The Delaware Division of the Arts is hosting the 2026 Writers Retreat from November 5-8, 2026 at the Biden Environmental Center in Cape Henlopen State Park. This is a special opportunity to get away from everyday life and focus on creative writing in a relaxed coastal setting. Participants will have time to write, connect with peers, work alongside established authors, give and receive feedback in workshops, and get inspired!
Applications are being accepted from creative writers in the following areas: fiction; creative nonfiction; and poetry. The application process is competitive, and participants will be chosen based on the merit of their work. If selected, there will be a fee for the Retreat, which includes a private room and most meals.
The 2026 Delaware Writers Retreat will be held at the Biden Environmental Center at Cape Henlopen State Park.
15099 Cape Henlopen Dr, Lewes, DE 19958
Hannah Grieco
Prose Facilitator
Hannah Grieco is the author of “First Kicking, Then Not,” out now from Stanchion Books. She writes a literary column for Washington City Paper, edits prose at a variety of small presses and literary journals, and teaches literature at Marymount University. She also works 1:1 with writers as an editor and book coach, helping with manuscript development, agent and publishing house searches, essay and short story placement, and more. Read her work in The Washington Post, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Huffington Post, Brevity, Craft Literary, Poet Lore, Shenandoah, Fairy Tale Review, Wigleaf, and more. Find her online at hgrieco.com and on most social media @writesloud.
DaMaris B. Hill
Poetry Facilitator
DaMaris B. Hill is a poet and creative scholar. Hill’s first poetry collection, A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing, is a powerful narrative-in-verse that bears witness to Black women burdened by incarceration. It was an Amazon #1 Best Seller in African American Poetry, a Publishers Weekly Top 10 History Title, and 2020 NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry. Hill’s other books include Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood, The Fluid Boundaries of Suffrage and Jim Crow: Staking Claims in the American Heartland, and \Vi-zə-bəl\ \Teks-chərs\ (Visible Textures). Her digital work, “Shut Up In My Bones”, is a twenty-first century poem that uses remix/pastiche/intertextuality to honor a specific cultural past, while working to construct visions of a better future. Hill is Chair and Professor of Creative Writing and English Literature, at her alma mater, Morgan State University.
Applications are accepted from creative writers in the following areas: fiction; creative nonfiction; and poetry. Plays, scripts, essays, flash fiction, and children’s literature will not be accepted due to their special craft demands.
The application process is competitive. Work samples will be juried in an anonymous review process by two jurors – one for prose applicants and one for poetry applicants. Up to 18 participants will be accepted – 9 for poetry and 9 for prose.
Writers at all levels of experience are invited to apply. While newcomers may be given special consideration, previous attendees of the Division’s Writers Retreats are welcome to apply.
Applicants must be Delaware residents for at least one year, over the age of 18, and not enrolled in a degree or certificate granting educational program. You may be asked to provide proof of residency.
Please note, applicants must select between poetry and prose and submit only one application.
Applications will be available May 1, 2026 in smARTDE and must be submitted by the deadline of July 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
Applicants must choose between poetry and prose and submit only one application. For prose, applications are accepted from creative writers in the following areas: fiction and creative nonfiction.
Plays, scripts, essays, flash fiction, and children’s literature will not be accepted due to their special craft demands.
Prose work samples requirements:
Poetry work sample requirements:
The Retreat is a combination of scheduled time for workshops and group activities along with blocks of unscheduled time for writing or recharging. Craft talks, generative writing sessions with prompts, and readings are additional options offered during the Retreat.
There are two cohorts of 9 writers each – one for prose writers and one for poetry. You will be asked to read in advance the work of the other writers in your cohort and prepare constructive comments to share in the workshops. Facilitators will provide instructions on preparing for the workshops. You will meet in your small group several times. Workshop facilitators promote a safe, engaging, and productive environment for all participants.
Click here for a sample Retreat schedule. The final schedule will be available to participants in October.
Participants will need to bring bedding and other supplies. Participants must clear all trash from their rooms upon checkout and return their Key Cards. Participants may not have overnight guests.
Smoking (including vaping) is PROHIBITED inside the Biden Center and is only permitted outside in designated areas. Pets are not allowed.
Fees
If selected, the fee for the Retreat is $325, which includes a private room with twin beds and most meals. A vehicle pass is included.
Payments for the Writers Retreat can be made online by credit card or cashier checks, personal checks or money orders may be made payable and sent to the Delaware Division of the Arts.
A fee of $10.00 per card will be charged for lost or stolen key cards not returned at check out.
Cancellations
The Retreat is subject to change or cancellation if there are not enough qualified applicants.
If accepted, a non-refundable deposit is due by September 15. In the event a participant needs to cancel, refunds will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will depend in part on whether a substitute from the waitlist can participate.
If there are circumstances that prevent us from meeting in person, the Retreat will be rescheduled or held in a virtual format (at a reduced fee).
Participants will be required to follow the Cape Henlopen State Park Rules and Regulations and State of Delaware’s protocols. Not following protocols may be a basis to decline admittance or request a participant to exit from the Retreat and facility. No refunds will be given in such instances.
Meals
The Division will arrange to provide most meals from a caterer. Accepted participants will be asked to provide information about food allergies which will be shared with the caterer. In some cases, participants who have severe allergies, special diets, or food intolerances may be encouraged to bring their own food.
What to bring
Each bedroom has two twin beds and its own bathroom & shower. Toilet paper is provided, but guests will have to bring all essential needs for both bedrooms and bathrooms such as:
Important Dates
Applications Open: May 1, 2026
Deadline: July 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
All Artists Notified: August 31, 2026
Deposit Due: September 15, 2026 (non-refundable)
Balance Due: October 15, 2026
Retreat Dates: November 5-8, 2026
Roxanne Stanulis
Artist Programs and Services
302-577-8283, Dover
Catherine Pierce, Poetry Facilitator
Catherine Pierce is the Poet Laureate of Mississippi and the author of four books of poems: Danger Days (2020), The Tornado Is the World (2016), The Girls of Peculiar (2012), and Famous Last Words (2008), all from Saturnalia Books. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Best American Poetry, the Pushcart Prize anthology, The Nation, American Poetry Review, The Southern Review, and elsewhere. A recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Academy of American Poets, she teaches at Mississippi State University.
Tope Folarin, Prose Facilitator
Tope Folarin is a Nigerian-American writer based in Washington DC. He serves as Director of the Institute for Policy Studies and the Lannan Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing at Georgetown University. He is the recipient of the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Whiting Award for Fiction, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, among other awards. His debut novel, A Particular Kind of Black Man, was published by Simon & Schuster.
Fifteen Delaware writers participated in the Retreat at the Virden Center in Lewes from November 3-6, 2022. Tara Campbell and Chet’la Sebree led workshops where participants critiqued each other’s work, gave craft talks on flash fiction and exit strategies, and led generative writing exercises.
One participant summed up the experience, “Both instructors were tremendous, and there was a great feeling of community among the writers, who lifted each other up and made a real effort to raise each other’s abilities.”
Another commented, “I left with so much encouragement and validation – and some new words that I hope turn into something more.”
Tara Campbell, Prose leader
Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse, and graduate of American University’s MFA in Creative Writing. She’s the recipient of the following awards from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities: the 2016 Larry Neal Writers’ Award in Adult Fiction, the 2016 Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding New Artist, and Arts and Humanities Fellowships for 2018 – 2022. Campbell’s publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Wigleaf, Jellyfish Review, Booth, Strange Horizons, and CRAFT Literary. She’s the author of a novel and four multi-genre collections including her newest, Cabinet of Wrath: A Doll Collection. She teaches fiction with American University, Johns Hopkins University’s Advanced Academic Programs, the Writer’s Center, Politics and Prose, Catapult, and the National Gallery of Art’s Virtual Studio.
Chet’la Sebree, Poetry leader
Chet’la Sebree is the author of Field Study, winner of the 2020 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Mistress, winner of the 2018 New Issues Prize and nominated for an NAACP Image Award. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from American University and has been awarded fellowships from Baldwin for the Arts, the Delaware Division of the Arts, Hedgebrook, MacDowell, the Stadler Center, the Vermont Studio Center, and Yaddo. Her poetry and prose have been published in journals and magazines including The Yale Review, The New Republic, Kenyon Review, and Guernica. Currently, she is working on her debut essay collection as she directs the Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts and teaches in the Creative Writing program at Bucknell University.
Thirteen writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2020 Delaware Seashore Poets and Prose Writers Retreat. In addition to giving writers time to write, the Retreat featured guest instructors Lise Funderburg and Lauren Grodstein who led workshops and gave craft talks.
Writers critiqued each other’s work and generated new writing. Lise and Lauren gave craft talks on conceiving plot, removing obstacles to productivity, and the business of writing. While acknowledging the challenges of the virtual format, one participant noted, “This retreat was excellent and the teachers were amazing. I enjoyed everything and feel that I learned a lot.”
Twenty-two writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2018 Delaware Seashore Poets and Prose Writers Retreat. In addition to giving writers time to write, the Retreat featured guest instructors Sandra Beasley and Leslie Pietrzyk who led workshops and gave craft talks.
A collection of poetry and prose written by the 2018 Delaware Seashore Poets and Prose Writers Retreat attendees is currently being edited by Billie Travalini and John Newlin.
Here’s what some of the writers said of the experience…
“I was able to work with diverse participants, obtain really constructive feedback on my work and learn new frameworks for improving my skills.”
“I loved the retreat, sharing work with other writers and having that time to immerse myself in my work. I wrote for hours and hours, happily.”
“I came home feeling uplifted, like I’d accomplished something important and new in my own writing and I felt very connected to the other writers and think this will be a lasting thing as we meet again during the coming year at readings, workshops, etc.”
The 2018 anthology, Rooster in the Henhouse, is for sale on Amazon.
Twenty-two writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2016 Delaware Seashore Poets and Prose Writers Retreat from November 3-6, 2016, at the Cottages at Indian River Marina, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. One attendee summarized the experience, “Amazing weekend of focusing on writing and interacting with other writers. Did wonders for my confidence in my writing skills.” Workshops were led by novelist, H. G. Carrillo and poet, Diana Goetsch.
Twenty-one writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2014 Cape Henlopen Poetry and Prose Writers Retreat from October 16-19, 2014, at the Virden Conference Center, Lewes, Delaware. Workshops were led by former Delaware Poet Laureate, JoAnn Balingit and Alice Elliott Dark, a short story author and novelist.
Sixteen writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2012 Poets and Writers Retreat at Cape Henlopen from September 27-30, 2012 at the Biden Center, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware. Workshops were led by former Delaware Poet Laureate, JoAnn Balingit and Alice Elliott Dark, a short story author and novelist.
Fifteen writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2010 Poets and Writers Retreat at Cape Henlopen from October 21-24,2010 at the Biden Center, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware. Workshops were led by former Delaware Poet Laureate, JoAnn Balingit, poet Frank Giampietro, and nonfiction writer Tama Baldwin.
Sixteen writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2008 Poetry and Fiction Writers Retreat at Cape Henlopen from October 23-26, 2008 at the Biden Center, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware. Workshops were led by former Delaware Poet Laureate, JoAnn Balingit novelist, Dr. Cruce Stark.
Sixteen writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2006 Poetry and Fiction Writers Retreat at Cape Henlopen from October 19-22, 2006 at the Biden Center, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware. Workshops were led by former Delaware Poet Laureate, Dr. Fleda Brown and novelist, Dr. Cruce Stark.
Sixteen writers from around the state attended the Division’s 2004 Poetry and Fiction Writers Retreat at Cape Henlopen from October 14-17, 2004 at the Biden Center, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware. Workshops were led by former Delaware Poet Laureate, Dr. Fleda Brown and novelist, Dr. Cruce Stark.
Twelve poets from around the state attended the Division’s inaugural Poetry Writers Retreat at Cape Henlopen from October 3-6, 2002 at the Biden Center, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware. Workshops were led by former Delaware Poet Laureate, Dr. Fleda Brown.
Carvel State Office Building
820 North French Street,
4th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19801
302.577.8278 |
302.577.6561
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