Fall-on-the-Farm
Women's Poetry Writing Retreat
at ZigBone Farm
Just one hour from DC/Baltimore areas
With Award-Winning Poet and Writing Instructor Ann Quinn
September 2025, dates TBD
Writers at all stages of their poetry journey are welcome!
Maryland Resident? Click here to apply for a grant to help cover costs!
What to expect:
- A six-day, five-night writing retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, Sabillasville, MD with 10-12 like-minded poets
- Nature will be our muse in this incredible 100-acre setting of mountains, fields, hedgerows, forest, and gardens
- Plentiful time and space to write in cozy nooks, on comfy sofas, and wisteria-shaded terraces
- Gathering each morning to discuss craft elements of poetry including form, voice, and sound
- Ideas to stimulate lots of writing and sharing of poetry
- Unparalleled silence to work on your creative projects, but also a chance to share other activities such as hiking, yoga, and art
- Homemade meals prepared with produce from ZigBone Farm with access to fruit, snacks, coffee, and tea throughout the day
- Coming together at dinner to discuss your day´s work and experience
- Developing a supportive community of writers
Tentative Schedule for Fall Poetry Retreat
(all sessions optional)
Sunday: 4pm Arrival
5:30pm: Welcome! Reception and dinner from the wood-fired oven
Monday-Thursday
7:00 am Sunrise Yoga
8:30am-9:30am: Breakfast Buffet
9:30am-11:30am: Poetry craft sessions, including discussion, prompts, free-writes, and sharing
12:30pm-4pm: Lunch and Free Writing Time (goals for this time will be discussed in morning sessions)
This also allows time for hikes, walks, naps, and community skill-sharing (yoga, art, etc.)
4pm-6pm: Individual meetings with Ann Quinn*
6:30pm-7:30pm: Communal Farm Dinner
7:30pm-9pm: Optional Evening readings
Friday:
11am Departure: Wrap-Up & Final Sharing
*The retreat fee includes a 30-minute session with Ann to discuss your poetry. For an additional fee, Ann will provide feedback on individual manuscripts received before the workshop.
(all sessions optional)
Sunday: 4pm Arrival
5:30pm: Welcome! Reception and dinner from the wood-fired oven
Monday-Thursday
7:00 am Sunrise Yoga
8:30am-9:30am: Breakfast Buffet
9:30am-11:30am: Poetry craft sessions, including discussion, prompts, free-writes, and sharing
12:30pm-4pm: Lunch and Free Writing Time (goals for this time will be discussed in morning sessions)
This also allows time for hikes, walks, naps, and community skill-sharing (yoga, art, etc.)
4pm-6pm: Individual meetings with Ann Quinn*
6:30pm-7:30pm: Communal Farm Dinner
7:30pm-9pm: Optional Evening readings
Friday:
11am Departure: Wrap-Up & Final Sharing
*The retreat fee includes a 30-minute session with Ann to discuss your poetry. For an additional fee, Ann will provide feedback on individual manuscripts received before the workshop.
About Ann
Ann Quinn has taught poetry for nearly a decade and as a late-comer to the art form, is especially interested in working with developing poets with their own rich life experiences. She is on the faculty at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, is a teaching artist for Yellow Arrow Publishing in Baltimore, has led workshops in Delaware, Maryland, Colorado, Washington, D.C., and Washington State, and has a dedicated following of students on Zoom! Her students have won contests, published books and chapbooks, and had poems featured in a great variety of literary and professional journals. https://www.annquinn.net/good-news-from-my-students
Ann’s work has been published in journals such as Poet Lore, Potomac Review, and others, and has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is the author of Final Deployment and co-wrote a book with one of her classes: Poetry is Life. She holds an MFA in poetry with a certificate in teaching from the Rainier Writers Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University. More information about Ann Quinn can be found at her website: https://www.annquinn.net/ |
What Participants Said About the 2023 Poetry Retreat with Ann Quinn:
"The balance between lesson, community, and time to write was really perfect! I had the ability to use the quiet and nature of the space with some hours in between “class” and dinner, which brought a balance to my own mind and writing. Ann Quinn was magical in every way, and the group brought more compassion and energy to the week than I could have imagined. I loved every moment, from relaxing communal mornings over coffee, to finding books and crannies to write, to poetry meditations and lessons, to exploring and then dinner with each other. The evening readings were my favorites and what a safe space it was."
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"Ann is the kind of teacher who is so good at what she does that her the seams don't show- she guides us so capably that everything feels natural, and we fell like brilliant students and natural generators of camaraderie. But really - the rhythm of these days, and the way we've settled into respectful, joyful conversation and confidence in our own voices - she should take credit, at least a little."
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"“Just listening to our chef speak so lovingly about the food he created for us was like hearing the poetry adore come to life! I adored the fresh tomatoes (so much better than store-bought!), homemade sourdough, eggs in their shells cooked to semisoft perfection in the mornings, homemade butternut squash and tomato soups (heaven!), and the salmon and asparagus for our final dinner was delicious!"
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"What a magical venue! I half expected to see little fairies peeking out from behind the farm's surround of lovely flowers. I loved all the different places available to hang out and write, whether with someone or alone."
"Lovely rooms! Bathrooms! Common spaces! The amount of art and creativity and variation and valuing of old things in this house is a perfect setting for Art and Writing." "I loved my shared room, I left the windows cracked open, it created the most peaceful environment to wake up to. The communal rooms and land were incredible to pick and choose where to meditate, write, walk, stretch. I loved it. It ended to soon." |
"Our writing retreat was fabulous. I could not have asked for a more generous, interesting, engaging group of poets to share this retreat with. And, of course, our instructor rocks. The word witches, as Dena so lovingly called us, will be back! Thank you, Dena, for your incredible hospitality and for participating with us—you, too, are a poet!"
"I would come back in a heartbeat, I can’t thank the hosts enough, as well as the poet lead and fellow writers. I’ve never felt more peaceful." |