A place for writers to learn, connect, and grow.

Step away from the daily grind and immerse yourself in a writing workshop and retreat at the historic Bottleworks Hotel in Indianapolis. During this event, you’ll hone your craft, connect with fellow writers, and make progress on your latest projects—all while being supported by the hosts of the Hugo Award-winning Writing Excuses podcast and our guest instructors.

Early Bird Pricing Available Until January 1st

Pricing will increase on January 2nd.

Do What You & Love What You Do

“We never sit anything out. We are cups, quietly and constantly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” - Ray Bradbury

We are thrilled this year to partner with Maurice Broaddus and the Ray Bradbury Center to focus on the theme of learning to love your work. The theme will guide our classes, workshops, and breakout sessions. It's all about learning who you are, what stories you want to tell, and how to sustain both yourself and the work out in the world.

Here’s an idea of what you can expect:

• Writing Classes: Throughout the week, we’ll host 4–5 classes designed to help you hone your craft, develop your ideas, and get thoughtful feedback in a collaborative group setting.
• Breakout Sessions: Connect with one instructor and a small group of peers for more personalized feedback. Breakout sessions include:
  • Critique Session: Members will submit a selection for group critique. This may be a novel excerpt, short story, or query letter.
  • Unlocking Session: Unlocking sessions are formal brainstorming sessions where you get to “unlock” something that you’ve been stuck on. Unsure how to find time to write? Looking to hammer out your magic system? No question is too small!
• Guided Co-Writing Sessions: Participate in formal and informal writing sessions, designed to help you make measurable progress towards your writing (or revising, or plotting) goals.
• 1:1 Office Hours: Throughout the event, you'll be able to get 1:1 feedback on specific questions from our instructors during Office Hours.

Our events are all single track, meaning you won't have to pick between a breakout session or class, or between two class topics. We will also be recording all classes that will be made available to attendees in the week following the event. 

Meet Your Instructors

Your instructors and guides for this retreat each bring their own unique perspective and experience in creativity, writing, and the publishing world.

Mary Robinette Kowal is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Lady Astronaut series and the Glamourist Histories. Her novel The Calculating Stars is one of the few works to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards in a single year. She is also a recipient of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and multiple Hugo awards. A professional puppeteer for over twenty years, Kowal’s background in physical performance informs much of her approach to character in prose. She shares this craft expertise as a core cast member of the long-running, Hugo-winning podcast Writing Excuses. Kowal served as the President of SFWA and is an accomplished audiobook narrator. At home, she explores communication through a different lens with her cat, Elsie, who uses Augmentative Interspecies Communication buttons to “talk.” She also has an asteroid named after her. Visit her website here.

Dr. Jason Aukerman is Director of the Ray Bradbury Center and a Clinical Associate Professor of American Studies at IU Indianapolis. A literary scholar and educator, he has more than a decade of experience teaching writing, with particular expertise in creative nonfiction, composition, and helping writers develop voice, argument, and narrative craft. His teaching and scholarship explore American literature and culture, science fiction, censorship, skepticism, and the ways stories shape how we understand ourselves and the world around us. As director of the world’s largest collection of Ray Bradbury materials, Aukerman also brings a unique perspective on the creative process, drawing from Bradbury’s manuscripts, correspondence, and lifelong philosophy of writing with curiosity, discipline, and joy.

An award-winning Afrofuturist, editor, and librarian, Maurice Broaddus has had over a hundred short stories published in such places as Lightspeed Magazine, Black Panther: Tales from Wakanda, Out There Screaming (edited by Jordan Peele), The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand, Asimov’s, Weird Tales, and the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. With over a dozen novels in print, his latest include Black Panther: T’Challa Declassified, Unfadeable, Sweep of Stars, Breath of Oblivion, and A City Dreaming. An editor at Apex Magazine, he’s also the co-editor of Black Horror: Canonical Voices From Then to Now. Learn more at MauriceBroaddus.com

Event Details

Accommodations & Travel

The 6-day retreat will be held at the Bottleworks Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. The classes, breakout sessions, and other events will be in the hotel conference area. We have a room block reserved for those of you who wish to book accommodations. Your ticket does not come with a hotel room, you will need to book for and pay for a sleeping space separately from the registration. We have our room block available to us now and you will receive a booking link with the confirmation email after checkout. 

Meals

A welcome dinner, breakfasts, lunches, and a closing dinner are included in the price of your registration. These meals will be catered by Bottleworks and they are able to accommodate dietary restrictions. Four dinners will be on your own or with people you have met at the retreat! There is a food hall right across the street from Bottleworks with an array of options or downtown Indianapolis is a quick bus or car ride away if you want to explore more of the city. 

Sleeping Arrangements

Upon registration, you’ll receive a link to our room block at Bottleworks. You’re also welcome to make your own lodging arrangements or, if you're local, commute to the retreat each day. For planning purposes, the hotel room block rate is $219 a night (not including taxes).

Travel

The retreat will begin the evening of Thursday, June 10th, and conclude midday on Wednesday, June 16th. You’ll be responsible for arranging your own travel to and from Bottleworks. There is parking available on site or other parking options nearby.

Writing Excuses Scholarship Program

It’s our goal to make these events as accessible as possible. That’s why, every year, we host writers through the scholarship program. These scholarships run off donations from our generous alumni, Patreon members, and podcast listeners.

We have two types of scholarships:

• Out of Excuses Scholarship: This scholarship is designed for those who cannot financially afford the retreat on their own.
• Writers of Color Scholarship: This scholarship is for BBIPOC writers (Brown, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color).

Each scholarship awarded provides the recipient with:

• Full retreat tuition
• A $500 stipend for travel costs
• A hotel room at Bottleworks (may be a shared room)
• Hotel expenses in the destination city for one night before the event
• All meals provided by the event

If you’d like to apply for one of our scholarships, head here for more information.

FAQ

Now that you’re excited (if you’re still reading, we hope you’re excited), here are answers to some of the most common questions about what to expect and whether this retreat is right for you.

How do I book my hotel room? 

We have a room block with Bottleworks Hotel. You will receive a booking link as part of the confirmation email after checkout. If you wish to arrange other accommodations, you are welcome to do so! For planning purposes, the hotel room block rate is $219 a night (not including taxes). 

Will Writing Excuses be assigning roommates? 

No, if you wish to share the cost of a room you will need to find your own roommate. However, we will open a discord server in mid-October with a channel you can post in for finding roommates. 

Do I need to be a professional writer?

Absolutely not. In the world of writing, we’re all on the same path; some of us are just further along. Whether you’re getting started as a novice writer or an experienced professional who has scaled their fair share of writing mountains, this retreat has something for you.

Are there attendance requirements, then?

We do have some requirements, although none have to do with your writing experience.

• Attendees must be 18 years of age or older or, if 12-17, accompanied by a parent or legal guardian (who is also attending).
• All attendees must be willing to take a COVID test within 48 hours of departure.

What are the classes about? 

The exact topics for the classes are being finalized. However, you can head over to the Writing Excuses YouTube page to see some class snippets and a couple of classes that Mary Robinette Kowal has taught on previous retreats. 

I have questions about the scholarship application. How do I find answers?

You can head to this webpage for a detailed explanation of the scholarships and contact information if you have more questions.

I’m an introvert. This sounds like fun, but will it be too much?

This event draws in all sorts, introverts included. We know social recharging is necessary, and none of the events we host are mandatory. In fact, we encourage you to take some time away to rest and refill your battery when you need to.

What does my Writer Ticket include?

• Classes: Access to all seminar classes and guided writing sessions.
• Breakout Session: 1 (optional) small-group breakout session, either a critique or an unlocking.
• Writing Time: Built in informal writing and self-care time.
• Social Time and Parties: Some formal opportunities to celebrate together!
• Dinner on June 10^th, breakfast and lunch starting June 11^th through June 16^th, and Dinner on June 15^th

Retreat Policies

Refund Policy

Note: The booking fee is non-refundable. This fee goes straight to the credit card company and the hosting company for this event page, we do not receive it back if you cancel.

• Full refund until April 1st
• 50% Refund from April 1st - 15th
• 25% Refund from April 16th - 30th
• No Refund from May 1st onward

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 24 hours of the start of the retreat; 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.

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 full 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 the definition of your country of residence.
• We will require all attendees and staff to take a Covid antigen test within 24 hours of arrival in Indianapolis or before the start of the event.
• At the registration table we will have a brief affidavit for you to sign declaring you are vaccinated and took a COVID-19 test within the last 24 hours and received a negative result (we do not need to see the test or your vaccination card).
• At this time, we are not requiring masking while at the event. However, we will be monitoring the CDC guidelines/recommendations as well as the current conditions and may change to require masking if we deem it to be necessary for safety reasons.
  • We will, however, maintain a mask positive language in our communication and provide a positive environment if you choose to mask at the event.
  • The lecture spaces will have space for attendees to spread out a little and there are outdoor dining options available.
• We will provide KN95 masks to all attendees at no charge.
• 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 and CDC guidelines.

*We are willing to discuss granting exceptions to the vaccination policy on a case-by-case basis if there is a medical reason why you are unable to be vaccinated. Please reach out to us at info@writingexcuses.com with any questions.

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.

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

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.

Additionally, please note that person-first language ("person with disability") is not the universally preferred form of address for disabled people. Many prefer the Social Model and 'disabled person'. Please treat the appropriate form of address for disabled people as you would treat preferred pronoun usage, by asking for their preferred form of address and using it.

Bottleworks has elevators to each floor and has accessible rooms available for each room type. If you have any questions about the accessible options please reach out to info@writingexcuses.com.

Have more questions? You can also message us at info@writingexcuses.com.