SANTA FE GATHERING OF WRITERS

with Connie May Fowler

Held in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico

October 26 - November 2, 2026

Cozy living room with leather sofa, wooden chairs, lamps, and large windows showing green trees outside.

Join us in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico for a week immersed in your current project. Enjoy the company of other writers as we gather in the afternoons to discuss that day’s work. Throughout the week, we’ll host craft discussions, publishing talks, explore our pages, and more. But, mostly, we will write and offer up our work for immersive, supportive discussions under the guidance of legendary writer and editor Connie May Fowler

A perk: This year we will be in Santa Fe as its residents celebrate Día Los Muertos. This is a very special holiday you won’t want to miss!

A Typical Day

Morning writing time.

Afternoon walkabouts and/or writing time.

Late afternoon workshops.

Early evening sunset gathering.

Dinner in Santa Fe.

Retreat Locale

Located in the heart of Old Santa Fe, the Inn of The Governors provides participants walking-distance access to some of Santa Fe’s most beloved sites, including the plaza complex, Loretta Chapel, Georgia O’Keefe Museum, Meow Wolf, New Mexico Museum of Art, New Mexico Capital Art Collection, the Spa at Loretto, and innumerable cafes, boutiques, and restaurants.

Special Rate Retreat Lodging Fee: $209 per night.

If you are admitted into the Retreat, you will, upon paying the deposit, receive the hotel code for the special rate.

Lodging Fee Includes Mountain Sunrise Breakfast (6:30 a.m. - 10 a.m. daily), parking, and Sherry & Biscochitos (4 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily).

Fees

Retreat, Workshops, Discussions: $1,600

Apply

If you are not currently in one of Connie’s monthly workshops or if you did not attend the 2024 Santa Fe or Vermont Gathering of Writers, you will need to submit five pages of prose—double-spaced, Times New Roman Font, original margins written in Microsoft Word—via an email attachment (inkblossomwriters@gmail.com). The deadline for applying is June 30, 2026, but we recommend applying early because space is limited.

Fee Deadlines

If you are accepted into the retreat/conference, you will need to secure your space with a non refundable $500 deposit upon acceptance (payment instructions will be sent to you). The $1,100 balance is due August 1.

Cancellations

We understand emergencies happen and empathize with those facing challenges. We are a small, boutique writers’ conference because we feel learning and inspiration take place more readily in intimate, nurturing settings, not hotel ballrooms full of strangers. That means cancellations place a particular burden on us. We are only able to refund tuition fees, excluding the deposit, if we’re able to fill your spot with another writer.

We highly recommend buying travel insurance.

Scholarships

A limited number of scholarships are available. If you require financial assistance please email a one-page letter of intent detailing how you plan to use the retreat to further your specific writing project.

Purple wisteria flowers hanging from a twisted wooden branch above a beige wall and a stained-glass lamp with yellow and orange hues.
A painting of a woman with long black hair, large eyes, pinkish skin tone, and dark lips, wearing a purple top, on a textured background with green and pink patches.
A desert scene with a beige stucco wall, a small window with black bars and wooden border, a leafless tree, cactus plants, and decorative rocks.

“Connie is the teacher that every aspiring author needs. She articulates elements of craft, guides her students to improve their content, and suggests strategies for eventual completion and publication of projects, as only someone with her track record and success can. Moreover, Connie is just plain fun to work with.” ~ Flavian Mark Lupinetti, Novelist, Short Story Writer, Poet

Signboard for Inn of the Governors featuring a purple arch and trees, with yellow sunflowers and an Albuquerque New Mexico flag in the foreground, blue sky with clouds in the background.
Outdoor swimming pool area with lounge chairs, umbrellas, and garden furniture, surrounded by a fence and greenery.
Colorful painted columns at a park, featuring various designs such as animals, clouds, rainbow, and abstract shapes, with a wooden structure overhead and a clear blue sky.
A cozy hotel room with a large bed covered in white linens and a red bedspread. The room features a patterned tapestry hanging above the bed, side tables with lamps, a small sitting area with chairs and a window with red curtains, a wooden dresser with a TV on top, and a small desk with a tablet and snacks.
A woman with curly hair and glasses holding a tablet in a restaurant, smiling at the camera, with a man in the background wearing glasses and a light-colored shirt.
Group of eleven people seated around a U-shaped table in a conference room, with two standing behind them. The table is covered with red and white tablecloths, and there are laptops, notebooks, and drinks on the table. The room has framed pictures on the wall and appears to be set up for a meeting or discussion.

Private Manuscript Reviews

A limited number of private, one-hour manuscript reviews conducted by Connie are available.

50 pages: $200

51-100 pages $400

If reviews beyond 100 pages are requests, those will be accepted on a case-by-case basis, fee to be determined.

Manuscript fees and manuscripts due August 1, 2026. Manuscript must be formatted following the guidelines in the How to Apply section.

A man and a woman sitting at a restaurant table engaged in conversation. The man has gray hair, glasses, and a black shirt. The woman has wavy, shoulder-length hair and is wearing a white top with earrings. The table has drinks, menus, and papers, and the background shows other patrons and wooden decor.
A historic church with a stone facade, clock, and twin bell towers, surrounded by green trees and under a clear blue sky.
A smiling elderly woman with long gray hair, glasses, and a colorful striped blouse standing next to a seated elderly man with a beard, with gray hair, wearing a black jacket and plaid shirt, on a porch outside a building.