Fall 2025 Horror Writers Retreat
The Brown Palace Hotel | Denver, CO
SEPTEMBER 2-9, 2025
Join us in Denver, Colorado for a seven-night, all-inclusive writing retreat. You and a handful of other writers will stay at the darkly beautiful (and notoriously haunted) historic hotel, The Brown Palace. Daily activities will include yoga and meditation sessions, writing warm-up challenges, inspiring guest speakers, nightly readings and 5 to 6-hour daily, uninterrupted writing time to devote to your project.
We have a limited number of rooms for overnight guests as well as registration for day-guests to join our workshops, brain-storming sessions and other activities.
Special Guests
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Catriona Ward
AUTHOR/KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Born in Washington, DC, and growing up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco, Catriona studied English at the University of Oxford and later earned her master’s degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Ward is a three-time winner of the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel: for The Girl from Rawblood, her debut; Little Eve; and The Last House on Needless Street. Little Eve also won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel. Ward is the international bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial.
Catriona’s newest novel, Nowhere Burning, is set to hit shelves in February 2026.
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Erika T. Wurth
AUTHOR/GUEST SPEAKER
Erika T. Wurth’s novel WHITE HORSE is a New York Times editors pick, a Good Morning America buzz pick, and an Indie Next, Target book of the Month, and Book of the Month Pick. She is both a Kenyon and Sewanee fellow, and Kenyon faculty. She’s published in Buzzfeed, McSweeny’s, The Writer’s Chronicle, and is a narrative artist for the Meow Wolf Denver installation. She’s an urban Native of Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee descent and lives in Denver with her partner, niece, step-kids and two incredibly fluffy dogs. Her novel THE HAUNTING OF ROOM 904 has already garnered national attention.
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Kalvin Ellis
AUTHOR/GUEST SPEAKER
Kalvin Ellis is an American author of horror with a mystery and thriller bent. Most widely known for his 2020 debut novel In the Hills Above the Gristmill and the recently released sequel, In The Grave Where The Bones Are Still Wet. Ellis has also done work for tv and short film. In addition to writing Ellis is a professional photographer, speaker, mentor, and coach. He currently resides in Denver with his partner where he can be near his three adult children.
