Our 9th annual writing retreat in the New jersey PINELANDS
Leave your winter doldrums behind and join us as spring breaks through the sandy soil. Let this getaway revitalize and inspire you as you set some new writing into motion.
“I was surprised at how easily the writing came to me in this setting. I really enjoyed the unique writing prompts and the opportunity to share my work with my group.”
~ One Day Writing Getaway Participant
WORKSHOPS
Saturday, May 3, 2025
9:15 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
Stockton University, Galloway, NJ
Our retreats are centered on the belief that when writers leave behind the distractions of their busy lives to gather in an encouraging community, they are able to make important breakthroughs in their writing. Each workshop will offer craft discussion, writing prompts, writing time, sharing and inspiration.
Spend the day writing in one of the following workshops.
Memoir + Creative nonfiction WorkshopS
Transformative Moments: A Memoir Workshop
Led by Peter E. Murphy
We are—and are not—the same people we were in the past. Let’s spend a day exploring three transformative moments when our lives shifted in directions we hadn’t expected. We’ll use freewriting to discover the subjects of our memoirs, and stimulating readings and prompts to develop our ideas. While we’ll spend most of our time writing together, there will be an option to share our new work before going home. Beginning and experienced writers are welcome in this encouraging workshop.
Building Tension in Creative Nonfiction
Led by Sienna Zeilinger
Some of us are lucky enough to ascend to pop stardom or solve a murder mystery; the rest of us might have to work harder to write nonfiction that can’t be put down. In this workshop, we’ll explore how tension keeps stories moving, readers reading and narrators evolving. We’ll learn strategies for ramping up the tension in our nonfiction while adhering faithfully to the truth. Reading work from Hanif Abdurraqib, Emma Copley Eisenberg and Annie Liontas will show us different approaches to escalation. We will also engage with generative prompts to write in an inclusive, lighthearted environment. Bring a work-in-progress, an idea or a blank page.
Poetry Workshops
Stepping into Joy: A Poetry Workshop
Led by Dimitri Reyes
Whether through free verse, form or performance, poetry bears witness to an ever-changing world while evolving the ways in which we are confessional. In this workshop, we’ll write and study poems that can be used to explore and revise the definition of joy. Poems by Ashia Ajani, Ananda Lima, Joel Dias-Porter and Patrick Rosal will guide us into our own experience of delight through meditation, writing, dance and improvisation. This workshop is open to both first-time and long-time poets. Like joy, writing is a right we all have to practice!
Embracing Vulnerability With Courage: A Poetry Workshop
Led by Gretna Wilkinson
This workshop for writers of all levels will provide a safe space to unveil personal and/or universal truths we carry. After warm-up exercises to prime the proverbial writing pump, we will read inspiring poems from writers such as Lucille Clifton and Ocean Vuong. We’ll explore the way craft, rhythm and other techniques reveal authenticity. We’ll peel away the layers of our emotional responses to the poems, and courageously embrace this vulnerability as the catalyst for our own work. With time for sustained writing, we will leave this supportive workshop with a few new poems.
Fiction Workshop
How to Start and Finish Compelling Short Stories
Led by Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela
Elements like momentum, pacing and urgency are essential in fiction writing, but what about those common roadblock steps: beginnings and endings? In this workshop, we will discover ways to generate storylines that inspire beginnings and endings that leave readers wanting more. We will read inspiring pieces of short fiction that will motivate us to break out of writer’s block and create some beginnings and endings with potential. Advanced fiction writers as well as beginners are welcome in this supportive workshop.
Space is limited. Register today!
Schedule – Saturday, May 3
Galloway, NJ
| 9:15 a.m. | Arrive and sign in |
| 9:30 | Welcome and workshop |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:00 | Workshop |
| 3:40 | Closing |
| 4:00 | Head home |
faculty
Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela is a writer, activist, DJ and teacher. Her work has appeared in publications including American Poetry Review, Foundry, Prism International, The Baffler and Make/shift. Fiction is her primary means of artistic expression and she is currently working on her first novel. She is the founder of Thread Makes Blanket Press. An assistant professor of English at the Community College of Philadelphia, she holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Wyoming. She has received grants from the Velocity Fund and Leeway Foundation. With Leeway, Marissa has organized writer networking and also started a quarterly series of literary salons. She is currently instructing a college course on Prison Literature while also working on a project through Books Through Bars Philadelphia.
Peter E. Murphy was born in Wales and grew up in New York where he managed a night club, operated heavy equipment and drove a taxi. He has been awarded six creative writing fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, which might be a record, as well as multiple residencies at Yaddo, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Millay Colony and other artist retreats. He has published a dozen books and chapbooks of nonfiction and poetry including A Tipsy Fairy Tale: A Coming of Age Memoir of Alcohol and Redemption (Toplight Books, 2024). Read “Their Last Argument” in The Sun and have a look at peteremurphy.com.
Dimitri Reyes is a Puerto Rican multidisciplinary artist, content creator and educator from Newark, NJ. He has been named one of The Best New Latinx Authors of 2023 by LatinoStories.com for his most recent book, Papi Pichón (Get Fresh Books, 2023) which was a finalist for the Omnidawn chapbook contest and the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. His other books include Every First and Fifteenth, winner of the Digging Press 2020 Chapbook Award, and the poetry journal Shadow Work for Poets. Dimitri’s work has been featured on NPR and PBS, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Anthology. He was an inaugural poetry fellow for the Poets & Writers Get The Word Out publishing incubator as well as a 2024 fellow with the NJ Arts Professional Learning Institute. You can read his writing in Poem-a-Day, Verse Daily, Até Mais: Latinx Futurisms and elsewhere. Dimitri is the Marketing & Communications Director at CavanKerry Press. Learn more about Dimitri by visiting his website.
Gretna Wilkinson, Ph.D., began her career as a missionary teacher in the jungles of her native Guyana. She has authored five chapbooks and one full-length, Opening the Drawer. A Dodge Poet, she has performed her poems on radio and television. She’s been featured in The New York Times, The Star Ledger, Courier News as well as several magazines. After 17 years as a college professor, she joined Red Bank Regional High School where she ran the Creative Writing Academy. Her magazine, theravensperch.com, was awarded Top 10 Literary Blog On The Web (Feedspot). Her honors include: Honorary Eagle Scout, Monmouth Art Educator of the Year and Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction. Visit her literary magazine website or read a few of her poems.
Sienna Zeilinger lives in Philadelphia, PA and is originally from Cleveland, OH. Her writing is published or forthcoming in The Cincinnati Review, CutBank, Passages North, Real Life and elsewhere. She is the recipient of The Florida Review Editors Prize, the Ohioana Library Association’s Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant and the Montana Prize, and has been supported by the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her essay “Surge” was named a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2023. Sienna is an editor at Alien Magazine and Autofocus and is a graduate of the MFA Program at Rutgers University-Camden, where she now works as Program Coordinator. Read a flash piece by Sienna and learn more on her website.
“Murphy Writing workshops are dependably helpful, encouraging and welcoming. Short or long, always valuable.”
~ Zoe, Mays Landing, NJ
Location
Venue
Stockton University
101 Vera King Farris Drive
Galloway, NJ 08205
Writing in the Pines Getaway will take place at Stockton University’s Campus Center in the heart of the Pinelands National Reserve. Located near the intersection of the AC Expressway and the Garden State Parkway, Stockton is just 1 hour from Philadelphia, 95 minutes from Princeton and just over 2 hours from North Jersey and New York. See the Travel section below for directions and parking info.
Pricing + Registration
Tuition — Sliding Scale: $85-$185
Tuition for this program is based on a sliding scale. If you are able to pay at the higher end of the scale, you will help Murphy Writing offer affordable programming and scholarships for writers.
Includes:
- Inspiring workshop of your choice
- Morning coffee/tea
- Lunch
- Contact list to keep in touch with new writer friends
- All fees and gratuities
If you have trouble registering online, or if you don’t receive an email confirming your online registration within 24 hours, call us at 609-626-3594 or email us at murphywriting@stockton.edu.
The Fine Print
- By registering for this program, you are agreeing to uphold our Code of Conduct.
- By registering for this program, you are agreeing to abide by our Health and Safety Acknowledgement.
Cancellation Policy
For cancellations that are COVID-specific or medical-related:
- If you need to cancel due to testing positive for COVID-19 within 11 days of the program start, we can offer a full credit on file. 100% of your payment will be good towards a future Murphy Writing program that you register for through October 1, 2025.
- For those with verifiable medical conditions who cancel by April 10, 2025, we can offer a full credit on file. 100% of your payment will be good towards a future Murphy Writing program that you register for through October 1, 2025.
For all other cancellations:
- By April 10 — 50% credit on file toward one of our upcoming programs that you register for through October 1, 2025.
- After April 10 — No refund or credit.
TRAVEL
VENUE ADDRESS
Stockton University
101 Vera King Farris Drive
Galloway, NJ 08205
Directions + Parking
Please follow these directions to Stockton: Stockton’s driving directions, which includes public transportation info, or view Google’s directions.
Stockton University offers free parking on weekends. Park in Lot 3 and enter the Campus Center through the center doors. Please look at this campus parking map for a visual. If you are new to the campus, please allow a few extra minutes to find the correct lot.
We’ll begin in the morning inside of the Campus Center’s Event Room. Inside the Campus Center, head toward the fireplace. The Event Room entrance is to the right of the fireplace.
Accommodations (Optional)
Seaview Hotel, a 4-star hotel, is only a 10-minute drive. This Holiday Inn Express also has good reviews. If it’s tough to find a bargain, you can look into other hotels in Egg Harbor Township, Absecon and Galloway, all of which are within a 20-minute drive.
Although you may find a good deal at an independent motel, we suggest you stick with the major hotel chains and check reviews on a site such as TripAdvisor before you book.
“This was my first time attending and I truly grew. I loved the low-key, relaxed nature and appreciated the thoughtful assignments. Thanks for the great experience.”
~ Christine, Philadelphia, PA
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I’m new to writing workshops. Will I fit in?
Absolutely! Our experienced workshop leaders plan their sessions to benefit both beginning and experienced writers. We pride ourselves on building an encouraging community of writers where all feel welcome.
I’ve been to dozens of workshops. What will I get out of this one?
Our faculty challenge experienced writers to push beyond their usual limits. If you have been writing for decades, they will compel you to go deeper, take more risks and experiment with form and content. We know that experienced writers benefit from our programs based on the fact that hundreds of “re-PETERs” have attended three or more of our writing getaways.
Does the workshop take place indoors?
Yes, the program will take place inside Stockton University’s Campus Center. The workshop will offer you some free time to write and if you wish to find a bench or table outside at that point, you may do so, but it is not required.
“I loved how welcoming the retreat was. I truly felt among a community of writers rather than people promoting themselves. The workshop was encouraging and informative. I’m really looking forward to the next one.”
~ Jenna, Lanoka Harbor, NJ
meet our community
View our full collection of Writing Getaway photos.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
Participants will receive a professional development certificate of participation. Stockton University is recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education to provide Professional Development credit hours, which many other states are willing to accept. You may check with your employer to see if it will work for you.
“There is so much positive energy, which creates a welcoming environment. Thank you for inspiring and cultivating a nurturing climate packed with creativity and free imagination.”
~ Ben, Allentown, PA
Questions?
Call 609-626-3594 or email murphywriting@stockton.edu.
Write with us.
