About
The mission of Madcap Retreats is to provide rigorous and informative writing workshops and retreats. We work to create programs with a focus on developing social and political awareness in craft, narrowing the gaps between aspiring authors and the publishing industry, and creating opportunities for marginalized writers. We work with writers at all stages of their careers, from aspiring to long published, and since we don't operate from a single geographical location, we are able to offer events in many regions of the United States. We aim to make attending retreats and workshops affordable, diverse, and as accessible as possible.
Our Team
Natalie C. Parker, Director
Natalie C. Parker is the author and editor of several books for young adults among them the acclaimed Seafire trilogy. Her work has been included on the NPR Best Books list, the Indie Next List, and the TAYSHAS Reading List, and in Junior Library Guild selections. Natalie grew up in a navy family finding home in coastal cities from Virginia to Japan. Now, she lives with her wife on the Kansas prairie.
Natalie started Madcap Retreats in 2015 in order to address gaps in the writing community. She has coordinated dozens of writing retreats with the number of participants ranging from 6 to 60. From selecting a location and house to planning meals, she knows how to make the experience of attending retreats a seamless and productive one.
Dhonielle Clayton, Board Member
Dhonielle is the co-author of Tiny Pretty Things (with Sona Charaipotra) and of a forthcoming fantasy series The Belles. She's a middle school librarian in New York City, and co-founder of CAKE Literary, a creative kitchen whipping up decadent -- and decidedly diverse -- literary confections for middle grade, young adult, and women's fiction readers. She is also VP of Librarian Services for We Need Diverse Books™, and co-chair of the inaugural 2016 Walter Award for YA fiction.
Tessa Gratton, Board Member
Tessa Gratton is the author of adult SFF The Queens of Innis Lear and Lady Hotspur from Tor Books, as well as the YA series The Blood Journals and The United States of Asgard. Her most recent YA novels are the original fairy tales Strange Grace and Night Shine, both from McElderry Books. Tessa’s novels and short stories have been translated into twenty-two languages, nominated twice for the Tiptree Award, and several have been Junior Library Guild Selections. Though she has lived all over the world, she currently resides at the edge of the Kansas prairie with her wife. Queer, nonbinary, she/her.
Justina Ireland, Board Member
Justina Ireland is the author of Dread Nation (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins), a New York Times bestseller as well as the sequel Deathless Divide. Her earlier works include the fantasy young adult novels Vengeance Bound and Promise of Shadows (both Simon and Schuster).
Justina also writes for the Star Wars franchise, including the books Lando’s Luck, Spark of the Resistance, and the upcoming A Test of Courage, part of the High Republic publishing initiative.
She is the former co-editor in chief of FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, for which she won a World Fantasy Award. She holds a BA from Armstrong Atlantic University and an MFA from Hamline University.
Julie Murphy, Board Member
Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Dear Sweet Pea is her debut middle grade novel.
Diversity Statement
At Madcap Retreats we are dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion in publishing, because for too long a single story has been centered.
We endeavor to never discriminate against marginalized groups and instead aim to create space for all individuals, regardless of identity, to learn with us the craft of writing and tools for navigating the publishing process.
We commit to actively promoting inclusion at every level of our organization and in the greater system of publishing by:
making available scholarships for students from marginalized groups at every retreat and workshop on our schedule
hiring a diverse faculty and staff for every workshop
addressing concerns about safe space at our retreats and workshops
having a zero tolerance policy for prejudiced language or behavior in our spaces
finding and using accessible facilities for all retreats and workshops
We hope to grow the diversity of our faculty, staff, and program participants by taking these steps in the future:
funding additional scholarships to eliminate barriers to attendance
finding venues in more easily accessible locations
and continuing efforts to expand our faculty base
If you have thoughts about how we can address any of these issues, please contact us at madcapretreats@gmail.com.
Code of Conduct
Madcap Retreats is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, or religion (or lack thereof). We do not tolerate harassment of attendees in any form. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
If workshop and retreat attendees violate these rules, Madcap staff may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the conference with no refund.
Our Code of Conduct has been in place since October, 2017 and is included in participant contracts.
Scholarships
One of the missions of Madcap is to make writing retreats and workshops as accessible as possible. We believe that bringing writers together in creative community can be powerful. These events have the capacity to change people and careers, but getting to them can be difficult. They come with a price tag and try as we might to keep that price tag low, we know that they will still be out of reach for many deserving writers.
It is for these reasons that we offer scholarships for each of our workshops. Recipients of these scholarships receive room and board at writing workshops, though they are responsible for their own travel to and from the venue. Please check individual workshop pages for availability and application information.
ELIGIBILITY
We use the We Need Diverse Books™ definition of diversity. Applicants must be 18+ years and must identify as one or more of the following:
Person of color
Native American
LGBTQIA
Person with a disability
Marginalized religious or cultural minority in the United States.