Did you know that nine Georgia Writers Hall of Fame members lived, worked, and/or wrote within 30 miles of Eatonton? This is the largest literary hub in the state, outside of any major metropolitan area.

At Georgia Writers Museum, we like to say, “There must be something in the soil!” For that reason, we are launching our first Writers Retreat, Feb. 25-27, 2022.

For more information or to register, visit https://www.georgiawritersmuseum.org/2022-writers-retreat/.

The retreat opens on Friday, Feb. 25with keynote speaker George Weinstein, a two-time former president of the Atlanta Writers Club and author of five novels, followed by two days of workshops with more than 14 published authors, editors and literary agents from across the state. The full workshop ($270) includes six sessions over two days, lunches both days, the keynote dinner, and a literary field trip. Registration for one day ($130) includes three sessions and lunch, or select your sessions a la carte ($45) for each 90-minute workshop.

“We are planning for an in-person retreat with precautions for Covid safety, and are ready to pivot to an online conference at a moment’s notice, if necessary,” shared Melissa Swindell, Georgia Writers Museum Executive director, who is ready to get back to in-person events but emphasizes that writers’ safety is first and foremost.

Saturday sessions include:

• Writing Southern Fiction in the Modern South, Ginger Eager and Veena Rao
• Working with an Editor, Tyra Douyon
• Writing Crime, Mystery, Thriller and Suspense, Roger Johns
• Rejection and Revision, Chris Negron
• Your First Page, Peter Selgin
• Writing Poetry, Scott Thomas Outlar

Sunday sessions include:

• Researching and Writing about Historical Events for Fiction and Nonfiction, Rona Simmons
• So You Want to Get Published…, Kristine Anderson, Ben Meeks, Chris Swan, and Jim Auchmutey
• Writing and Pitching Your First Book, Justine Cowan
• Finding and Working with a Literary Agent, Pamela Harty and Kim Jackson
• Getting Your Book to Become a Best-Seller, Chip Bell
• Organizing Productive Writing Groups, Kerry Neville

Many know that Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker (“The Color Purple”) and internationally recognized folk writer Joel Chandler Harris (“Brer Rabbit” stories) were born and raised in Eatonton. Who will be the next celebrity author to write in this town?