Writers Retreat · Nov 6–9, 2026 · Lake Limestone, TX
Time to write.
In partnership with Sobremesa
Three nights on the lake with eleven other writers, a chef from Austin, and nothing on the calendar you have to keep.
What to expect
Over the course of your stay, you’ll settle into the unhurried rhythm of creativity and the peace that comes from being in nature—mornings that begin with a writing prompt and good coffee, long open afternoons that are yours to write, wander, or rest, and evenings around a shared table and a low-key reading. We’ll take care of the food and the framework, so you can focus on your work and your quiet.
Set across sixteen acres of open Texas land, this retreat is all about coming back to yourself and your writing. Listening to the sounds of the ducks in the pond, smelling the cedar from the soaking tub, or feeling the soil of the farm are all ways of finding your creative grounding again in between stints at the writing desk. Come to as much or as little as calls you. We’ll set a relaxed pace, and you follow it however you choose.
Why a retreat
You already know what happens to the writing when everything else comes first. It waits. It waits politely, for years.
Writers are famously bad at taking care of the writer. We steal an hour before the house wakes up. We write on the train. We tell ourselves that rest is what we’ll do once the draft is done, and the draft is never done.
This weekend runs the other way. For three days the work comes first and someone else takes care of you: a private cabin, meals cooked and cleared, a fire already lit. Rest here isn’t a break from the writing. It’s what makes the writing possible.
And you won’t be doing it alone. Twelve people, one table, the same reason for coming. Nobody at that table will ask what you do for a living. They’ll ask what you’re working on.
01
Time to Rest
A brand-new cabin of your own on the water. A private cedar soaking tub under the sky. A fire pit for the evening. Nobody needs anything from you for three days.
02
Time to Write
Mornings open with a prompt and proper coffee. Afternoons are protected, one to five, every day. That is more uninterrupted writing time than most of us get in a month.
03
Time to Gather
Eleven other people who also cleared their calendar to write. Take a walk with another writer. Join the reading circle by the fire. Company when you want it, and none when you don’t.
04
Time to Eat well
A chef from Austin, in residence all weekend, cooking over wood from our barn kitchen. Eight meals, from Friday’s welcome dinner to Monday’s slow breakfast, all taken care of.
The table · with Sobremesa
A weekend curated by the mind behind Sobremesa Magazine.
Sobremesa is a magazine about food, lingering, and sharing. This weekend, created with Katie Rice, the founder and editor of the magazine, is built around the same principles. Good food fuels good writing, and time around the table with other creatives matters. So we’re bringing a chef in from Austin to cook every meal in The Commons, our barn kitchen, where a Santa Maria grill and a woodfired oven are going as the light drops over the lake.
The menu is written the week of, around what the farm is giving: eggs from our hens, cool-season greens and roots from the garden, herbs cut that morning, meat from Texas ranches we know. We’ll all join together around one long table for dinner, and then the sobremesa, the part after the meal that gives the magazine its name.
Here’s what to expect:
- Friday: a welcome feast cooked over wood
- Saturday: the chef’s marquee dinner
- Sunday: you harvest, you cook alongside the chef, you eat what you made
- Every day: farm breakfast at The Commons, a picnic basket at your cabin door for lunch
- Dietary needs? Let us know and we can accommodate you
About Sobremesa
Sobremesa: the Spanish word for lingering at the table together after the meal is over. A magazine of art and writing about food, five years in print, with writers and artists from around the world.sobremesamagazine.com
The shape of the days
A light rhythm, not a schedule.
A few gentle anchors a day, with the afternoons left wide open for writing and rest. Every session is optional. Arrive Thursday night if you’d like to settle in ahead.
Fri · Nov 6
Arrival
- 3pm onwardArrive, settle into your cabin, get to know the property
- 6:30pmWelcome dinner at The Commons: get to know the other writers around the first woodfired feast
- 8pmSobremesa. Lingering at the table, then an outdoor fire
Sat · Nov 7
Plant & feast
- 8:30amBreakfast at The Commons: expect eggs from our hens, garden-fresh produce, real coffee
- 9:30amMorning prompt and gathering
- 11amOn the farm: plant garlic for a spring harvest
- 12:30pmPicnic basket delivered to your cabin door, so the afternoon stays yours
- 1–5pmProtected writing time. Or clear your mind on the kayak, in the cedar tub, or by taking a nap
- 5pmOptional paired walk-and-talk with a prompt
- 6:30pmThe feast: a marquee dinner where the chef pulls out all the stops
- 8pmReading circle: bring a piece by a writer you admire
Sun · Nov 8
Harvest & cook
- 8:30amBreakfast at The Commons
- 9:30amMorning prompt and gathering
- 11amHarvest walk to gather from the farm for dinner, egg collection, a visit with the Highland cattle
- 12:30pmPicnic basket delivered
- 1–5pmProtected writing time
- 5pmOptional paired walk-and-talk, new pairs
- 6:30pmThe chef guides us through cooking the harvest together over the fire
- 8pmReading circle: share a short piece of your own, if you like
Mon · Nov 9
Departure
- 9amSlow breakfast at The Commons
- 10amClosing gathering: one thing you’ll carry home
- 11amCheckout and slow goodbyes
Twelve writers, one table
The company is part of the work.
Writing is solitary. It is also, oddly, lonely in a way that only other writers understand: the doubt, the stalled middle, the sentence you can’t get to sit still. Three days with people who know that feeling does something a quiet room alone can’t.
We keep the group to twelve so it stays a circle, not a crowd. We hope you get protected time to yourself, and also the chance to meet a few other writers you connect with. We’ll make time for group conversation and leave plenty of room for one-on-one conversations.
You’ll leave this weekend with some new pages, and hopefully some new writing friends.
Your facilitator
Katie Rice
Sobremesa Magazine’s founder and editor, Katie Rice, will be your host and guide for the weekend. She’s been publishing Sobremesa, a magazine filled with art and writing about food, for five years now, showcasing writers and artists from all around the world.
Before she moved to Texas, Katie spent almost a decade helping to run the Colgate Writers’ Conference at Colgate University and was one of the founding members of Kettle Pond Writers’ Conference. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from University of Virginia and has been published in Bon Appetit, TASTE, Food52, Produce Parties, and Compound Butter, among others. She’s passionate about writing, cooking, eating, and sharing those loves with others.
Pricing
One price, the whole weekend.
Once you get here, everything is covered. All meals, lodging, facilitation, and recreation. Three nights in a lakefront cabin, eight chef-cooked meals, nighttime fires, writing prompts, long conversations about art, and above all else, quiet time to do your work.
Twelve places in total. Prices are per person and include everything below. A 50% deposit confirms your cabin when you book. The balance is charged 30 days before arrival.
- Three nights in a brand-new private cabin on Lake Limestone, with a private outdoor cedar soaking tub, a king bed, and a built-in writing desk
- Every meal from Friday dinner through Monday breakfast, cooked on site by a chef from Austin
- Morning prompts, paired walk-and-talks, and two evening reading circles, all optional
- Two farm sessions: planting garlic, and a harvest walk for Sunday’s table
- A weekend among twelve writers, with a facilitator who has run writers’ conferences for a decade
- Wine and drinks with dinner, kept light
Held for one · 6 cabins
Standard Cabin
Our original cabin, and we hold it for one on purpose. King bed, private outdoor cedar soaking tub, lake views, and a desk that faces the water. Real solitude between the shared meals.
- 3 nights, all meals, all programming
- Add Thursday night: +$100
$1,600
per person, all-inclusive
Up to two guests · 3 suites
Cabin Suite
More room to spread out, and the option to bring a friend or partner who also wants three days to write. Each guest is included in every meal and every session.
- 3 nights, all meals, all programming, per person
- Add Thursday night: +$150
$1,450
per person, sharing · $1,900 on your own
Standard cabins are held for one on purpose. Solitude is the product. Want to come as a pair? Choose a suite.
Questions, answered
The things people ask before they say yes.
Something else on your mind? Use the form below. It goes straight to the hosts.
Where
159 LCR 890, Jewett, Texas. On Lake Limestone, about two hours from Dallas, Austin, and Houston.
When
Arrive Friday, Nov 6 from 3pm. Depart Monday, Nov 9 by 11am. Optional early arrival Thursday, Nov 5.
Who
Twelve writers, one facilitator, one chef. Any genre, any stage. Bring the thing you keep circling.
Save your spot at the table
Ready? Book your cabin. Not yet? Ask us anything.
Booking takes a few minutes and opens with the retreat rate already applied. A 50% deposit confirms your cabin when you book. The balance is charged 30 days before arrival. Twelve places, first come.
Or talk to the hosts first
A question about the weekend, the food, the writing, or who else is coming. Or ask us to hold a cabin while you decide.