Welcome to the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat!

A sunset seen through cumulus clouds over Lake Okoboji

Julie Gammack, producer

Save the dates: September 17-20, 2023

Enrollment fee: $795

Enrollment fee after September 1, 2023: $895

Early Bird Enrollment!

Are you interested in the retreat? Want to receive updates as we get closer to the event?

Please fill out this form to help us know more.

Save your place with a $100 deposit. Click here: SAVE MY PLACE

There is a story in everyone. Let award-winning journalists, columnists, authors, storytellers, and agents help you tell yours.

Working Journalist Scholarship Application

Are you a member of a book club or writers’ group? If two or more of you enroll, you will be eligible for the Club discount: https://square.link/u/qSCjl68R

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Check out photos from our 2022 conference.

Sunrise on West Lake Okoboji
Ficiton-writing panel
CBS news producer Nik Heftman and author Leigh Michaels, cruising the lake
Literary agent Andy Ross with two clients he signed at the retreat
Kyle Munson session
Rekha Basu, Des Moines Register columnist
Author and memoir coach Deb Engle and former Register managing editor, Arnold Garson
Participants having a good time!
Former NPR editor, and Columbia Journalism prof, John Dinges
Reporters: Ty Rushing, Zachary Smith, and Eliha Decious
Journalists Ty Rushing and
Julie Gammack
Dinner at the Okoboji Classic Car Museum
Columnist Kyle Munson leads a session on story telling
Julie Gammack and Ty Rushing, storyteller, reporter and commentator
Author Beth Hoffmand and Helen Miller
Aboard the barge ride around Lake Okoboji
Ty Rushing talks about documentary film making
Fiction authors: Ann Garvin, Nicole Baart and Scott Garson
Opinion writing panel: Larry Stone, environmental reporter, Todd Dorman, Cedar Rapids Gazette Opinion, Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu, Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen, and Carroll Times Herald owner, Douglas Burns

About The Organizer

Julie Gammack has produced writers’ retreats in Iowa, the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, Whidbey Island, Washington, and Vail, Colorado.

Gammack is a former Des Moines Register columnist, WHO-AM radio talk radio host, Vistage business coach, and current columnist via Substack.

Julie Gammack’s Potluck column is a popular feature in Iowa.

The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative was founded by Gammack in July of 2022 and has 27 columnists currently.

About the Retreat

The annual Okoboji Writers’ Retreat, founded in 2021, is open to all skill levels. Columnist Julie Gammack is the producer. Over 30 faculty resources will be on hand to work with participants in small-group settings. Whether you come to find out how to get started or land a book deal, this retreat is a welcoming and impactful event for all.

It has sold out each year.

Save your place: ENROLL

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