Deryk's Staff Pick iconDeryk's Staff Pick
Top Rated iconTop Rated

Re-Vision: Sonoma County Writers Camp

Location icon
35755 Hauser Bridge Rd. Cazadero, CA 95421 United States
Date
September 23 - 27, 2026

About this Retreat

Details of this retreat

We welcome back renowned authors Elizabeth Stark and Ellen Sussman for another  fabulous Sonoma County Writers Camp!
Draft Two to Submission-ready!
So you’ve got pages. Pages and pages. Now what?This camp will show you how to let the story teach you its secrets. We will begin by assessing what you’ve got–what’s evolved on the page. By discerning what your story wants to be, you will be able to build on what you’ve achieved. We will take you through the steps of reimagining the whole from inside. Finally, you’ll master honing the craft, securing the structure, and polishing it until it gleams. Dive deep and take your work from here to done… ready to take the world by storm!

Bonus Add-On
September 27-30, 2027
$1350, open ONLY to Camp Participants

Follow up your camp immersion with three days of writing retreat with Ellen, Elizabeth, seven other writers and YOU. Build on the inspiration you've gained, maintain the focus, and keep writing. Ellen and Elizabeth will be writing, too, with early morning meditative "writing from where you dream," ongoing cafe writing sessions in the later mornings and afternoons, shared meals and walks, and low-key, high positivity evenings of sharing work, chatting about books.
Donʻt miss our Summer Camp in July 2026! Register Now
COVID POLICY: For your safety and ours, we require vaccination AND a negative test result from all visitors to Ratna Ling Retreat Center. We wish to provide peace of mind for all of our residents and guests.
Cancellation Policy: Guest must cancel 30 or more days prior to the camp to receive credit for the next SCWC program at Ratna Ling. If canceled in less than 30 days prior, payments are nonrefundable and no credit is offered.


SCHEDULE (Subject to Change):
Wednesday:

3pm  Check-in
5pm  Welcome Party
6pm  Dinner


Thursday:

6:30am Meditative Dream Writing
8am Breakfast
9am Writing Workshop
12:15pm Lunch
1:15pm Cafe Writing
2pm  Yoga
6pm Dinner + Ratna Ling Introduction
7:30pm Student Readings


Friday:

6:30am Meditative Dream Writing
8am Breakfast
9am  Writing workshop
12:15pm Lunch
1:15pm Cafe Writing
2pm  Hike with Ellen
4pm Master Class with Visiting Author
6pm Dinner
7:30pm  Student Readings


Saturday:

630am Meditative Dream Writing
8am Breakfast
9am Writing Workshop
12:15pm Lunch
1:15pm Cafe Writing
2pm Meditation with George
4:30pm Industry Panel
6pm Dinner
7:30pm  Student Readings


Sunday:

6:30am Meditative Dream Writing
8am Breakfast
9am Writing Workshop
12:15pm Lunch + Closing
1:30pm Checkout

For directions to Ratna Ling - Ratna Ling Retreat Center 35755 Hauser Bridge Rd Cazadero, CA 95421
Accommodations are beautiful lux cabins



ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Transportation to/from Ratna Ling is NOT included - carpooling encouraged
Payments are nonrefundable and transferable to a future Ratna Ling stay or retreat
Each cottage includes TWO private rooms with queen beds, large dining & living area, gas fireplace, spacious deck, jacuzzi tub, linens/towels/hand soap, kitchenette with tea & coffee, complimentary wireless internet. Towels and hand soap are provided.
Vegetarian meals are served during our weekend together.

 
What people are saying about our retreats:



 "Ratna Ling is beautiful, the accommodations are wonderful, very comfortable.  I love the land and the animals and the trees - and the quiet."
"I am grateful that I got to lead a retreat at a place that is so special to me. We had such an amazing group of people.  Thank you for all your support."
"I love it here and hope to continue coming for many years.  The setting and sacredness of this space are the perfect place to retreat."



"A very beautiful and relaxing place.  The cottage was really cozy.  The food was wonderful.  The staff was so nice."
“I loved having time to myself to reflect on my life and where I am going. Thank you Ratna Ling."
“Being able to move at my own pace is a luxury. And of course the food was delicious."



 

Getting Here

Location icon Ratna Ling Retreat Center, 35755 Hauser Bridge Rd. Cazadero, CA 95421 United States

Directions

San Francisco International and Oakland International airports are approximately three hours south of Ratna Ling by car. Alaska Airlines flies to and from Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa which is approximately 1.5 hours from Ratna Ling by car. Unfortunately, there are no shuttles that bring you directly to Ratna Ling, so it is best to rent a car or email us to support in coordinating a carpool with fellow retreatants.

Accommodation

14 guest cottages on 120 acres of property. Each spacious, quiet cottage has 2 private rooms, with high ceilings and a deck with a view. Cottages include jet tubs (or ADA shower), towels, deluxe linens, refrigerator, tea kettle, coffee/tea, kitchen sink/counter, diningware, dining table, and living room with a stove fireplace. Free wifi available and a landline telephone. Guests can choose to have an exclusive cottage for ONE person; a private room for ONE person in a SHARED cottage; or a cottage for TWO people. Any additional guest after TWO is $100 per person per night. Meals and classes included.

For 1 guest in Private Room, Shared Cottage, including meals and classes

Venue & Amenities

A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent
Three miles from the beautiful Sonoma coast. Organic, vegetarian meals. 120 acres of redwoods, canyons, reservoirs, and wildlife. Sacred architecture timber cottages and communal spaces. Featured stupas, gardens, and temple empowered by Tibetan Buddhist Lama Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche.

Meals

Menu Types

All of our meals are organic and vegetarian, made with love and care. We provide homemade yogurt and granola for breakfast. Lunches and dinners always include salads or salad bar. Each meal is self-served on a buffet table.

Customer Reviews

4.96 out of 5.0 average rating

5.0
Verified logo
Sonoma County Writers Camp Review
Dearest Ellen,

Your kindness, your exuberance, your wisdom, humor and wealth of experience create our experience at Sonoma County Writers Camp. Thank you for your devotion to the craft of writing, to teaching, to your students, and to making it so compelling and so fun.

We take home so much more than word count from this retreat. We come away with inspiration, ideas, confidence, skills, and a sense that we are part of something larger and more powerful than the page.

Lisa CW

5.0
Verified logo
Retreat heaven in the California Redwood Coast
I just returned from the Sonoma County Writers' Camp held at Ratna Ling. It was my first time there, and I enjoyed it tremendously. I wish I´d planned for the extended stay. My cabin was comfortable, peaceful, with a gorgeous view out the back porch. The food was nourishing, healthy and delicious. Every detail of the temple, library, classrooms was beautiful and peaceful. The gardens, inspiring, the Stupa, gleaming in the morning sun.

I have been interested in Tibetan Buddhism for a long time, and it was lovely to get an introduction to the temple and a beginning meditation class.

I cannot recommend Ratna Ling enough. I am starting to save up and plan my next visit already.

5.0
Verified logo
Ellen Sussman will get you writing like the wind
Ellen Susan models what it´s like to put yourself as a writer first, every day, and burst through blockages with the strength of dynamite. One of the best things I learned from her is to stop alternating between my creative and my editing brain, and just give myself over to the creative, generative part of me completely while creating a first draft. This is going to save me huge amount of time. I am committed to the plan: write first without editing, deal with the revision later. The Sonoma County Writer´s Camp gave me exactly what I needed to finish my novel manuscript in the next few months. I am so grateful and highly recommend Ellen, her co-teacher Elizabeth, and the Camp, for which Ratna Ling was the perfect setting.

5.0
Verified logo
Sonoma County Writers Camp Review
This is a place where we learn to slow down, breathe, take notice of the beauty and serenity of nature, and the kindness of stangers. Except no one at Ratna Ling Retreat Center is a stranger. All are kind, patient, conversant, receptive to our needs. I can't imagine a more blessed location to attend a writers' retreat. The challenge and opportunity upon leaving are to take the sensibilities of Ratna Ling home with us and infuse this energy and gratitude into our lives.

Thank you for who you are and all you gave us.
Lisa C.W.

5.0
Verified logo
Elizabeth is brilliant, funny and she got me right back on my writing horse after I´d fallen off
Elizabeth Stark lives and breathes creativity and she had us do so many fun writing exercises right there in the classroom, claiming a level of freedom and permission I really needed. It went by so quickly, as time does when you're having fun, and now I have lots of fresh pages of writing and the tools to turn them into novel chapters. I cannot recommend her enough.

Similar retreats

You might also like