ROME, ITALY
A WRITERS’ CONFERENCE
WRITE, LEARN, DISCOVER, BE INSPIRED: THE ETERNAL CITY
JANUARY 24-31, 2025
Workshops, Private Conferences, Discussions, Generative Exercises, Writing Time, Explorations, Readings
Excursions Offered Include: Culinary Adventures, Vatican Museums, Keats-Shelly House, Roman Forum and Colosseum, Cathedrals, Markets, Borghese Gallery, and more
Conference is Limited to Ten Participants
FACULTY
Connie May Fowler - Workshop Leader and InkBlossom Founder
T. Geronimo Johnson - Artist-in-Residence and Private Conference Leader
Special Guests include writer, director, playwright, and dramaturg Mark Routhier who, among other things, will speak to us about the intersections of creative prose writing and the dramatic arts.
Conference headquarters will be in Rome’s most vibrant neighborhoodTrastevere, home to sidewalk cafe’s, ancient churches, artisan shops, and gorgeous piazzas. This Google description does justice to one of Rome’s most beloved districts: “Colorful Trastevere is a funky, bohemian area that clings to its centuries-old, working-class roots. It's known for traditional and innovative trattorias, craft beer pubs and artisan shops, as well as simple B&Bs and budget hotels. From the pre-dinner passeggiata (promenade) until late, a young crowd buzzes around Piazza di San Calisto and Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, the site of a gilded, mosaic-filled church.”
Workshops, readings, receptions, panel discussions, private conferences, generative sessions and more will be conducted in a historic building with abundant room for inspiration, privacy, and community. Participants will stay in local hotels and “AirBnBs.” If accepted into the conference, we will supply you with a list of nearby lodging. Late January is off-season in Rome and, as such, lodging is quite affordable.
Trevi Fountain
Connie May Fowler is the author of six acclaimed novels and two memoirs. Her novel Before Women had Wings is the recipient of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award and the Francis Buck Award from the League of American Pen Women. Connie adapted the novel into an Emmy-winning film starring Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Barkin. Her novel Remembering Blue received the Chautauqua South Literary Award. Three of her novels are Dublin International Literary Award nominees. Her memoir A Million Fragile Bones was a finalist for the 2018 Clara Johnson Award in Women’s Literature. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, London Times, International Herald Tribune, Japan Times, The Sun Magazine, Oxford American, Best Life, and elsewhere. Connie has written extensively about the environment, family violence, multi-culturalism, poverty, women’s issues, and sumo wrestling
Filmmaker and novelist T. Geronimo Johnson is the author of the novels Hold It ‘Til It Hurts and Welcome to Braggsville. The novels —between the two—have been selected by the Wall Street Journal Book Club, named a 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award finalist, shortlisted for the 2016 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, longlisted for the National Book Award, longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, named a finalist for The Bridge Book Award, named a finalist for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, adapted into a critically acclaimed play, included on Time Magazine’s list of the top ten books of 2015, awarded the Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and named the winner of the 2015 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Johnson was also a National Book Award judge in 2016, the recipient of the inaugural Simpson Family Literary Prize in 2017, and a 2017-2018 Rome Prize Fellow. MANIFEST DESTINY JESUS, a documentary, was released in 2021.
APPLY
If you are a 2023 or 2024 Monthly InkBlossom Workshop participant, you do not need to apply. Simply write to us to make sure we have room (space is limited); once confirmed, your space will be reserved upon payment of the conference deposit. All other persons should send a three-page writing sample as a Word attachment using proper manuscript formatting (12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, default margins). Please note: There is NO application fee.
FEES
Conference Fee (workshops, generative prompts, readings, panel discussions): $1,500
Nonrefundable Deposit Due Upon Acceptance: $250
Balance Due November 1, 2024: $1,250
Private One-Hour Manuscript Conference with T. Geronimo Johnson (20 pages max following the formatting guidelines set forth in the “Apply” section); December 1, 2024 deadline emailed as a Word attachment). Fee due December 1, 2024: $200.
Guest Fee (covers administrative costs and reception costs) due November 1, 2024: $150
Excursions: Optional and per person based on vendor fees
Payment instructions sent upon acceptance into the conference
inkblossomwriters@gmail.com
CANCELLATION POLICY
We understand emergencies happen and empathize with those facing challenges. We are a small, boutique conference because we feel learning and inspiration takes place more readily in intimate, nurturing settings. That also means that cancellations place a particular burden on us. We are only able to refund tuition fees, not including the nonrefundable deposit, up to October 1. After October 1, we are only able to refund your tuition, not including the deposit, if we are able to fill your spot with another writer. We also highly recommend you secure travel insurance.
