“A Circle of Quiet”
The Madeleine L’Engle Writing Retreat 
Sept. 12-13, 2024
Petoskey, Michigan

In tandem with the annual 
Northern Michigan C. S. Lewis Festival
Sept. 13-15

Retreat registration opens March 9 at 9 AM ET

This year the L’Engle Writing Retreat will take place in beautiful Petoskey, Michigan on the shores of Little Traverse Bay, back-to-back with the annual Northern Michigan C. S. Lewis Festival.

Join the retreat starting Thursday evening and all day Friday, followed by an enchanting weekend of á la carte festival events celebrating the storytelling legacies of three twentieth-century spiritual writers: Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, A Circle of Quiet), C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity), and Thomas Merton (The Seven Storey Mountain).

In addition to leading the L’Engle Retreat, co-directors Sarah Arthur and Sophfronia Scott are this year’s CSL festival speakers, together with L’Engle’s granddaughter, Léna Roy (plus cameos by Léna’s sister, Charlotte Jones Voiklis). Click here for brief bios.

Details so far (subject to change):

  • The L’Engle Writing Retreat will be held at the historic First Presbyterian Church in downtown Petoskey—within walking distance of shops, restaurants, galleries, bookstores, parks, the public library (with its very own labyrinth!), and the incomparable Lake Michigan waterfront.

  • Directed, as always, by Sarah and Sophfronia, the retreat is open to anyone in any stage of their writing journey and will include a rich offering of plenaries, cohorts, writing prompts, optional prayer times, and solo writing times. See below for a tentative schedule.

  • Additionally, we’ll offer a virtual cohort with access to all retreat plenaries broadcast in real time via Zoom. Plus, everything will be recorded for all attendees to access after the event.

  • In-person participants will arrange their own housing and meals from a plethora of local options. A light dinner buffet on Thursday evening is included with retreat registration.

  • Working Schedule (subject to change):

    • Thurs. evening, Sept 12: Doors open at 4 PM Eastern. Light buffet dinner available from 5-6:30 PM (included with registration). Opening plenary at 6:30 PM, followed by cohorts. Optional evening prayer concludes at 9 PM.

    • Fri., Sept 13: Doors open at 8 AM Eastern, optional morning prayer at 8:15 AM, morning plenary at 8:30, followed by solo writing, then cohorts. Break for lunch on your own (lots of options within walking distance), followed by more solo writing, cohorts, closing plenary, & optional closing prayer. Day ends at 4 PM.

  • Following the retreat, in-person attendees will have the option to attend various CSL festival events throughout the weekend, including the FREE opening keynote at The Great Lakes Center for the Arts on Friday evening, and the ticketed day-long Saturday Seminar, also at GLCA (separate registration required). Book-signings, pub meet-ups, worship options at local churches…stay tuned for a detailed schedule of festival events at https://www.cslewisfestival.org/, and/or subscribe for festival updates. More events are added all the time!

  • And don’t miss the book signing with Sarah, Sophfronia, Léna, & Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 4-6 PM at the destination indie bookstore, McLean & Eakin, in downtown Petoskey.

  • Retreat registration will be handled by L’Engle Writing Retreats right here on our website, whereas CSL fest ticketed events (e.g., for the day-long Saturday Seminar) will be on the festival site. Stay tuned!


    C. S. Lewis Festival background

    For the past 20 years, the CSL Festival has been an award-winning collaboration between the arts, education, and faith communities in one of Northern Michigan’s premiere resort areas. Spanning multiple weeks every fall, the festival has provided a unifying annual theme for regional events: everything from theatre performances, art exhibits, book clubs, lectures, library readings, film screenings, student writing contests, and even Narnia-themed seasonal menus at local restaurants!

    Additionally, the festival has hosted such world-class speakers as Reza Aslan, Douglas Gresham (CSL’s stepson), Philip Yancey, and Ann Voskamp, plus an inspiring roster of international scholars and writers from a variety of disciplines.

    When Sophfronia and Sarah were approached by the festival team to keynote the 2024 kickoff weekend on the theme of “The Seeker and the Storytellers”—featuring L’Engle, Lewis, and Merton—it felt like an opportunity for the L’Engle Writing Retreat that was too good to pass up! So we presented the idea of holding the retreat in Petoskey that same weekend--and the festival team was thrilled.


    While we’ve loved our time at Wisdom House in New England, we’re excited to collaborate with a well-established literary event that brings fresh conversations and inspiration to our creative offerings.
    We think you will too!