March 1 - March 22, 2023
Sand Into Castles:
A three-week writing experience for midlife women who write.
“When writing a first draft, I have to remind myself constantly that I’m only shoveling sand into a box so later I can build castles.” — Shannon Hale
Learn from 10 instructors and speakers over three weeks.
Participate in 10+ Workshops
A mix of writing workshops, interactive author interviews, and presentations
- Balancing writing with life
- Memoir
- Personal essays
- Finding ideas for writing
- Voice
- Journaling
- And more
Write Together
Get three new writing prompts each week
- Attend weekly co-writing sessions over Zoom.
- Learn how to use your freewriting to write personal essays and memoir.
A Focus on Community
Build lasting relationships with other midlife writers
- Post and get feedback on your writing.
- Participate in live events, live chats, and co-writing.
- Get accountability partners (optional).
Meet Our March Presenters
Ann Douglas
Navigating the Messy Middle
Ann is the author of 26 non-fiction books and the creator of the internationally bestselling The Mother of All® parenting books series, which has sold over half a million copies to date. Her most recent book — Navigating The Messy Middle: A Fiercely Honest and Wildly Encouraging Guide for Midlife Women — was published in Canada last fall and will be published in the US in March. A passionate and inspiring speaker, Ann delivers keynote addresses and leads small-group workshops at in-person and online events. Ann and her husband Neil live in a forest in rural Ontario, where she is hard at work on her first novel.
Kimberly Garrett Brown
Using Freewriting To Develop Personal Essays and Stories: Freeing the Writer Within
Kimberly is Publisher and Executive Editor of Minerva Rising Press, a literary press dedicated to publishing thought-provoking fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and photography by women writers and artists. Her best-selling debut novel, Cora’s Kitchen, was published by Inanna Publications September 2022 and was a finalist for the 2022 Sarton Awards. Her work has appeared in Black Lives Have Always Mattered: A Collection of Essays, Poems and Personal Narratives, The Feminine Collective, Compass Literary Magazine, Today’s Chicago Woman, Chicago Tribune, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.
Rhonda Douglas
From Fear To Focus and Flow
Rhonda is a writer, editor, and fiction writer living and writing in Ottawa, Ontario. She helps committed writers overcome fear and eliminate distractions so that they can write with ease and achieve their writing dreams. She has a particular passion for supporting women writers to finally finish their first books. She is the author of Welcome to the Circus: Stories (Freehand Books, 2015), Some Days I Think I Know Things: The Cassandra Poems, (Signature Editions, 2008) and a poetry chapbook How to Love a Lonely Man (Apt 9 Press, 2013).
Sonya Huber
Voice First
Sonya is the author of seven books, including the new guide Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto and the award-winning essay collection on chronic pain Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System. She is a professor of English at Fairfield University. Her work has been published in literary journals and magazines including The New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, Brevity, Fourth Genre, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Washington Post Magazine.
Natalie Serianni
Shaping Ideas Into Personal Essays
Natalie is a Seattle-based writer, instructor, and mother of two. Her work has appeared at HuffPost, Insider, Motherwell, ParentMap, Mutha Magazine and The Keepthings, and her essay, "Subtle Shifts," is included the anthology "The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: GenX Women on the Brink." She has taught college writing for over twenty years.
Shayna Kaufmann
Bringing Presence Into Midlife and Our Writing
Shayna is a Clinical Psychologist, meditation instructor and Founder of Embrace the Middle. Her company’s teaching and workshops focus on guiding women in midlife to experience these years with empowerment and joy, rather than crisis and dread. Shayna is working on her forthcoming book, which includes her original research on 620 women in midlife.
Vanessa Martir
Reclaiming Your Voice on the Page
Vanessa Mártir writes memoir and fiction, is a wanna be poet & playwright, and the creator of the Writing Our Lives Workshop and the Writing the Mother Wound Movement. She has been widely published, including in The NY Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Longreads, Poets & Writers, The Rumpus, SmokeLong Quarterly, Aster(ix), and the anthologies Not That Bad edited by Roxane Gay & So We Know edited by Aracelis Girmay. Vanessa is a 2021 Letras Boricuas Fellow, and has partnered with Tin House and The Rumpus to publish WOL alumni, and with Longreads and NYU's Latinx Project to publish Mother Wound essays. She has also served as guest editor of Aster(ix) and The James Franco Review. When she's not writing or teaching, you can find Vanessa hiking in the forest, hugging trees and talking to
birds.
Kristy Roser Nuttall
Partnering with Nature for Writing Inspiration
Kristy is a children’s book author with a focus on picture books. She loves crafting stories about the natural world, relationships, feelings, magic, mischief, silliness, bravery, curiosity, struggles, and triumphs. She writes fiction and informational fiction. She has published an academic anthropology chapter in Roads to Change in Maya Guatemala. Currently Kristy teaches Forest Kindergarten and Advanced Nature Study classes at Wasatch Nature School in Provo, Utah.
Ani Tascian
Beginning a Memoir
Ani's work appears in Citron Review, Bird's Thumb, Foliate Review and others. Ani currently teaches creative writing at various Bay Area elementary schools and memoir classes at Berkeley Adult School. She's been awarded residencies at VONA and Vermont Studio Center and holds an MFA from Saint Mary's College of California. She's currently working on a book-length memoir about how generational trauma is held in families and in the body.
Stacey Loscalzo
A Tour of Writing Books We Love
Stacey is a reader and writer whose life revolves, as much as possible, around stories. She shares stories. She reads and writes stories. She watches and listens to stories. And most importantly, she discusses stories as part of a community. Her corner of the internet (www.staceyloscalzoreads.com) is a place where story lovers of all kinds can gather.
Joan DELCOCO
Writing for Healing and Growth
Joan Delcoco is a brain injury survivor who writes to retrain her brain and make sense of the world. She has been certified as a Journal to the Self© Instructor who believes strongly in the transformative power of writing to promote insight, healing, and growth.
Jessica Smock
Finding the Right Angle for Your Personal Essay or Article
Jessica Smock is the co-founder and co-editor of the HerStories Project. She is a writer, a former teacher and researcher, and a curriculum coordinator. She has taught writing to students from second grade to graduate school.
There's no doubt...
Writing conferences can be magical.
There’s something special that happens when writers get together to learn, connect, and grow at writing conferences, either in-person or virtually.
However, a typical conference also:
- Asks you to set aside full days in your busy life to participate fully.
- Can overwhelm you with too much content and too many events in a short period of time.
- Is a big commitment of time and money.
- Doesn't allow for the time and space to process and reflect on what's being learned.
Our Writing summits are different.
- Just for midlife women
Connect with women in the same stage of life about topics and challenges that matter to you.
- On Your own time
Choose the live events that work with your schedule or watch the recordings any time.
- at your own pace
Work through exercises, prompts, and readings that appeal to you. Skip the ones that don’t.
- multiple ways to connect
Choose to attend live events throughout the week and meet with speakers, hosts, and other writers. Share your writing and participate in groups and forums.
"the summit empowered and energized me and my writing practice"
“As both presenter and participant, the summit empowered and energized me and my writing practice. The variety of workshops scratched the need for creative fulfillment, and this time of year was perfect for digging deep. The community felt small and intimate when, in actuality, the collected group was far and wide. The summit’s platform, the variety of topics offered, and the ease of participating are a testament to how Jessica and Stephanie have, once again, created a magical experience for midlife women writers and the kind of creative experiences they seek. Stephanie and Jessica honour every woman’s personal pathway to discovering what works for her. ”
- previous summit participant and presenter
Meet the HerStories Project
Jessica Smock and Stephanie Sprenger are the co-founders and co-editors of the HerStories Project, a publishing and writing community for midlife women.
We met online as “blogging friends” and then founded the HerStories Project in 2013. We’ve published five essay collections, led dozens of writing groups, and have taught writing to hundreds of female writers over the past several years.
It’s been our joy to work with midlife writers just like you. Our lives of juggling family and jobs and writing are much like yours. We know what it’s like, as midlife women, to want to carve out space in our lives for just ourselves.
9
Years of HerStories
Teaching and publishing since 2013.
100s
of Writers
Who have participated in our groups and workshops.
5
anthologies
Essay collections about friendship, motherhoood, and more.
Flexible payment options
Write with us.
Gentle writing instruction and support from 10 authors, instructors, coaches, and editors.
10 presentations over 3 weeks (March 1 – March 22)
private summit community
writing feedback
3 writing prompts per week
After you sign up,
What Happens Next
Get Invited
You'll get invited to our private HerStories community platform and get an email with next steps.
Create an account
After you create an account, you can find more information on all the presentations and speakers and RSVP to the meetings you wish to attend.
Get Email Updates
During the summit you'll get regular email updates throughout the week about what's happening that day and the summary of the previous day.
"I absolutely loved the space you all created."
“There was connection, community, and wonderful opportunities to have conversations about writing. ..
Thank you again for creating this supportive space. You met a lot of women where they were; they felt encouraged to either begin or engage again in their writing. Kudos to Jessica and Stephanie on a successful first summit!”
- January summit participant
Questions?
I'm interested in becoming a speaker or presenter for a future HerStories workshop. What should I do?
We’d love to hear more! Please fill out this form and tell us more about you and your teaching interests.
When will the live meetings be?
The Zoom meetings will be at different times each day from March 1 – March 22, 2023. Recordings will be available after the meeting. Do not worry if you cannot attend the meetings live. Discussions and other participation will continue after the meeting.
What if I'm not interested in some of the topics?
Perfectly okay! Participate in only what appeals to you.
What are the ways I can participate in the summit?
The presentations will include live workshops, writing prompts, and other writing exercises. You can share your writing and receive feedback inside the workshop platform.
What is the refund policy?
You can request a refund up to the end of the first week of the summit. Just email us at [email protected].
How long do I have access to the summit material and recordings?
You’ll be able to access the summit community and workshops for at least 3 months. You’ll also get discounts on future summits.
