WEST BEND, Wis. — Award-winning author and editor Richard Thomas, Chicago, will join the core instructional staff for the 2020 Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat, May 17-23. In addition, literary agent Claire Harris has agreed to be the third visiting publishing pro who will help counsel NIP writers in May.
Members of the Chicago Writers Association, Off Campus Writers’ Workshop, Winnetka, Ill., and the Wisconsin Writers Association receive a $90 discount when enrolling in the six-day, residential Bookcamp workshop while members of those organizations receive a $100 discount when registering for the concurrent residential Writing Retreat. Registrations for both programs are near full capacity, so contact NIP Director Dave Rank, davejrank@ameritech.net, as soon as possible to enroll.
Since its 2014 debut, the NIP is held at the 100-acre Retreat Center at Cedar Valley in southeast Wisconsin, about 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee and 90 minutes from the Chicago area. https://www.cedarcommunity.org/retreat-center-cedar-valley.
Thomas, who was a visiting editor at the 2015 NIP, will team with Bookcamp workshop Author-in-Residence SJ Rozan, New York, and Writing Retreat Mentor Lisa Lickel, Wisconsin, both award-winning novelists, providing instructional sessions for enrolled writers, as well as one-on-one consultations.
Harris is an agent with the Foundry Literary + Medi agency, New York City. She joins visiting agent Erik Hane of Red Sofa Literary, St. Paul, Minn., and Milwaukee area resident James Lowder, executive fiction editor for Chaosium, Inc. Thursday and Friday during the NIP week, leading a presentation, taking part on panel discussions on the publishing industry, and hearing book pitches.
Thomas has written three novels, three short story collections, and edited four anthologies. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, and Thriller awards, and is a five-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize. Long-listed for Best Horror of the Year six times, he was Editor-in-Chief for Dark House Press and Gamut Magazine. With more that 150 stories in print, Thomas is a columnist for Lit Reactor and is a popular writing instructor. His website is www.whatdoesnotkillme.com.
Originally From Racine, Wis., Harris received her B.A. in English from The University of Texas at Austin and attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute before joining Foundry Literary + Media. She loves dark and twisted stories, and is happiest reading manuscripts with unexpected endings. Having grown up in Wisconsin, Harris especially enjoys stories set in the Midwest. In fiction, she looks for psychological and commercial thrillers, serial detective stories, works of fiction inspired by actual crimes, mystery, suspense, cozies, anything involving serial killers, and contemporary family dramas. You can find her on Twitter at @claire_m_harris.
The Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat offers two concurrent, residential writing programs annually in May:
The intensive NIP Bookcamp workshop is designed to aid writers with a booklength work-in-progress in any genre or creative nonfiction, providing classroom instruction, editing clinic, critique sessions, advice specific to your WIP from published novelists, agents, and editors, and information on today’s changing publishing industry during a week-long, writing-focused environment.
The NIP Writing Retreat offers six days of personal writing time with opportunities to discuss writing issues with the Retreat Mentor (an award-winning novelist and editor), opportunities to attend certain writing- or publishing-related presentations, all NIP social activities, critiques, and chat with fellow writers and publishing professionals in a relaxed group environment.
For more information on either program, contact NIP Director Dave Rank, davejrank@ameritech.net or through the NIP’s Facebook page.
The Bookcamp workshop and the Writing Retreat are owned by the Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational group, assisted by good friends the Chicago Writers Association, the Off Campus Writers’ Workshop, and the Wisconsin Writers Association. Donations are welcomed.
