Outrageous Voices
Spring 2026 Writers' Retreat
When: May 14-17, 2026
Where: About an hour from Atlanta
Location provided when you register and pay.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW - see below
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Registration deadline: April 24
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We must receive your payment by May 1
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Your space is confirmed when payment is received
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Check-in Thursday, May 14, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
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Opening Circle is Thursday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m.
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Donate fun things we can raffle for our scholarship fund!
Register and Pay Early
to Enter Drawing for OV Swag!
If we receive your payment by April 1,
you'll be entered in the drawing.
All payments due by May 1.
Your space is confirmed when
payment is received.
We hope you will join us May 14-17, 2026, 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 warmly welcome new voices.
Unfortunely we still cannot accept electronic payments. We're working on that and hope to accept payments online starting in the Fall. For now, we are relying on the U.S. Postal Service.
Instead of an auction, we will have a raffle onsite to raise money for our scholarship fund. So be thinking of fun things you can donate to be raffled off! Art, services, experiences ... get creative!
Returning to the “New” Location
The conference center is less rustic than our original location. Still idyllic, with plenty of trees, 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.
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) Two cabin options, same price (see cost below):
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Smaller cabins, snore-friendly. Some cabin rooms are reserved for attendees with special sleep needs.
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Loud and Rowdy, where there may be late-night activities.
Limited "special sleep space" in the cabins is first come, first served. Each cabin includes 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:
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Private room, not shared.
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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 of your roommate.
Each person registers separately and pays a per-person rate. This rate includes your portion of the shared room cost as well as your meals.
If you want to reserve a room but don’t have your roommate lined up yet, you may pay for a private room as though you were not going to share it, and then add your roommate prior to the registration deadline of April 24. Here’s how it works:
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Register and pay the full single-occupancy rate.
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Your roommate registers separately and pays only for their non-room costs, which include meals, indicating that they are joining a room for which another attendee has already paid.
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You will need to make your own arrangement with your roommate if you want them to reimburse you for their share of the room cost.
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Deadline for registering additional attendees is April 24.
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.
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Sliding scale, cabins (price includes meals)
Cost to OUTrageous Voices: $255 per person
Sliding scale: $205 to $355 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.
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Sliding scale, hotel-style rooms (prices include meals)
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Double occupancy: Cost to OUTrageous Voices: $325 per person. Sliding scale: $275 to $425 per person.
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Single occupancy: Cost to OUTrageous Voices: $485 per person. Sliding scale: $435 to $585 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/or Saturday. Each day pass includes one-day attendance at the retreat with lunch, dinner, workshops, and readings. Day passes do not include breakfast. Friday's day pass includes a dance after the evening readings. Day pass holders are encouraged 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. Specify vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free.
Day passes must be purchased in advance. We will not sell day passes on site at the retreat.
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Deadline for day pass registration: April 24.
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Payments: We must receive your payment by May 1.
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 April 24. Requests received after April 24 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.
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 14
Check-in: 2-4 p.m.
Dinner: 5:45 p.m.
Opening circle: 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 17
Breakfast: 8 a.m.
Closing circle: 10 a.m.
The retreat will end at Noon
Registration info
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Registration deadline: April 24.
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Payment deadline: May 1. (We MUST receive your payment by May 1.)
>> Don’t wait! As soon as you have registered, put your payment in the mail to:
OUTrageous Voices c/o Rebecca Buchanan, 11 Middlemont Ave., Asheville, NC 28806.
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 1. (We MUST receive your payment by May 1.)
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As soon as you have registered, mail your payment to: OUTrageous Voices c/o Rebecca Buchanan, 11 Middlemont Ave., Asheville, NC 28806.
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Payments need to be mailed, so please allow plenty of time.
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We can’t accept payments through Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, etc.
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Advance payment is required. We will not accept payments on site at the retreat.
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We can only guarantee your space at the retreat when we receive your payment.
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If we don’t receive your payment by May 1, you will not be able to attend.
Payment method
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U.S. Mail: Send a personal check or cashier's check to OUTrageous Voices c/o Rebecca Buchanan, 11 Middlemont Ave., Asheville, NC 28806.
Please make your check out to OUTrageous Voices.
We must receive your payment by May 1.
Refunds
No refunds after April 1.
Questions?
Email questions to us at outrageousvoices@yahoo.com.
