Full Scholarship to Spain Writers Retreat!

Last December, I posted this:

I get hit up for all sorts of endorsements, almost all of which I turn down. But one came my way recently which resonated with me. Claire Elizabeth Terry reached out via email with an interesting pitch:

The reason I’m writing now is that I’m also organizing a writers’ retreat in a castle near to Barcelona, Spain, next year. It’s essentially about ‘Making the impossible happen’ — for those writers who have written or are thinking about writing a novel, and would like to have it made into a film/turn it into a screenplay themselves.

Claire knows of what she speaks. She had her first novel “I Draw Roses” published in 2013, then adapted it into a screenplay which is set to go into production in 2016 produced by Delacheroy Films in London and Life & Pictures in Spain.

Having been a complete outsider to the movie business when I sold a spec script in 1987, I have always been sensitive to the unique concerns of writers with no connections to the film and TV industry. So I was interested in this particular writers retreat.

I heard from Claire about the inaugural event which evidently was a rousing success:

We had a fantastic group of people (mentees as well as mentors — by the end of the retreat, we were threatening to barricade ourselves in the castle, as no-one wanted to go) which contributed enormously to its success. As well, as of course, the castle, which is amazing!

Mentors and writers at the 1st Rocaberti Writers Retreat

The wonderful thing is, that in addition to the mentors giving 1,000 per cent of themselves during the retreat, they’ve all stayed in contact with their mentees afterwards and are continuing to nurture their projects. I am honesty amazed (and humbled) at how incredibly kind and generous some people are.

Here is a testimonial from Georgia Clarke who was the Go Into The Story scholarship recipient for the 1st retreat:

“I was honored to be awarded the scholarship for the inaugural Rocaberti Writers Retreat. My mentor Juliet Blake was simply fabulous: experienced, generous, warm, funny and insightful. We made great headway on helping turn my new adult fiction THE REGULARS into a feature film. A once-in-a-lifetime experience, and all in Spain!”

In follow-up communications, Claire wrote that a number of the writers who participated in the retreat are in discussions with producers negotiating options on their material. Based on the success of the first event, there will be another one. Here are some details:

When and where:

October 7th -12th, 2016
Rocaberti Castle, Figueres
(75 miles from Barcelona, Spain)

Rocaberti Castle

Novelist, travel writer and screenwriter Claire Elizabeth Terry, whose original screenplay, 4 Roses, is being filmed this year, is your Rocaberti Retreat host and moderator.

The mentors are to be confirmed, but will either be the same as at the first retreat — you can check out who they were for the inaugural event here — or of a similar caliber. .

Note: This is primarily a mentoring and networking event, not a quiet, introspective writing retreat. In addition to social events, there are 3 hours of small-group mentoring sessions daily to allow time to focus on each of the individual writers’ projects.

Salon, Rocaberti Castle

We’ve joined forces because we want to help show you how to bring your “literary twins” — your book and screenplay — to life! Not only how to finish writing them (an art in itself, as anyone who has an unfinished manuscript or screenplay lying around their home will tell you!) but also how to have them successfully published … and made into a movie!

You’ll be part of a small and exclusive group of a maximum of 16 writers at the retreat. Through focused, practical presentations in the mornings, afternoon mentoring sessions, evening social events — and with a presenter/writer ratio of approximately 1:4 — you’ll learn how to tell your story on the page and on the screen, and be one step closer to seeing your dream come to life!

Bedroom, Rocaberti Castle

Whether you’ve written a book, are working on a screenplay — or are just thinking about it! — wherever you are in the process, we’re here to help you move forward and show you that dreams can become reality!

This retreat is for you if…

• You’re working on a book/screenplay combination or have an idea for one.
• You have a book and want to turn it into a screenplay or vice-versa — or sell it directly to Hollywood.
• You’re unsure how to get your book/screenplay in front of agents and producers.
• You’re serious about completing your project and making your dream come true!

Just so you know, I don’t get anything out of this. But some lucky GITS reader does! From Claire:

The cost is high ($4,995; $4,445 with the ‘Early-Bird Discount’), because of high overheads and the small number of participants — although it does include the accommodation, all the tuition, small mentoring groups with the presenter of their choice, all meals and drinks and round-trip transfers between Barcelona airport and the castle — and so, knowing only too well(!) what it’s like to be broke and struggling to get your writing out there, I’d like to offer a full scholarship to one ‘Go Into the Story’ reader (it would include all the above; they would just need to cover the cost of their airfare)

Expensive, I know, but not unlike other high end destination writing retreats I’ve seen. And the full scholarship offer is something I simply couldn’t turn down for some fortunate writer out there. Also they will be offering partial scholarships to six runners-up. How to apply:

For those who would like to apply for the scholarship, it’s not a writing competition, but I would just ask that they write a one-page letter, please, via the contact form on the website (on the registration page) with the log-line and synopsis of their project, explaining how they think they would benefit from the retreat and why they believe they are deserving of the scholarship. (Especial consideration will be given towards single-parents!)

Again to be clear: I am in no way affiliated with this retreat. I have no financial or business connection to it. My thing is I’m always looking for new avenues for writers outside the system to break in. Since that is a focus of this retreat, it piques my interest. Of course, the scholarship offer for a Go Into The Story reader is an obvious plus. And there’s this: Spain!

For more information, go here. And if you do wish to apply for the scholarship, indicate on your letter you are a Go Into The Story follower and that’s how you found out about the retreat.

Scroll down the registration page to the “If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask below” box, post your letter, synopsis and log-line within the box, not as attachments.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY: MIDNIGHT (PACIFIC / U.S.), SATURDAY, APRIL 30!

Good luck!

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