**The Great River Writers Retreat accepts applications from writers currently residing
in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin**
The Great River Writers Retreat winner is selected from an applicant pool of writers from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin across multiple genres, and allows the winner to spend a week working on a specific writing project they have underway.
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Great River Writers’ Retreat – Applications Accepted Through May 1, 2025
“The week I spent at the Great River Writers’ Retreat was amazing. I got more accomplished during the retreat than I’d dared to hope, completely revising one manuscript and drafting several poems to include in a new one. Whether I was walking the paths of the 90 acres of land behind the monastery, reading in the library overlooking the lake, or writing at my desk in my room, my solitude and work were encouraged and protected. The nuns were kind and hospitable, and I felt very welcome. I am so grateful to the Midwest Writing Center for the gift of this time to reflect and write.”
–2010 Retreat Winner, Ann Hudson
MWC Announces the Winner of the 2025 Great River Writer’s Retreat — Stella Joyce Krall
Congratulations to this year’s winner of the great River Writer’s Retreat, Stella Joyce Krall of Madison, WI!
Stella Joyce Krall has an MFA in fiction from New York University, where she worked with Katie Kitamura, Nathan Englander, Brandon Taylor, and Darin Strauss. Prior to that, Krall spent a decade as a bioethicist reviewing human medical trials for ethical and scientific integrity. Her not-yet-published novel PARALLAX was a finalist in the 2024 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition. She graduated with a BA in anthropology, focusing on primatology, from the University of Wisconsin, where she took several creative writing and journalism courses. In her careers in primatology and bioethics, she published scientific papers in The American Journal of Primatology. Since returning to creative writing, she has attended writing conferences and workshops, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Writers’ Institute. She spends her free time on the front porch curled up with a book, or hanging out with her husband and teen son, or travelling to learn about history.
Krall will be in residence August 25 – 31, 2025, at Benet House Retreat Center in Rock Island, preparing one novel manuscript for publication “that looks at the nature of memory and whether a person’s culpability for previous actions is excused if they lose their memory due to dementia rather than repression,” while developing a newer manuscript about “a pair of college friends whose lives have diverged despite their physical and emotional closeness.” She will share some of her work during a public reading at The Atlas Collective (1801 5th Ave., Moline, IL) on Saturday, August 30 at 4pm.
The Great River Writer’s Retreat winner is selected from an applicant pool of writers from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin across multiple genres, and allows the winner to spend a week working on a specific writing project they have underway. In 2025, we had our largest applicant pool in the history of the Retreat. This year’s finalists include:
Amelia Colwell (Roseville, MN)
Mario Duarte (Iowa City IA)
Elizabeth Felt (Stevens Point, WI)
S. Fletcher (Saint Paul, MN)
Elise Gregory (Baraboo, WI)
Kristin Gifford (Minneapolis, MN)
Keyron McDermott (Cascade, IA)
Donna O’Shaughnessy (Saunemin, IL)
The Great River Writer’s Retreat Contest will open for all writers on November 1, 2025 and close on May 1, 2026. The retreat dates for 2026 are TBD. For more information, please visit http://www.mwcqc.org/contests/writers-retreat/
The Great River Writer’s Retreat is generously sponsored by Dr. Nicolas Shammas and the Illinois Arts Council.
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**Application Information for the 2025 Great River Writers Retreat**
Currently, our plan is to host the winning writer for a residency at the Benet House Retreat Center in Rock Island, Illinois (including a travel stipend, and an invitation to read to the literary community of the Quad Cities), August 25 – 31, 2025.
The application must include the following:
1. Cover page
2. Proof of residence in IL, IA, MN, or WI (valid photocopy of driver’s license, current utility bill, etc.). Sensitive information, such a Social Security numbers and Driver’s License numbers, can be redacted.
3. Short bio, listing publications and any relevant work experience (100 words max)
4. Statement describing the project you intend to work on and what goals to your project are you hoping to achieve while at Great River Writer’s Retreat (500 words max)
5. 10-page sample of your work (poets: 10 pages of poetry, one poem per page; fiction and nonfiction writers: 10 pages of a short story, essay, novel excerpt or other work, accompanied by a brief synopsis if necessary) Work sample should be in 12 pt. font, Times New Roman). The work sample should be taken from writing done within the last 3 years.
**Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2025**
You can pay the application fee via PayPal using the button below:
or pay over the phone with a credit card by calling us at 309-732-7330.
If paying by check, please make payable to: Midwest Writing Center
Applications should be sent only via email to the address below
(.doc, .docx, .pdf file types only, please):
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The Great River Writer’s Retreat is generously sponsored by Dr. Nicolas & Gail Shammas
and the Illinois Arts Council.
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