Our Retreat is one of the highlights of WRW and I am hoping that by offering scholarships we can make it possible for all WRW members who want to attend the Retreat to do so.  I know that the Retreat can be a major yearly expense for many of us, and as circumstances have raised the rates over the last couple of years, we have searched for a way to enable as many members as possible to attend.  The retreat offers a chance for learning, networking and, of course, friendship.  Please consider donating to the fund for scholarships to the Retreat. 

Hello WRW Members! 

I’m pleased to announce that registration is open for WRW’s 2010 “In the Company of Writers” retreat, which will be held April 16-18, 2010, at the Carradoc Hall Holiday Inn in Leesburg, Virginia, the same place where we held our retreat in 2009. Retreat Application form (in rich text format) [Not working? Try application in .doc format or application in .txt format]

Carradoc Hall Holiday Inn in Leesburg includes a 1747 Mansion House adjacent to a modern Holiday Inn.  The Hotel was fully renovated a few years ago and is large enough to accommodate any member who wishes to attend, with space to spare for a few other guests (so, yes, there may be a few strangers in the hotel with us).  For those of you who attended last year, the big change in 2010 is that the hotel has committed all available meeting/event space to us, so no weddings or other events will take place while we are there.  We have more space for our meetings and a dedicated dining space separate from our meeting space.  We also have a good space where we can hang out just to catch up with one another during the weekend. 

Registration will open Monday, February 15, 2010, and close Saturday, March 6, 2010.  We expect to have plenty of space for WRW members.  We will accommodate other RWA members if space allows. Registration is not open to those who are not members of WRW and/or RWA. 

The registration fee is $435. For that one fee, you get all of our fantastic programs and events, all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast, and your room on Friday and Saturday nights.  Each room features two double beds and will accommodate two people. (New this year – pay for Retreat via PayPal. See below for button.) Retreat Application form (in rich text format).

The retreat committee is already hard at work to make this the fantastic retreat you’ve enjoyed through the years.  We’ll have a great group of guest speakers, including Charlaine Harris, Roxanne St. Claire, Susan Meier, and Author and Garden Witch Ellen Dugan.  Editors and agents are still responding to our invitation, but the list so far includes Jennifer Enderlin (St. Martin’s Press), Lucia Macro (Avon), Ginjer Buchanan (Penguin USA), Megan Records (Kensington), two Harlequin editors, Elaine English (Elaine P. English PLLC Literary), and Kevan Lyon (Marsal-Lyon Literary).  We also have both informative and fun activities you’ve come to expect from a WRW retreat, including the Friday night editor and agent panel, American Author, and the fabulous, not-to-be-missed Romance Jeopardy!

The WRW Board recently named the retreat scholarship fund the Kate Duffy Scholarship fund in honor the woman who made so many retreats so fabulous for all of us, and who helped so many of our members’ careers over the decades.  This fund will assist those members who may have trouble paying full cost for the retreat.  If you wish to donate to that fund, please go to our website and use the donation link.  If you wish to apply for a scholarship, please email for more information before sending in your retreat application.

Remember, you MUST submit an application by March 6, 2010 to attend this year’s retreat.  Also, you will need to state a roommate preference.  If you don’t have a clue about who to share with, leave it blank and the retreat committee’s room list goddess will match you up with someone.

We look forward to seeing you in Leesburg for our 2010 “In the Company of Writers” Retreat. 

2010 Retreat Chair

This year, we are making payment by paypal an option for an additional fee of $10 to cover paypal costs.  If paying by paypal, please use this link, and then list your paypal receipt number on the application you send in. We expect to have plenty of space for WRW members.  We will accommodate other RWA members if space allows. Registration is not open to those who are not members of WRW and/or RWA.

Download Retreat Application form (in rich text format).

WRW’s 2009 “In the Company of Writers” retreat will be held April 17-19, 2009, at the Carradoc Hall Holiday Inn in Leesburg, Virginia. Retreat Application Form in rich text format (or try this one, in .doc form)

Carradoc Hall Holiday Inn includes a 1747 Mansion House adjacent to a modern Holiday Inn.  The Hotel was fully renovated a couple years ago and is large enough to accommodate any member who wishes to attend, with space to spare for other guests (so, yes, we will be sharing the hotel with a few other guests).  We believe that you’ll find this hotel more accommodating to our retreat feel – a place where we can go and spend time with our fellow writing friends.  The building is set up in such a way that we’ll all be in one building and you won’t have to go outside unless you want to hang out on the covered balcony where we’ll have our opening reception or watch the sun set from the Cracker Barrel rockers on the porch.  All the sleeping rooms are in the modern hotel, but we will have some of our events in the connected historic manor house.  The old house is charming and adds some nice historic character to the site. 

Registration opened Friday, January 16, 2009, and closed Saturday, February 21, 2009.

The registration fee will be $435. For that one fee, you get all of our fantastic programs and events, all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast, and your room on Friday and Saturday nights.  Each room features two double beds and will accommodate two people. 

The retreat committee is already hard at work to make this the fantastic retreat you’ve enjoyed through the years.  We’ll have a great group of guest speakers, including Carla Neggers and Karen Marie Moning.  Editors and agents are still responding to our invitation, but the list so far includes Helen Breitweiser (Cornerstone Literary, Inc.), Kate Duffy (Kensington Books), Jennifer Enderlin (St. Martin’s Press), Elaine English (Elaine P. English PLLC Literary), Tracy Farrell (Harlequin), Meg Ruley (Jane Rotrosen Agency), Irene Goodman (Irene Goodman Literary Agency), Deb Werksman (Sourcebooks, Inc.), and Angela James (Samhain Publishing, Ltd.). We also have both informative and fun activities you’ve come to expect from a WRW retreat, including the Friday night editor and agent panel, American Author, and the fabulous, not-to-be-missed Romance Jeopardy!

This year the WRW Board decided to enable our members to donate to a scholarship fund to assist those members who may have trouble paying full cost for the retreat.  If you wish to donate to that fund, please go to our website and use the donation link.  If you wish to apply for a scholarship, please email Lavinia Klein () for more information before sending in your retreat application.

Remember, there is no waiting list, so no need to rush your application in on the first day, but you MUST submit an application by February 21, 2009 to be part of this year’s retreat.  Also, you will need to state a roommate preference.  If you don’t have a clue about who to share with, leave it blank and the retreat committee’s room list goddess will match you up with someone.

We look forward to seeing you in Leesburg for our 2009 “In the Company of Writers” Retreat. 

Kathryn B. Anderson
2009 Retreat Chair

Happy New Year!

I’m pleased to announce that WRW’s 2009 “In the Company of Writers” retreat will be held April 17-19, 2009, at the Carradoc Hall Holiday Inn in Leesburg, Virginia.

In preparation for the 2009 retreat, we read through all the feedback after the Bolger Center retreat and decided to investigate other possibilities.  In May, we sent out a formal Request for Proposals to a list of venues, and received several replies.  We traveled to many of those locations, and the Board decided that the best location for our 2009 retreat is the Carradoc Hall Holiday Inn in Leesburg, a 1747 Mansion House adjacent to a modern Holiday Inn.  The Hotel was fully renovated a couple years ago and is large enough to accommodate any member who wishes to attend, with space to spare for other guests (so, yes, we will be sharing the hotel with a few other guests).  We believe that you’ll find this hotel more accommodating to our retreat feel – a place where we can go and spend time with our fellow writing friends. 

Carradoc Hall is set up in such a way that we’ll all be in one building and you won’t have to go outside unless you want to hang out on covered balcony where we’ll have our opening reception or watch the sun set from the Cracker Barrel rockers on the porch.  All the sleeping rooms are in the modern hotel, but we will have some of our events in the connected historic manor house.  The old house is charming and adds some nice historic character to our retreat. 

Registration will open in mid-January and close in February.  Exact dates will be published on the website in early January, but tentatively you should expect registration to start on or around January 15 and close sometime between February 19 and 29.  Since we have enough space for everyone, exact dates should be less important than in prior years, but you should plan to submit your application and fee during that registration time period.  I’ll send out an announcement on the announce loop when the registration information and form are published on our website, so watch for that announcement in a week or so!

The registration fee will be $435.  I know that fee may sound like a lot, but most other events of this caliber charge a large registration fee on top of which you must pay for your room and many of your meals yourself.  Our registration fee is all-inclusive.  For that one fee, you get all of our fantastic programs and events, all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast, and your room on Friday and Saturday nights.  Each room features two double beds and will accommodate two people.  Pease plan your roommate choice now so you are ready when you complete your registration form. 

The retreat committee is already hard at work to make this the fantastic retreat you’ve enjoyed through the years.  We’ll have a great group of guest speakers, editors and agents, plus all the informative and fun activities you’ve come to expect from a WRW retreat, including the Friday night editor and agent panel, American Author, and the fabulous, not-to-be-missed Romance Jeopardy!

This year the WRW Board decided to enable our members to donate to a scholarship fund to assist those members who may have trouble paying full cost for the retreat.  Details on how you can donate to the scholarship are on this page.  Someone from the Board should announce more information about how to apply for a scholarship later in January.

Additionally, as you plan your retreat and conference budget for 2009, please keep in mind that RWA will be in Washington, DC, this year, so you won’t have huge travel costs to attend RWA if that is part of your regular writing conference schedule. 

For those who are curious, Hilltop House remains closed as its new owners work on restoring the old hotel.  Their plans at this time are to reopen as a first class destination hotel and spa in 2011.  We have no way of knowing if the renovated Hilltop will meet our needs or price range, but we will continue to monitor the situation. 

We look forward to seeing you in Leesburg for our 2009 “In the Company of Writers” Retreat. 

Kathryn B. Anderson
2009 Retreat Chair

Click here for the registration form for our 2008 Retreat, In the Company of Writers.  The application is .rtf, but if it doesn’t work for you, please contact Jeanne Adams at to request a different format.

Retreat cost is $425.  Applications should be postmarked no earlier than Friday, February 15, 2008, when Registration opens.  Registration ends March 15, 2008.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello WRW Members! 

It’s finally Retreat Registration time!!  After having to scramble when Hilltop House announced its early closing, the Retreat Committee has worked with the Retreat Site Committee to find a backup site for the 2008 Retreat.  It was challenging, but we did it.  Check out the amazing facilities at The Bolger Center in Potomac, Maryland.

As always, the Retreat Program Committee has a wonderful line-up of speakers, including New York Times Bestselling authors Victoria Alexander and Kresley Cole. We also have the amazing Margie Lawson and her incredibly popular programs on craft, Pam Spengler-Jaffee, Director of Publicity, Paperbacks at William Morrow/Avon, and other great workshops.  With our own outstanding authors as well as the fabulous editors and agents in attendance, it promises to be another amazing, if quite different Retreat. 

Among editors and agents confirmed for the weekend are:
Lucia Macro (Avon)
Jennifer Enderlin (St. Martin)
Kate Duffy (Kensington)
Tracy Farrell (Harlequin)
Elaine English (Agent)
Becca Stumpf (Agent, Prospect Agency)
Emmanuelle Alspaugh (Agent, Wendy Sherman Associates, Inc.)

As always, there are some NOTES:

First, due to the change of venue, we’ve been able to accommodate our member’s request for NO LOTTERY AND NO WAITING LIST this year.  Yeah!

Second, we will need to streamline and expedite the Retreat process due to the shortened timeline.  So, please commit to the Retreat as soon as you can and get your application in.

Third, our new venue has a lot to offer, from great food (including Kosher for those observing Passover!) and wonderful rooms to an outstanding bar area for Moonlight Madness and socializing.  Please read the application carefully as it has CHANGED from previous years.

Fourth, there are mostly single rooms at Bolger as it is used for a training and Retreat center.  However, there are suites available which sleep 2 people – one on a bed, one on a pull out sofa – if you would like to double up for fun, gossip, plotting sessions, etc.  Please designate which you would prefer, a single or a suite, on the application.  It doesn’t really change costs to double up, but if you want to do it for fun, sign up for a Suite.  :>

Fifth, due to change in both Maryland and Montgomery County law, the only smoking allowed on premises is on the patio outside the bar.

Other than that, we’re all looking forward to connecting with one another at the 2008 Retreat in the Company of Writers at the new venue, The Bolger Center, April 25-27, 2008. 

I look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,
Jeanne P. Adams
2008 WRW Retreat Chair

First of all, apologies to be so long getting information out about this year’s Retreat!  Once again, thanks to RT, there were some complications getting our amazing speakers lined up.  So, here they are:

Speakers:
Victoria Alexander
Kresley Cole
Margie Lawson on craft
Pam Spengler-Jaffee, Director of Publicity, Paperbacks, William Morrow/Avon

Editors and Agents (so far):
Lucia Macro (Avon)
Jennifer Enderlin (St. Martin)
Kate Duffy (Kensington)
Tracy Farrell (Harlequin)
Elaine English (Agent)
Becca Stumpf (Agent, Prospect Agency)
Emmanuelle Alspaugh (Agent, Wendy Sherman Associates, Inc.).

As soon as the application is finalized it will be on the web site as well.

Thanks for your patience, everyone!

Best,
Jeanne Adams
2008 WRW Retreat Chair

In the Company of Writers 2008 — April 25-27, 2008!
At Hilltop House Hotel, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Registration will open January 25, 2008. [Note new date!!]

Some of you may have heard that Hilltop House has been sold.  Its TRUE!  The new owners are planning to restore our beloved Hilltop House to its former glory and have already begun upgrading the boiler, (Yeah!) the electrical system, the windows, the bar, and some of the kitchen equipment.  Other than general upgrades, the major renovations won’t be for another year or so and won’t impact this upcoming Retreat, but may make our stays at Hilltop even more fun.

Also, for those of you who celebrate Passover, you may have noticed that our Retreat falls on the last weekend of that holiday.  Hilltop staff assure us that the chef will make arrangements for Kosher meals for those in attendance who are observing Passover restrictions.  They did a superb job last year with those of our attendees who had dietary needs, so we feel confident they’ll make this wonderful too.

I’m looking forward to our great Retreat and will keep you updated on our guest list as we get confirmations.  Our committee has invited some exciting and wonderful speakers, so stay tuned!

Best,
Jeanne P. Adams
Retreat Chair

1.  Registration will commence on a given date to be decided by the retreat committee. 

2.  No applications postmarked before the advertised registration date will be accepted.  Any such applications will be returned.

Reason: There must be a start date in order for the process to be fair to all applicants.

3. No applications may be sent requiring a recipient’s signature.  All such applications will be refused and must be re-submitted. OVERNIGHT MAIL IS NOT NECESSARY AND WILL NOT INCREASE CHANCE OF ACCEPTANCE.

Reason: It is unreasonable for the registrar to be expected to be available 24/7 for overnight deliveries.  Plus, it is unfair to members who may not be able to afford the more expensive overnight delivery.

Acceptance

4. In the event that applications to attend the retreat exceed the number of places available, the acceptance of applicants will be determined by lottery.  Within the lottery, preference will be given to applications in order of postmark, as more fully described below.

5. Certain individuals will be exempt from the lottery process provided that they comply with other requirements of this paragraph.  The retreat registration team and the president will prepare and review a list of such exempt individuals.  These applicants shall be first on the registration list IF their applications are postmarked no later than the date on which the number of applicants equals or exceeds the number of available places.

These categories of exempt individuals shall include:

i. Officers of WRW

ii. WRW retreat committee chairs and certain retreat volunteers as determined by the registration committee and the president

iii. Members who volunteer in a significant ongoing and/or monthly capacity

“Significant” means:  Members who spend at least 24 hours a year (or 2 hours/month) volunteering for WRW.  During the first year of this policy, the 24 hours requirement will be calculated on a pro rata basis from the date this policy is adopted until the beginning of retreat registration.  Work already completed toward current year programs will be counted toward the hours requirement. 

iv. Notwithstanding the lottery, at least 5% of the registrants must be new members (who joined within the last WRW fiscal year and on/before August 31), provided a sufficient number of new members apply.

Reason:  New members should be encouraged to participate and volunteer, and attending the retreat is a good way to see the chapter in action. New members receive no other perks, so this is a generous courtesy.

Reason for Exemptions: Those attendees who are needed to work on the retreat and those who spend a significant amount of time volunteering need to be included before chapter members or others who wish to attend.  Still, these individuals must honor the spirit of the application process in order to be eligible for this privilege, i.e. getting applications in before the postmark date on which maximum attendance capacity is filled.

6. In registering applicants, priority shall be given based on the date of POSTMARK. On the date that all spaces are filled applicants that have not yet been assigned spaces will be accepted if space becomes available based on the lottery/waitlist process defined below.  To be considered valid, however, entries must be received within seven business days of the date they are postmarked. 

Reason: The US mail service does not always function perfectly and within reason, no applicant should be penalized if her application is delayed by mail.  Also, mail delivery may vary according to geographic area. This makes it unnecessary for anyone to send an application by overnight mail.

7. The membership chair shall provide a list of all members who renewed or joined WRW on or before August 31 to the registration team.  Members who renewed or joined by August 31 shall be given priority over any members who renewed or joined after August 31.  Non-members shall be given lowest priority.

8. The registrar may, after consultation with the retreat committee and the president, grant exception to registration deadlines in the event of a problem out of the control of the applicant, such as, but not limited to, a weather-related delay, accident or family emergency.

Lottery/Waitlist

9. If registration fills to maximum capacity, anyone registering beyond maximum capacity shall be waitlisted.

Reason: Site policies are subject to fire codes and WRW is not permitted to exceed a given number of attendees.

10. To determine priorities within the waitlist, applications, excluding those on the list of exemptions, received ON the postmark date that registration fills to capacity shall be placed into a lottery and drawn at random.  A separate lottery for waitlist order shall be held on each day after maximum capacity is reached.  Anyone on the exemptions list whose application is postmarked AFTER the day capacity is reached will be put on the waitlist.

In this situation, it is possible that one person may be accepted while her preferred roommate is not.

Reason: This ensures that anyone registering on the postmark date for which registration fills receives a fair chance at acceptance.

11. In the event that maximum capacity is exceeded on the first postmark date for registration, all applications postmarked on the first day shall be entered into a random lottery, excluding those on the list of exemptions. 

FAQ:  How are applications received and processed?

1. All registration envelopes are grouped by postmark date and opened at the same time. 

2. Exempted applications are taken out first, followed by the 5% for new members.

3. The remaining applications are opened at random and no order is assigned to any envelopes within a given postmark date.

4. All remaining applications are processed

5. The same procedure is followed for each postmark date thereafter. 

Our annual retreat, In the Company of Writers, will be at beautiful historic Hilltop House in Harper’s Ferry, WV, April 27—29, 2007. 

The outstanding WRW Retreat program committee has lined up an excellent series of speakers for the 2007 WRW Retreat! 

So far, our confirmed speakers/presenters include authors Julia Quinn, Lisa Gardner, and Madeleine Hunter.  As well as Sue Grimshaw (the romance buyer for Borders, Borders Express and Waldenbooks) and Michelle Buonfiglio (Internet Romance Network Reviewer).

The following Editors and Agents have already signed up to be with us:

Editors:
Kate Duffy - Kensington
Jennifer Enderlin - St. Martins Press
Tracy Farrell - Harlequin Books, New York
Shauna Summers - Bantam Books
Lucia Macro - Avon

Agents:
Jenny Bent - Trident Media Group
Elaine English - Elaine English Literary
Emily Sylvan Kim - The Prospect Agency
Meg Ruley - Jane Rotrosen Agency
Elaine Spencer - The Knight Agency

Look for more exciting announcements in the near future as we finalize the rest of the speakers for 2007!

Best,
Jeanne P. Adams
2007 WRW Retreat Chair

The Washington Romance Writers annual retreat, In the Company of Writers, is about a month away and everyone is gearing up for a superb event. Our roster of special guests includes:

Speakers:
Carly Philips—keynote speaker
MaryJanice Davidson
Sabrina Jeffries
Ruth Langan
Margie Lawson
Michelle Buonfiglio—NBC syndicated columnist

(WRW members who will speak: Kathy Seidel, Karen Rose, Beth Fedorko, and Nora Roberts)

Editors:
Kate Duffy—Kensington
Jennifer Enderlin—St. Martin’s Press
Tracy Farrell—Harlequin Books, New York
Denise Zaza—Harlequin Books, New York

Agents:
Jenny Bent—Trident Media Group
Helen Breitweiser—Cornerstone Literary Agency
Elaine English—Elaine English Literary
Kim Lionetti—BookEnds, LLC
Meg Ruley—Jane Rotrosen Agency

A few things to consider: Please contact Liz Lincoln if you would like to contribute a basket for the wonderful raffle.  Julie Ray Stewart is planning Snack Attack which will start on Friday night this year.  Authors, please mail your promotional items to Gail Barrett no later than April 15, and don’t forget about the published authors table.  There will be 136 people attending the retreat this year.  Massages will once again be available during the retreat.  Please bring books for the book swap and your boas for Jeopardy on Saturday night.  Beth Fedorko is planning very special table centerpieces and Lisa Dyson will help newcomers feel right at home.  And don’t forget to stop at Turn The Page Bookstore & Cafe for the pre-retreat booksigning on Friday!  I can’t wait to see everyone.

A huge thank you to the dedicated group of WRW members who stepped forward to handle every aspect of the retreat this year.

Best wishes,
Sophia Nash
2006 WRW Retreat Chair