In-Person Workshop: How to Unstuck Your Novel with Tommy Dean
Harpers Ferry, WV
(Lodging Not Included)
Saturday, October 4th – Thursday, October 9th, 2026
The workshop will run from 9am – 4pm each day
The workshop space is in the outskirts of Harpers Ferry, WV. There is ample free parking onsite. (This is about an hour from Northern Va and about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Washington, DC.)
Tommy Dean
Tommy Dean is the author of two flash fiction chapbooks Special Like the People on TV (Redbird Chapbooks, 2014) and Covenants (ELJ Editions, 2021). Hollows, A collection of flash fiction is forthcoming from Alternating Current Press. He lives in Indiana where he currently is the Editor at Fractured Lit and Uncharted Magazine. A graduate of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA program, he is currently working on a novel. A recipient of the 2019 Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction, his writing can be found in Best Microfiction 2019 and 2020, Best Small Fiction 2019, Monkeybicycle, and the Atticus Review. He taught writing workshops for the Gotham Writers Workshop, the Barrelhouse Conversations and Connections conference, and The Writers Workshop.
You can Find him at tommydeanwriter.com
and on X @TommyDeanWriter.
John Gilstrap
John Gilstrap is a New York Times bestselling thriller author and creator of the Jonathan Grave series, with a Netflix adaptation in development. He lives in West Virginia and brings decades of experience as a novelist and workshop leader.
You can find him at
Ellen Weeren
Ellen Weeren’s work has been published by the Saturday Evening Post, the Kenyon Review (KRonline), Fractured Lit, Liars’ League NYC, the Hong Kong Review, Crack the Spine, Stonecoast Review, and others. She’s the recipient of the George Mason 2019 Outstanding Graduate Student Award (MFA Fiction), the Porches Writing Fellowship, the Marjorie Kinnear Sydor Award in Literary Citizenship, WV Writers Terry McNemar Scholarship, and the Kenyon Review’s Novel Writing Workshop Peter Taylor Fellowship. TripBase twice recognized her blog about living in India as one of the top 10 best travel blogs.
Ellen runs a writers retreat in Harpers Ferry, WV (www.AReasontoWrite.com). Her short story collection titled Love and Other Failures is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press. She lives in West Virginia with a reasonable number of cats and is working on a novel.
Format
Capped at 12 writers, this retreat includes five days of craft instruction, daily writing prompts, small-group feedback sessions, and a 30-minute one-on-one session with literary agent and literary journal editor Tommy Dean. You’ll also participate in a guest seminar on Plot Structure with New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap. All meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, plus workshop materials are included.
What’s Included:
- Five days of craft instruction and manuscript workshops
- Daily writing prompts and small-group feedback sessions
- 30-minute 1:1 session with Tommy Dean
- Guest seminar: Plot Structure with John Gilstrap
- All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
- All workshop materials
Location/ Accomodations
- The workshop space is located in the outskirts of Harpers Ferry, WV, with ample free parking onsite. (Approximately one hour from Northern Virginia and 1 hour 15 minutes from Washington, DC.)
- Accommodations: Lodging is not included in the registration fee. A group hotel rate at a local hotel is available—code provided with registration deposit.
Transportation
Not included. Free parking is available onsite for those driving.
Deposit/ Payment
- Early Bird: $1,350 per writer (50% deposit paid by June 5th)
- After June 5th: $1,500 per writer
Cancellation Policy
Apply for the In-Person Work Shop by Filling out the form below
Please be sure to read over the requirements (Requirements) before you apply. By applying, you are indicating that you agree to these terms.
Ellen will be in touch with more details regarding registration, deposit, and payment information. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Ellen at ellen.weeren@gmail.com