Winter Retreat for Teen Writers

At Writopia Lab’s Winter Retreat, young writers will have the chance to cozy up with their craft, and spend long days either luxuriating on their creative writing projects, writing an original screenplay and filming their short film, or participating in a rollicking weekend-long role-playing adventure.

Workshops and Tracks
This year we’ll have three tracks—creative writing, filmmaking, and role-playing games (like Dungeons & Dragons!). Creative writers will have a three hour workshop in the morning, and portfolio, and other narrative electives in the afternoon. Filmmakers will spend the mornings writing their scripts, and the afternoons filming them. And game players will play all day! Between these sessions, the full retreat will enjoy meals and downtime together in the mountains in the snow.

Evening Activities: Teen Leadership Opportunities

Juniors and Seniors Only

Apply for an incredible leadership opportunity at this year’s Winter Retreat! Not only will you have the chance to be immersed in a wintery wonderland and write with your like-minded peers, but you’ll also have the option to apply for a special internship. The application includes proposing an evening activity that you would get to run for the whole retreat.

Do you have a workshop idea on a niche interest of yours--it could be writing/storytelling related, or something completely different but equally as creative--that you would like to help the rest of the retreat experience? Do you have a cool idea for a retreat-wide game? Maybe you’d like to lead salons on pop culture like music and art of your generation, or perhaps a workshop on out-loud storytelling. Or even better…it could be an area of expertise that we haven’t even thought of. We want you to share it with us!

For a leadership role, you must enroll and apply by December 15th. (Once you’ve enrolled, we’ll send you the link to apply.)Between these sessions, writers will enjoy hot cocoa, s'mores, games, reading, camaraderie, and a final showcase of work on the last evening.

When: Saturday, February 14th to Tuesday, February 17th, 2026
Where: Camp Mariah in Fishkill, NY
Ages: 12 to 18
Tuition: $985 (Limited financial aid available. Contact financialaid@writopialab.org to learn more.)

DC families: we are hoping to establish a Winter Retreat in the DC Region. Fill out this form to express interest!

Click here to enroll in the 2026 Winter Retreat!