2027 Baja Writers Program Brochure

CRAIGARDAN

OF LANGUAGE AND LAND WRITING IN BAJA, MEXICO with Kate Moses February 15-22, 2027

CRAIGARDAN In Todos Santos, MX

place-based inspiration in Baja Sur Craigardan brings its inter-disciplinary, place-focused creative programming to Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico in 2027 as part of a series of international creative experiences.

Led by experts in their eld, Craigardan’s short-term retreats weave together sitespeci c themes of: Art + Craft, and Local Cultural Heritage Architectural + Archeological Past, Present, and Future Agricultural + Culinary Traditions, their Preservation and Sustainability Place-Based + International Crosscurrents and Conversations

Todos Santos is a haven for artists, surfers, and travelers. Its rich history, perfect climate, and surrounding natural beauty make it the perfect location for our 2027 adventure together.

We will be staying in a private resort, located about 10 minutes north of Todos Santos, and within walking distance of a stunning beach along Baja’s Paci c coast.

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Todos Santos, Pueblo Magíco

krāy garden Who we are, what we do CRAIGARDAN was founded in 2016 by ceramic artists and writers. We are a non-pro t arts organization that nurtures interdisciplinary creative practice through an international residency program, community education, and the farming and stewarding of 320 acres of mountainside elds and forests in the Adirondack Park of New York State. We bring people together for place-based and interdisciplinary learning, providing creative residencies, courses, and events that span diverse artistic and knowledge disciplines in order to foster curiosity, inquiry, and collaboration.

Craigardan supports ceramic, literary, visual, and performance artists, as well as farmers, chefs, activists, scholars, and researchers from the Adirondack region and around the world. We cultivate a dynamic that ampli es each individual’s work and activates collective creativity within the community. We believe that fostering the interaction between artists and the local public is as important as providing sheltered time to artists to further their creative practices.

KATE MOSES is an internationally recognized writer of award-winning, bestselling literary ction, memoir, and essays best known for her acclaimed novel Wintering, published in 17 languages, her memoir Cakewalk, and her tenure as a founding editor of Salon’s Mothers Who Think. With four decades of editorial experience in book, magazine, and online publishing, nonpro t arts administration, community organizing for women artists, and advanced-level teaching of writing in and beyond academia, Kate launched Birds & Muses in 2017 to share her expertise with aspiring women-identi ed writers through ongoing, one-on-one literary mentorship and hands-on, collaborative editorial guidance. In addition to her individual mentorships Kate leads small-group, writing intensive retreats in inspiring places and directs Bookgardan, a 13month, low-residency writing mentorship program for women writers established in partnership with Craigardan in 2018.

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Writer and teacher Kate Moses

Of Language and Land: Writing in Baja with Kate Moses Travel with us for 7 days of creative writing, incredible food, and the restorative surroundings of Baja California Sur. Joined by celebrated American writer and teacher Kate Moses, we are hosting a very special program in the stunning coastal and desert landscape of Baja.

This experience will include: • Daily writing workshops with Kate and time for independent writing • cooking and eating seasonal, adventurous, and exceptional local food from the

land and sea • exchanging skills and creating community that crosses borders • resting and recharging at our beautiful, private resort, less than 5 minute walk

from the beach • learning about Baja, and exploring the nearby town of Todos Santos

A love of writing, learning, and community is all that is required to participate — no extensive experience is necessary.

Our private resort on the Baja coast

A CRAIGARDAN RETREAT IN MEXICO. This 7-day program is an incubator for writing; but it is also about place: people, food, culture, and the exchange of skills and ideas in a beautiful location with a rich history. We’ll learn from a master of the craft and nourish our creative spirits, but we’ll also experience the art of living and building community in a whole new way. Through both writing and living, we will tap into memory, imagination, and observation, lling your cup with new expressions and outlooks for daily life.

We’ll be staying at our own private resort known for hosting retreats, all within a short walk to the beach. The 2-acre property includes a main house and casita, large heated saltwater pool, jacuzzi, outdoor shower, outdoor pavilion with living and dining areas, outdoor replace, poolside grill, high speed Wi-Fi, and more.

FOOD. The culinary experience is a large part of why we travel. At Craigardan, food and agriculture are integral to our understanding of and care for place and community. The creation and sharing of beautiful meals is an opportunity to come together, to learn about each other, to share stories, good wine, and laughter. This translates to inspired creativity, becoming better writers, and making better work.

Relaxed breakfasts with fresh fruit, baked goods, cereals, yogurt, and eggs will be buffet-style each morning. For lunch and dinner we will eat fresh, local food from the sea and land.

Dietary restrictions can be accommodated, but it’s best to come with an open mind, and an open palate. Think local avors including fresh tortillas, avocados, salsas, sh, greens, peppers, beans, rice, and limes.

Afternoon snacks may be served pool-side, and we’ll make good use of the grill and bar. Coffee, tea, and cold drinks will be available all day.

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PROGRAM + CURRICULUM. The writer’s retreat will offer sanctuary and time in which to write, make room for the imaginative wandering that leads to writing, and provide guidance and mentorship as desired and appropriate for each writer. This opportunity is designed for writers committed to their craft, at whatever stage of publication or project they may be. It's important to note that in addition to fi

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Queen Bedroom with private bath being a restorative retreat it will also be a focused environment where serious writers can intensively immerse themselves in process and develop their work.

A signi cant bene t of a group program is the constellation of experiences, voices, and perspectives that unite in a community of like-minded writers and thinkers. Every evening, after gathering around the dinner table, the group will be invited to share work aloud together in a supportive, non-obligatory, nourishing environment.

Each participant will also receive an optional 60-minute individual conference with Kate about their writing, and may submit 15 pages of writing for discussion.

The curriculum of the daily group seminar-style sessions will be nalized based on the needs of the group, but will include daily generative workshops designed to provoke experimentation and open up the possibilities of each writer’s project, wherever they are in their process. Morning sessions will offer a buffet of approaches to literary craft, with short readings and prompts in various genres, and a nourishing,

supportive environment for literary exploration. Generative assignments will help writers probe areas of passion and curiosity, planting seeds that can lead into bigger projects.

Afternoons will vary by day, with time scheduled for independent exploring, quiet writing, and local excursions, with salon-style gatherings later in the day devoted to discussing revision, publication, and other topics of literary professionalism.

ALL INCLUSIVE. The program fee is all-inclusive except for transportation.

This includes: • Accommodations • All meals including drinks with dinner • Full access to the resort and amenities • Instruction and group sessions • Special excursions

Bring your partner! There is a reduced-fee option for non-writer participants to join the trip and stay with partners who are participating in the writing program. The non-writer participant partners must occupy their days but are welcome to re-join the group for meals. They may not join literary activities but there will be other opportunities to feel a part of the community. Nonwriter participants may choose to relax by the pool, walk the beach, spend time in Todos Santos, and have the freedom to explore Baja with the help of a rental car.

SCHEDULE. We’ll arrive at the resort on Monday, February 15th, after 4pm to settle in, receive a group orientation, and enjoy a welcome dinner. Everyone will receive a welcome packet with the week’s schedule, helpful local information, and resources for our time together.

On Tuesday we’ll dive right into the week’s schedule, which leaves plenty of down time for relaxing in the incredible desert climate.

We’ll all depart Todos Santos on Monday morning, February 22nd, after breakfast but before 10am. You’ll arrive as strangers, and depart as family.

TRANSPORTATION. Participants must arrange their own transportation. The region is served by San Jose Del Cabo and La Paz airports.

A rental car is the most economical way to reach Todos Santos, and it is less than an 1.5 hour drive from both airports. A car will give you the freedom to explore at will, pop out for some shopping in Todos Santos, take a drive through the desert, or extend your stay in Cabo while in Baja.

Shuttles and airport transfers are also readily available and you may want to consider reserving a shuttle and sharing with other participants. Expect $200-$600 round-trip for up to 12 people.

We will introduce all participants in a Q&A zoom call prior to the retreat which will make ride-sharing easy to arrange.

TOP LEFT: A Queen room’s private bathroom TOP RIGHT: the property’s desert landscape BOTTOM RIGHT: The resort’s modern architecture BOTTOM LEFT: participants arrive to a welcome dinner during our Portugal retreat in 2025.

TOP L: our private resort’s pool and living spaces.

Expect sunshine and 80 degrees, perfect for swimming. BOTTOM L: the property has plenty of spots to relax. RIGHT: evenings are magical in Baja.

your guides THE MAGIC IS IN THE PEOPLE. Your guides for our adventure are: Michele Drozd. Michele is the co-founder and executive director of Craigardan. An artist with a degree in Ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics (NYSCC) at Alfred University, she worked under Petras Vaskys, Laszlo Fekete and Marie Baron studying design, mold making, and sculpture. After traveling the world and nding her home in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, she became intensely interested in art and entrepreneurialism, the revitalization of small rural towns, food and agriculture, conservation and historic preservation and the connections between them. Since 2002 she has worked within these elds in both the nonpro t and for-pro t sectors. Her belief that the creative process helps us imagine and build a better world has led to numerous community and social justice initiatives that use cross-disciplinary collaboration as a tool for systems change.

Michele has spent a great deal of time exploring Baja by bicycle with her husband, and has several connections to the Todos Santos area. Her extensive experience in the southern cape will bring a layer of richness to our experience together, and will help guide participants in their individual adventures.

Kate Moses. An internationally recognized writer of award-winning, best-selling literary ction, memoir, and essays, Kate is best known for her acclaimed debut novel Wintering, published in 17 languages, her memoir Cakewalk, included on several “best of the year” lists, and her tenure as a founding editor of Salon’s pioneering, wildly popular Mothers Who Think, the most in uential parenting site during the internet’s early years.

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Kate found her calling as a writer who helps other writers get their work done when she was hired fresh out of college by the editorial department of legendary North Point Press, where she had the good

fortune to work with and learn from writers including Gina Berriault, Wendell Berry, Kay Boyle, Evan S. Connell, M.F.K. Fisher, Anne Lamott, James Salter, and Gary Snyder. At every stage of her career in the literary eld – from senior acquiring editor at North Point Press to literary director of San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts, to founding editor at Salon and on the staff of several print magazines; to serving on the MFA faculties at San Francisco State, University of San Francisco, and State University of New York and as a visiting writer elsewhere; to cohost of a salon for women writers created with biographer Diane Middlebrook -- the generosity of writers to each other has been a consistent theme and a guiding principle for Kate. The result was Kate’s establishment of Birds & Muses nearly a decade ago, and shortly thereafter the Bookgardan program in partnership with Craigardan, for the purpose of offering mentorship and professional guidance to aspiring women writers.

In addition to the many Bookgardan residencies Kate has led at Craigardan, she has taught writingintensive, place-based retreats on the northern California coast, in Key West, upstate New York, Vermont, Maine, Sicily, southwest France, Paris, and London as well as serving as a teaching artist at Hedgebrook, Hewnoaks, and Key West Literary Seminar. She has received grants, residencies, and honors from Djerassi Foundation, Headlands Center for the Arts, San Francisco State University, University of the Paci c, Hedgebrook, the Lilly Library at Indiana University, St. Catherine University, The Lighthouse Works, Craigardan, MacDowell, Smith College, Williams College, Bath Spa University, and Newnham College, University of Cambridge. Among her awards for her four books are a Lannan Fellowship, an American Book Award, the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, a Prix des Lectrices de Elle, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers commendation.

A native San Franciscan now living in rural Maine after a decade in the majestic Adirondacks, Kate is a founding director of Craigardan—one of her proudest achievements.

TOP: Craigardan’s executive director, Michele Drozd BOTTOM: Kate Moses

TOP L: indoor/outdoor living spaces. BOTTOM L: the property is a short walk from the beach RIGHT: outdoor bar and yoga area

registration + fees PROGRAM FEES. Fees include 7-night’s accommodation, all meals, program curriculum, and full use of the resort spaces. Fees do not include transportation, travel insurance, extra wine or drinks (beyond what is supplied at dinner).

The King Room with private, ensuite bathroom. (only one available) • $4500 for one person • Bring your NWP: $4500 + $2300 for one participant + one

NON-WRITER PARTICIPANT(NWP): Want to bring your partner?

The fee for an NWP sharing a room with a writing-participant partner is only $2300. This includes accommodations and meals.

The NWP must occupy themselves during the day, not engaging in group writing activities, but may come together with the group for meals.

SCHOLARSHIPS. A limited number of $300 scholarships are available to help reduce the program fee for individuals experiencing nancial hardship. Please email us at program@craigardan.org to request a scholarship.

non-writer participant (NWP) = $6800 total

• Two-person Discount: $3800 per person for two writer-

participants sharing the king bed = $7600 total

A Queen Room with private bathroom. (only three available) • $4000 for one person • Bring your NWP: $4000 + $2300 for one participant + one

non-writer participant (NWP) = $6300 total

TO REGISTER. We require a set $2000 deposit to hold your spot, with the balance due in full by Janusary 1st, 2027. Learn more and register online at www.craigardan.org/events CANCELLATION POLICY. The deposit is non-refundable. If you need to cancel after the balance is paid in full, you will receive a refund only if we are able to ll your spot.

• Two-person Discount: $3500 per person for two writer-

participants sharing a queen bed = $7000 total

Luxury Geodesic Dome Queen Room with private, ensuite bathroom. (only two available) • $3500 for one person • Bring your NWP: $3500 + $2300 for for one participant + one

non-writer participant (NWP) = $5800 total

• Two-person Discount: $3000 per person for two writer-

participants sharing a queen bed = $6000 total

CRAIGARDAN WWW.CRAIGARDAN.ORG 9216 NYS Rt 9N / Elizabethtown, NY 12932 518.242.6535 info@craigardan.org

Luxury Geodesic Dome Twin Room with private, ensuite bathroom. (only two available) • $3500 for one person • Bring your NWP: $3500 + $2300 for for one participant + one

non-writer participant (NWP) = $5800 total

• Two-person Discount: $3000 per person for two writer-

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participants, each with own twin bed = $6000 total

TOP: curious local friends. BOTTOM: magical Baja landscape

TOP L: the Eco Tents are insulated and have heat and air conditioning. They offer comfort and retreat at an economical price point BOTTOM L: The King room with ensuite bathroom. RIGHT: the Eco Tent’s private bathroom with shower, plants, and premium toiletries