WRITE BY THE LAKE 2024

“This experience was life-changing.”

— Aili Kutan, New York.

WRITE BY THE LAKE

APRIL 3 - 10

“THOSE DAYS WITH JOYCE IN GUATEMALA TO DIG INTO MY STORY AND TO EXPLORE THE STRUCTURE OF A MEMOIR CHANGED ME AS A PERSON AND A WRITER. THE KNOWLEDGE I GAINED EQUALS A MFA (OR TWO) IN CREATIVE WRITING.”
— Mary Black, Texas.
“EACH UNIQUE FEATURE OF THIS WORKSHOP, TAKEN ALONE, IS WORTH GOING BACK FOR: THE CREATIVE BOOST TO YOUR WRITING, THE TRULY DIVINE FOOD, AND JOYCE MAYNARD, WHO YOU REALLY MUST SEE IN ACTION TO BELIEVE.”
— Elizabeth Heise, Florida
“GREAT WRITERS WHO ARE GREAT TEACHERS ARE RARE. JOYCE POSSESSES THE TALENT TO DO BOTH.”
— Priscilla Burgoigne, New Hampshire.
“WHEN YOU THINK YOU’RE NOT READY IS THE BEST TIME TO ATTEND A WORKSHOP OFFERED BY JOYCE MAYNARD. OUR TIME TOGETHER WAS TRANSFORMATIVE TO FINDING MY VOICE AND STORY.”
— Jude Swankowski, Maine

contact me about write by the lake 2024

Having known the good fortune of spending many years in the incomparable beauty of Lake Atitlan—where she wrote so many of her books—Joyce set out to find a way of sharing the gift of the place she loves with others seeking creative inspiration and guidance along with the support of a community of fellow writers and those who do not call themselves writers yet (but will.). She wanted other women to discover the sense of peace and well-being, gratitude and simple happiness that comes from waking up to hear the birds, diving into the lake, doing a sun salutation or two facing the volcano, sharing coffee with a new friend, or just sitting at a quiet desk, looking out at the water and telling a story.

The 2024 Lake Atitlan Write by the Lake workshop — February 29 - March 7 — and the Write by the Lake Alumni Writers’ Retreat — March 6 - 14 — that follows, both promise to deliver not only guidance in the art and craft of writing memoir, but also the healing to be found when a rare group of strong, adventuresome women come together to reconnect with nature and share the stories of their lives.

Joyce will be offering the Write by the Lake Alumni Writers’ Retreat — March 6 - 14 — as a writing retreat reserved for alumnae of previous writing workshops. This one will focus less on instruction and more on time to write, and additional private conference time with Joyce.

As always when she teaches, Joyce will be offering close, detailed guidance for each writer, informed by fifty years of her own writing and publishing life, and a quarter century of teaching—both in the writing circle with the group and in private one-on-one conferences, as well as daily craft talks and evening readings around the fire.

All meals will be healthy and delicious, prepared by our outstanding local chef, Rosa Navichoc Chac and served on the property — on Joyce’s patio overlooking the lake and volcano, or in the garden. Each writer will be gifted a Very Important Writer comfort package along with a private one-hour professional massage on the property. In every way we can think of, we want to make each writer feel wonderfully well-cared-for. You will be.

Here’s the most important goal of the workshop week: that every single guest emerge not only a stronger and more authentic writer, but also, that each of the writers who make the trip to spend time at the lake with Joyce will have found, in this little piece of paradise, a way to reconnect with herself, her work, and her peace of mind—and to connect (possibly for the first time ) with a community of fellow writers who will continue to support each other’s work and lives, years after the end of the retreat.

Over the more than twenty years Joyce has been running her annual Write by the Lake workshops, she has worked with several hundred writers, some of whom returned to work with her at the lake multiple times. Some have published books. Many discovered the sense of liberation and well-being that comes from having told a story that may have haunted them all their lives. More than a few have called their time at Write by the Lake “one of the most memorable experiences of my life.”

WBTL ALUMNI WRITERS’ RETREAT

March 6-14, 2024

ALUMNI WRITERS' RETREAT

Joyce in the writers’ circle with her trusty whiteboard

For twenty-five years, New York Times best-selling author Joyce Maynard has been leading workshops in the art and craft of memoir all over the U.S. and beyond. But of all the places she’s taught, her favorite destination remains what has often been described as the most beautiful lake in the world: Lake Atitlan, Guatemala—where, for the last twenty years, she has been building a home and gardens that have been an oasis and inspiration to over three hundred writers who’ve travelled there every winter to work with her. She calls that workshop Write by the Lake. SEE MORE…

Here’s what Joyce would like you to know about the retreat:

Video by Xiren Wang and Anita Wing Lee

Take a tour of Joyce’s home at the Lake (and choose which room you would like to stay). Room choices will be first come, first served.

Video and original music by Xiren Wang

Here’s what past Write by the Lake students had to say: