Faculty include Justin Torres (Fiction workshop), Linda Villarosa (Nonfiction workshop), Kazim Ali (Poetry workshop), and Sara Ryan (Genre Fiction workshop-emphasis on Young Adult Fiction and Graphic Novels). Faculty bios are listed below. Applications are now open online.
In 2007, Lambda Literary founded the Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices, a residency designed to offer intensive and sophisticated instruction to selected writers over a carefully designed one-week period. The Retreat provides open access to industry professionals and the opportunity for writing fellows to create an ongoing community of practice as they advance in their craft and careers. It is one of Lambda's most important initiatives: it represents the future of LGBTQ literature.
Applicants of the Retreat submit twenty pages of fiction/nonfiction or 10 pages of poetry that are evaluated for craft, creativity and originality. Twelve students per workshop are accepted into the competitive program where they spend the week working on their manuscripts, attending guest lectures led by publishing industry professionals, and participating in public readings. Ability to pay is in no way part of the decision-making process and scholarships are widely available. The LLF Writers Retreat Fellows have gone on to publish an impressive array of works.
