Outrageous Voices
Spring 2025 Writers' Retreat
Registration for the Spring 2025 Writers' Retreat is now open!
When: May 22-25, 2025
Where: About an hour south of Atlanta
Contrats to the winners of OV Swag!
10 lucky people who registered for the Spring writers' retreat have won OV swag at the drawing held April 1. Thanks for sending your payments early!
All payments are due by May 6.
We hope you will join us May 22-25, 2025, for a long weekend of writing workshops, stimulating readings, and fellowship with other lesbian/queer/non-binary/trans/bisexual writers. The atmosphere will be inspiring, relaxed and fun. Many of us have been gathering twice a year for decades, and we welcome new voices.
Registration deadline: May 1
Payments: We must receive your payment by May 6
Returning to Last Spring’s “New” Location
It’s not a state park, and it’s less rustic, less rural than our prior location. Still idyllic, it’s a setting where we can soak in the outdoors but also retreat to air-conditioned comfort in the face of Georgia’s heat and humidity in the month of May.
We keep the location private until we receive your payment for registration. Please respect this policy and refrain from sharing the location with others who are not registered to attend. The retreat takes place about an hour or less from the Atlanta airport, depending on traffic. You will receive the address with your payment confirmation by email.
Accommodations
The two types of lodgings are cabin-style and hotel-style, all air-conditioned and accessible, at different prices.
(1) Three cabin options, all the same price (see below):
-
Quiet after 9 p.m. and close to the dining hall.
-
Loud and Rowdy, where there may be late-night activities.
-
Smaller cabins, snore-friendly.
Limited special sleep space in the cabins is first come, first served. Each cabin has larger sleep rooms with up to four bunk beds. There are also smaller sleep rooms with two bunk beds. The smaller sleep rooms in the cabins will be reserved for those with special sleep needs, for example, those who use CPAP machines or have more trouble sleeping with any ambient noise. Please indicate on your registration form if you require one of the special sleep spaces in a cabin. Depending on demand, it's possible you will need to share the room with another person.
(2) Two hotel-style options, at different prices:
-
Private room, not shared.
-
Private room shared by two people.
The 24 hotel-style rooms each have two beds, one queen and one twin. The rooms are entirely private and have wi-fi access. The building is accessible. Two of the rooms are ADA compliant and will be reserved for attendees requiring such accommodations. You may request one of these ADA-compliant rooms when registering.
Sharing a room in the hotel-style option
If you want to share a room in the Conference Lodge, please attempt to have your room-sharing figured out prior to registering. You’ll indicate on your registration form the name(s) of your roommate(s).
Each person registers separately and pays a per-person rate. This rate includes your portion of the room cost as well as your meals and swimming opportunities.
If you want to reserve a room but don’t have your roommate(s) lined up yet, you may pay for a private room as though you were not going to share it, and then add your roommates prior to the registration deadline of May 1. Here’s how it works:
-
You register and pay the single-occupancy rate.
-
Your roommate(s) register separately and pay only for their non-room costs, which include meals and swimming opportunities, indicating that they are joining a room for which another attendee has already paid.
-
The cost per additional attendee in a room for which another attendee has already paid is $150, with a sliding scale of $100-$250.
-
You will need to make your own arrangement with your roommate(s) if you want them to reimburse you for their share of the room cost.
-
Deadline for registering additional attendees is May 1.
Cost
OUTrageous Voices offers a sliding scale for payment. We’ll tell you how much the retreat costs us, per person, and you let us know how much you can pay. We encourage those who can afford it to pay more than our cost. This offsets losses we might incur when others are not able to pay the full cost. With your generosity, we will meet our goal that no one is turned away because of financial issues.
Included in the retreat price are eight meals beginning with dinner on Thursday. If you would like vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free meals, please add a total of $16 to your payment.
-
Sliding scale, cabins (price includes meals and swimming)
Cost to OUTrageous Voices: $240 per person
Sliding scale: $190 to $340 per person. Please pay the higher amount if you can. If the low end of the sliding scale is too much for you, indicate on your registration form how much you are able to pay, and send that amount as your payment.
-
Sliding scale, hotel-style rooms (prices include meals and swimming)
-
Double occupancy: Cost to OUTrageous Voices: $310 per person. Sliding scale: $260 to $410 per person.
-
Single occupancy: Cost to OUTrageous Voices: $470 per person. Sliding scale: $420 to $570 per person.
Please pay the higher amount if you can. If the low end of the sliding scale is too much for you, indicate on your registration form how much you are able to pay, and send that amount as your payment.
Day passes
For those located in the Atlanta area, or staying offsite at another hotel, or staying at the home of friends nearby, we offer $50 day passes to attend the retreat on Friday and Saturday. Each day pass includes one-day attendance at the retreat with lunch, dinner, workshops, readings, and swimming. Day passes do not include breakfast. Saturday’s day pass includes a dance after the evening readings. Day pass holders are invited to join us for Opening Circle at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Closing Circle at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Day pass with special dietary requirements: $55. Vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free.
Day passes must be purchased in advance. We will not sell day passes on site at the retreat.
-
Deadline for day pass registration: May 1.
-
Payments: We must receive your payment by May 6.
Meals
The retreat location has a dining hall serving delicious, healthy meals. Meals are included in the retreat costs. Our first meal will be Thursday evening and the last meal will be Sunday morning, with breakfast, lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday. The dining program can accommodate requests for vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free meals for an additional cost of $16 for the weekend. We must receive all special dietary requests by May 1. Requests received after May 1 cannot be honored.
We won’t be able to provide a “late night snack” at this retreat, so bring your own snacks!
Special sleep space
Limited special needs sleep space is available on a first come, first served basis. You must indicate on your registration form if you need special sleep space. In the cabins, the rooms reserved for special needs sleep space are smaller with only two bunk beds or one bunk bed and one single bed, and a private bathroom. Depending on demand, it's possible you will need to share the cabin room with another person.
In the hotel-style accommodations, the two rooms reserved for special needs sleep space are ADA compliant.
Swimming
Included in the retreat price are two swims in the center’s lake, one on Friday and one on Saturday. We can only swim when the lifeguard is on duty.
Airport shuttle
We may be able to offer a shuttle from the Atlanta airport on Thursday and back again on Sunday, on request. To request, please email outrageousvoices@yahoo.com with Subject: Transportation. If available, the service will be free and, if you are able, we welcome a transportation donation.
Retreat schedule
You’ll receive the full retreat schedule when you arrive. We’ll have plenty of workshops and readings on Friday and Saturday. Here are the times you need to know in advance so you can plan your travel:
Thursday, May 22
Check-in: 2-4 p.m.
Dinner: 6 p.m.
Opening circle: 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 25
Breakfast: 8 a.m.
Closing circle: 10 a.m.
The retreat will end at Noon
Registration info
-
Registration deadline: May 1.
-
Payment deadline: May 6. (We MUST receive your payment by May 6)
>> Don’t wait! As soon as you have registered, put your payment in the mail to:
Meredith Marchbank, 202 Dancing Fox Rd., Decatur, GA 30032.
When we receive your registration and payment, we will send you an email with details about the retreat, including the retreat location, what you need to know and what you need to bring. If you have additional questions, please email us at outrageousvoices@yahoo.com.
How to pay
Payment deadline: May 6. (We MUST receive your payment by May 6)
-
As soon as you have registered, mail your payment to: Meredith Marchbank,
202 Dancing Fox Rd., Decatur, GA 30032. -
Payments need to be mailed, so please allow plenty of time.
-
We can’t accept payments through Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, etc.
-
Advance payment is required. We will not accept payments on site at the retreat.
-
We can't guarantee your space at the retreat until we receive your payment.
-
If we don’t receive your payment by May 6, you will not be able to attend.
Payment method
-
U.S. Mail: Send a personal check or cashier's check to Meredith Marchbank,
202 Dancing Fox Rd., Decatur, GA 30032.
Please make your check out to OUTrageous Voices.
We must receive your payment by May 6.
Refunds
No refunds after April 1.
Questions?
Email questions to us at outrageousvoices@yahoo.com.
