Writing Connections
Writing Connections is a podcast devoted to exploring the literary landscape and larger creative ecosystem, looking at the ways we connect with and support one another through retreats, residencies, writing groups, conferences, mentorships, and other opportunities and relationships. Host Laura Walker interviews writers and creative supporters across genres, disciplines, and geographic boundaries.
Episodes
91 episodes
Nurtured by Nature with Florence Williams
Florence Williams is our guest for this final episode of season three. She is the author of Heartbreak, The Nature Fix, and Breasts and numerous articles for Outside Magazine and other publications. She is al...
Traveling through Life with Nikos Dimitriou
Our guest for this episode, Nikos Dimitriou, is a former world traveler and current host of bespoke writing retreats in Evia, Greece. In our conversation, we discuss how he and his wife explored the globe for seven years before returning home t...
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Making Space to Root & Rise with Erin McGuire
This month's guest, Erin McGuire, is a former academic and global research leader whose career has centered on equity in agricultural innovation systems. In 2025, when shifts in U.S. government priorities abruptly cut her federal research fundi...
Doing the Work with Chelsea DesAutels
In part 2 of my interview with Chelsea DesAutels, we talk about doing the work in terms of facing rejection and creating community out of crisis. Chelsea DesAutels is the author of A Dangerous Place (Sarabande Books, 2021),...
Putting Yourself Out There with Chelsea DesAutels
Chelsea DesAutels is the author of A Dangerous Place (Sarabande Books, 2021), which was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and described by Publishers Weekly as a “lush and transformative debut” (starred review). ...
Creating Your Own Path with Shannon Vesely
In this second half of my interview with Shannon Vesely, we take a broader view on writing connections and talk about how to make the most of them. Shannon gives advice on both attending and offering retreats, and we discuss what to do with rej...
The Freedom to Create with Shannon Vesely
In this first episode of 2026, I interview Shannon Vesely, a poet, writer, and educator. This is the first half of our interview, where we discuss Shannon's writing process and her experience with writing retreats. Show Links:
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Podcast Handover, Part 2 with Laura Walker
In this episode, Laura discusses her history with all kinds of writing retreats, her vision for this podcast, and her infatuation with inchworms—perhaps the most acrobatic of all earthbound insects. 🐛 Tune in to catch the new name of the podcas...
Podcast Handover, Part 1 with Laura Walker
I was excited to talk to this week’s guest, Laura Walker about the upcoming changes to this podcast. We delved into my mission for it when I started it and how excited I am to have Laura, who is amazing, take the reins and keep it growing.<...
Season Three Kickoff
Welcome to Season 3 of "Your Writing Retreat Connection." In this episode I share what's in store for the next chapter of the podcast.
On Summer Break - See You in September
Thank you for supporting the "Your Writing Retreat Connection" podcast during season 2. We had great episodes chatting with writing retreat hosts and writers from around the world. The show is going on hiatus for the summer and will...
Writing Retreats in New Zealand with Christine Sheehy
I was excited to talk to this week’s guest, Christine Sheehy, about her experiences hosting and going on writing retreats.We also had a great chat about why she decided to host writing retreats and become a book coach. Like so many of us...
Quoddy Writing Retreat with Ralph Fletcher
This is a great episode with Ralph Fletcher, who's involved in the writing world as a writer and writing teacher. He has authored books for young readers, novels, poetry, memoir, picture books as well as nonfiction books for writing teachers to...
Writing Retreats + Book Coaching with Jennie Nash
To set the stage for this interview, a few months ago I did a solo episode about how I thought book coaches could benefit from adding writing retreats to their business offers.Then I started thinking about how people who are leading writ...
Don’t Assume People Can’t Pay What You’re Asking
I can’t say this enough - please don't assume what anybody can't or won't pay for your retreat. Believe me, if they really want and need your retreat, they'll find a way to pay for it. Even though you have no idea what someone can o...
Why You Should Plan a Writing Retreat -Even if You Don’t Think You’re Ready
In this solo episode I talk about the three reasons you should plan a writing retreat even if you don't think you're ready:Just because you start planning a writing retreat doesn’t mean you have to set a hard date. But thinking abou...
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1-Day Virtual Writing Retreat with Arden Coutts
Arden Coutts is an author and writing retreat host who makes community building a huge part of their writing and writing retreats. I was thrilled to have them on the show to talk about their 1-day virtual writing retreat coming up in May. They'...
Cruise Writing Retreat with Amy Goldmacher
My guest this week is Amy Goldmacher, a published author as well as an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach. We chatted about:Why she decided now was the time to lead her own writing retreat after being an instr...
Scotland Writing Retreat with Nina Hart
I was thrilled to chat with author and writing instructor Nina Hart because of the many amazing ways she’s supporting writers, especially those whose style of writing or writing process doesn't fit into neat boxes. In this episode we chatted ab...
How to Integrate Writing Retreats in Your Services
People aren't going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on your writing retreat if they don't even know if you can help them reach their writing or publishing goals.In this episode, I share how to build a ladder of offers to show ...
Ideas for Choosing Your Writing Retreat Focus
If you’re in the early planning stages of your writing retreat, you may be thinking about who you want your retreat to help most. I’ve talked a lot about the importance of figuring this out so when someone sees your messaging on social media, i...
Let Writers Know How Your Writing Retreat Helps Them
In this week’s episode of Your Writing Retreat Connection, I talked about the three ways you can set expectations so writers will know how your writing retreat helps them.Get clear on what you’ll offer and how your writing retreat h...
2024 Recap and 2025 Vision
In this year end episode of the podcast, I reflect on how far the different aspects of my business--the Writing Retreat Directory, Your Writing Retreat Connection, and Plan A Writing Retreat--have come and what my vision is for 2025.Wis...
Factor Intangible Value in Your Retreat Pricing
There's an aspect of pricing your writing retreat that should be considered, but is often overlooked - how to include the intangible value when deciding how much to charge for your writing retreat.These are things that affect your guests...
