

DongWon Song is an agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency representing science fiction and fantasy for adults, young adult, and middle grade readers as well as select non-fiction. They were formerly an editor at Orbit, a product manager for an ebook startup, and taught at institutions including Portland State University and New York University. DongWon is Korean-American, trans, and nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Visit their website here.

Erin Roberts is a speculative fiction writer who tells stories across formats. Her short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in publications including Asimov’s Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Sunday Morning Transport, and The Dark, and has been selected for three Year’s Best collections; she has published interactive fiction in Strange Horizons and Sub-Q Magazine; and her game writing appears in D&D adventure books Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen and Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel (D&D), Hunter: The Reckoning Fifth Edition, Paizo books including Pathfinder: Lost Omens Travel Guide and Starfinder Interstellar Species, and Zombies, Run! Erin is a graduate of the Odyssey Writers Workshop, earned an MFA from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine, and is currently a Provost’s Early Career Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin. Visit her website here.

Howard Tayler is the writer and illustrator behind Schlock Mercenary, the Hugo-nominated science fiction comic strip. He also co-hosts the Hugo and Parsec award-winning “Writing Excuses” podcast, a weekly 'cast for genre-fiction writers, with Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, and DongWon Song. He also collaborated with Mary Robinette, Dan Wells, and Brandon Sanderson to create the Shadows Beneath anthology. Howard has written tie-in fiction for Privateer Press, and horror for the Space Eldritch anthologies as well as the Planet Mercenary RPG. Planet Mercenary is set in the universe of the Schlock Mercenary comic. You can find the comic online at schlockmercenary.com His current projects include X-treme Dungeon Mastery Second Edition and the Shafters Shifters series of novellas. Visit his website here.

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of The Spare Man,The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, and the Lady Astronaut Universe. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette, a professional puppeteer, also performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and John Scalzi. She lives in Nashville with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters. Visit her website here. 

Attendance Requirements

Whether you’re a novice writer or an experienced professional, this retreat is designed so you can make the most of your time. However, we do have a few requirements for attendance:

• Seminar attendees must be 18 years of age or older.
• Children from the ages of 12 to 17 may attend if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
• Children aged 11 and under are welcome aboard ship, but cannot attend the Writing Excuses seminars. Child care and age-appropriate curriculum is available through Royal Caribbean's Adventure Ocean® youth program.
• All attendees, attendee guests, and accompanied minors must have a valid passport and be fully vaccinated.
• All attendees, attendee guests, and accompanied minors must be willing to take a COVID test within 48 hours of departure, per our COVID Policy.
• To board the ship you need a passport, and you may need to bring proof of vaccination.

So long as you meet the above requirements, you’re good to go!

Ticket Options

Please read through the following ticket options carefully so you can make sure you are selecting the option in checkout that will give you the best experience on the cruise!

If you have any questions about what is included on what ticket type would be best for you please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We are happy to help guide you through the process.

Writer Ticket

The base writer retreat ticket covers eight days of writing and connecting, including:

• 1 night at a hotel near LAX prior to boarding the ship.
• 7 days aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, including lodging, ship programming, and food.
• One internet package, allowing you to connect one device to the internet at a time while on board (you can switch between devices).
• All seminar classes and writing exercises throughout the retreat.
• One small-group breakout session per writer.
• Built in writing and self-care time.
• Round-trip bus transfer from the hotel to the ship on boarding day and the ship to the airport on disembarkation day.

If you wish to attend the seminars, workshops, and breakout sessions, then you must select a ticket with the writer tag on it.

Family Member Ticket

There’s plenty to do on the cruise ship besides attending seminars. Significant others, friends, or family members of any age may join us on the cruise at a discounted rate.

During checkout, you can look for the tickets with the end label of "Family" to select this ticket option. Family attendees may not attend writer seminars or breakout sessions.

The Family Member ticket includes:

• 1 night at a hotel near LAX prior to boarding the ship.
• 7 days aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, including lodging, ship programming, and food.
• One internet package, allowing you to connect one device to the internet at a time while on board (you can switch between devices).
• Round-trip bus transfer from the hotel to the ship on boarding day and the ship to the airport on disembarkation day.

Cruise Staterooms

There are three room types we have available for you to purchase, Interior, Oceanview, and Balcony. The exact cabin location on the ship will not be determined until later and we cannot know ahead of time what deck level you will be placed on.

Lodging is available for double occupancy or single occupancy. If you choose double occupancy, the price is per person in the room and you will have a roommate. If you choose single occupancy, you will have your own room.

All staterooms and suites come complete with a private bathroom, vanity area, hair-dryer, closed-circuit TV, radio and phone. Bedroom area with two twin beds that convert to Royal King, sitting area with sofa, and full bathroom. Cabin sizes range between 160 - 198 sq ft.

Note: If a family member is attending then you should choose a double occupancy ticket as you will be sharing a room with your family member.

If you wish to upgrade your cabin to a suite, please reach out to us and we will get you a quote on what that would cost.

Travel & Accommodations

Air Travel

We recommend flying into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). If you choose to drive or take another route in, please note that you may need to make separate arrangements for parking your vehicle.

Once you arrive at the airport, you will need to make your way to the hotel. A free shuttle service will be made available.

Bus Transfer

All tickets include roundtrip transfer from the hotel to the ship dock on September 20th, and from the ship dock to the airport (LAX) at the end of the cruise.

Not included is transportation from the airport to your hotel, however, there is a free hotel shuttle provided by the hotel but you will be responsible for finding and using it.

Hotel

Included in your base ticket is one night at a hotel in Los Angeles, CA for the night before the Cruise (September 19th). This night is included regardless of whether you are staying at the hotel or not.

The hotel is available for double occupancy or single occupancy. If you choose double occupancy, the price is per person in the room and you will have a roommate of your choice or one assigned to you. If you choose single occupancy, you will have your own room.

Note: We will host a mandatory orientation on the evening of the 19th, so please plan to be in attendance.

Additional Hotel Night Add-On

If you wish to spend an additional night at the hotel on the front end of the trip, you may purchase an additional night for September 18th. This will also include breakfast and WiFi.

Scholarships

Our scholarship applications are currently closed. If you want to learn more about them or donate to the scholarship fund, visit our website. 

Policies

Accessibility

The access policy of Writing Excuses follows the Social Model of Disability. This regards barriers to the full participation of disabled people as the fault of society (and more immediately we as the organizers), not the 'fault' of the person with a disability. We further reject any negative value placed on a person because of their disability, or indeed on their disability. Disability isn't good or bad, it just is. Please respect our disabled members by engaging in neither negative stereotyping (eg 'If I was you I'd kill myself' or 'I'd rather be dead than in a wheelchair) nor pity ("I'll pray for you to be cured') - many disabled people do not want to be cured and regard their disability as a fundamental part of their identity.

We picked Royal Caribbean because their ships are designed to accommodate all of our guests, including people with mobility, hearing, and visual disabilities. When you fill out the registration form, please let the WX staff know about any accommodations you require as there is limited availability on board ship.

Harassment Policy

Writing Excuses is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers.

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Instructors, staff, volunteers, and family members are also subject to the anti-harassment policy.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the conference with no refund. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact any member of conference staff immediately.

Conference staff will be happy to help participants contact ship security, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We value your attendance.

We expect participants to follow these rules at all conference venues and conference-related social events.

COVID Policy

Writing Excuses will require vaccination for all attendees and staff. In addition, we will require all attendees and staff to take a Covid antigen test with a negative result within 1 day of boarding the ship; we do not need to see your test result, but you will be required to confirm that you have taken the antigen test, that it was not expired, and that your result was negative. Furthermore, we are requiring masking in the conference room and may require masking in other spaces.

Writing Excuses acknowledges that we cannot negate all risks associated with in-person group events. However, these are the steps we will take to mitigate that risk

• We will require vaccination status for all attendees and staff. We are aligning our definition of "fully vaccinated" with the CDC's definition at [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html] or to align with the requirements/definition of your country of residence. We do not need to see your vaccination records.
• We will require all attendees and staff to take a Covid antigen test on September 18th or 19th and receive a negative result.
• We will require our attendees and staff to wear KN94, KN95, or equivalent masks in the conference rooms of the hotel and cruise ship at all times (unless actively instructing at the front of the class, for accessibility purposes), and we will continue to be "mask-positive" in all our communications.
• We will provide KN95 masks to all attendees at no charge.
• We may require masking in additional spaces.
• We will make hand sanitizer and antimicrobial wipes available to attendees.
• We will provide a clear plan of action for anyone who begins showing symptoms, or who tests positive.
• All classes will be recorded, and will be made available to those who fall ill, as well as to those who are healthy. Accessibility practices like these are good for everyone!
• We will continue to develop our plans based on current conditions, CDC guidelines, and Royal Caribbean requirements.

As far as we are currently aware, Royal Caribbean no longer requires masking, vaccination, or will save cabins for quarantine on board the ship. Because of this, Writing Excuses may be unable to find you a new cabin if your roommate gets sick. We will do our best to advocate for you and pursue the best possible solutions but will be limited by what Royal Caribbean makes available to us.

People who have questions or concerns are invited to reach out to contact@writingexcusesretreat.com for further information.

Refund Policy

Note: Fees are non-refundable. This includes the 0.65 booking fee as well as the 3% credit card processing fee that is not reflected in the listed ticket price but will be added to your order prior to purchase. 

• 100% refund if canceled before May 28th
• 75% refund if canceled before June 16th
• 50% refund if canceled before July 1st
• 25% refund if canceled before July 15th
• No refund after July 15th

Have more questions? You can also message us at contact@writingexcusesretreat.com.