About The Retreat
January 6-11 | Marrakech, Morocco
Join four esteemed authors in a series of generative creative writing workshops that explore themes of self-expansion, societal revolution, cultural presence, and embodiment. This five day retreat will be held on the grounds of the renowned Jnane Tamsna resort in the lush date palm forest of Marrakech. The workshops will be complemented by cultural activities, including private tours of the city’s majestic medina and sojourns to secret gardens within the city’s walls. This will be a space to discover, create, reflect, and develop relationships with people across borders, cultures, and backgrounds.
WHERE
Jnane Tamsna
Douar Abiad, Palmeraie, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Douar Abiad, Palmeraie, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
WHEN
January 6th - 11th
2023
2023
AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS
Four authors from diverse cultural and writing backgrounds will be attending and hosting literary workshops, conversations and dinners. A space to exchange, share stories and dive deep into literature for five days.
Cleyvis Natera
writer - activist
Cleyvis Natera is an essayist, short fiction writer, critic and novelist. Her debut novel Neruda on the Park was an anticipated book of 2022 by TIME, the Today Show, Good Morning America’s Zibby Owens, ELLE. Upon publication, Neruda on the Park was selected as a May 2022 New York Times Editor’s Choice.
Natera was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York City.
Natera was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York City.
Camille Dungy
writer
Camille T. Dungy is an author, poet and scholar. Author of four collections of poetry, most recently Trophic Cascade (Wesleyan UP, 2017), winner of the Colorado Book Award. Her debut collection of personal essays is Guidebook to Relative Strangers (W. W. Norton, 2017), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Dungy is currently a Professor in the English Department at Colorado State University.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Writer
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is the New York Times-bestselling author of Friday Black. Originally from Spring Valley, New York, he graduated from SUNY Albany and received his MFA from Syracuse University.
His work has appeared or is forthcoming from numerous publications, including the New York Times Book Review, Literary Hub, the Paris Review... He is the winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.
His work has appeared or is forthcoming from numerous publications, including the New York Times Book Review, Literary Hub, the Paris Review... He is the winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.
Tanaïs
writer - perfumer
Tanaïs is the author of In Sensorium: Notes for My People, a finalist for the 2022 Kirkus Prize, and the critically acclaimed novel Bright Lines, which was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award, and the Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize. Featured in Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, The Cut for their innovative scents and stories, they work as an independent perfumer and owner of a fragrance, beauty and design studio TANAÏS, based in New York City.
The Workshops
Join Tanaïs for A Sense of a Story: A Generative Non-Fiction Writing & Perfuming Workshop:
hosted in one of Jnane Tamsna's gardens.
Writer and perfumer Tanaïs invites participants to infuse their writing with a record of sensory details of their everyday lives, which make prose feel electric, embodied and alive. Through readings, discussion, generative writing from students’ field notes on the grounds of Jnane Tamsna, we explore new rhythms of writing, deepening how we live in our bodies, access our memories and retell them in potent writing.
Gather for Cleyvis Natera's "Writer as Activist, Literature as Revolution" generative workshop, hosted on the grounds of the beautiful Bab Ourika Resort.
This generative workshop analyses literary revolutions through an intersectional view of justice and guides participants through writing prompts that will serve as a jumping off point for a short story to be written after the class.
Through a close reading and discussion of an excerpt of Maisy Card's "The True Death of Abel Paisley," we will hone our understanding of the writer as activist and literature as revolution. Following the discussion of the chapter, there will be a short craft conversation about critical elements to achieve a compelling, propulsive short story. We will then turn our attention to guided prompts that will culminate with the participants sharing their work.
Sit with Camille Dungy in one of Jnane Tamsna's gardens after a cultural walk through the medina : "Wherever You Go, There You Are: Writing Well-Rooted Work Anywhere":
When asked about the place she called home, a woman who lived thousands of miles away from where we stood said, “Right here.” I looked around and cataloged all the differences between that place and the woman’s far away town. Then I began to notice the similarities. As if I circled the globe’s great orb and came back to the same spot, both different and the same. “As long as I’m connected to this,” she said, holding one hand to her heart and making a wide sweep with the other, “I am home.” What do you hold onto or point toward when you describe the place that you call home? Attending carefully to sense, perceptions, body, landscape, history, and hope, generative writing exercises and stimulating conversations will get you writing in a deeply grounded way about where you think you are, who you think you are, and where (and who) you might be after all.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah invites you to a 3 session writing workshop about "Living the Surreal":
In Fiction we have the power to play with reality, to describe things as they feel sometimes transcending how they are to do so. In writing the surreal, we represent feeling by enhancing, or manipulating the familiar and pushing it to the fantastic.
Over several days we will learn the potential benefits and pitfalls of working with the fantastic, we will mine our lives for feeling that might be represented in this fictive form and we will make magic of ourselves.
HOW WE'LL SPEND OUR DAYS
- Creative conversation & literary salons
- Exploration of Marrakech - from the Medina to the Palmeraies
- Sunset cocktails and canapés
- Candlelit dinners
- Live local music
- Free time to relax, socialize, write, and explore
- Exploration of Marrakech - from the Medina to the Palmeraies
- Sunset cocktails and canapés
- Candlelit dinners
- Live local music
- Free time to relax, socialize, write, and explore
CHOOSE WHERE TO STAY
Jnane Tamsna's splendid interior design, serene nine-acre garden, and five tranquil pools offer you the calm and peace of the Moroccan Palmeraie just on the outskirts of Marrakech. This unique and award-winning boutique hotel offers the perfect scenery to relax and dive into your creative side.
Pricing includes:
- 5 nights at Jnane Tamsna
- Meals with wine at Jnane Tamsna
- Meals with soft drinks in outside restaurants
- Drinks on a roof terrace in the medina
- All local transportation and guided tours
- Airport transfers
Pricing includes:
- 5 nights at Jnane Tamsna
- Meals with wine at Jnane Tamsna
- Meals with soft drinks in outside restaurants
- Drinks on a roof terrace in the medina
- All local transportation and guided tours
- Airport transfers
STANDARD ROOM
- Single Occupancy: $2600
- Double Occupancy: $2000/per person
- Double Occupancy: $2000/per person
DELUXE ROOM
- Single Occupancy: $2900
- Double Occupancy: $2200/per person
- Double Occupancy: $2200/per person
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Are there a limited number of spots?
Yes! We're curating a very intimate experience, so space is limited.
Are the workshop sessions optional?
Yes, you aren't required to join anything you don't want to participate in, but we highly recommend attending!
When will the full itinerary be available?
The full itinerary will be shared to retreat attendees closer to the start date.
What does the rate cover?
Your room, all of your meals, wine at Jnane Tamsna, non-alcoholic beverages in outside restaurants, all tours and activities, and airport transfers.
Are plane tickets included?
No, you'll need to buy your own plane ticket.
Which airport do I fly into?
Arrange your flights into the Marrakech Menara (RAK) airport.
Is the accommodation shared or private?
You can opt for a private single room, or a shared double room.
How do I get to the hotel from the airport?
We will provide airport transfers, included in the retreat rate.
What if I have a specific diet?
Jnane Tamsna can accommodate any dietary restrictions! Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or any more specific allergies.
Is there internet/wi-fi available at the hotel?
Yes, free wifi is available.
What if I have to cancel?
We understand that things happen. If you need to cancel more than 30 days before the retreat, you will be fully refunded. If you need to cancel closer to the date of the retreat, we will work together to find a solution.
Do I need a visa to enter Morocco?
Visas in Morocco are not required for visits lasting less than 90 days. Please note you must have a valid passport with at least one blank page.
Is Morocco safe?
As with any country, we’d recommend always keeping your bag on you, never carrying your passport or too much cash around, and to remain aware of what’s going on around you. That said, Marrakech is a pretty safe city for travelers thanks to its tight-knit community and night time guardian program (we can tell you all about that when you’re here).
Will we have our own time to explore the medina or other parts of Morocco? What is there to do?
Yes, there will be time for you to explore on your own. We're happy to give you recommendations!
What will the weather be like?
In January, the average temperature ranges between 43-60 degrees Farenheit.
Yes! We're curating a very intimate experience, so space is limited.
Are the workshop sessions optional?
Yes, you aren't required to join anything you don't want to participate in, but we highly recommend attending!
When will the full itinerary be available?
The full itinerary will be shared to retreat attendees closer to the start date.
What does the rate cover?
Your room, all of your meals, wine at Jnane Tamsna, non-alcoholic beverages in outside restaurants, all tours and activities, and airport transfers.
Are plane tickets included?
No, you'll need to buy your own plane ticket.
Which airport do I fly into?
Arrange your flights into the Marrakech Menara (RAK) airport.
Is the accommodation shared or private?
You can opt for a private single room, or a shared double room.
How do I get to the hotel from the airport?
We will provide airport transfers, included in the retreat rate.
What if I have a specific diet?
Jnane Tamsna can accommodate any dietary restrictions! Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or any more specific allergies.
Is there internet/wi-fi available at the hotel?
Yes, free wifi is available.
What if I have to cancel?
We understand that things happen. If you need to cancel more than 30 days before the retreat, you will be fully refunded. If you need to cancel closer to the date of the retreat, we will work together to find a solution.
Do I need a visa to enter Morocco?
Visas in Morocco are not required for visits lasting less than 90 days. Please note you must have a valid passport with at least one blank page.
Is Morocco safe?
As with any country, we’d recommend always keeping your bag on you, never carrying your passport or too much cash around, and to remain aware of what’s going on around you. That said, Marrakech is a pretty safe city for travelers thanks to its tight-knit community and night time guardian program (we can tell you all about that when you’re here).
Will we have our own time to explore the medina or other parts of Morocco? What is there to do?
Yes, there will be time for you to explore on your own. We're happy to give you recommendations!
What will the weather be like?
In January, the average temperature ranges between 43-60 degrees Farenheit.
