RETREAT INFO
SEPTEMBER 11-14, 2026 - The Writers in the Round Retreat comes at the end season, where the staff is thinner and the island is quieter. We share the island with a Chamber Orchestra, a women's group that practices yoga, meditation, and art projects, and the Star Island Historical Society. There are always interesting conversations to have with other conferees, who share an appreciation for the rare combination of isolation and community that Star Island offers.
STAFF & FACILITATORS
Ellen Taylor – Overall Chair
Ellen Taylor chaired the Writers in the Round retreat with her dear friend, Craig Werth, from 2012 - 2021, and now continues with help from her WITR friends. She grew up on the coast of NH, sailing to Star Island on the family home-crafted catboat, The Flying Clod. Ellen is a practicing poet, with three collections of poems, most recently, Homelands (2023). She teaches writing and literature at the University of Maine at Augusta, as well as in the Maine prison education program. Ellen lives with her family in Appleton, ME.
Guy Capecelatro – Overall Chair
Guy is a prolific, pop storyteller from Portsmouth, NH. With the strong motivation to produce, Guy participated in the RPM Challenge, a contest where songwriters are challenged to complete an album in one month. Citing influences that include authors as well as musicians, Guy views his writing as fiction or stories that "end up being bull-dogged into songs." Since he moved to the Portsmouth scene in 1987, he's played in several bands. He currently runs his own record label, Two Ton Santa and already started recording the basic tracks to 27 songs.
Meg Kearney (“car-nee”) – Poetry Facilitator
Meg Kearney’s ninth book, Cardiac Thrill—a heroic crown of sonnets—was published in September 2025. Meg’s All Morning the Crows, winner of the Washington Prize, spent six months on SPD’s poetry bestseller list in 2021. Meg is also author of Home By Now, winner of the PEN New England L.L. Winship Award; The Ice Storm (another heroic crown, now in its 4 th printing); an award-winning picture book; and three verse novels for teens. Her poetry has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s “A Writer’s Almanac” and Ted Kooser’s “American Life in Poetry.” Meg lives in New Hampshire and is founding director the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program at Lasell University.
Scarlet Keys – Songwriting Facilitator
Scrlet Keys has been a full time professor in the Songwriting department at the esteemed Berklee College of music since 2003. She authored the first masters of songwriting course for Berklee online and the popular course The Songwriting of Taylor Swift. Scarlet is an award winning songwriter and author of “The Craft of Songwriting: Music Meaning and Emotion” and “What if it All Goes Right: Practicing Hope in the Hardest Times” featured in the wall street journal. She is the host of the popular podcast “What’s in a Song” and Scarlet’s songs have appeared in film and t.v. and been released on countless albums with and for other artists culminating in a gold record. Some of her past students include Charlie Puth, Laufey, Amy Allen, Lizzie McAlpine and Madi Diaz. Scarlet’s TED talk “Why do you like your favorite songs” has been viewed over a million times and was featured on NPR’s TED radio hour. will be leading our songwriting workshops. Jud Caswell is an award-winning songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has been performing in his native state of Maine and beyond for more than 25 years. In 2006 he made a splash on the national scene, winning the legendary Kerrville New Folk competition. He’s had his songs taught at Berklee, recorded by Judy Collins, and named “#4 Song of the Decade” by New York’s WFUV. His record “Live at the Seagull Shop” was the number 1 album on the Folk Alliance International radio charts in March of 2020.
ACTIVITIES
The small group experience consists of classes for instruction, workshops for creative expression, and evening programs, which support a healthy group dynamic. We encourage participants to take risks and push themselves to explore new aspects to the process of writing. Honesty, compassion, and humor are qualities valued by retreat organizers and participants. The development of a nurturing yet challenging creative environment is a central goal.
Morning and afternoon sessions are organized around generative activities and workshops of poems and songs in progress. There is also time for informal sharing, exploring, and meeting with other conferencees on the island. Through immersion in structured and unstructured activities, participants often embark upon new creative directions and form new associations with others outside of their daily walk in life. As such, the retreat fosters diversity and celebrates new beginnings and new horizons.
Typically, we allow plenty of time for instruction, independent creative time, social events, downtime for recreational activities like boating and swimming, and meals.
Click here for SAMPLE RETREAT AGENDA from 2024.
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ACCOMMODATIONS
Awaken every morning to the song of seagulls and a fresh Atlantic breeze and retire every evening to a cozy oasis. Every room comes with an ocean view and guaranteed stunning sunrises or sunsets. At registration, choose from a either a single or double private room with private bath or a shared room with shared bath. All rooms are located in historic out buildings scattered throughout the island. All linens and towels will be provided. Please bring your personal toiletries and hairdryers. The allure of Star Island is that it is super remote. NOTE: There is limited cell service here.MEALS & DINING
All meals are served in the island's main communal dining room before our scheduled sessions.
There is a special emphasis on sourcing local ingredients from nearby farms to support the local economy and to lower our carbon footprint. In addition, all meals are catered with vegetarian and vegan options to make sure everyone's tastes are accommodated.
There is also a snack bar open in the afternoons and a food truck by the docks.2026 PROGRAM FEES & REGISTRATION
We enroll on a first-come-first-served basis. We also limit enrollment and seek a balance between songwriters and poets (of any level of skill and experience) to preserve the quality of the retreat for participants. Our conference enrollment tends to fill up fast.PROGRAM FEE: $120 / person
ROOM & BOARD:
Standard Shared: $575 | Standard Single: $780
Motel Shared: $695 | Motel Single: $1,000
Rates are per person for the full length of the conference.
Registration will remain open until our maximum enrollment of 24 is reached. We strive for a balance of 12 poetry-focused and 12 songwriting-focused participants. Once our registration is closed, you are welcome to email Ellen Taylor if you wish to be on a waiting list for potential openings due to cancellation.
FINANCIAL AID from the Star Island organization may be available. Retreat attendees have made good use of financial aid in previous years. Full details are listed on the Star Island website.TRAVEL INFO & DIRECTIONS
International Visitors: Fly into Boston Logan International Airport, take a 1-hour bus ($26.00) to Portsmouth, NH. Depending on when you arrive, (the FREE ferry leaves for Star Island at 2:20pm on Friday, September 11th) take a taxi/Uber ($10.00) from the Portsmouth bus depot to your hotel or to the ferry landing and then catch the FREE ferry!
If you're staying overnight in Portsmouth, NH on September 11th in order to catch the ferry the next day September 14th, or after the retreat on the eve of September 14th, the city has plenty of hotels, restaurants and activities to offer! Many of the hotels are within walking distance of the ferry landing, which should save you a taxi fare! See the official travel guide!The FREE Ferry departs Portsmouth for Star Island on September 5th at 2:20pm and departs on September 11th at 11:45am, arriving at 1:15pm to Portsmouth, NH.
Local Visitors: Catch the FREE ferry from Isle of Shoals Steamship Company at 2:20pm on September 11th. Park at the ferry landing for $5.00.
Regional Visitors: Drive to Isle of Shoals Steamship Company. Since the ferry leaves at 2:20pm on September 14th, you can also stay the night before in Portsmouth, park at the ferry landing for $5.00 and then catch the FREE ferry! (Alternatively, catch the bus to Portsmouth, NH and take a taxi/Uber ($10.00) to the ferry landing).