WRITING THE NEXT WORLD
with adrienne maree brown & Autumn Brown
JUNE 17-22, 2024
SOLD OUT
WRITING THE NEXT WORLD
Join Bog & Thunder alongside writer/podcasters adrienne maree brown and Autumn Brown this summer on Ireland’s west coast for a writing workshop unlike any other. Come ideate, experiment with genre, and find a writing voice that creates more possibilities for our collective future, all while exploring the beautiful Connemara countryside and eating outstanding food. This 5-day event will be rooted in the lineages of visionary and speculative fiction and Black Feminist Praxis. We will have a beautiful balance of private writing retreat time, collective world-building with fellow artists, practical skill development, and local adventure.
We are prioritizing applications from participants who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color. We will have a very limited number of partial scholarships available.
{Connemara Aurora photo by Professor Chaosheng Zhang @chaoshengzhang}
OUR PARTNERS
adrienne maree brown grows healing ideas in public. Through her writing, which includes short- and long-form fiction, nonfiction, spells, tarot decks and poetry; her music, which includes songwriting, singing and an upcoming immersive musical ritual; and her podcasts, adrienne has nurtured Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, Radical Imagination and Transformative Justice as ideas, frameworks, networks and practices for transformation. She is the author/editor of several published texts including Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (2017), Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good (2019) and Grievers (2021), the first novella of her speculative fiction trilogy.
Autumn Brown is a mother, organizer, theologian, artist, and facilitator. She is a singer-songwriter working on her first album, and she cohosts the podcast How to Survive the End of the World with her beloved sister. She is a speculative fiction and creative non-fiction writer, and her work has been published in Parenting for Social Justice (Green Writers Press 2021), Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good (AK Press 2019), the Procyon Science Fiction Anthology (Tayen Lane Press, 2016), Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines (PM Press, 2016), and Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements (AK Press, 2015).
TESTIMONIALS
“Simply put, ‘Writing the Next World’ changed my life’s course as a writer — and I don’t say that lightly. Through the creative prompts, speakers, tourism experiences, and Q&As, this exceptional retreat offered inspiration at every turn. By the end of the week, I felt like I had come into alignment with my voice and an incredible creative kindred. I am deeply grateful for the ways in which autumn, adrienne, and the Bog and Thunder team shaped an environment where we could each do this with such ease, breath, community, and clarity.
And then Ireland is just… unreal. We had the opportunity to reside in a country home right by a river and across the way from spiritual sites, both of which offered such palpable and powerful energies. I felt so renewed being in proximity and relationship with nature in this way. I woke up with the sun and immediately felt the call to write. The life force running through Ireland was the perfect setting for the new worlds coming from our collective imaginations.
All to say, ‘Writing the Next World’ is an opportunity not to be missed. Your inner voice, your writing, and your visions for the future will thank you.” —Nia
“Writing the Next World retreat with Autumn & adrienne was like the earth itself extending their hands out to me, ushering me into their subterranean womb to rest and lay alongside the underground rivers and fungi and creatures who prefer fertile darkness. It was nourishing in every sense of the word, and I came out on the other side with a deeper invitation and assuredness to tell my stories, full stop.” —Sarah
“My experience with adrienne and Autumn in Ireland was nothing short of life-altering. Their creative facilitation skills brought me out of my "I'm not really a writer" funk and helped me dig deep into the stories I have (have as in mine and have as in I must) to tell. (I'm still working through how to tell them and prioritizing time to do so, but that's on me.) Feeling connected to my ancestral lands was also a transformational experience ... the curiosity I have about who my people were generations ago has never been greater. And I know they are part of the stories I have (have as in mine and have as in I must) to tell. I'd be remiss not to also talk about the beautiful dining and cultural experiences curated by Bog and Thunder. You will leave this experience with lifetime connections to amazing humans and a sense of wonder about your writing.” —Meghan
“Lush. Showers moisten the moss growing on the lichen growing on the trees. The wetted, spiraling stones, from their hilltops have seen how many worlds written into and out of existence? Meals assembled with love and intention and gratitude for the flora and fauna and fish and found families. The sun stands still in the solstice sky and Boann winds her way through wetland, mound, and valley. Our pens catch threads of the Otherworld; I know not yet what we will weave yet know together we are knit.
***
I climbed to the top of the world, where the grasses waved with the wind. I didn't realize we were the reagents and brought together, the spell had already been cast.
***
Magic is real. It's this retreat.” —Che
“This retreat is a spell, a unique gathering of movement makers, language shapeshifters and creatives. All the details were magic, from the local food preparation to the guest wisdom-carriers who shared with us. Adrienne and Autumn (and the super cool Bog and Thunder Team) carved a generous and generative container for revelry, exploration and radical future imagining that will forever linger in those Irish hills and all who gathered there.” —Mollie
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
Incredible, responsibly-sourced food, including all meals during the retreat; private transportation; private experiences with local guides & experts; guided activities & adventures; Bog & Thunder guides at your disposal for the duration of the trip; exclusive, small group workshops led by Autumn & adrienne; unique hotel accommodations.
The Cost of Organizing the Writing the Next World Retreat
We believe in supporting a living wage and fairly compensate our partners for their expertise and time. Our pricing structure and business model are designed to create the revenues that allow us to do this. This approach includes everyone we work with, from experts to food suppliers to drivers and so on. The reality is that a five day, international retreat involves a large number of people whose work may not immediately be visible.
We recognize that Ireland is in the midst of a housing and energy crisis. Not only was the pandemic a challenge for those in the hospitality industry, the rising cost of rent coupled with the skyrocketing cost of energy and the recent VAT increase means that a lot of the restaurants and small businesses we support have had to close their doors over the past couple of years. Those who remain have had no choice but to raise their prices.
Writing the Next World is not a traditional retreat in that it involves an international dimension alongside a residential component that includes all meals, ground transportation onsite and to extracurricular activities, and engagement with local creatives.
Unlike other writing retreats, we do not have any foundational support to offset our costs. We understand that the price may be prohibitive to some, and are doing our best to make partial scholarships available where possible.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?
International airfare; transportation to trip’s starting point; travel insurance.